The Curtiss XSB3C was a proposed development by

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...

of the

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver is a dive bomber developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II. As a carrier-based bomber with the United States Navy (USN), in Pacific theaters, it supplemented and replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless. A few surviv ...

dive bomber, submitted to meet a

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

requirement for a new dive bomber to replace the SB2C in service. Considered inferior to the competing Douglas XSB2D and requiring higher grade fuel than was provided on aircraft carriers, the project was cancelled before any aircraft were built.

Design and development

In response to a Navy request for proposals issued on 3 February 1941 for a replacement for the SB2C,Norton 2008Lawson 2001 p.82 Curtiss designed an improved and enlarged version of the Helldiver, which was, at the time, still only in the process of flight testing. A larger tail, revised wing planform and tricycle landing gear distinguished the aircraft from its predecessor, in addition to the provision of heavier armament. An internal

bomb bay The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over t ...

in the midsection of the aircraft could carry up to of bombs, or alternatively, two torpedoes could be carried in semi-submerged mountings. In addition, hardpoints for two bombs were fitted under the wings. Forward-firing armament proposals were for the aircraft to be fitted with either six .50-calibre

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

s or four 20mm cannon in the wings, while defensive armament was planned to be fitted in a power-operated turret. Power was intended to be provided by a

Wright R-3350 The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone is an American twin-row, supercharged, air-cooled, radial aircraft engine with 18 cylinders displacing nearly . Power ranged from 2,200 to over 3,700 hp (1,640 to 2,760 kW), depending on the model. ...

of , while the

Pratt & Whitney R-4360 The Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major is an American 28-cylinder four-row radial engine, radial reciprocating engine, piston aircraft engine designed and built during World War II. First run in 1944, at , it is the largest-displacement aviation ...

, giving , was considered for future installation.Johnson 2008, pp. 425-426. Impressed with the inspection of the mockup of the massive aircraft in December 1941, the Navy ordered two prototypes, and parts of the design were tested by the XSB2C-6. As the project progressed during 1942, however, it was determined to be inferior to the competing Douglas aircraft. This, combined with the aircraft's requirement for 115/145 octane fuel, which was considered difficult to handle aboard ship, and the decision by the

Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and relate ...

that future attack aircraft would be single-seat aircraft, led to the Navy's decision to cancel the prototype contract, and no examples of the XSB3C were ever built.

Specifications (XSB3C-1)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Johnson, E.R. ''American Attack Aircraft Since 1926''. McFarland, 2008. . * Lawson, Robert and Barrett Tillman. ''U. S. Navy Dive and Torpedo Bombers of World War II''. MBI Publishing, 2001, p. 82-83. . * Norton, Bill. ''U.S. Experimental & Prototype Aircraft Projects: Fighters 1939-1945''. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2008, p. 111. .

External links