Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver by Classic Airframes

1/48 scale
Kit No. 97-41139950
Cost: $45.00 (aftermarket may be higher)
Decals: Two versions – VMO-151 based on Samoa, 1942; Helldiver of French Aeronavale, marooned on Martinque, 1940
Comments: Engraved panel lines and recessed rivet detail; vacuform canopies (2); resin detail parts (500 lb. bomb, radial engine, cockpit floor and instrument panel)

History

The SBC Helldiver, the last biplane to serve in a combat role with the U.S. Navy, entered service on July 17, 1937. The first version in service was actually the SBC-3, developed from the prototype XSBC-2, which was never more than a pre-production segue to the -3. Curtiss’ SBC Helldiver originated from a very different aircraft, a parasol-winged scout-observer designated XSBC-1, which, although unsuccessful, through changing military requirements and lessons learned from flight testing, morphed into what became known as the first Helldiver (not to be confused with the follow-on SB2C Helldiver of later WWII fame).

By the time the SBC-3 came off the assembly line, the Navy had changed its requirement from a two-seat scout-observer to a two-seat scout bomber. It featured a 750 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1535-94 air-cooled radial engine, a forward firing .30 caliber machine gun, a rearward firing .30 caliber machine gun, and was capable of a maximum speed of 220 mph and a range of 364 miles. Its service ceiling was 23,800 feet.

The SBC-4, the subject of this kit, differed from the -3 in that it had a larger, more powerful 950 hp Wright R-1820-22 air-cooled radial engine, requiring a redesign of the cowling and forward fuselage to accommodate the larger circumference of the new powerplant. With the more powerful engine it could carry a larger bomb load, a 1000-lb. bomb compared to the 500 lb. bomb of the -3. Its forward firing armament was upgraded to a .50 caliber machine gun, and it was slightly faster than the -3 at 234 mph, with an improved range of 405 miles.

The SBC-4 entered service in October 1940 and would become the mainstay divebomber of the U.S. Marine Corps and the Naval Reserves in the remaining time before America entered World War II. Because it was a later model in the SBC series and came on the scene just as the Navy was equipping its carrier squadrons with the new, state-of-the-art Douglas SBD Dauntless for front-line divebombing duties, the -4 rapidly equipped the Reserve squadrons. It was also, as was often the case when the Navy assigned itself priority for more choice equipment, shunted off to the Marine Corps.

While some SBC-4’s were exported to France and Great Britain during 1940 (with a certain amount of legerdemain at the Canadian border for the aircraft bound for Britain to skirt the 1939 Neutrality Act), none would see combat. France would capitulate to Nazi Germany just days after the French aircraft carrier Bearn sailed from the United States with 50 SBC-4’s aboard, so the Bearn diverted to Martinique where the Helldivers would ultimately fall victim to the elements, rotting away on a hillside of that Caribbean island. The RAF ultimately evaluated about 5 Helldivers, deemed them unfit for front-line service, and sent them to training units.

The first U.S. Marine squadron to receive the SBC-4 was Marine Observation Squadron One (VMO-1) in May 1941. VMO-1 went to sea aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown on June 29, 1941 for Neutrality Patrol duty in the Atlantic, relieving a Navy squadron then re-equipping with Douglas SBD’s. The cruise was uneventful until the morning of July 11th when a flight of Vindicators from VS-41 operating as scouts spotted an unidentified “man of war” twenty-five miles from the task force. The Yorktown turned into the wind and launched a section of VMO-1’s SBC-4’s that soon identified the ship as the American destroyer U.S.S. Winslow. VMO-1’s operations with the Helldivers was the last time carriers on Neutrality Patrol duty operated the type.

A Marine Helldiver on patrol, bomb displacement gear holding its 1,000 lb bomb in place.

In the heavily charged atmosphere following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the now renamed VMO-151 was transferred from MCAS Quantico, Virginia to NAS North Island, San Diego, California to perform anti-submarine patrols in the Los Angeles-San Diego area. While on patrol out of NAS Long Beach, covering an in-bound convoy, 2nd Lieutenant Walter Gregory spotted bubbles in the ocean from his SBC-4. He radioed in his find, was granted permission to attack, and dropped his 500-lb. bomb on the suspected Japanese submarine. Upon returning to base, he was debriefed and hustled out of sight; it turned out the intrepid Lt. Gregory had bombed an outlet of the Los Angeles sewer system. He was thereafter known as “Bubbles” Gregory — a nickname which no doubt hounded him throughout the remainder of his career as a naval aviator.

VMO-151 would soon be deployed to Samoa in the South Pacific on April 7, 1942, along with VMF-111, a Grumman F4F Wildcat squadron, amid fears that the Japanese would strike and potentially occupy several islands including Midway, Johnston Island, Palmyra, Samoa and Fiji. Men, material and particularly aircraft were sent from all services to each of these areas as quickly as possible.

The Marines found themselves on Tutuila, the largest island in the Samoan archipelago, where conditions were primitive at best. Mosquitos, humidity, and oppressive heat were their constant companions. They flew daily anti-submarine patrols, and an alert crew of six pilots and six gunners were on standby from dawn to dusk. Maintenance of the SBC-4’s was a problem, so much so that some of the patrols were flown in one of a handful of Grumman JRF-5 Ducks that had also been sent to Samoa.

In the event of Japanese attack, VMO-151’s operational plan consisted of striking the enemy force as far out as possible, entailing a one-way mission in which they expected to run out of fuel over the ocean en route back to Tutuila. Once they ditched, the plan called for the commanding general’s PBY to land on the water to pick them up, then take off again mid-ocean. One of the Marine aviators on Samoa, Colonel John B. Berteling, recalled, “It certainly was not the sort of plan that inspired confidence in our survival.” VMO-151 would remain on Samoa until early 1943, when they were finally re-equipped with Douglas SBD’s.

Samoa would be the final front-line service of the SBC-4. The U.S. Marine Corps would not phase it out of service completely until a full year after the Navy had retired the type. Like many other combat aircraft at the beginning of America’s war, it was pressed into service and stood in harm’s way until more modern aircraft were widely available.

The Kit

Classic Airframes SBC-4 Helldiver is injection molded in dark and light grey and consists of 34 plastic parts on two sprues, plus 33 resin parts comprising the engine, cockpit, and other small details. In addition, there is a photo-etch fret providing detail for the cockpit including sidewall panels, an instrument panel face, seat straps, rudder pedals and individual controls. The resin cockpit floor has the pilot’s seat molded onto it, although the rear observer’s seat is separate, there are individual cylinder heads for the radial engine, and the bomb has separately molded fins.

The engine cowling consists of two parts which will require seam hiding skill, and the biplane arrangement is interesting in that the upper wing consists of two parts while the lower wing is only one. Unlike some manufacturers which provide interplane struts of insufficient strength, Classic Airframes’ examples are both to scale and quite rugged in appearance. There is a single part for the three-bladed propeller, an option for a gun camera (to be placed atop the upper wing), an arrestor hook, and a part for the bomb displacement gear. Two illustrations are provided for the rigging of interplane support and antenna wires.

Markings

The kit decals provide markings for VMO-151, the Marine scout bombing squadron deployed to Samoa in the weeks immediately preceding the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4-8, 1942), in which the Japanese Empire tried to sever American communications with Australia during the tense months after the Pearl Harbor attack. The timing of VMO-151’s deployment alone makes this a kit of heightened interest, given the dire situation facing the Americans in the Pacific at the time and the fact that by 1942, the SBC-4 was no longer a front-line aircraft, merely the best that was available. The VMO-151 paint scheme calls for USN Blue Grey (FS 35189) over USN Light Grey (FS 36440) undersides.

The alternative markings are for an aircraft of the Aeronavale, the French Navy. A group of Helldivers were sold to France and en route by sea aboard the aircraft carrier Bearn in June 1940 when the French government surrendered to the Nazis. The Bearn detoured to the island of Martinique, where after significant diplomatic wrangling between the American and French governments, the Helldivers were debarked and literally left to rot on a hillside in the humid tropical climate, their use denied to both sides. This ill-fated machine is painted in a camouflage scheme of Green (FS34097 or 34079) and Grey (FS 36440) over either Light Blue or Light Grey undersides, with the red, white and blue of the French tri-color on the rudder.

Conclusion

While this kit does not have the look of a model that will just “fall together,” the raw materials are provided that can build up into a first class replica of the SBC-4 — with effort and perseverance. It is of great historical interest as the only U.S. Navy biplane to see action (if not actual combat) during World War II. Highly recommended.

Reference

SBC Helldiver in Action: Aircraft Number 151 by Thomas E. Doll; Copyright 1995 Squadron/Signal Publications, Carrollton, Texas.

A pair of SBC-4s being offloaded from a Royal Canadian Air Force barge. These are likely part of the group that sailed for France aboard the aircraft carrier Bearn in June 1940, only to be diverted to Martinique once the French surrendered to the Nazis.