";s:4:"text";s:3269:" A Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bomber approaches a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. Lieutenant Commander James Vose's VB-17, operating with Bunker Hill, was the first squadron to successfully operate the SB2C Helldiver. Despite these issues, the SB2C Helldiver saw extensive service during the last two years of the war. The newly restored Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver WWII dive-bomber is moved into display position inside the Udvar-Hazy Center's Boeing Aviation Hangar. Intended as a replacement for the heralded Douglas Dauntless, the Helldiver proved to be a rugged platform for dive bombing in the Pacific Theater. Due to its large size and at times difficult handling, many crew members gave it the nickname the "Big Tailed Beast". Originally designed in a competition to replace the aging SBC biplane series, the SB2C faced off against Brewster's entry - the XSB2A Buccaneer - with the SB2C coming out the eventual winner. The Last Dive Bomber. It was the last military biplane procured by the United States Navy.Delivered in 1937, it became obsolete even before World War II and was kept well away from combat with Axis fighters. I’d take the Douglas SBD Dauntless, with Aichi D3A and Junkers 87 not far behind. The West Texas Wing of the Commemorative Air Force proudly presents the world’s only flying example of the Curtiss-Wright SB2C Helldiver, the last true Dive Bomber produced for the US Navy. The last combat aircraft built for the U.S. Navy and Marines by Curtiss Aircraft, the SB2C Helldiver was a large two-seat, carrier-based dive bomber, first introduced in 1943. The first F8C was a two-seat fighter/ bomber, based on the O-1 … The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a rather unassuming dive bomber / reconnaissance aircraft serving throughout World War 2 beginning in 1943.