Curtiss SB2C Helldiver

The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a carrier-based dive bomber aircraft produced for the United States Navy during World War II. It replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy service. Despite its size, the SB2C was much faster than the SBD it replaced.

Crew nicknames for the aircraft included the Big-Tailed Beast (or just the derogatory Beast), Two-Cee and Son-of-a-Bitch 2nd Class (after its designation and partly because of its reputation for having difficult handling characteristics). Neither pilots nor aircraft carrier skippers seemed to like it.

Delays marred its production—by the time the A-25 Shrike variant for the USAAF was deployed in late 1943, the Army Air Forces no longer had a need for a thoroughbred dive bomber. Another factor also hampered its service introductions—due to the poor handling of the aircraft both the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force cancelled substantial orders.

The Truman Committee investigated Helldiver production and turned in a scathing report, which eventually led to the beginning of the end for Curtiss. Although production problems persisted throughout its combat service, it was reported that some pilots soon changed their minds favorably about the potency of the Helldiver, and in spite of its problems, the aircraft was flown through the last two years of the Pacific War with a fine combat record, due to the high training of its crews.

Design and development


The Helldiver was developed to replace the Douglas SBD Dauntless; it was a much larger aircraft able to operate from the latest aircraft carriers of the time and carry a considerable array of armament and featured an internal bomb bay that reduced drag when carrying heavy ordnance. Saddled with demanding requirements set forth by both the U.S. Marines and United States Army Air Forces, the manufacturer incorporated features of a "multi-role" aircraft into the design.

The Model XSB2C-1 prototype initially suffered teething problems connected to its R-2600 engine and 3-bladed propeller; further concerns included structural weaknesses, poor handling, directional instability and bad stall characteristics. In 1939, a student brought a model of the new Curtiss XSB2C-1 to the MIT wind tunnel. Professor Emeritus of Aeronautical Engineering Otto C. Koppen was quoted as saying, "if they build more than one of these, they are crazy". He was referencing controllability issues with the small vertical tail.

The first prototype made its maiden flight on 18 December 1940. It crashed on 8 February 1941 when its engine failed on approach, but Curtiss was asked to rebuild it. The fuselage was lengthened and a larger tail was fitted, while an autopilot was fitted as a result of the aircraft's poor stability. The revised prototype flew again on 20 October 1941, but was destroyed when its wing failed during diving tests on 21 December 1941.

Large-scale production had already been ordered on 29 November 1940, but a large number of modifications were specified for the production model. The size of the fin and rudder was enlarged, fuel capacity was increased, self-sealing fuel tanks added and the fixed armament was doubled to four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in the wings, compared with the prototype's two cowling guns. The SB2C-2 was built with larger fuel tanks, improving its range considerably.

The program suffered so many delays that the Grumman TBF Avenger entered service before the Helldiver, even though the Avenger had begun its development two years later. Nevertheless, production tempo accelerated with production at Columbus, Ohio and two Canadian factories: Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada) which produced a total of 300 (under the designations XSBF-l, SBF-l, SBF-3 and SBF-4E) and Canadian Car and Foundry which built 894 (designated SBW-l, SBW-3, SBW-4, SBW-4E and SBW-5), these models being respectively equivalent to their Curtiss-built counterparts. A total of 7,140 SB2Cs were produced in World War II.

U.S. Navy
The U.S. Navy would not accept the SB2C until 880 modifications to the design and the changes on the production line had been made, delaying the Curtiss Helldiver's combat debut until November 11, 1943 with squadron VB-17 on the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17), when they attacked the Japanese-held port of Rabaul on the island of New Britain, north of Papua New Guinea. The first version of the SB2C-1 was kept stateside for training, its various development problems leading to only 200 being built. The first deployment model was the SB2C-1C. The SB2C-1 could deploy slats mechanically linked with undercarriage actuators that extended from the outer third of the wing leading edge to aid lateral control at low speeds. The early prognosis of the "Beast" was unfavourable as it was strongly disliked by aircrews due to its size, weight, and reduced range compared to the SBD it replaced.

In the Battle of the Philippine Sea, 45 Helldivers were lost because they ran out of fuel on the return to their carriers.

The litany of faults that the Helldiver bore included the fact that it was underpowered, had a shorter range than the SBD, was equipped with an unreliable electrical system and was often poorly manufactured. The Curtiss-Electric propeller and the complex hydraulic system had frequent maintenance problems. One of the faults remaining with the aircraft through its operational life was poor longitudinal stability, resulting from a fuselage that was too short by necessity of the SB2C to fit on aircraft carrier elevators. The Helldiver's aileron response was also poor and handling suffered greatly under 90 knots airspeed; since the speed of approach to land on a carrier was supposed to be 85 knots, this proved problematic. The 880 changes demanded by the Navy and modification of the aircraft to its combat role resulted in a 42% weight increase, explaining much of the problem.

The solution to these problems began with the introduction of the SB2C-3 beginning in 1944, which used the R-2600-20 Twin Cyclone engine with 1,900 HP and Curtiss' 4-bladed propeller. This substantially solved the chronic lack of power that had plagued the aircraft. The Helldivers would participate in battles over the Marianas, Philippines (partly responsible for sinking the Musashi), Taiwan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa (in the sinking of the Yamato). They were also used in the 1945 attacks on the Ryuku Islands and the Japanese home island of Honshū in tactical attacks on airfields, communications, and shipping. They were also used extensively in patrols during the period between the dropping of the atomic bombs and the official Japanese surrender, and in the immediate pre-occupation period.

An oddity of the SB2Cs with 1942 to 1943-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.

In operational experience it was found that the U.S. Navy's F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair fighters were able to carry an equally heavy bomb load against ground targets and were vastly more capable of defending themselves against enemy fighters. The Helldiver, however, could still deliver ordnance with more precision against specific targets and its two seat configuration permitted a second set of eyes.

The advent of air-to-ground rockets ensured the SB2C was the last purpose-built dive bomber produced. Rockets allowed precision attack against surface naval and land targets while avoiding the stresses of near-vertical dives and the demanding performance requirements that they placed on dive bombers

Postwar, the SB2C remained in active service in the US Navy until 1947 and naval reserve units until 1950. Surplus aircraft were sold to the naval air forces of France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Thailand. Greek SB2Cs served in combat in the Greek Civil War with additional machine guns mounted in wing pods. French SB2Cs flew in the First Indochina War from 1951 to 1954.

Army service
Built at Curtiss' St. Louis plant, 900 aircraft were ordered by the USAAF under the designation A-25A Shrike. The first 10 aircraft had folding wings, while the remainder of the production order omitted this unnecessary feature. Many other changes distinguished the A-25A, including larger main wheels, a pneumatic tail wheel, ring and bead gunsight, longer exhaust stubs, and other Army specified radio equipment. By late 1943 when the A-25A was being introduced, the USAAF no longer had a role for the dive bomber, as fighter aircraft such as the P-47 Thunderbolt had shown their ability to carry out tactical air support missions with great success.

After offering the Shrike to Australia, only 10 were accepted before the Royal Australian Air Force rejected the remainder of the order, forcing the USAAF to send 410 to the U.S. Marines. The A-25As were converted to the SB2C-1 standard but the Marine SB2C-1 variant never saw combat, being used primarily as trainers. The remaining A-25As were similarly employed as trainers and target tugs.

British service
A comparable scenario accompanied the Helldiver's service with the British. A total of 26 aircraft, out of 450 ordered, were delivered to the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, where they were known as the Helldiver I. After unsatisfactory tests that pinpointed "appalling handling", none of the British Helldivers were used in action.

Greek Service
American Aid provided the Hellenic Air Force with 42 Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldivers from surplus U.S. Navy stocks. In the spring of 1949, the aircraft were given to 336 Fighter Squadron (336 Μοίρα Διώξεως) to replace Supermarine Spitfires and the squadron's name was changed to 336 Bomber Squadron (336 Μοίρα Βομβαρδισμού).

Greek SB2C-5 Helldivers had minor changes for their COIN operations:
 * Hard rubber tail wheel (for carrier use) was replaced by a bigger pneumatic tire for use on landing strips.
 * Rear gunner station and its twin MGs were deleted, as no aerial opposition existed and weight reduction was used for bombs and extra machine guns.

Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldivers, Supermarine Spitfires and North American T-6D/Gs were used in ground attack missions against Communist ground forces, camps and transports during the last stages of the Greek Civil War.

Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldivers saw a relatively brief combat service and were gradually phased out by 1953. A few were in use until 1957 as photographic aircraft. One Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver was restored in 1997 and is displayed in the Hellenic Air Force Museum.

French Service
Between 1949 and 1954 France bought 110 SB2C-5 Helldiver aircraft to replace their aging SBD-5 Dauntless that had been flying in combat in Vietnam. The French Aeronavale flew the Helldiver from 1951 to 1958.

Some of these aircraft were allotted to Escadrille 9F stationed on board the carriers Arromanches, Bois-Belleau and Lafayette, during the First Indochina War. The Helldivers soon became well thought of by the French troops on the ground during the battle at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Sometimes only feet above the ground, the pilots flew countless sorties strafing and bombing the Viet-Minh troops with a total disregard for the heavy flak. These would be the last combat missions for the Helldiver but probably the most effective missions in the aircraft’s history.

Variants

 * XSB2C-1
 * Prototype powered by a 1,700 hp (1,268 kW) R-2600-8 engine


 * SB2C-1
 * Production version for United States Navy with four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) wing guns and one 0.30 in (7.62 mm) dorsal gun, 200 built.


 * SB2C-1A
 * Original designation for United States Army Air Corps version which became A-25A later used for 410 A-25As transferred to the United States Marine Corps.


 * SB2C-1C
 * SB2C-1 with two 20 mm (0.79 in) wing-mounted cannons and hydraulically operated flaps, 778 built.


 * XSB2C-2
 * One SB2C-1 fitted with twin floats in 1942.


 * SB2C-2
 * Production float plane version, 287 cancelled and not built.


 * XSB2C-3
 * One SB2C-1 re-engined with a 1,900 hp (1,417 kW) R-2600-20.


 * SB2C-3
 * As SB2C-1 re-engined with a 1,900 hp (1,417 kW) R-2600-20 and four-bladed propeller, 1,112 built.


 * S2BC-3E
 * SB2C-3s fitted with APS-4 radar.


 * SB2C-4
 * SB2C-1 but fitted with wing racks for eight 5 in (127 mm) rockets or 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs, 2,045 built.


 * SB2C-4E
 * SB2C-4s fitted with APS-4 radar.


 * XSB2C-5
 * Two SB2C-4s converted as prototypes for -5 variant.


 * SB2C-5
 * SB2C-4 with increased fuel capacity, frameless sliding canopy, tailhook fixed in extended position, and deletion of the ASB radar, 970 built (2,500 cancelled).


 * XSB2C-6
 * Two SB2C-1Cs fitted with 2,100 hp (1,566 kW) R-2600-22 engine and increased fuel capacity.


 * SBF-1
 * Canadian built version of the SB2C-1, 50 built by Fairchild-Canada


 * SBF-3
 * Canadian built version of the SB2C-3, 150 built by Fairchild-Canada.


 * SBF-4E
 * Canadian built version of the SB2C-4E, 100 built by Fairchild-Canada.


 * SBW-1
 * Canadian built version of the SB2C-1, 38 built by Canadian Car & Foundry company.


 * SBW-1B
 * Canadian built version for lend-lease to the Royal Navy as the Helldiver I, 28 aircraft built by Canadian Car & Foundry company.


 * SBW-3
 * Canadian built version of the SB2C-3, 413 built by Canadian Car & Foundry company.


 * SBW-4E
 * Canadian built version of the SB2C-4E, 270 built by Canadian Car & Foundry company.


 * SBW-5
 * Canadian-built version of the SB2C-5, 85 built (165 cancelled) by the Canadian Car & Foundry company.


 * A-25A Shrike
 * United States Army Air Corps version without arrester gear or folding wings and equipment changed, 900 built


 * Helldiver I
 * Royal Navy designation for 28 Canadian-built SBW-1Bs

Operators

 * Royal Australian Air Force
 * French Navy Aviation Navale
 * French Navy Aviation Navale
 * French Navy Aviation Navale
 * 🇬🇷 Greece
 * Royal Hellenic Air Force
 * Aeronautica Militare
 * Portuguese Navy (until 1952)
 * Portuguese Air Force (after 1952)
 * Portuguese Navy (until 1952)
 * Portuguese Air Force (after 1952)
 * Royal Thai Air Force
 * Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm
 * 🇺🇸 United States
 * United States Army Air Forces
 * United States Marine Corps
 * United States Navy
 * United States Marine Corps
 * United States Navy

Greece

 * On display
 * SB2C-5
 * 83321 - Hellenic Air Force Museum, Decelea Air Base.

Thailand

 * On display
 * SB2C-5
 * 83410 - Royal Thai Air Force Museum, Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base, Bangkok.

United States

 * Airworthy
 * SB2C-5
 * 83589 - Commemorative Air Force (Cactus Squadron) in Graham, Texas. This late-production Helldiver, built in 1945, makes frequent air show appearances. In 1982, it experienced engine failure and a hard emergency landing that caused extensive damage; volunteers of the CAF put in thousands of hours and spent in excess of $200,000 to restore the aircraft to flying condition once more.
 * Under restoration
 * A-25A Shrike/SB2C-1A
 * 75552 - under restoration by Vultures Row Aviation in Cameron Park, California.
 * 76805 - under restoration at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
 * SB2C-3
 * 19075 - under restoration at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California
 * SB2C-4
 * 19866 - crashed on 28 May 1945 in Lower Otay Reservoir, near San Diego, California after engine failure during a training exercise. Both pilot E.D. Frazer and his passenger escaped uninjured, but the Helldiver sank in 90 ft. of water.  The aircraft was discovered in February 2010 by a fisherman and recovered on 20 August 2010 for restoration by the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.
 * SB2C-5
 * 83393 - under restoration by Fagen Fighters & Warhawks, Inc. in Granite Falls, Minnesota.
 * 83479 - under restoration at the NASM's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport.


 * Wrecks
 * A SB2C-4E Helldiver belonging to the United States Navy crashed and burned in foul weather on October 9, 1945, while en route from New Cumberland, Pennsylvania to its base at Grosse Ile, Michigan after participating in Nimitz Day celebrations held in Washington, D.C. Pilot Frank Campbell and gunner George Cohlmia, both World War II veterans, were killed in the crash. The remains of the plane are still located at the crash site on Laurel Hill in Ligonier Township, Pennsylvania, three miles northeast of the village of Waterford.
 * In January 2010, Brad Varney, owner of B&B Scuba, discovered a SB2C-1C Helldiver that was ditched in Maalaea Bay off South Maui in August 1944. The Helldiver is covered in coral and is missing its tail section. The aircraft experienced problems with its empennage after dive bombing maneuvers which forced pilot Lieutenant William Dill to ditch. It lies in 50 ft of water facing east. The site, which is protected under state and federal law, is in the process of being marked with a plaque by the U.S. Navy. A mooring may be installed at a later point in time to facilitate dives on the site.
 * On 25 March 2010, the Oregon State Police, Tillamook County Sheriff's Office and the United States Navy announced that during a logging operation near Rockaway Beach, Oregon, the wreck of an SB2C Helldiver was located. Initial responders believe there are possible human remains at the scene.
 * On 19 December 2011 Scuba divers off the coast of Jupiter, Florida came across a SB2C Helldiver while under water. The aircraft is mostly intact and was found inverted with the landing gear retracted. In May of 2012 the US Navy conducted a survey of the aircraft, recovering a data plate from the horizontal stabalizer. The Naval History and Heritage Command's Underwater Archaeology Branch is actively trying to determine if the numbers stamped on the data plate are readable and will provide identification to the aircraft.