9/26/2023 0 Comments Sb2cs helldivers![]() The Greeks made several changes to their planes. The plane was called “Teras” (beast) by the Greeks. The Greek planes were painted in USN semi-gloss blue. The Helldivers replaced Spitfires previously operated by the unit. The remaining forty-two planes were immediately issued to the HAF’s 336th Squadron at Larissa airbase. Upon arrival, six of the planes were relegated to ground instruction or spare parts cannibalization use. In mid-1949, the United States shipped forty-eight SB2C Helldivers to Greece aboard the aircraft carrier USS Sicily (CVE-118), itself a WWII veteran. The HAF normally flew tactical bombing missions with Spitfire fighters, or with hastily-modified C-47 Dakota transports neither really being a satisfactory option. The normal payload was one 1,000 lb bomb or one Mk13 torpedo in the internal bay, plus 500 lb-rated hardpoints under the wings for smaller bombs, napalm tanks, depth charges, or gun pods.The Helldiver had folding wings and an arrestor hook for use on aircraft carriers.ĭuring the Greek Civil War, the Hellenic Air Force found itself critically short of strike aircraft. The gun armament was a Mk2 20mm gun in each wing (with 800rds ammo), plus a twin M1919 machine gun for the rearwards-facing gunner. The Helldiver had a two-man crew (pilot and rearwards-facing gunner). It was powered by a Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone piston engine. The Helldiver had a top speed of 255 kts or 170 kts in normal horizontal flight, a ceiling of 25,000′, with a range of 1,013 NM carrying a 1000 lb bomb. (Hellenic Air Force Helldiver unit in the late 1940s) (A French navy Helldiver takes off from the aircraft carrier Arromanches in the 1950s.) ![]() However, the Helldiver saw long and varied use after the war elsewhere. The final US Navy attack squadron to fly Helldivers was VA-54, which flew them off USS Valley Forge (CV-45) in 1949. The US Navy began converting Helldiver squadrons to other types (or simply disbanding the squadrons) in 1946. It’s post-WWII career with the US Navy was short. The Helldiver scored more dive bombing sinkings of enemy ships than any other Allied dive bomber. Despite it’s somewhat mixed reputation with American pilots, it was extremely effective during the war. The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a standard US Navy carrier-borne dive bomber of WWII.
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