SB2C Helldiver

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Curtiss SB2C Helldiver in tricolor scheme.

SB2Cs in tricolor scheme (front) on the flight deck of USS Yorktown CV-10 in 1943.

The prototype Curtiss XSB2C Helldiver (BuNo1758) on its maiden flight on 18 December 1940 in pre-war colour scheme.

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver during take off.

A pilot and his gunner pose with their late model SB2C Helldiver after October 1944.

SB2C Helldiver fails to catch the wire on landing and hits the first barrier, nose-diving into the deck (USS Hornet, July 3, 1944).

For the biplane Curtiss Helldiver, please see SBC Helldiver.

The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was an aircraft carrier-based dive bomber produced for the United States Navy during World War II. It replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy service, and was initially strongly disliked by aircrews because it was much bigger and heavier than the SBD, was underpowered, had a shorter range, had an unreliable electrical system, and was often poorly manufactured. Opinions soon changed, however, and the SB2C sank more enemy shipping in the Pacific war than any other US or Allied aircraft. Despite its size, the SB2C was as fast as a fighter; only the Vought F4U Corsair could significantly outperform it. The SB2C-1 could deploy slats mechanically linked with undercarriage actuation extended from the outer third of the wing leading edge to aid lateral control at low speeds. The SB2C-2 was built with larger fuel tanks, improving its range considerably. An oddity of the SB2Cs with 1942 to '43-style tricolor camouflage was that the undersides of the outer wing panels carried dark topside camouflage because the undersurfaces were visible from above when the wings were folded.

Crew nicknames for the aircraft included the Big-Tailed Beast (or just Beast) and Son-of-a-Bitch 2nd Class (after its designation).

The first prototype flew in December 1940 but a large number of modifications and changes meant that it did not enter combat until 11 November, 1943 when they attacked the Japanese-held port of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea.

A few aircraft were acquired by the USAAF under the designation A-25.

A total of 26 aircraft (out of 450 ordered) were delivered to the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, where they were known as the Curtiss Helldiver I. Postwar, surplus aircraft were sold to the navies of France, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Thailand.

One SB2C Helldiver is still flying. Owned by the Commemorative Air Force, this late-production SB2C-5 built in 1945 is based in Graham, Texas and makes frequent airshow appearances. In 1982 it experienced engine failure and a hard emergency landing that caused extensive damage; volunteers of the CAF put in thousands of man-hours and in excess of $200,000 to restore the aircraft to flying condition once more.

Specifications (SB2C Helldiver)

External links

http://www.sb2chelldiver.org/ The Commemorative Air Force's flying SB2C Helldiver
http://www.cv6.org/company/accounts/bbarnes/ ENS Bob Barnes: Helldivers of the Big E

SB2C Helldiver

Specifications (SB2C Helldiver)

External links

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