Curtiss SBC

SBC Helldiver
Type:	Carrier-based dive bomber
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Curtiss-Wright
First flight:	December 9, 1935
Commissioning:	1938
Production time:	1943
Number of pieces:	257

The Curtiss SBC Helldiver was a two-seat carrier-based fighter of the United States Navy Forces, which was used in the roles of dive fighter and reconnaissance aircraft. This is the last type of biplane fighter aircraft that was put into service by the American armed forces.

Shortly before the Second World War, the aircraft was already completely out of date at the start of the war and was only flown with armed forces of the Axis Powers away from any fighting.

draft

The SBC was a two-seat all-metal aircraft that was intended for use as a "scout bomber" (a double role at sea in reconnaissance and the bombing). The wings had vertical struts. The two crew members, pilot and radio operator / gunner, were housed in a tandem cockpit under a sunroof, with a fold-down cover to enable the gunner to use the machine gun. The wings, rudder and elevator and the flaps were covered with fabric. The tail wheel landing gear was designed to be retractable, the main wheels were pulled into wheel recesses on the side of the fuselage, the tail wheel directly into the fuselage.

development

At the beginning of the 1930s there was controversy among those responsible for aircraft development in the United States Navy , namely the Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), about the future development directions with regard to two-seater combat aircraft, monoplane and retractable landing gear. 1931 Was the Navy the specification # 113. Out that the requirements for a high performance aircraft with a fixed suspension that of a radial engine of the type Wright R-1510 or a Pratt & Whitney R-1535 , described to be powered. Seven companies submitted designs, Douglas Aircraft with the XFD-1 and Chance Vought with the XF3U-1 received contracts to build a prototype each. Both machines were two-seater biplanes. The Navy then asked Curtiss for a design and prototype of a two-seat, technically more sophisticated monoplane.

On June 30, 1932 the BuAer signed a contract with Curtiss to design a two-seat Parasol high-decker with a retractable landing gear powered by a 625 hp Wright R-1510-92 , a fourteen -cylinder , two-row, air-cooled radial engine that acts on a two-bladed propeller. should be driven. The design name was XF12C-1.

XF12C-1 (Curtiss Model 73)

The XF12C-1

The originally built-in Wright R-1510-92 engine turned out to be unsuitable for the aircraft, so that the engine was initially rescheduled for the stronger relative Wright R-1670 with 775 hp, which subsequently also turned out to be insufficient. Both engines were prototypes that were not carried over to the production line. The Parasol wing of the machine, intended for the carrier use, had a mechanism for folding backwards, which was new for the Navy, so that hangar storage space could be better used. There was a fixed hook for porter landings.

XS4C-1 (Curtiss Model 73)

After attempts, the XF12C-1 was not accepted as a combat aircraft, but instead redrawn as the reconnaissance aircraft XS4C-1 on December 7, 1933. A 700 hp Wright R-1820-80 engine, a single-row, nine-cylinder, also air-cooled radial engine, was installed, which drove a two-bladed propeller. This aircraft-engine combination was flown for the first time in July 1933. In the reconnaissance role, however, a 500-pound bomb should be able to be used, for which the necessary equipment had to be developed.

XSBC-1 (Curtiss Model 73)

In January 1934 the designation "Scout Bomber" ( SB ) was introduced and the machine was designated XSBC-1. As a result, flight tests, in particular dive-fighting attacks, were carried out. On June 14, 1934, the prototype crashed during a test, the cause is assumed to be a structural failure of the Parasol wing. The machine was destroyed at the crash site in Lancaster, New York.

XSBC-2 (Curtiss Model 77)

After the accident, Curtiss-Wright suggested that the Navy build a replacement aircraft that would be an all-metal biplane with fabric-covered control surfaces. There were no folding wings. Buoyancy aids were provided on both slats and over the entire length of the lower wing. A two-row 700 HP radial engine Wright XR-1510-12 with fourteen air-cooled cylinders, which delivered the power to a three -bladed controllable pitch propeller from Curtiss Electric, acted as drive . Furthermore, the machine had an enlarged cockpit roof, also enlarged rudders and fins and a retractable catch hook. The XSBC-2 was competitively flown against the Great Lakes Aircraft Company's XB2G-1 and the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation's XSBF-1 . The XSBC-2 won, so a contract to build this machine was signed in April 1935; the first flight took place on December 9th of the same year.

XSBC-3 (Curtiss Model 77)

Another development stage was the XSBC-3 model. After the Wright XR-1510-12 built into the XSBC-2 had proven to be unreliable, the engine was changed in March 1936 to a 700 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1535-82 engine (also with a Stern unit 14 air-cooled cylinders in two rows), which justified the new name. The Navy ordered this version as a production version.

SBC-3 (Curtiss Model 77A)

An SBC-3 assigned to the commanding officer of VS-3 Squadron on USS Saratoga (CV-3) , circa 1939.

An important difference between the prototype XSBC-3 and the series design was again the engine. In August 1936 the Navy ordered 83 aircraft, deliveries of which began on July 17, 193. These machines were powered by an 825 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1535-94 behind a three-blade propeller. The armament consisted of two machine guns with a caliber of 0.30 inches (7.62 mm), one of which was permanently installed in the right side fuselage in front of the pilot, the other in a rotating and swiveling mount in the rear cockpit. A bomb lock for a 500 pound bomb or a 45 gallons comprehensive drop tank was located in the fuselage centerline.

XSBC-4 (Curtiss Model 77B)

The 76th SBC-3 was repowered with a 950 hp Wright R-1820-22 , an air-cooled radial engine with nine cylinders in a row, and designated the XSBC-4 . The armament was reinforced with the replacement of the rump machine gun with a half-inch weapon, and the more powerful engine also made it possible to carry a 1000-pound bomb on the bomb lock. Another machine was also modified in this way and used for test purposes.

SBC-4 (Curtiss Model 77B)

A supply contract for the first 58 of a total of 124 aircraft of the XSBC-4 standard was signed on January 5, 1938, from which the Navy received the first SBC-4 aircraft between March and April 1939.

commitment

US Navy

On July 17, 1937, the Scouting Squadron Five (VS-2) were assigned the first SBC-3, with the commissioning of the USS Yorktown (CV-5) , the squadron came on December 10, 1937 on this carrier. Until it was replaced with Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless machines in 1940, the VS-5 with its Helldivers remained on Yorktown .

As of June 1938, three of the five reconnaissance squadrons on board carriers were equipped with SBC-3 machines, the other two flew the Vought SBU-1 . The following three ships carried the Curtiss aircraft:

• USS Enterprise (CV-6) : the Fighting Squadron Six (VF-6) had an SBC-3 and the VS-6 had twenty Helldiver .
• USS Saratoga (CV-3) : Bombing Squadron Three (VB-3) had an SBC-3, VF-3 also had an SBC-3 and the VS-3 flew 21 Helldiver .
• USS Yorktown (CV-5) : VS-5 flew with ten SBC-3s.

After the introduction of the SBC-4, the VS-2 on board the USS Lexington (CV-2) received this machine as a replacement for the previously used Vought SBU-1 . The Lexington was the only carrier to use the SBC-4 until it was replaced by Douglas SBD-2 and -3 Dauntless in 1941.

Due to the expansion of the flight training program, the majority of the SBC-4 aircraft (and other training machines) were assigned to the Naval Reserve Air Bases (NRABs) in order to maintain the training level of the reservists of the reserve reconnaissance squadrons of the Navy and the Marines. As of June 1940, 11 NRABs had SBC-4s, the number of which was broken down as follows:

• NRAB Anacostia, District of Columbia: 3 SBC-4s assigned to VS-6R and VMS-3R squadrons;
• NRAB Boston, Massachusetts: 3 SBC-4 assigned to squadrons VS-1R, VS-2R, and VMS-1R;
• NRAB Detroit, Michigan: 3 SBC-4s assigned to VS-8R and VMS-5R squadrons;
• NRAB Glenview, Illinois: .4 SBC-4, assigned to VS-9R Squadron;
• NRAB Kansas City, Kansas: 4 SBC-4 assigned to squadrons VS-12R and VMS-10R;
• NRAB Long Beach, California: 4 SBC-4 assigned to Squadrons VS-13R, VS-14R, and VMS-7R;
• NRAB Minneapolis, Minnesota: 3 SBC-4 assigned to VS-10R and VMS-6R squadrons;
• NRAB New York, New York: 4 SBC-4 assigned to squadrons VS-3R, VS-4R, and VMS-2R;
• NRAB Oakland, California: 4 SBC-4 assigned to VS-15R and VMS-8R squadrons;
• NRAB Seattle, Washington: 4 SBC-4s assigned to VS-16R and VMS-9R squadrons;
• NRAB St. Louis, Missouri: 3 SBC-4 assigned to Squadron VS-11R.

Over time, the Navy acquired newer, more modern aircraft so that the SBC-3 could be replaced by the Douglas SBD Dauntless . As of December 7, 1941, the US. Navy and Marine Corps 69 SBC-3 and 118 SBC-4 in inventory of their Naval Air Stations , NRABs and the Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The largest number was found at NAS Miami, Florida, where they were used for advanced and fall combat training.

In December 1941 SBC machines were found at the following bases:

• NAF, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 1 XSBC-1 and 1 SBC-3;
• NAS Corpus Christi, Texas: 34 SBC-4;
• NAS Miami, Florida: 55 SBC-3;
• NAS Norfolk, Virginia: 4 SBC-3 and 10 SBC-4;
• NAS San Diego, California: 9 SBC-3 and 11 SBC-4;
• Naval Mission, Lima, Peru: 1 SBC-4;
• USS Hornet (CV-8) -
  • Bombing Squadron Eight (VB-8): 19 SBC-4;
  • Scouting Squadron Eight (VS-8): 20 SBC-4.

The Hornet was on test drives in the Atlantic on December 7th, so the two squadrons kept their SBC-4 machines until the carrier moved to California in March 1942. by this time the squadrons had switched to SBD-3 Dauntless , the carrier was the last ship that the SBC used sea-based.

another 50 SBC-4s, originally ordered by France, were built between February and May 1941 to replace those that were shipped overseas. In these machines, the original 135-gallon fuselage tank was replaced with a 126-gallon, but self-sealing tank. The last SBc-4 was delivered in May 1941.

From 1944 the SBC-3 were no longer needed and were removed from the inventory. The longest in service were 12 machines on NAS Jacksonville (Florida), which were retired on October 31, 1944.

US Marine Corps

The Marine Observation Squadron 151 flew the SBC-4 in Samoa until June 1943rd

The Marines were given an SBC-3 in 1938, assigned to Marine Fighter Squadron Two (VMF-2, redrawn as VMF-211 on July 1, 1941) on NAS San Diego, California.

In January 1940 the Marine Corps had four SBC-4s. two were based at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) in Quantico, Virginia, one was assigned to Squadron VMF-1 (redesignated to VMF-111 on July 1, 1941) and the last machine, the XSBC-4 Assigned to Marine Utility Squadron One (VMJ-1, redrawn to VMJ-152 on July 7, 1941).

On December 7, 1941, the Corps had 23 SBC-4s. Twelve of them were assigned to a marine observation squadron (VMO):

• MCAS Quantico, Virginia: 1 XSBC-4 and 5 SBC-4;
• NAS San Diego, California: 5 SBC-4s;
• VMO-151, MCAS Quantico, Virginia: 12 SBC-4.

The VMO-151 moved on May 9, 1942 with its SBC-4 to Tafuna (today the Pago Pago International Airport ) on Tutuila Island, American Samoa . The squadron became Marine Scout Bombing Squadron One Hundred Fifty One (VMSB-151) on September 15, 1942. A second reconnaissance squadron, VMO-155, was set up on October 1, 1942 by splitting off and using half of the personnel and materials of VMSB-151. The VMO-155 received 10 SBC-4s and a Grumman J2F-5 Duck . However, 6 officers and 15 men were ordered back to the States on December 8, 1942, where they formed the core of a new squadron VMO-155 , the remaining forces were transferred to Guadalcanal .

From December 1942 the SBC-4 of the VSMB-151 were replaced by Douglas SBD Dauntless , by June 1943 the complete equipment with the SBD-4 was achieved, the squadron moved to Uvea in the Wallis Islands and left the SBC-4 behind .

The last SBC machine in service with the Marine Corps was an SBC-4 of the VMSB-151 in American Samoa on June 1, 1943.

French Navy

Three French SBC-4s on an apron .

With the start of World War II in 1939, Great Britain and France turned to the US to purchase military aircraft. In early 1940, the French government ordered 90 SBC-4s from Curtiss-Wright. To aid the French, the Roosevelt government ordered their navy to fly 50 of its own machines of this type from the reserve to the Curtis Wright site in Buffalo, New York, where they would be overhauled and brought to French standards. This included the removal of all US markings on instruments and components, the replacement of American machine guns with French Darne machine guns in 7.7 mm caliber and repainting according to French camouflage standards. After their conversion, the aircraft were to be delivered to the RCAF station Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (Canada) and loaded onto the French aircraft carrier Béarn . Various laws to maintain neutrality had been passed around the US Congress, the Neutrality Act of 1939 allowed arms trade with warring nations (here Great Britain and France) on a cash and carry basis. This principle stipulated that the buyer carried out the transport of the goods with their own ships or aircraft and paid immediately in cash. For this reason, the United States could not fly the aircraft ordered directly into Canada, they had to be landed on the US side of the border and towed over it. These 50 machines had to take off in Buffalo and then fly via Burlington in Vermont and Augusta in Maine to Houlton Airport, Maine close to the Canadian border. There they were then pulled across the border by local farmers with tractors and then started from the Woodstock Highway, which was specially cordoned off for this purpose, for the flight to the RCAF station Dartmouth.

This relocation of the 50 machines to the RCAF station Dartmouth was to be done in groups of three. One of the first groups of three to depart encountered bad weather, rain and fog, between Buffalo and Albany (both New York State), which led to the crash of a plane. The remaining 49 aircraft successfully reached their Canadian destination and were loaded on the Béarn and the light cruiser Jeanne d'Arc - due to space problems, only 44 Curtiss aircraft could find space on the Béarn , as there were also 25 Stinson model HW-75 (also as Stinson 105 ), 17 Curtiss H75-A1 (US Army Air Corps P-36 Hawk ) and six Brewster F2A-2 Buffalo were shipped for the Belgian Air Force. The Jeanne d'Arc took 14 disassembled and stowed in boxes SBC-4, eight Stinson HW-75 and six Curtiss H75-A1 on board.

The two ships left on June 16, 1940 with the destination Brest. Two days later the city fell into German hands and the two ships were steered to Fort-de-France on the island of Martinique (in the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean). They arrived there on June 27th, five days after the French surrender. The SBC-4s were unloaded and parked in a field at the Pointe des Sables without any protection from the weather . The tropical climate slowly decayed the planes, which were soon no longer airworthy and were ultimately scrapped.

Royal Air Force

A Cleveland I in flight

Five of the French planes could not be stowed on the Béarn and were left at the RCAF station in Dartmouth. In August 1940, she bought the Royal Air Force and described the machine as Cleveland Mk. I . On board the HMS Furious (47) the aircraft were shipped to England. They were commissioned on the RAF Burtonwood , Lancashire and then delivered to the RAF Little Rissington , Gloucestershire, for use by No. 24 (Communications) Squadron at RAF Hendon, Middlesex. These aircraft were never flown in use and only used as ground-based training machines.

variants

XF12C-1

Prototype of a fighter aircraft with Parasol wing, powered by a Curtiss-Wright radial engine R-1510-92 , later converted into a biplane prototype XS4C-1.

XS4C-1

In the meantime, the prototype was designated as a "Scout" machine, later redrawn as XSBC-1 (thus including the bomber code B )

XSBC-1

Prototype designation of a double-decker with a drive consisting of a Curtiss-Wright radial engine R-1820-80 .

XSBC-2

Redrawn biplane, based on the XSBC-1 , powered by a 700 hp Wright XR-1510-12 radial engine , one copy built.

XSBC-3

Name for the XSBC-2 prototype after the re-engine, now powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1535-82 star engine.

SBC-3

Production model with an R-1534-94 engine, 83 copies built.

XSBC-4

Prototype designation for an SBC-3 that was equipped with an R-1820-22 engine, a conversion.

SBC-4

Production model with a 950 hp R-1820-34 star engine, 174 units built, 50 of which were transferred to the French Navy.

Cleveland I

British name for the SBC-4, five of them in service with the British armed forces.

User

 France

• French Navy

 United Kingdom

• Royal Air Force

 United States

• United States Marine Corps
• United States Navy

Technical data (SBC-4)

Parameter	Data
crew	2 (pilot and gunner)
length	28 ft 1⅝ in (8.57 m)
span	34 ft (10.36 m)
height	10 ft 5 in (3.17 m)
Wing area	317 ft² (29.4 m²)
payload	2528 lbs (1146 kg)
Empty mass	4552 lb (2065 kg)
Max. Takeoff mass	7632 lb (3462 kg)
Cruising speed	152 kts (282 km / h)
Top speed	203 kts (377 km / h)
Service ceiling	24,000 ft (7,320 m)
Range	352 NM , 652 km
Engines	1 Wright R- 1820-34 radial engine, 850 hp (634 kW)
Armament	1 × 0.30 in (7.62 mm) hull-mounted Browning M1919 machine gun 1 × 0.30 in (7.62 mm) movably mounted machine gun 1 bomb lock for bombs up to 1000 lb (454 kg)

literature

• Angelucci, Enzo. The American Fighter . New York: Orion Books 1987. ISBN 0-517-56588-9 .
• Peter Bowers : Curtiss Aircraft, 1907-1947 . London: Putnam & Company, 1979. ISBN 0-370-10029-8 .
• Doll, Thomas E. SBC Helldiver in Action, Aircraft Number 151 . Carrollton, Texas: Squadron / Signal Publications, Inc., 1995. ISBN 0-89747-331-0 .
• Francillon, René J. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920, Volume I . Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1988. ISBN 0-87021-428-4 .
• Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines . Newbury Park, California: Haynes North America, 1998. ISBN 1-85260-597-9 .
• Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988 . Tonbridge, Kent, England: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1900. ISBN 0-85130-164-9 .
• Jane, Fred T. Jane's All The World's Aircraft, 1945/6 . New York: Arco Publishing Company, 1946. ISBN 0-668-02390-2 .
• Johnson, ER United States Naval Aviation 1919-1941 . Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7864-4550-9 .
• Larkins, William T. US Navy Aircraft 1921-1941; US Marine Corps Aircraft 1914–1959 . New York: Orion Books, 1959 and 1961. ISBN 0-517-56920-5 .
• Moran, Gerrard P. The CORSAIR and other AEROPLANES VOUGHT 1917-1977 . Terre Haute, Indiana: Aviation Heritage Books, 1991. ISBN 0-911852-83-2 .
• Naval Historical Center, United States Naval Aviation 1910–1995 . Washington, DC: US ​​Government Printing Office, 1997. ISBN 0-945274-34-3 .
• Sherrod, Robert, History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II . San Rafael, California: Presidio Press, 1952. ISBN 0-89141-111-9 .
• Swanborough, Gordon and Peter M. Bowers. United States Navy Aircraft since 1911 . London: Putnam, 1976. ISBN 0-370-10054-9 .
• Taylor, John WR Jane's American Fighting Aircraft of the 20th Century . New York: Mallard Press, 1991. ISBN 0-7924-5627-0 .
• Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Air Force Since 1918 . London: Putnam & Company, 1979. ISBN 0-370-30186-2 .
• Wagner, Ray. American Combat Planes of the 20th Century . Reno, Nevada: Jack Bacon & Company, 2004. ISBN 0-930083-17-2 .

Web links

Commons : Curtiss SBC Helldiver  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• SBC Helldiver Info

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wheeler 1992, p. 27.
2. ↑ Taylor, p 111
3. ↑ Flanagan, Major William A. [1] The Fighter Force, How many seats , Air University Review, May – June 1981.
4. ^ Gunston p. 130
5. ↑ Francillon pp 138-140
6. ^ Moran p 59
7. ↑ Jane pp88d-92d
8. ↑ Johnson pp 39-41
9. ^ Larkins, US Navy p 229
10. ↑ Larkins, US Navy p 275.
11. ↑ Larkins US Navy pp 309-310
12. ↑ Larkins, US Marines p 70 and 75.
13. ^ Larkins, US Marines pp 86 and 87.
14. ↑ Sherrod p 33.
15. ↑ Sherrod, pp 48 and 216-217.
16. ↑ Naval Historical Center p 493.
17. ^ Doll pp 34
18. ↑ Doll p 36,
19. ^ Thetford p.579
20. ↑ Halley pp 64-65