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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 0707.PDF
MARCH I8TH, 1943 heir Characteristics; CURTISS HELLDIVER Top speed about 280 m.p.h DIMENSIONS OF Span Length .. .. #.. Height .. .. .. Wing area HELLDIVER .. 49ft. 8in. .. 35fl. tin. .. 16ft. 8in ..422 sq.ft. \ DESIGNATED the SB2C-1 in the U.S. Navy, the Hell-diver is the latest of a long line of dive-bombersdesigned and built by Curtiss. All of them were popularly known as helldivers, but the SB2C-1 is the first to be given this name officially. Incidentally, all its fore- bears were biplanes, the first of them appearing as long ago as 1928 in the form of an improvised two-seater fighter. The last*of the biplane series was, of course, the famous Curtiss 77, or SBC-4, a number of which were acquired Jby Great Britain and named the Cleveland. Powered by a Wright double-row 14-cylinder Cyclone (GR 2600 A5B) developing 1,700 h.p. at 2,500 r.p.m. at 4,100ft., the Helldiver has a top speed of approximately 280 m.p.h., and carries its bomb load internally. Its armament consists of two synchronised machine guns mounted in the fuselage and firing through blast tubes beneath the engine cowling, and a manually operated "free" machine gun in the rear cockpit. Its manufacturers claim it to be the world's most efficient dive-bomber, and a good idea of its capabilities may be gauged from the fact that the Navy Department specifica- tion to which it was designed called for a dive-bomber which should carry twice the bomb-load of any existing type, double the fire-power of earlier types in the same category, and a flight duration of at least 4^ hours longer than contemporary types, together with a top speed at least 100 m.p.h. faster than such types as the Vindicator. A British version of the Helldiver, Canadian built, is expected to reach a delivery rate of 80 per month. Constructionally, the Helldiver is of aluminium alloy with Aiclad flush-riveted, stressed-skin except for ailerons, elevators and rudder, which are fabric covered. Double split trailing-edge flaps, which also function as dive-brakes are provided, and there are movable slots on the leading- edge near the wing-tips. The fuselage is a monocoque struc- ture built up of bulkheads and stringers. The tailwheel is retractable and steerable.Recognition features include a straight leading-edge and moderately tapered, or forward swept trailing-edge, long"glasshouse," and large rounded fin and rudder.
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