Introducing the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver Between 1943 and 1945, over 7,000 SB2C Helldivers were built. Initially, the aircraft displayed poor handling characteristics—earning a damning report from ...

The Curtiss-built SB2C-5 Helldiver aircraft, BuNo 83393, was originally built in early 1945 and was delivered to Naval Air Field Newport, Rhode Island.

A WWII Curtiss SB2C-1a Helldiver took flight after restoration, thrilling crowds at the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs.

On the Allied side, there was the Soviet Union’s Petlyakov Pe-2 “ Peshka,” Great Britain’s Blackburn B-24 Skua, and America’s Douglas SBD Dauntless and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver.

The Curtiss SB2C-1a Helldiver, one of only three airworthy models left in the world, made its first public flight July 19 after undergoing an extensive restoration.