Worst aircraft of WW2?

[Parmigiano]

Well, there should be a reason why the SB2C Helldiver was nicknamed 'Son of a Bitch 2nd Class'
However she was able to take off climb and land, so it was maybe 'amongst the worst' but not the absolute worst.

 

[Nonskimmer]

The aircobra sucked, and it was ugly.

It did suck but it was not ugly, in fact it was beautiful plane.

It didn't actually suck either. It wasn't a good high altitude fighter due mainly to it's engine, but it excelled at medium to low altitudes. Reportedly, it had excellent manoeuvrability and was extremely stable and simple to fly, with excellent visibility. It was just the type of plane the Soviets were looking for. They couldn't get enough of the thing.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

"Helldiver!" What a great name! But what a lousy airplane!
Tough to fly, poorly designed, and delivered too slowly, the Curtiss SB2C comes somewhere near the top of most lists of "Worst Aircraft of World War Two." Of course, that judgement is no reflection on the crews who had to fly "The Beast," who were as brave, skilled, and resourceful as any other pilots - perhaps more so!

The poor results of the SB2C program contributed to the decline of the once-great Curtiss aircraft manufacturing company. After WWII, the company never won any more significant military business, and eventually shrank into a specialty supplier to the industry.

In reading a few articles about

Actually I have talked to some Helldiver pilots and once all the kinks were worked out, many of them liked the Helldiver over the Dauntless. By Okinawa they were a good plane with a pretty good service record. I think the Helldiver suffered the same fate as the B-26, we only remember the bad aspects. Also the Greeks used them with great success in thier post WWII civil war.

But I am still a SBD fan!

:{)

Well, there should be a reason why the SB2C Helldiver was nicknamed 'Son of a Bitch 2nd Class'
However she was able to take off climb and land, so it was maybe 'amongst the worst' but not the absolute worst.

I knew a Helldiver Pilot - he said the same - Cmdr. Bill Chin told me that besides the maintenance issues, it was a matter of training. Bill stated that the Helldiver was a heavy aircraft to fly but once learned was found to be sturdy and relianble. He also said it was easier to land on a carrier than a Corsair...

The aircobra sucked, and it was ugly.

It did suck but it was not ugly, in fact it was beautiful plane.

It didn't actually suck either. It wasn't a good high altitude fighter due mainly to it's engine, but it excelled at medium to low altitudes. Reportedly, it had excellent manoeuvrability and was extremely stable and simple to fly, with excellent visibility. It was just the type of plane the Soviets were looking for. They couldn't get enough of the thing.

If the P-39 was so bad, why did the men of the 39FS, 5th AF achieve about a 1.5 to 1 kill ratio over the Japanese over Rabual with the P-39? Many notable P-38 aces got their first kills in the -39 and if you look at statistics the -39 really didn't do as bad as people may think in the Pacific.

Check Yeager said it was the best WW2 fighter he's flown!!!

 

[Nonskimmer]

Did I mention the success it had in the Pacific?
Good stuff, Joe.

 

[evangilder]

Agreed, Joe. I saw a program the other night on the military channel about Russian aviation during the great patriotic war and they said the P-39 worked well for the Russians because they typically flew it below 12,000 feet and the 37MM cannon was great fo ground attack.

 

[Nonskimmer]

Not only ground attack, but they found it to be an excellent air superiority fighter too.

http://www.acepilots.com/planes/soviet_p39_airacobra.html

 

[evangilder]

Yup.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Agreed, Joe. I saw a program the other night on the military channel about Russian aviation during the great patriotic war and they said the P-39 worked well for the Russians because they typically flew it below 12,000 feet and the 37MM cannon was great fo ground attack.

I think several things doomed the P-39 as being a bad airplane. First it was actually an unstable aircraft, it was actually designed that way as a fighter. When used in the ground support role, I believe the pilots flew it cautiously. It was when the better pilots (Tommy Lynch and Buzz Wagner) got their hands on it is when its true potential as a fighter became evident, but by then the P-38 was arriving in the Pacific. Also I think it was a matter of tactics - If I'm not mistaken I believe the USAAF were still flying 3 ship flights similar to the RAF at the beginning of the BoB. From what I understand this gave little room for maneuvering as the two wing men were tight with their leader. When the 4 man, 2 element flight was introduced, this gave a better tactical plan and enabled each aircraft more flexibility.

If anyone has any information on this, please post it, this is from memory, many dead brain cells ago!!!

 

[Nonskimmer]

I've read that Russian pilots found the Airacobras to be very stable in flight. I suppose it was all related to experience. Maybe it was based on a comparison to earlier VVS fighters?

 

[evangilder]

Compared to the I-16, it probably was a dream to fly!

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Compared to the I-16, it probably was a dream to fly!

 

[Nonskimmer]

Heh. No doubt, if what you and Eric (the other one ) say is true about the I-16.

 

[evangilder]

I have heard it said by pilots that have flown the I-16 that if you could fly it, you could fly anything.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I have heard it said by pilots that have flown the I-16 that if you could fly it, you could fly anything.

Yep!! I heard landings were almost suicidal. I guess the thing really liked to snake and if you added power low and slow there wasn't enough rudder to offset torque effect....

Maybe when some of the guys from the museum start flying the museum's I-16 they could confirm this...

 

[evangilder]

Eric said that Varter has been flying it. I should have a chat with him about it. He knows how to tell a story too. He told a story about flying the Martlett around Toronto and how the tower guys wanted to see it, so they diverted all the traffic from Toronto Int'l Airport so that he could do some tower flybys for them. When he told that story at the airshow, my sides hurt from laughing.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Eric said that Varter has been flying it. I should have a chat with him about it. He knows how to tell a story too. He told a story about flying the Martlett around Toronto and how the tower guys wanted to see it, so they diverted all the traffic from Toronto Int'l Airport so that he could do some tower flybys for them. When he told that story at the airshow, my sides hurt from laughing.

That's great!!! Edwards did that to us when I flew one of my FCF flights in BAEs' F-4s. It was several years since the F-4 left Edwards; some Colonel in the tower heard us coming in for a touch and go, he asked if we could do a few low approaches - they had a B-1 and 2 F-16 hold over Rogers Lake as we did our little airshow!!!

 

[102first_hussars]

I have heard it said by pilots that have flown the I-16 that if you could fly it, you could fly anything.

Ive heard a few geezers say that about the Harvard trainer, but Ive heard mostly good things about the Harvard.

 

[mosquitoman]

I'm sticking with the Botha for this dubious accolade- so bad it didn't go to operational squadrons

 

[Gnomey]

Yes it did:

"Deliveries began in May 1940 to No 608 (North Riding) Sqn and others served briefly with No 502 Sqn; No 608 operated the Blackburn Botha until November 1940 but it was seriously underpowered and was then assigned to second-line units, such as No 3 School of General Reconnaissance, No 11 Radio School and other training units until declared obsolete in 1944. A few served as target tugs, with winch gear replacing the dorsal turret."

http://www.jaapteeuwen.com/ww2aircraft/html pages/BLACKBURN B-26 BOTHA I.htm

 

[mosquitoman]

ok, it saw front-line service for 6 months until it went to training schools, but this was a newly designed airplane, not one that had served prewar like the Battle that had become obselete- this pile of junk was obselete when it reached the front line