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Curtiss SB2C Helldiver (Crowood Aviation Series) Paperback – March 4, 2005

by Peter C. Smith (Author)

3 customer reviews

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The Curtiss Helldiver was the backbone of the United States Navy's offensive in the Pacific from 1943 until the Japanese capitulation. Despite early problems, it evolved into an effective and reliable airplane that was able to absorb severe punishment. Peter C. Smith tells the full story of this remarkable machine in this paperback reprint of a popular Crowood title. Packed with rare photographs, this lively and informative book describes and often neglected airplane.

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver (Crowood Aviation Series)

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About the Author

Peter C Smith is a full-time historian and writer. He has written many meticulously researched factual history books on aviation, military and naval topics. H is a member of the London and American Aviation Historical Society.

Series: Crowood Aviation
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: The Crowood Press UK (March 4, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 186126710X
ISBN-13: 978-1861267108
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 3 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,199,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1956 in Books > History > Military > Vehicles
- #3527 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Aerospace
- #5274 in Books > History > Military > Aviation

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Myth Buster

Bymatt8386VINE VOICEon November 6, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The author Peter Smith, has written many books about aviation and goes to great lengths to disprove all of the critics of the Helldiver. He uses charts, data and facts to show that yes, this plane had early problems but how they came about, the fixing of those problems and the eventual success of this airplane.

The US Navy made the problem when they gave the designers such tough specifications as to be able to fit two Helldivers onto one elevator of an Aircraft Carrier. Curtis Aviation (who also built the P-40 Flying Tiger) did the best they could with the limitations of the design, and built a big old fat ugly airplane that was tough and could survive punishment and dish out more than other US warplanes of the time.

The other problem facing this warbird? 370 were ordered before the first prototype flew, Curtis had to build enormous factories, create and train a work force to build these, modify the prototypes and do all of this immediately. They did something right, over 7,000 were built and continued to be used after WW2.

What I did not like - the author has an annoying habit of using exclaimation points every two or three sentences! There are no color photos. I think in a book of this price, there should be color plates.

What I loved - detail, facts, statistics, quotes from pilots who flew the bird in combat. Every version of the plane is explored. By the end, you can see why the author disagrees that this was a bad airplane. It was a design rushed into service under very difficult times and while maybe the ugliest plane in the sky, it was effective and overcame the initial problems.

I recommend this book to aviation students, especially those of the Pacific war. A very good balance of nuts and bolts history plus an operational overview of the Helldiver.

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Good Book on an Ugly Airplane

ByJohn Matlockon April 22, 2005

Format: Paperback

There is an old saying that if an airplane looks good it will fly good, and I've always thought the Helldiver was an ugly airplane. In reading this book I can see why it was so ugly. The original specifications issued by the navy were that two airplanes had to fit on the elevator of the Essex class carriers. This made the plane shorter than it should have been and resulted in the short, fat look of the plane. This caused instability in flight that really didn't get resolved until the -4 and -5 revisions. By then it had turned into quite an airplane, finally living up to its expectations and replacing the much older SBD.

Peter Smith obviously loves the plane and has collected an amazing amount of material to write about and photographs to include in this book. He of course covers the use of the plane by the US Navy, but also talks about the Army version (A-25 Shrike) which was developed but fell into disfavor because the USAAF didn't want a dive bomber. Some interesting politics in this area.

This is probably the best written, most complete single airplane book I've read. But I still think the Helldiver was ugly.

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Excellent book

ByRLitzon April 18, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The best book I've ever seen on the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver. Many pictures from different air groups and carriers, including about 12 pages about VB-85.

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