SBC Helldiver

Infobox Aircraft
name= SBC Helldiver


caption=
type= Dive bomber
manufacturer= Curtiss-Wright
designer=
first flight= 9 December 1935
introduced= 1938
retired= 1943
status=
primary user= United States Navy
more users= United States Marine Corps Royal Air Force French Navy
produced=
number built= 257
program cost=
unit cost=
developed from=
variants with their own articles=

The Curtiss SBC Helldiver was a two-place scout bomber built by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. It was the last military biplane procured by the United States Navy.

Design and development

In 1932, the United States Navy gave Curtiss a contract to design a parasol two seat monoplane with retractable undercarriage and powered by a Wright R-1510 Whirlwind, intended to be used as a carrier based fighter. The resulting aircraft, designated the XF12C-1, flew in 1933. Its chosen role was changed first to a scout, and then to a scout-bomber (being redesignated XS4C-1 and XSBC-1 respectively), but the XSBC-1's parasol wing was unsuitable for dive bombing. A revised design was produced for a biplane , with the prototype, designated the XSBC-2, first flying on 9 December 1935. Swanborough and Bowers p.146]

The SBC-3 the initial production model was powered by a radial Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp Junior R-1535 engine. The SBC-3 began operational service in 1938. Eighty-three SBC-3s were built.

The SBC-4 was powered by a radial Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 engine. The SBC-4 entered service in 1939.

Operational history

The Navy took deliveries of the new aircraft in mid-1937 with the first batch of carrier based aircraft going to the USS "Yorktown", but time and technology caught up to the advanced biplane. It was relegated to hack duties and service as an advanced trainer for training units in Florida. The last aircraft was stricken from the Navy roster in October 1944.

Foreign interest for the concept of a dive bomber led to orders abroad. One hundred seventy-four SBC-4s were built including 50 SBC-4s that were delivered to the French Navy. Five of the French order were delivered to the British Royal Air Force who named them the Curtiss Cleveland Mk.I. The Junkers Ju 87 design was influenced by aircraft such as the SBC Helldiver.

The SBC Helldiver was not destined to have a long US service life, but its impact was felt as the type made a lasting contribution by serving as the key platform in developing dive bombing tactics and honing aircrew skills crucial to winning the war in the Pacific.

French SBC-4s

The 50 SBC-4s delivered to France were actually planes already in service with the United States Navy. On 6 June 1940, Naval reservists received orders to immediately fly 50 SBC-4s to the Curtiss factory at Buffalo, New York. At Buffalo, a Bureau of Aeronautics inspector informed the pilots their aircraft were to be flown to Halifax, Nova Scotia to be loaded aboard the French aircraft carrier "Béarn". From Buffalo to Halifax, the reserve pilots were officially employees of Curtiss. Curtiss paid each pilot $250 plus return rail fare from Halifax to Buffalo. All navy insignia were removed from their uniforms or taped over. Upon return to Buffalo, the pilots went back on Navy orders for return to their home bases.Larned, W.E., RADM USNR "Comment and Discussion" "United States Naval Institute Proceedings" October 1976 pp.97-98]

Curtiss employees worked overtime to remove and replace all gear and instruments marked BUAERO, BUSHIPS or BUORD. The Navy .30 caliber (7.62 mm) machine guns were replaced by .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns and the planes were repainted in camouflage colors with the French tricolor on the rudders. The hasty conversion did not allow time for adequate checkout of replacement instruments. Weather deteriorated with rain and fog over most of the route from Buffalo to Halifax. The Bureau of Aeronautics inspector temporarily halted flights after one of the first pilots was killed in a crash between Buffalo and Albany.

When the weather improved, sections of three aircraft were dispatched from Buffalo to Burlington, Vermont, then over the White Mountains (New Hampshire) to Augusta, Maine, and then to Houlton, Maine. After landing at Houlton, the planes were towed down a road across the Canadian border for takeoff from a New Brunswick farm pasture to avoid legal implications of flying over the border. The surviving 49 aircraft flew over the Bay of Fundy and were loaded aboard "Béarn" at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. France surrendered while "Béarn" was crossing the Atlantic; so "Béarn" turned south to Martinique where the SBC-4s corroded in the humid Caribbean climate while waiting on a hillside near Fort-de-France.

Operators

* French Navy
* Royal Air Force
* United States Marine Corps
* United States Navy

pecifications (SBC-4)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

crew=2: pilot and gunner
length main=28 ft 4 in
length alt=8.64 m
span main=34 ft 0 in
span alt=10.36 m
height main=12 ft 7 in
height alt=3.84 m
area main=317 ft²
area alt=29.5 m²
empty weight main=4,841 lb
empty weight alt=2,196 kg
loaded weight main=7,080 lb
loaded weight alt=3,211 kg
max takeoff weight main=7,632 lb
max takeoff weight alt=3,462 kg
engine (prop)=Wright R-1820-34 "Cyclone"
type of prop=radial engine
number of props=1
power main=950 hp
power alt=709 kW
max speed main=237 mph
max speed alt=206 knots, 381 km/h
range main=590 mi
range alt=510 nm, 950 km
ceiling main=27,300 ft
ceiling alt=8,320 m
climb rate main=1,630 ft/min
climb rate alt=8.28 m/s
loading main=
loading alt=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
guns=

** 1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) forward-firing M1919 Browning machine gun machine gun
** 1 0.30 in (7.62 mm) flexible rearward-firing machine gun
bombs=1× bomb of up to 1,000 lb (450 kg)

ee also

aircontent
related=
* SB2C Helldiver

similar aircraft=
* Henschel Hs 123

lists=
* List of military aircraft of the United States (naval)
* List of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm

see also=

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bowers, Peter M. " Curtiss Aircraft, 1907-1947". London, UK: Putnam & Company, 1979. ISBN 0-370-10029-8.
* Doll, Thomas E. "SBC Helldiver in Action, Aircraft Number 151". Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1995. ISBN 0-89747-331-0.
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "Uncle Sam's Last Combat Biplane". "AirEnthusiast Five", November 1977-February 1978. Bromley, Kent, UK: Pilot Press Ltd., 1977.
* Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M. "United States Navy Aircraft since 1911". London:Putnam, 1976. ISBN 0 370 10054 9.

External links

* [http://www.daveswarbirds.com/usplanes/aircraft/sbc.htm SBC Helldiver Info]
* [http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/curtiss_sbc.php Virtual Aircraft Museum]