AUBRY GRATTON COLLECTION
No. 8425. Curtiss 84D XSB2C-2 Helldiver (00005) US Navy
Aeroplane Photo Supply (APS) Photo No. 2966

Curtiss 84D XSB2C-2 Helldiver

12/31/2008. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "During 1940, the USN Bureau of Aeronautics studied Marine expeditionary seaplane and the XSB2C-1 (BuNo 1758) was selected to be converted with floats after initial trials. The aircraft flew for the first time on December 18, 1940, crashing within eight weeks on February 9, 1941. As a replacement the fifth production SB2C-1 (BuNo 00005) was selected, however, the first SB2C-1 (BuNo 00001) did only fly on June 30, 1942.

BuNo 00005 was flown from the Curtiss plant at Columbus, Ohio, to NAS Anacostia, Washington D.C., where it was fitted with two enormous Edo floats (about the same length as the airframe) and it was flown in late September, with rough water tests successfully concluded on March 9, 1943. The aircraft went through a number of armament trials, but by 1944 the interest in combat floatplanes had faded and the program was cancelled on April 14, 1944, including production orders for 287 SB2C-2s."


Created December 31, 2008