Curtiss SB2C Helldiver - The Worst and Final Navy Dive Bomber

When the United States Navy ordered the first prototype of the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, the plans for the new dive bomber represented a giant leap in technology.

Developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II, the third member of a dive-bomber family eventually had so many problems during development that it was even investigated by the Truman Committee and nearly ruined Curtiss as a company.

The SB2C quickly earned a questionable reputation for being a dangerous aircraft and became the last dive bomber in the Navy's inventory, but also its most heavily produced.

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[steveb]

My father was a Hellcat pilot. He said the pilots hated the Helldiver. It was unstable and at the end of a long mission the pilots were so tired they had to be helped out of the cockpit.
SBD= Slow But Deadly.

[WalkaCrookedLine]

The SB2C helldiver was originally intended to have double the bombload and at least 50% greater range than the SBD dauntless. If it had been used from land bases that may actually have worked. But in carrier operations it was unsafe with a full load, carrier decks weren't long enough for it to reach an adequate airspeed when taking off. So the bombload and fuel load were cut back to improve acceleration, and in carrier operations the plane wound up not significantly exceeding the dauntless's performance. It was bigger than the dauntless and so fewer could be carried in a carrier's limited space. It was more taxing to fly, and generally achieved fewer hits per sortie, which pilots blamed on unstable handling in the attack dive. It should have been cancelled, not built in large numbers. Some carrier captains flat refused to have them on board, carrying an extra hellcat squadron instead, trained and equipped for dive bombing. Ultimately the helldivers were replaced with AD skyraiders, which were highly successful in Korea and Vietnam, but developed too late for WW2.

[jamesbugbee]

The Beast fascinated me as a kid because of the near-squirrely rear canopy/gun arrangement; it looked cool and inefficient both. SBD, on the other hand, was a bird any kid could understand.

[lyianx]

"Eh, ill keep my dauntless, thanks." - Dive bomber pilots.. probably.

[powellmountainmike]

The name "Hell Divers" goes way back in the U. S. Navy. It was Navy slang for dive bombers from early on. It featured as the title of the 1932 movie starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable about U. S. Navy dive bombers. I heard the nickname given the SB2C in WW2 (Son of a Bitch, 2nd Class) from veterans of that conflict long before I watched this video. Good video.

[scottmurphy]

My ex-wife had a second cousin named Bob Allen (now deceased) who flew the SB2C during WWII. He told us that's its nickname "the beast" was well deserved. It was difficult to fly, with rather heavy stick forces and not nearly as maneuverable as the "Sweetheart of the Pacific" SBD-5 Dauntless that it replaced. He flew Dauntlesses before being transitioned to the Helldiver and said the general impression of the airplane in the fleet was not particularly favorable.

[chezmcdave]

Dauntless are probably some of the best dive bombers in history they deserve soo much love for their actions during the battle of midway

[AdmRose]

The SB2C; a classic example of trying to fix something that isn’t broken.

[-CLUMSYDIYer-]

Second Lieutenant William Henry Brown, a Canadian from British Columbia serving with the RFC and flying a Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a, made the first attack on a vessel on 14 March 1918, destroying an ammunition barge on a canal at Bernot near St Quentin, diving to 500 ft (150 m) to release his bombs.

[brianartillery]

That's an unusual clip at the ten seconds mark - it's a Vought Kingfisher, with the fixed undercart, as used by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, amongst others. The Kingfisher is normally a floatplane, with a large central pontoon, and a small float on each wing. I like to think of the slow and stately Kingfisher, as the American equivalent of the much-loved Supermarine Walrus (aka. 'Shagbat') amphibian.

Helldivers were tested by the RAF and Fleet Air Arm, and were found to be sadly wanting, and orders for them were cancelled. Several earlier biplane versions were retained by the RAF, and redesignated 'Cleveland'. They were used as utility aircraft, and ground crew trainers.

[johnshepherd]

The F4U-4 hit the fleet in early 1945. It had a greater payload than either the Avenger or Helldiver rendering both aircraft redundant in the bombing role.

[Emdee]

I once built a 1:72 scale model kit of the Helldiver. It looked great, particularly in the dark blue / medium blue / white colors. At the time I was unaware of the problems the aircraft had. But I've read the book of the TV series ''The Pacific'' which unlike the TV series also covers experiences of naval pilots. Among which Curtiss SB2C pilots.

[jamesroets]

I went to an airshow in Frederick, Maryland in the mid '90's and there was a flyable SB2C. It was great to see it fly. It's still on the circuit today.

[Quick_Bisquick]

Helldivers are also huge. Like excessively so much like a skyraider. You can almost fit two dauntlesses in the area of a helldiver

[glendanison]

Curtiss not only produced substandard aircraft but also engaged in corrupt activities by conspiring with some Army officers to let defective engines pass inspection. These officers were later court martialed. Arthur Miller even based his play All My Sons on this.

[Bearkiller]

4:33 "...self fueling tanks..." 😂
Can I get one for my car? 😇😉✌️

[CZtuner]

I read in a book that the SB2C was picked, despite failing all the US Navy's requirements, because the only other competitor, the Brewster SB2B, was even worst.

[GoSlash]

8:30, wait... Did you just talk about 'Holy Moses' rockets replacing dive bombers at the end of WWII while showing a sidewinder being loaded on an F4D Skyray during the Korean War?

[thomasborgsmidt]

The point about the dive bomber in WW2 seems to me to be: It was the only way there really was to butcher the largest battleships. The terrible torpedoes made torpedo bombing a very difficult proposition.

That divebombers were the main weapon against hostile fleets - and were seen as such: Just count the sheer number AA-guns the Musashi and Yamato carried in the end. The real result of that much gunslinging was that the improvement in performance of the SB2C over the Dauntless was marginal.

One thing was that Curtiss was not an excellent aircraft producer/designer; but the USA was not (at that time) in a position to be critical. The entire concept of dive bombing was flawed - in spite of its success. The flaw was that the safest way to deal with AA-guns for aircraft is: Not be within effective range.

[gregorylunsford]

My Dad was a Marine Gunner/Radioman in the Dauntless SBD on Solomon Islands Henderson Field mostly from Sept 1943 to dec 1944. His Unit was VMSB236. I remember him telling about the few times they had to fly the SB2C( Most Pilots and Gunners) hated the SB2C. It was Very Heavy - caused problems pulling out of a dive and the and the "Tail" would break off too easily depending on speed and angle. The SBD was a Solid Strong Aircraft. Very few gunners & pilots liked the SB2C. Out the Original 25 Pairs of "Pilots & Gunners" of VMSB236 that arrived in the Solomon only 5 pairs come back whole after 1 year - the other 20 pairs either 1 or both were killed ! My Dad and His Pilot were one of the 5 pairs to come home whole.