The Helldiver’s poor manufacturing was a superficial problem relative to its fundamentally flawed design. The aircraft was ...

Explore the controversial legacy of the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, often regarded as one of the most challenging dive bombers ever produced. Despite its troubled history, this aircraft played a pivotal ...

A nearly intact Curtiss SB2C-1C Helldiver rests just outside Maalaea Harbor. The plane crash-landed after a training exercise gone wrong in 1944, though both the pilot and radio operator emerged ...

Production proved a slow-go, as Curtiss worked to amend the various design flaws. When the Helldiver finally did join the Navy fleet, the aircraft, nicknamed “Beast,” was maligned for its size ...