Modern-Aviation

The first production SB2C-1 flew on 30 June 1942, and SB2Cs first flew into combat in the campaign for Rabaul in November 1943. By the next year the SB2C had replaced the SBD Dauntless as the Navy’s first line dive bomber.

The “Big-Tailed Beast,” as its not-always-affectionate crewmen called it, eventually proved to be a formidable and highly versatile weapon. It delivered bombs and depth charges with pinpoint accuracy and could strafe with cannon, rocket and machine gun fire.

During World War II, U.S. Navy bombing squadrons flew Helldiver dive-bombers against Japan from November 1943 to the war’s end in September 1945. After a prolonged development, about 30 Navy squadrons operated Helldivers aboard 13 carriers. Changes in carrier tactics, technology, and weapons made dive-bombing—delivering a bomb at a steep angle to increase accuracy—obsolete as the war progressed. The Helldiver was the last dive-bomber operated by the Navy and the last significant combat aircraft produced by Curtiss-Wright.

After a prolonged development, about 30 Navy squadrons operated Helldivers aboard 13 carriers. Changes in carrier tactics, technology, and weapons made dive-bombing—delivering a bomb at a steep angle to increase accuracy—obsolete as the war progressed.

The Navy placed a May 1939 order with Curtiss for a new scout bomber, designated the SB2C (Scout Bomber, Design Number 2, Manufacturer Curtiss), to replace the Vought SB2U Vindicator, the Douglas SBD Dauntless, and the Curtiss SBC. Blaylock and his team designed a two-seat, single-engine monoplane with an internal bay capable of carrying 1,000 pounds of bombs and folding wings to facilitate storage aboard an aircraft carrier. Curtiss constructed a new factory for the Helldiver at Columbus, Ohio. Women and African-Americans trained for the war effort made up a considerable portion of the factory’s workforce. The first Helldiver prototype appeared in December 1940. Numerous design problems, accidents, and the required corrections pushed delivery of the first production Helldiver back to June 1942 with initial fleet delivery to Scouting Squadron (VS) 9 the following December.

The near-disastrous carrier trials in early 1943 were a continuation of the Helldiver’s problems. Landing gear failures and a characteristic bounce that prevented the tail hook from engaging with the cross-deck cable resulted in Helldivers being caught in flight deck barriers. Some SB2Cs experienced structural failures that included the loss of wings in steep dives or tails breaking off mid-air or at landing. Veteran bombing squadron crews and carrier air group officers also had a strong attachment to the easier-to-fly and highly successful Douglas SBD Dauntless. As a result, crews came up with new names for the Helldiver. They nicknamed it the “Beast” due to its size and handling qualities. Irreverent naval aviators and air crewman also called it an “S.O.B. 2nd Class,” which was a profane play on the official Navy designation “SB2C” and the Navy’s enlisted personnel ratings. The Helldiver was faster and carried more ordnance than the Dauntless and intensive training alleviated the handling problems over time.

Bombing Squadron (VB) 17 assigned to Bunker Hill flew the first operational Helldiver sorties on November 11, 1943, when they attacked the Japanese fortress at Rabaul. As the American naval offensives across the Pacific intensified, including the Marianas campaign, the battles of Leyte Gulf and Okinawa, and the attacks against Japan itself, Helldivers became an integral part of the carrier air group. The scout and dive bomber role, however, waned over the course of the war when the carrier air groups utilized faster and more capable Grumman F6F Hellcat and Vought F4U Corsair fighters in the fighter-bomber role and air-to-ground rockets offered increased accuracy. Moreover, the Grumman TBF Avenger was as capable as a level bomber as it was a torpedo bomber. Nevertheless, bombing squadrons aboard Essex, Shangri-La, Wasp, Ticonderoga, Yorktown, and Lexington filled a niche as they flew some of the last combat missions of the war during the summer of 1945.

This Helldiver was completed in May 1945, but the war ended a few months later, and it never saw combat. From September through December 1945, Bombing Squadron (VB) 92 aboard the USS Lexington flew it in the western Pacific and occupied Japan.

About 7,200 Helldivers were built. The CAF Helldiver is the only SB2C still flying. She is a SB2C-5, the last production variant of this aircraft. She was utilized by the Navy from 5 July 1945 through 31 August 1948. She was assigned as a pool aircraft to various locations, primarily in California. Her final assignment was with the pool at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas in April 1948. She was removed from active service on 31 August 1948 and declared surplus on 14 October 1948. This SB2C was used by an aeronautical school for several years and was procured by a California museum in May 1963. A CAF member purchased the aircraft from the museum and donated her to the CAF on 20 December 1971. The original colors and markings on the aircraft were probably VA-1B NAS Alameda, California from February through September 1947.

She experienced engine failure in 1982 and suffered extensive damage while making an emergency landing. Many said “The Beast would never fly again”. However, the members of the West Texas Wing did not accept this proposition. After thousands of volunteer man hours and a project cost in excess of $200,000, “The Beast” did fly again in September 1988. The current colors and markings are those of the carrier U.S.S. Franklin CV-13. “The Beast” is Currently based at the West Houston Squadron in Houston Texas.

he navies of France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Thailand operated surplus SB2Cs well into the 1950s.

The design of the SB2C evolved over time. The SB2C-1C featured a 1,500 horsepower Wright Twin Cyclone R-2600-8, three-blade Curtiss Electric propeller, and a 20 mm cannon in each wing. SB2C-3s appeared with a new 1,900 horsepower R-2600-20, four-blade Curtiss Electric propeller, perforated dive brakes to decrease buffeting, four rocket rails under each wing, and the capability to operate an APS-4 airborne radar system.