Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 3:04:17-3:04:38

Why the SB2C was not routinely called Helldiver II

The earlier SBC also bore the Helldiver name, but wartime usage did not generally turn the later SB2C into a numbered Helldiver II.

Aircraft DesignationsCurtiss SBC HelldiverNaval AviationSB2C HelldiverUS Navy
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Question

Why is the Curtiss SB2C not generally referred to as Helldiver II?

Short answer

Although the earlier SBC also carried the name, wartime writers generally did not treat the SB2C as a numbered sequel.

Notes

The SB2C was not generally referred to as Helldiver II. Although the earlier Curtiss SBC also carried the Helldiver name, many wartime writers did not realise that there had been an earlier aircraft with that name. That is the explanation offered for using Helldiver without a sequel number.