Vahe Demirjian
Banned
For all of you versed in American naval aviation, Curtiss made the waves in US naval aircraft development in WW2 with the SB2C Helldiver scout bomber, whose pilots mockingly interpreted it's designation as standing for Son of a Bitch 2nd Class, even as Curtiss' own attempt at a WW2 naval fighter, the XF14C, failed to advance beyond the prototype stage. However, it is quite interesting to note that the Curtiss company developed a number of planes as successors to the SB2C Helldiver:
Curtiss SB3C (proposed SB2C replacement, 1942, not built)
Curtiss BTC (single seat torpedo bomber, two built)
Curtiss BT2C (two seat torpedo bomber, 9 built)
The cancellation of the SB3C due to its inferior design performance estimates relative to those for the SB2D Destroyer and its replacement by the BTC is yet another reflection of the US Navy decision to create the BT category for naval aircraft marrying the attributes of both scout bombers and torpedo bombers, whereby BT-series planes would carry a pilot only but function in both dive bombing and torpedo roles. Curtiss proposed a version of the BTC for the US Army Air Force as the XA-40, but it never got past the drawing board, similar to the fact that the XA-39 derivative of the Kaiser-Fleetwings BTK never got past a mock-up.
Curtiss SB3C (proposed SB2C replacement, 1942, not built)
Curtiss BTC (single seat torpedo bomber, two built)
Curtiss BT2C (two seat torpedo bomber, 9 built)
The cancellation of the SB3C due to its inferior design performance estimates relative to those for the SB2D Destroyer and its replacement by the BTC is yet another reflection of the US Navy decision to create the BT category for naval aircraft marrying the attributes of both scout bombers and torpedo bombers, whereby BT-series planes would carry a pilot only but function in both dive bombing and torpedo roles. Curtiss proposed a version of the BTC for the US Army Air Force as the XA-40, but it never got past the drawing board, similar to the fact that the XA-39 derivative of the Kaiser-Fleetwings BTK never got past a mock-up.
