|
The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a carrier-based dive bomber aircraft produced for the United States Navy during World War II. It replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy service. The SB2C was much faster than the SBD it replaced. Crew nicknames for the aircraft included the ''Big-Tailed Beast'' (or just the derogatory ''Beast''),〔O'Rourke, G.G, CAPT USN. "Of Hosenoses, Stoofs, and Lefthanded Spads." ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'', July 1968.〕 ''Two-Cee'' and ''Son-of-a-Bitch 2nd Class'' (after its designation and partly because of its reputation for having difficult handling characteristics).〔Shettle 2001, p. 29.〕 Neither pilots nor aircraft carrier skippers seemed to like it.〔Ethell 1995, p. 221.〕 Delays marred its production—by the time the A-25 Shrike variant for the USAAF was deployed in late 1943, the Army Air Forces no longer had a need for a thoroughbred dive bomber. Poor handling of the aircraft was another factor that hampered its service introductions, both the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force cancelled substantial orders. The Truman Committee investigated Helldiver production and turned in a scathing report, which eventually led to the beginning of the end for Curtiss. Thankfully, problems with the Helldiver were eventually ironed out, and in spite of its early problems, the aircraft was flown through the last two years of the Pacific War with a fine combat record.〔Ethell 1995, p. 221.〕 ==Design and development== The Helldiver was developed to replace the Douglas SBD Dauntless. It was a much larger aircraft, able to operate from the latest aircraft carriers and carry a considerable array of armament. It featured an internal bomb bay that reduced drag when carrying heavy ordnance. Saddled with demanding requirements set forth by both the U.S. Marines and United States Army Air Forces, the manufacturer incorporated features of a "multi-role" aircraft into the design.〔Winchester 2004, p. 63.〕 The Model XSB2C-1 prototype initially suffered teething problems connected to its R-2600 engine and three-bladed propeller; further concerns included structural weaknesses, poor handling, directional instability and bad stall characteristics.〔("SB2C Helldiver Curtiss dive bomber: "Helldiver!" What a great name!" ) ''acepilots.com''. Retrieved: 18 March 2010.〕〔Guttman, Robert. ("Curtiss SB2C Helldiver: The Last Dive Bomber," p. 3. ) ''Aviation History'' via ''historynet.com'', July 2000. Retrieved: 18 March 2010.〕 In 1939, a student brought a model of the new Curtiss XSB2C-1 to the MIT wind tunnel. Professor Emeritus of Aeronautical Engineering Otto C. Koppen was quoted as saying, "if they build more than one of these, they are crazy". He was referring to controllability issues with the small vertical tail.〔Abzug and Larrabee 1997, p. 92.〕 The first prototype made its maiden flight on 18 December 1940.〔Bowers 1979, p. 424.〕 It crashed on 8 February 1941 when its engine failed on approach, but Curtiss was asked to rebuild it. The fuselage was lengthened and a larger tail was fitted, while an autopilot was fitted as a result of the aircraft's poor stability. The revised prototype flew again on 20 October 1941, but was destroyed when its wing failed during diving tests on 21 December 1941.〔Donald 1995, pp. 76–77.〕〔Bowers 1979, pp. 424–425.〕 Large-scale production had already been ordered on 29 November 1940, but a large number of modifications were specified for the production model. The size of the fin and rudder was enlarged, fuel capacity was increased, self-sealing fuel tanks were added and the fixed armament was doubled to four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in the wings, compared with the prototype's two cowling guns. The SB2C-2 was built with larger fuel tanks, improving its range considerably. The program suffered so many delays that the Grumman TBF Avenger entered service before the Helldiver, even though the Avenger had begun its development two years later. Nevertheless, production tempo accelerated with production at Columbus, Ohio and two Canadian factories: Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada), which produced 300 (under the designations XSBF-l, SBF-l, SBF-3 and SBF-4E), and Canadian Car and Foundry, which built 894 (designated SBW-l, SBW-3, SBW-4, SBW-4E and SBW-5), these models being respectively equivalent to their Curtiss-built counterparts. A total of 7,140 SB2Cs were produced in World War II.〔Taylor 1969, p. 480.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Curtiss SB2C Helldiver」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|