The SB2C made its inaugural flight on Decemand barely two months later, on February 9, 1941, the prototype crashed on final approach after the engine had quit. The approach speed for a carrier deck landing was 85 knots, but the ailerons response below 90 knots was poor, making the airplane hard to control at the most critical phase of its flight. More importantly, the plane demonstrated serious low-speed handling problems for carrier operations. The entire wing was redesigned and the wing area was increased by 10 percent, before the first flight was even attempted. Wind-tunnel tests had demonstrated that the plane's stalling speed would be unacceptably high. 2 The P-38 and P-47 Thunderbolt also experienced structural failures in dives from altitude.Ī massive production program was planned around the SB2C before the first prototype had even flown, but there were already signs of trouble. Allison engines failed often in P-38 Lightnings. The early performance of the Boeing B-17 in combat, delivered to the British, was very disappointing.

Curtiss shouldn’t be blamed entirely for all its shortcomings and the Helldiver wasn’t the only WW II airplane that had problems that took time to correct. There were 880 modifications to the Helldiver, due to design problems and US Navy requirements. 1 As a result of the plane’s initial faults, it was called the 'Beast' or a more derogatory name which was a reinterpretation of the designation SB2C and nicknamed the 'S.O.B 2nd Class.' However by the war's end, the SB2C would become a legend in its own right and would sink more tons of Japanese shipping than any other aircraft in World War II. The plane was expected to represent a quantum leap in dive-bomber technology, however due to delays in design and delivery, it created a controversy and became a target of the Truman Committee on war profiteering.

There were problems with the Wright R-2600 engine and Curtiss Electric propeller.ĭesign on the Helldiver began in 1938 and it was first ordered by the Navy on and designated the SB2C, Scout Bomber, Design Number 2.There were complaints of poor workmanship.Tails were braking off on carrier landings.ěounce characteristic prevented tail-hook engagement with the cross-deck cable.The aircraft experienced landing gear failures during carrier trials in early 1943.Ě second test plane failed structurally during a dive, killing the pilot.The SB2C suffered structural failures of loss of wings and tails in steep dives.The XSB2C-1 prototype crashed two months after its maiden flight, luckily the pilot survived.Compared to the Dauntless, the Helldiver had poor handling characteristics amongst a list of many complaints.Ī list of the aircraft’s shortcomings were as follows: While the Curtiss SB2C (Model 84) was the replacement for aging Curtiss SBC biplanes, the SB2U Vindicator and the Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber, it took a long gestation period to win over the air crews who had a strong attachment to the easier-to-fly and highly successful SBD Dauntless. After the successful introduction of the Junkers Ju-87 dive bombers, there was a rush for many air forces around the world to build their own dive bombers.

Dauntless dive bomber gear