Curtiss SB2C Helldiver 1/72 Scale Model

American SB2C-1, Mod III- This is a model of a Navy dive bomber that flew from the aircraft carrier Bunker Hill against Japanese ground positions during the invasion of Tarawa in November 1943. The Helldiver was designed to replace the Dauntless and entered service in 1943. The Navy wanted its new dive bomber to be small enough so that two could fit on an aircraft carrier elevator at the same time, but trying to jam more into a small package resulted in a design with poor aerodynamics. Its poor handling characteristics, especially during carrier deck landings, earned it the derogatory nickname of "The Beast." It was rugged, however, and outperformed the Dauntless in every way except range.

More Photos: Left, Right, Top, Front Angle Left, Front Angle Right, Rear Angle Left, Rear Angle Right, Above Left, Above Right

American Aircraft of World War II, David Mondey

Battle of Leyte Gulf: 23-26 October 1944, Thomas Cutler

Bougainville: 1943-1945, Harry Gailey

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, Peter Smith

Helldiver Squadron: The Story of Carrier Bombing Squadron 17 with Task Force 58, Robert Olds

Helldiver Units of World War 2, Barrett Tillman

Iwo Jima: Legacy of Valor, Bill Ross

The Marianas Turkey Shoot, Barrett Tillman

The Marshall Islands: Operation Flintlock, the Capture of Kwajalein and Eniwetok, Gordon Rottman

Peleliu: The Forgotten Corner of Hell, Jim Moran

SB2C Helldiver in Action, Robert Stern

SB2C Helldiver in Detail and Scale, Bert Kinzey

Red Sun Setting, The Battle of the Philippine Sea, William Y'Blood

The Siege of Rabaul, Henry Sakaida

Tennozan: The Battle of Okinawa and the Atomic Bomb, George Feifer

U.S. Navy Air Combat, 1939-1946, Robert Lawson

U.S. Navy Dive and Torpedo Bombers of WWII, Barrett Tillman

U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Aircraft Camouflage and Markings Vol. 1, 1911-1945, Thomas Doll

Utmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa, Joseph Alexander