Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA2201 SB2C-1 Helldiver VB-17, USS Bunker Hill, Rabaul, 11 Nov. 1943

First 1/72 scale pre-finished Helldiver in die-cast metal with a minimum of plastic.

Professionally painted.

All markings pad applied for superb results.

Interchangeable canopies Crew figures Comes with display stand.

Landing gear can be displayed up or down.

Comes with bombs.

Extremely sought after by collectors.

THESE ARE PRE-PRODUCTION PICTURES NOT THE FINISHED MODEL

The first production SB2C-1 flew June 30, 1942 and in 1943 replaced the SBD there still wasn’t one plane manufactured and when the planes finally started to arrive they were so poorly made that some would break in half upon landing, some would lose tail-wheels or some wings would fail in dives. The aircraft were refused by Great Britain and several other countries because of these problems and poor performance. The aircraft under went improvements, MOD II saw over 800 technical changes to each plane. After many MODS and variants the Helldiver became an effective plane and was nicknamed “The Big Tail Beast” referring to its over sized tail that was needed to correct control problems. Some referred to it as “sum bitch second class”. This is an airplane that never would have gone into full production if WWII hadn’t necessitated doing so. Even the USAAF cancelled their order and the planes that they did receive never saw battle. The captain of the “Yorktown” refused to sail with the Helldiver and went to sea with the Dauntless. Only after hundreds of changes and modifications did the SB2C go on to become one of the most effective dive-bombers of WWII.

VB-17 was the first unit to take the new SB2C-1 MOD III into combat on board USS Bunker Hill. MOD III seemed to fix the weak fuselage structure that formerly would buckle or break on landing. CO LCDR James “Moe” Vose was a veteran and was assigned B-4 aircraft. On November 11, 1943 as part of Task Force 38 the USS Bunker Hill was directed to strike the main Japanese base at Rabaul. This would be VB-17s first combat mission and test under fire for the Helldiver. Vose led 23 SB2C-1s and when the force arrived at Rabaul they were greeted by Zeroes. Immediately the escorting Hellcats engaged the Zeroes allowing the Helldivers to attack the Japanese ships maneuvering to avoid them. After 20 minutes it was time to return to the Bunker Hill but not before the SB2Cs damaged a cruiser and three destroyers with one destroyer being sunk. VB-17 lost 4 Helldivers that day, one crashed on take off and one was jettisoned after landing because it was so battle damaged.

Specifications - SB2C Helldiver General data Manufacturer - Curtiss-Wright Crew - 2 X 1 pilot, 1 radio operator/gunner Dimensions Length - 36 ft 9 in (11.2 m) Wingspan - 49 ft 9 in (15.2 m) Height - 14 ft 9 in (4.5 m) Wing area - 422 ft² (39.2 m²)

Weights Empty - 10,114 lb (4,588 kg) Loaded - 13,674 lb (6,202 kg) Max takeoff - 16,800 lb (7,600 kg)

Performance Powerplant - 1× Wright R-2600 Cyclone radial engine, 1,900 hp (1,400 kW) Maximum speed - 294 mph (473 km/h) Range - 1,200 miles (1,900 km) Service ceiling - 25,000 ft (7,600 m) Rate of climb - 1,750 ft/min (8.9 m/s)

Armament 2 x .50 cal (20 mm) cannon in each wing 2 x 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns in the rear cockpit Internal bay - 2,000 lb (900 kg) of bombs or 1x Mark 13-2 torpedo Hardpoints: 500 lb (225 kg) of bombs each wing