A United States Navy Curtiss SB2C Helldiver leaps into the air from a choppy sea in September of 1943. The caption attending this photo indicates that it was "Take Off No. 6". The Helldiver was a carrier based dive bomber, many of which were made under licence in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The fifth production aircraft (BuNo. 00005) was modified with two floats and a large ventral fin to become the XSB2-C Helldiver Seaplane. The Navy was considering purchasing up to 350 of the type. The second prototype was lost in water tests and the program cancelled.
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Anything But Wheels The Curtiss Helldiver was not the only United States Navy carrier-based combat aircraft that received floats. One Douglas TBD-1A Devastator, the only other variant of the poorly performing torpedo bomber is seen here in Rhode Island undergoing torpedo testing with a high visibility torpedo slung beneath. During the Battle of Midway, the wheeled production of the Devastator proved to be utterly inadequate in terms of manoeuvrability and speed, so it doesn't take much imagination to picture how inadequate the single float-equipped variant was. In this photo, it is difficult to tell whether the propeller is spinning or removed.