![]() ![]() ![]() When landing, Helldivers often revealed their poor handling to careless pilots. Ready to land, this SB2C pilot has lowered the tail hook of his aircraft. The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a hard-hitting aircraft which gained many combat successes. But the SB2C did not win the reliability battle soon enough for some commanders and picked up the derogatory nickname 'Beast'. It took time to prove itself in action and eventually became an effective carrier-launched dive and torpedo bomber in the war against the Japanese. One of the most effective models was the SB2C-4 which introduced the distinctive 'cheese grater' split flaps to aid stability during a dive.ĭisadvantage from the start by having to replace the highly capable SBD Dauntless, the Helldiver never quite won a similar place in the hearts of US naval aviators. Cannon armament, a relatively rarity on World War II American aircraft, was fitted to the SB2C-1C, the last suffix indicating the heavier, more powerful guns. A long list of 'fixes' was required, which delayed the Helldiver's deployment for some months.īut the job was done and from November 1943 when Helldivers pounded the Japanese island garrison of Rabaul until the end of the war the Navy used the Helldiver in every major surface action as an integral part of its carrier air groups. ![]() There was no time to perfect the requirement and when the Army did not order the aircraft in quantity, it was left to the Navy to sort out the teething troubles. It was also tentatively required by the US Marines and the Army Air Forces which compromised the SB2C, giving the manufacturers the demanding task of creating a 'multi-role' aircraft in the middle of a war. Taking its name from an earlier Curtiss type, the Helldiver was a powerful, modern dive-bomber designed to undertake a variety of combat missions. ![]()
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