Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA2205 Helldiver Mk.1, “JW104” No. 1820 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, 1944

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 missiles.

Photo-etched dive brakes.

Extremely sought after by collectors.

The SB2C Helldiver was designed to replace the SBD Dauntless as the USN’s main dive- bomber. The SB2C Helldiver was commonly referred to as “The Beast” because of its size and rather poor handling characteristics. Even with new variants and upgrades the Helldiver never received the credit and respect it deserved. With over 800 improvements the later variants of the Helldiver eventually flew faster and further than the Avenger, except for range it beat the SBD in every category. Its cruising speed was only 2 mph slower than the famous Hellcat.

The Canadian Car & Foundry Co. manufactured 28 SB2C-1 Helldivers with a designator of SBW-1B for lend-lease to the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm who designated them Helldiver Mk.1. They were serial numbered JW100 - JW125. These were tested and loaded on an aircraft carrier with initial delivery to 1820 Squadron in April 1944. It wasn’t long before the British suffered the same crashes and serviceability problems as the USN. At this point the FAA deemed the aircraft unsuitable and cancelled the remainder of the planned 450 aircraft. These aircraft never saw action and were scrapped in the UK.

Designation - aircraft carrier Dive Bomber Manufacturer - Canadian Car & Foundry Co. for the Curtiss-Wright Corp. Number Manufactured - 28 First Delivered to the RN - 1943 Last Served with the RN - December 19, 1945 Crew - (2) Engine - (1) 1,877 hp Wright R-2600-20 Performance Speed - 295 mph (475 km/h) Service Ceiling - 2,9200 ft (8,900 m) Range - 1,926 miles (3,100 km) Dimensions Wingspan - 49.7 ft (15.16 m) Length - 36.7 ft (11.18 m) Height - 13.1 ft (4.01 m) Wing-area - 422 sq ft (39.20 sq m) Weights Empty - 10,547 lb (4,784 kg) Maximum - 16,616 lb (7,537 kg)

Payload 1,000 lb bomb load in internal bay (2) fixed forward-firing 20mm cannon or (4) fixed forward firing 0.5-inch Browning machine-guns in wings (1) Twin manually-aimed 0.3-inch or 0.5-inch Browning machine guns in rear cockpit