![]() 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.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |