History Presentation and Flight Demonstration From Zero to Hero The SB2C Helldiver

LECTURE AND VIDEO PRESENTATION OF RECOVERY AND RESTORATION
FIRST PUBLIC FLIGHT OF THE MUSEUM’S SB2C
Saturday July 19, 2025
Doors open at 8:00am Presentation Begins at 9:00am

On Saturday, July 19th the National Museum of World War II Aviation will present the full story of the SB2C Helldiver. Museum Lead Docent Don Johnson will talk about the development and combat history of the SB2C, and tell the fascinating story of the recovery of the museum’s SB2C from a lake near Seattle, Washington in the 1980’s. The presentation will include a documentary video about the recovery effort, followed by a question-and-answer session with Don Johnson and Matt McCauley, one of the scuba divers who discovered and ultimately recovered the aircraft from the bottom of Lake Washington. Then, weather permitting, there will be a flight demonstration of the Helldiver. This will be the first public flight of the museum’s SB2C which was restored to flying condition last year.

Late in WWII the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver dive bomber sent Japanese warships to the bottom of the ocean and pulverized fortifications on Japan’s home islands. Yet, the Helldiver carries the reputation as a flawed latecomer to the war, a less than stellar performer built by an aircraft company that would soon fail.

The Helldiver was designed to replace the venerable but dated SBD Dauntless that was instrumental in the U.S. Navy victories early in the war. From the start, the SB2C garnered a reputation for poor stability, structural flaws, and poor handling. Many of the Helldiver’s problems resulted from the Navy’s overly tight size and performance specifications, but design decisions and poor quality control at the Curtiss contributed to many of the issues. Nevertheless, the type was faster and carried a heavier bomb load than the Dauntless. By the end of the Pacific War, the Helldiver had become the main dive bomber on Navy carriers.

The first version of the Helldiver, the SB2C-1A, had various development problems that lead to only 200 being built. These aircraft were kept stateside by the Navy and used only for training. The Helldiver’s many problems were resolved as production moved forward on the SB2C-3 and SB2C-4 models beginning in 1944. These aircraft would participate in battles over the Marianas, the Philippines, Taiwan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. They were also used in air-to-ground attacks on the Japanese home islands.

The advent of fighter bombers and air-to-ground rockets toward the end of World War II ensured that the SB2C was the last purpose-built dive bomber produced. The SB2C remained in U.S. postwar service until 1950. Altogether, 7,141 Helldivers were produced. Don’t miss this fascinating presentation and flight demonstration on Saturday, July 19th 2025.

Doors open at 8am. The presentation begins at 9am.

https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-listof-images/nara-series/80-g/80-G-460000/80-G-469319.html