Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
Sign in to saveAlso known as Helldiver, Curtiss Scout Bomber Design 2, Curtiss Helldiver, Curtiss A-25 shrike, A-25 Shrike, SB2C, Curtiss SB2C, SB2C Helldiver
1940 scout bomber aircraft family
Key facts
- Type
- Dive bomber
- National origin
- United States
- Manufacturer
- Curtiss-Wright
- Built by
- Fairchild (Canada) (SBF) Canadian Car and Foundry (SBW)
- Primary users
- United States Navy United States Marine Corps United States Army Air Forces French Navy
- Number built
- 7,140
- Manufactured
- 1943–1945
- Introduction date
- December 1942
- First flight
- 18 December 1940
- Retired
- 1959 (Italy)
- Developed into
- Curtiss XSB3C
via Wikipedia infobox
~27 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a dive bomber developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II. As a carrier-based bomber with the United States Navy (USN), in Pacific theaters, it supplemented and replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless. A few survivors are extant.
Initially poor handling characteristics and late modifications caused lengthy delays to production and deployment, to the extent that it was investigated by the Truman Committee, which turned in a scathing report. This contributed to the decline of Curtiss as a company. Neither pilots nor aircraft carrier skippers seemed to like it. Nevertheless, the Helldiver was faster than the Dauntless, and by the end of the Pacific War, the Helldiver had become the main dive bomber and attack aircraft on USN carriers.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Curtiss SB2C Helldiver” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.