Curtiss SBC-3 Helldiver U.S. Navy, National Museum of Naval Aviation, photo No. 1996.253.094 Even as the Navy placed its first orders for the biplane SBC in 1936, the Navy was already looking for ...

The SB2C was the third carrier-based dive bomber called “Helldiver” and produced by Curtiss. “Hell diver” was a heroic and death-defying name for both pilots and aircraft in the popular American ...

Introducing the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver Between 1943 and 1945, over 7,000 SB2C Helldivers were built. Initially, the aircraft displayed poor handling characteristics—earning a damning report from ...

The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a two-seat dive bomber initially introduced into combat in 1943. More than 7,000 SB2Cs were produced during World War II, although just one remains flying today.

The Curtiss-built SB2C-5 Helldiver aircraft, BuNo 83393, was originally built in early 1945 and was delivered to Naval Air Field Newport, Rhode Island.

On the Allied side, there was the Soviet Union’s Petlyakov Pe-2 “ Peshka,” Great Britain’s Blackburn B-24 Skua, and America’s Douglas SBD Dauntless and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver.

The Helldiver was the last dive-bomber operated by the Navy and the last significant combat aircraft produced by Curtiss-Wright Corporation. The Udvar-Hazy Center, which opened in December 2003, ...

Curtiss SBC-3 Helldiver U.S. Navy, National Museum of Naval Aviation, photo No. 1996.253.094 Even as the Navy placed its first orders for the biplane SBC in 1936, the Navy was already looking for ...

Introducing the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver Between 1943 and 1945, over 7,000 SB2C Helldivers were built. Initially, the aircraft displayed poor handling characteristics—earning a damning report from ...