It proved difficult to land on a carrier because of the long nose. The latter operated the flaps, folding wings and landing gear. “It was rushed into production at a new factory in Columbus while engineering specifications were constantly being revised.”Ĭontinued Walsh, “The plane weighed eight tons and was a jungle of wires and hydraulic tubes. ![]() “Early production models of the Helldiver had a lot of defects,” said Walsh. George Walsh, another Helldiver pilot in VB-80, initially questioned replacing a proven warplane with a new one. Note that both the pilot’s and the gunner’s canopies are open. Navy Curtiss SB2C Helldiver is releasing its bomb during a training run. “Some of the men thought the Dauntless performed better over all, even though the Helldiver was bigger and more powerful.” This U.S. “We knew this aircraft was meant as a replacement for the SBD Dauntless, which won glory at Midway,” Downey said. Some of the pilots in the new squadron (officially formed February 1, 1944) picked up SB2C-1C Helldivers at the Curtiss-Wright factory in Columbus and delivered them to Wildwood. Gunville drowned because his pockets were stuffed with extra rations for the plane’s life raft in the event of a ditching.”Ĭhuck Downey read a newspaper account of the Helldiver’s combat debut in the New Jersey beach resort town of Wildwood where, in late 1943 and early 1944, the Navy was forming squadron VB-80, or Bombing 80. A plane guard destroyer dashed in, but only the rear gunner was recovered. ![]() “One SB2C bellied in off the carrier’s bow. In Target Rabaul, Bruce Gamble tells of the first American to lose his life on a Helldiver combat mission. Helldivers flew their first combat mission when Squadron Bombing 17, or VB-17, joined a strike force assaulting the redoubt at Rabaul, New Britain, on November 11, 1943, as part of a larger strike force. The SB2C-4 followed, introducing “cheese grate” upper and lower wing flaps that were perforated like a sieve they enhanced stability. After a 12-foot Curtiss Electric three-blade prop proved inadequate, a four-blade propeller from the same manufacturer with the same diameter and with root cuffs was introduced with the SB2C-3 model-the point at which nearly all imperfections in the design had been smoothed out. Perhaps the most important change came with an improved propeller. Hardpoints under the wings accommodated additional ordnance. The Helldiver offered an internal bomb bay that could accommodate a 1,000-pound bomb and be closed by hydraulically operated doors. The radioman-gunner could deploy his firepower only by lowering the rear deck of the fuselage immediately ahead of the vertical stabilizer. Lengthening the fuselage by one foot and redesigning the fin fixed the aerodynamic problems, and the stability and structural issues were exaggerated-yet more than one Helldiver broke in half when making a hard tailhook landing on a wooden carrier deck.Īfter several variations in armament appeared with early Helldivers, the Navy settled on two forward-firing, 20mm cannons in the wing (introduced on the SB2C-1C model) plus the enlisted crew-member’s swivel-mounted twin. Britain rejected the Helldiver after receiving 26 examples. After production moved to Columbus, Ohio, from Buffalo, New York, the first production Helldiver flew in June 1942.įrom the start, the blue warplane garnered a reputation for poor stability, structural flaws, and poor handling. Curtiss rebuilt the aircraft, and it flew again in October 1941 but crashed a second time after a month. The prototype XSB2C-1 made its maiden flight on December 18, 1940, but the prototype was destroyed just days later. ![]() The Helldiver’s career began with problems. Berlin, who designed the P-40 Warhawk, but the company’s Raymond C. The engineer running the Helldiver design team was not plane-maker Curtiss-Wright’s iconic Don R. In fact, the plane was neither as bad as its critics said or as good as its manufacturer hoped. Yet, the Helldiver is remembered today mostly as an unpopular latecomer to the war, a less than stellar performer built by an aircraft company in decline.Ī round, blue tube squatting on a tiny tailwheel carrying a pilot and radioman-gunner in tandem behind a 1,900-horsepower Wright R-2600 radial engine, the Helldiver with its 49-foot, 9-inch wing span, was dubbed the “Son of a Bitch Second Class,” the “Beast,” and worse by many a pilot who paid more heed to the rumor mill in the ready room than to the performance gauges on his instrument panel. ![]() The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive-bomber left a trail of wreckage in its wake, the debris and detritus of a devastated foe. It pulverized fortifications on Japan’s home islands. It sent Japanese warships to the bottom of the ocean.
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