AIRCRAFT
SB2C Helldiver
SCALE & KIT
1/48, Accurate Miniatures
MODELER
Robert Wąsik
HISTORY
The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, also known as the Curtiss A-25 Shrike, was a dive bomber developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II. As a carrier-based bomber with the United States Navy (USN), in Pacific theaters, it supplemented and replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless. A few survivors are extant.
By the time a land-based variant, known as the A-25 Shrike became available, in late 1943, the Western Allied air forces had abandoned dedicated dive-bombers. A majority of A-25s delivered to the US Army Air Forces were transferred to the US Marine Corps, which used the type only in one side campaign and non-combat roles. The British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force also cancelled substantial orders, retaining only a few aircraft for research purposes.
Nicknames for the aircraft included “Big-Tailed Beast” or just “Beast”,”Two-Cee”, and “Son-of-a-Bitch 2nd Class”; the latter nickname was derived from the name SB2C and the Shrike’s reputation for having difficult handling characteristics.
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