Originally Posted by
Helldiver
"Bill Palmer, a pilot in VB17, on board Bunker Hill, the first squadron to take the SB2C-1 into combat does refer to it as the Beast..."
Well I don't care if he called it Hop-a Long Cassidy, it was always the "2-Cee" to the rest of us.
The Dauntless, might have an eight foot advantage in wing span, but if you were ever on an active flight deck you'd appreciate the ability of folding wings. I never heard a single pilot complain about the added weight of the wing fold mechanism, any more than the weight of paint.
The SBD did it's work until the SB2C came along and established the highest kill of all Japanese shipping. It deserves an equal billing and certainly not the outrageous scorn of writers that weren't even born while the Helldivers were flying.