Curtiss-Wright SB2C Helldiver Navy Bomber

[@victorwaddell6530]

My stepfather's dad flew one of these planes from carriers in WW2 . One Christmas he gave me a plastic model kit of this plane . The next Christmas he gave me a plastic model kit of the USS North Carolina . RIP Benny Scott .

[@tetraxis3011]

Gigachad step grandpa.

[@flargmuffin92]

I had a neighbor whose grandfather flew Helldivers off of the original USS Enterprise. Likened it to flying a tank. He was a cool guy, truly one of the last members of the greatest generation. He passed away a couple years back.

[@SupertzarMetal]

Was he close with Spock and Capt. Kirk?

[@frederickwise5238]

Thanks for the post. My dad made parts for the "S O B 2nd class" (WWII Navy parlance). They refused him for service due to a foot injury so he worked at a defense plant instead. If I had known when #32 was in Pa I wuda been there with 5G's in my hand to fly. 2nd chair; 10G's if they would've let me fire the aft guns. LOL A hand salute to that pilot. When I was on Guam they found a torpedo that had been ditched by a crippled SB2 so he cold clear the 'mtn' at Barrigada sometime during the "Turkey Shoot" of Jun 44.

[@lyianx]

Tank.. as in slow, not maneuverable, lumbering hunk of metal?

[@adub1300]

My grandpa trained on these in 1945, just missed the war. I recently completed a model kit build of the SB2C in his honor.

[@brianchisnell1548]

Still can't believe young kids were flying these birds. My next door neighbor was Gen. Curtiss LaMay's crew chief. RIP Archie Gordon. So proud to be a pall bearer for him. Military honors too.

[@RussianFox]

There's nothing quite like the sound of an American air cooled radial engine.

[@ChristianRB89]

+RussianFox -Or Russian, British, Japanese or German.

[@AngryHatter]

I dunno. A Spitfire sounds pretty nice to me.

[@inspector_7161]

Nothing sounds as good to me as the Rolls Royce Merlin!

[@Bulldog1653]

I think it's great that there are a lot of WW2 planes still flying today. Having said that, it's pretty sad that there aren't more of these wonderful planes flying. As a pilot, I would love a chance to fly any of these planes.

[@jaguilar300]

My Grandfather flew the Curtiss SB2C off the USS John Hancock CV-19 (1944-45, US Navy Lt. j.g). Thanks for keeping this beauty alive and his memory. 1920-1999

[@glendale6]

My dad flew this plane off the Yorktown cv-10

[@scootergeorge9576]

No disrespect to your grandfather but the Helldiver was a POS. Most pilots preferred the SBD. My mother helped build the Grumman Avenger which, while not a dive bomber, was a much better aircraft.

[@thomaskoqiiinini5594]

My dad was the tail gunner on the SB2C Hell Diver. He always called it the "son of a bitch 2nd class". Also he said that before an "abandon ship" drills small boats would circle the aircraft carrier he was on and drop shark replant. He said he always was worried about the sharks inside that circle. lol. We miss you dad.

[@frederickwise5238]

Thanks for your dad's service. Yes I understand "son of a bitch 2nd class" LOL Also called the "BEAST". My dad was a sheetmetal mechanic at Curtiss in Columbus Oh. He made a lot of parts for the Helldivers (I could never learn what tho). If this one ever comes to my area Im willing to pay 5G's for a flight. 10 if they'll let me fire the twin 30's. LOL Dad tried to enlist but was turned down for bad feet. So he stood on his feet 10 and 12 hours a day 6 and sometimes 7 days a week to meet production requirements. Then he did the same at NAA making F86's and F100's for Korea later A3J's/A5C's during Nam. Died of a heart attack at work.

[@olentangy74]

I have read that the aircrews did not like the Helldiver nearly as much as the SBD it replaced as far as flying characteristics and speed. Regards to your Dad.

[@lyianx]

@@olentangy74 Ive heard this.. ive also heard that some carriers returned the helldiver and got their SBD's back. That the helldivers were THAT bad.

[@Mr.snamor]

My Pop was also tail gunner/radioman on the SB2C off the carrier Essex. He fought over Okinawa, was knocked out of the sky and he and the pilot were picked up later by a PBY. Being in their raft while waiting for rescue made them members of what was called the sea squatters club. After the war Pop went on to work at Hamilton Standard in Windsor locks CT until he retired in 1980. That's where they turned out the props that went on those aircraft. He was awarded the Navy Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He never talked about the war. My aunt filled me in.

[@SR-fb7yp]

My Godfather/Uncle, Ray was the gunner on one of these. He left high school on his 17th BD and joined the Navy. At age 17 he was flying missions in the south pacific against japanese forces. He was on the USS Franklin on that fateful day when hit by a japanese lone bomber. He spent nearly ten hrs in shark infested water until rescued. He never liked salt water after that. went on to be a highly decorated NYPD officer.

[@pat36a]

Pop, E.E. Taylor AMR2c was a radio/gunner in the SB2c. Finaly assigned to CAG 75 of the FDR. Missed the war but flew in 3 parade flights. On the shake down cruise of the FDR ,the Catapult broke and his plane #7 flew off the deck and into the sea. Earning him his broke duck. It was a Canadian version , SB2c-5W. They were ferrying new planes to Guantanamo Bay Cuba .

[@mbabist01]

My dad built for me the old Monagram model of the Helldiver, it's been my favorite aircraft since.

[@eaglescout9901]

Thank you very much. After some research, I found that my second cousin Lt. Elmer Namoski was shot down by Japanese forces the day after Leyte Gulf He flew a Curtiss SB2C-1C Helldiver off the CV11 USS Intrepid. , both he and his tail gunner perished. They along with many Americans are burred far from home, but with their buddies. Manila, Philippians

[@spreadeagled5654]

When I was on board the carrier, USS Hornet museum ship at Alameda, California, I have spoken to a gentleman who flew this bird off the carrier USS Ticonderoga during WWII. Amazing guy. 🇺🇸🎖

[@craigpennington1251]

Interviewer, please let the man finish. Love this plane. It's not real fast,nor a super fighter but has tremendous class. Thanks for a fab video.

[@ricky4001cs]

Just thinking the same thing. The dude in the red shirt wouldn't stay quiet after asking a question, Rude.

[@anthonyglennmollicasr.425]

Very nice camera work, beautiful air plane.

[@marcd__-101]

Thanks, good video and questions. My grandpa was in charge of building the wings for these at a Curtiss factory in Ohio during ww2.

[@ABPhotography1]

I saw the Canadian Lancaster flying home while working at the radio mast site at Faire Mhor near Pitlochry last year :)

[@bearbon2]

Is that a Bristol Blenheim in the background?! Flyable?

[@cadygorham-waters5874]

my grandfather was a NAVY dive bomber. He flew an SB2C:) SO beautiful!!

[@jordankashuba3467]

I scuba dived 7 Japanese warships and freighters sunk by Helldivers in Coron Philippines.I stayed at a hotel where the bar was called "Hell Divers" as a double auntandra for the planes that bombed the ships and the scuba divers who dive them now. Great place. The bar was full of pictures an old propeller,expended or diffused ordenence and the like

[@daveb.4268]

This one won't be the only example flying for long. West-Pac is building another here in Colorado Springs. It looks about 85% done.

[@sigma804]

i wish people could understand how fucking huge that plane is compared to a car, let alone a fighter from that same era, this thing was a fucking destroyer nightmare and a beast.

[@chardtomp]

Pilots called it the big tailed beast and it had a lot of teething problems but it was the best thing available and it got the job done.

[@lyianx]

It wasnt.. The Dauntless was better and even the Avenger out performed it. Hell, even the Hellcat became more effective when they started putting rockets on it. The helldiver was a terrible plane and almost ruined Curtiss.

[@65gtotrips]

Man they were just HUGE !

[@richardjoganah1871]

I love the Curtis's Helldiver plane a lot and also own the hobbymaster diecast helldiver also and also want to build a model kit of one and its my favorite us navy world war 2 dive bomber 😀

[@machia0705]

FLY NAVY !

[@robertmantell1700]

Lovely plane. Now, my question - WTF is that yellow thingy behind the Helldiver? Kinda a cross between a B-25 and a lawn mower? lol......

[@markfryer9880]

The yellow with black bands, single engined aircraft is I believe a Lysander originally designed as an Army Communications aircraft that happened to find its niche dropping off and picking up agents, resistance members, and downed Allied aircrew from the Occupied Countries during WWII in Europe. The other aircraft, the twin engined one is a Bristol Blenheim Mark IV with the extended nose for the navigator's position. When it was first produced as a private venture in the '30's, the Blenheim was amongst the fastest British aircraft, however as time wore on and war approached, it's performance was becoming mediocre.

[@ertwander]

@Robert Mantell: You mean the Bristol Blenheim?

[@DLBBALL]

So...Now there are 2 attractions there that are rare:The lancaster and the SB2C,at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.I have been there,but I don't think I saw this.Where did it go?

[@TheSlugstoppa]

Excellent vid and thanks for posting but amazed to hear so few left, and only one flying from all those thousands built. Not a popular aircraft though I understand.

[@patrickrobinson-mh5jw]

Very nice to see this also a lot of old British aircraft in the background

[@leeroyholloway4277]

That gunner position looks like a thankless job.

[@aaaht3810]

Why was the pitot tube on the SB2C designed with a crook and not straight?

[@colinmartin2921]

What a beast.

[@billbright1755]

Big tailed beast. Bravo!

[@jroberthadden]

I hope to be riding in this Beast soon!

[@nonyabiz9487]

That plane is huge! I didnt think it was so damn big! It looks bigger than the Dauntless

[@danzervos7606]

Dauntless has the Wright R1820 single row engine with 1200 HP. The Helldiver has the Wright R2600 double row engine with 1900 HP. The Helldiver had a bomb bay, the Dauntless carried its bombs externally. The Helldiver was 40 to 50 mph faster. Reportedly Admiral King wanted all Helldiver production to go to the US Navy and not give any to the British Navy. I think that was behind the claim that the Helldiver was a problem aircraft - to save face from turning down British requests for the aircraft.

[@nonyabiz9487]

@@danzervos7606 Its cool but i like the Skyraider better

[@benters3509]

That looks like a Bristol Blenheim/Bolingbroke in the background.

[@markfryer9880]

Yes looks to me like a Blenheim Mark IV.

[@robertfoster4592]

Tom Bender, my dad helped build at Columbus, Ohio, and my mom typed the union paper, the Helldiver.

[@scootergeorge9576]

My mom helped build the Avenger.

[@theadventuresofjavier8698]

Anyone watching July 2020? Hope y’all are safe and healthy

[@stevenbeebe2517]

My father made the mistake of volunteering in the Navy and ended up in the backseat of an sb2c Helldiver in a pawer dive from 20,000ft. The pilot said, Harvey if you're there, answer up. He left his guts at the top of the dive.

[@kenowens9021]

The pilot let me sit in the rear seat because my dad was in that seat during World War Two. The pilot said that you have to work to fly this plane, it's not easy to handle.

[@ldrrandompro4206]

Is it still equipped with bombs and machine guns?

[@unclebob6728]

Thanks, Dawg!

[@pascalchauvet4230]

I suppose it wasn't a bad airplane as such but it lacked power and speed to give it a better surviveabiity in the Pacific theatre

[@slaverock68]

Hamilton, Ont? I'll have to put that on my calendar.

[@scootergeorge9576]

They used to build Studebakers there.

[@pauloalves6664]

One can imagine the French Aeronavale planes getting ready to support the doomed garrison of Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

[@coachhillscta]

Super awesome! The Navy pilot familiarization training film instructs to dive and land with both hoods open. Does anyone know why? I noticed this gentleman had them closed upon landing...not criticizing, just like to know what the Navy reason was..

[@justincase1575]

Naval aviators opened the canopy so if they had a ditching they could get out of the aircraft easily.

[@sharkyj1796]

War Thunder says this plane is a turnfighter, therefore it is a turn fighter! Lol jk

[@panzermacher]

if the "SBD" was "Slow But Deadly" Does this make the SB2C "Slow But Too Cool"?

[@mkl21bis]

Son of a bitch 2nd class

[@neunc97]

i saw that plane today!

[@mikejett7126]

Was this filmed at Galveston Airport?

[@finddeniro]

Thanks ; My Father Built Em In The 1940's... Last One !

[@scootergeorge9576]

This aircraft really needed the Pratt and Whitney R-2800 rather than the Curtiss Wright R-2600.

[@scootergeorge9576]

Correct but CW wanted all the money. They probably would say R-3350. Actually it probably could have used the 3350. The A-1 did well with it. But the SB2C had aerodynamic issues as well as lack of power.

[@andrewtaylor940]

I’m both saddened and shocked to learn how few of these planes have survived. All of the other US Navy WW2 planes seem to still be around in somewhat greater numbers. At least as museum pieces. Ok not so many Devastators or Brewster Buffalos. But they only had a few hundred made. Not 7000. Granted the plane had a bit of a rep as an “Ensign Eliminator”

[@DK-gy7ll]

Unfortunately there are NO Devastators still in existence, unless you count the wrecks at the bottom of the ocean. The USS Midway museum did get a true-scale replica of a Devastator that was used in the 2019 movie Midway, but so far that's the closest any of us can come to seeing one for real.

[@andrewtaylor940]

@@DK-gy7ll That's not surprising considering that between Coral sea and Midway alone over 40% of the entire production run of Devestator's were wiped out. 41 out of 130 planes built shot down at Midway. I'm pretty sure the last few operational specimens would have been found aboard the USS Ranger in the Atlantic at the end of '42. All of the others having been shot down, lost in training accidents, or sank with their carriers.

[@2ND-ID-REENACTOR1944]

Brother?

[@theunknownshadow6926]

Many of these planes flew and landed on the one ship that left its mark on japan forever the uss enterprise

[@tune7333]

so many Avengers so few HDivers..any ideas?

[@yes_head]

For one thing, fewer Helldivers were built than Avengers (just over 7000 vs nearly 10,000.) It didn't earn a very good reputation (underpowered, poor handling, among other factors) and the only reason the US Navy initially accepted it was because they were desperate for planes and thought it was be a good replacement for the Dauntless (which was actually superior in some regards.) Curtiss tried selling it everywhere they could and it did serve with some foreign services (Greece, Australia, Thailand and France, among others.) But dive bombing as a tactic was being phased out by the end of WWII, so purpose built dive bombers were living on borrowed time. It kept flying as a trainer, target tug, etc. until the mid 50s but that was it. Conversely, the Avenger served in more roles with more countries, and kept flying in some places into the 1960s.

[@JoseLopez-vt8kd]

Un aparato que dió siempre muchos problemas, por lo que fue poco apreciado por sus tripulantes.

[@t328]

very nice plane!!!!!!!

[@pinkcrayontrain]

i think the helldiver got part of its tail shot off

[@Yosemite-George-61]

...sounds like a cylinder has a sticking exhaust valve...

[@juliusdream2683]

May not be the prettiest but was the deadliest and sank more Japanese ships than any other bomber or torpedo planes.

[@straitjacket8319]

MARINES preferred the SBD DAUNTLESS

[@greatzoglo]

Cool bird, we have one right here in Athens ,Greece in the war museum, looks very mean from up close! This bird helped us defeat the communist insurgents in the last decisive battle of Grammos-vitsi.It inflicted horror upon them!

[@craigpennington1251]

Mostly-Russian Fox-was a Merlin. Very little on the SB-2C. Not even an in flight video (fly by ect. was done. Shabby work guys, shabby.

[@veinbanger9381]

Big Tailed Beast!

[@thetreblerebel]

Sad that there none flying out of 7000 made

[@Swampfox612]

The SB2C would have done more for the war effort if it had been turned into scrap metal and used to build more Dauntlesses.

[@tetraxis3011]

The SB2C was instrumental in the sinking of the Yamato and Musashi battleships.

[@patrickradcliffe3837]

When you wished for a Dauntless and get stuck with a Helldiver

[@hoodoo2001]

Shame Curtiss could not get the rear turrets to work.

[@voyager2l]

Hey guys don't perpetuate a bunch of claptrap. 1. It did not have a "rear turret". The gunner cranked the turtle deck above the guns into a stowed position which allowed the guns to elevate and traverse. 2. The SB2C, while not a perfect airplane, sank more naval tonnage in WW2 than any other aircraft(!). That's a pretty incredible figure for a so-called "Beast". Now it was bigger than the SBD Dauntless, so deck handling was difficult. SB2Cs sank the Yamato and Musashi- don't sell it short.

[@hoodoo2001]

FYI the SB2c was originally required to have an enclosed power turret similar to but not the same as the TBF. There are photos of the mock up but it was abandoned in the chaos of the SB2C's development. . So I stand by rear turret (not plural though).

[@voyager2l]

Yeah, that's great. It didn't operate in combat with one, so stand by your assertion.

[@hoodoo2001]

My assertion was that it is a shame they couldn't get them to work. The Sb2c would have been more effective with a .50 single gun turret. The Avenger sure was.

[@justforever96]

Musashi was sunk by 17 bombs and 19 torpedoes. Yamato 11 torpedoes and 6 bombs. Just saying, the Avengers really sank them. The bombers just helped.

[@SchützenGewehr]

The SB2C helldiver battled the legendary battleship yamato and the helldivers won

[@arnulfotapicjr8301]

With hellcats,avenger and corsairs

[@TechnikMeister2]

It was feared and hated by its crew. They lost more to accidents than enemy fire. It was a bitch to land as it had a high stall speed and way too heavy for its bomb load. It was almost impossible to trim so it had to be actively flown...exhausting. The Stuka was the best in ww2 and it was a 30s design. Basically once you put its nose down it flew itself and had an automatic dive recovery, so if the pilot blacked out it pulled out of the dive all by itself.

[@daveb.4268]

Wow, thanks! Didn't know that about the Stuka.

[@kabbey30]

Nice interruptions, interviewer

[@michaelnaisbitt1639]

Battleship killer of the pacific

[@yes_head]

The Helldiver was really the last successful production warplane from Curtiss, and to call it "successful" is debatable. Curtiss seemed to lack the engineering talent that could compete with the likes of Grumman and McDonnell for Navy contracts, and it wasn't long after this that they got out of the aircraft business for good. The Helldiver's success in WWII is partly attributed to the fact that they could absorb punishment, but mainly that there wasn't much in terms of Japanese air defense after 1943.

[@JAILRail]

I saw this plane fly over Ohio on National Aviation Day. It was unexpected.

[@paladin56]

A very rare bird. A bit of a pig by all accounts but good to see there's one flying. It deserves its place in the aviations pantheon for the sake of the crews who flew it at least.

[@Stiglr]

The SB2C Helldiver's "nickname" was Son of a Bitch, Second Class in the Navy!!! :D It is an ugly sucker, for sure.... but very effective, once they sorted out its teething troubles.

[@701CPD]

Many of it's pilots called it "SB2C -Son of a Bitch Second Class."

[@patrickradcliffe3837]

Yeah that's why they called it the "Ensign eliminator" easier to fly then a SNJ/Harvard yeah sure. I'll take Dauntless instead.

[@scootergeorge9576]

Ensign Eliminator was the F7U-3 Cutlass.

[@patrickradcliffe3837]

@@scootergeorge9576 was it the gutless I thought the helldiver had it first.

[@scootergeorge9576]

@@patrickradcliffe3837 Gutless too. A marine pilot called the F7U-3 "A thirsty dog with miserable range and performance." And most pilots preferred the SBD to the Helldiver. At least one squadron refused the CW aircraft insisting they keep their Douglas birds till the SB2C was forced upon them!

[@BrettLloyd-z5x]

Helldivers and avengers helped sink the Japanese battleship yamato

[@elijahrivera4794]

One of the killers of the battleship, Yamato

[@jacobgreve802]

Son of a Bitch 2nd Class

[@devonopdendries7722]

I was literally reading about the SB2C's nick-name about 20 mins ago in my book, Air War and was wondering if anyone else knew about it, haha.

[@therealmrfishpaste]

Pilot sounds like he's from South Africa...

[@Mark-uh7cr]

Hopefully the camera operator has since learned how to operate a camera when filming aircraft.

[@АлександрКулагин-э1ф]

Сделать из него биплан и получится АН-2)

[@pascalchauvet4230]

Son of a bitch second class...that one is good

[@dukenukem8381]

Son of a bitch second class

[@scottg3110]

Interesting. Never seen one fly before. Great sounding engine....super wide gear stance.Gotta say though....rather ugly aircraft. Especially the latter half.

[@scottparis6355]

Length was limited by the size of the elevators on carriers. The aircraft looks (and was) to short to be naturally stable.

[@rexfrommn3316]

This warplane was too damned heavy with too many Navy revisions during its developmental phase. The Navy requested something like 8,000 changes during the developmental phase. Curtiss orginally had a prototype built in 1942 with testing in 1943 but the Navy made too many changes to the Helldiver. This whole aircraft program should have been CANCELLED. The Dauntless divebomber could have had the rear gunner taken out for more fuel and bombs. Little danger would have resulted because the Navy had plenty of Hellcat fighters. As long as these modified Dauntless divebombers had Hellcat escorts, the Navy could have finished WW2 with the improved Dauntless and scrapped the Curtiss Helldiver.The Helldiver was called "Son of a Bitch 2nd Class" and the "Beast" because it was too damned heavy. The Curtiss Helldiver was an American failure.

[@chopper2496]

My father was a WW2 real hero, something completely lost today. He tuned down his Class valectorian, , and twice the Purple Heart, on HIS terms. Ivy leave smart, yet too young, down 3 times, seen a ton of action, all after Midway, all great battles. He lost 2 of his pilots, why Navy frowned on fratilization between pilots & enlisted men. You guys here on site w/ family on job, understand. Also a brilliant FDNY Officer, in Heaven now. If ever made a ton of money, I'd do anything to get soemone to remodel a perfect Helldiver, for me & my family to experience. Imagine a 70 degree or more dive!! A 19 year old kid. Amazing, why they truly were the BEST of the BEST.

[@awizor]

Son of a Bitch 2nd Class