REQ: FSX SB2C Helldiver

**navychief8** · May 31st, 2010, 13:49

This is great news. I don't know how you can talk about WWII Carrier Ops without the "Helldiver"

**roger-wilco-66** · May 31st, 2010, 14:13

@ helldiver: I always wondered, was there some kind of mechanism in the rear gun(s) that prevented the gunnner from accidentally shooting in the rear fuselage or stabilizers in the heat of the action or by mistake (like blocking or disabling the trigger at a certain location)?

cheers,
Mark

**bazzar** · May 31st, 2010, 14:59

Originally Posted by Prowler1111

there is no secret code, i said 2 pages ago, plain and simple, we´ll do one, can´t be freeware but we need as much info as we can get on the plane..from you.
Also sent Helldiver a PM asking him for more info, to no avail...lol...
Best regards
Prowler
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There you go, I thought we'd get the right reaction...

Looks like you'll be seeing your beloved 2CEE after all mate.

B.

**Helldiver** · June 1st, 2010, 06:49

Originally Posted by roger-wilco-66

@ helldiver: I always wondered, was there some kind of mechanism in the rear gun(s) that prevented the gunnner from accidentally shooting in the rear fuselage or stabilizers in the heat of the action or by mistake (like blocking or disabling the trigger at a certain location)?

cheers,
Mark

There were blocks set up keeping a careless gunner from shooting the plane up. As a consequence our field of fire was limited to a narrow cone from 8 o'clck to 4 o'clock. Since it was impossible to shoot straight up, there was a physcal limits in that direction. As a gunnery platform it really stunk.
The TBF gunners had it better but being confined in that turret was really torture when it was hot.

**CheckSix** · June 1st, 2010, 07:21

You got my money...

Remember making a model kit of this aircraft many, many moons ago. I was so young I didnt appreciate what I was building and the fact that the model company would stop producing plastic kits and the ones I had waiting to be built would be worth a mint some 30 years later!
What sticks in my mind when thinking back to that glue encrusted model? The love I had of that stonking great radial engine sitting on the end of a ruddy great long nose with big fat wings that gave the aircraft a menacing, solid, reliable feel to it. That Helldiver downed more plastic foes, sank more plastic ships, shot up more plastic figurines that anyone could shake a stick at, then my mother trod on it whilst vaccuming... I cried, I tantrumed and it was put back together with more glue than a Bostik factory but... It was my Helldiver... And I loved it. (I never had a cuddly toy as a nipper, my Dad just gave me model airplanes LOL!)

So yeah, anybody who makes one then you got my money in advance if need be.

**Prowler1111** · June 1st, 2010, 07:32

Chk6..by any chance it was the matchbox 1/72 one? i had like 3 of them, just one in display conditions..lol...still at my room over my folks...

Prowler

**mal998** · June 1st, 2010, 08:27

Originally Posted by Prowler1111

Chk6..by any chance it was the matchbox 1/72 one? i had like 3 of them, just one in display conditions..lol...still at my room over my folks...

Prowler

I have fond memories of building a wonderful Monogram 1/48 scale Helldiver (now I am dating myself).

It was loaded with moving features, folding wings, opening/closing bomb bay, retractable landing gear...what a great model that was.

Monogram had a complete line of 1/48 scale WWII Navy and Army aircraft. I built 'em all...P-39, F4F, TBM, SBD etc. etc.

Good times, those days!

**Cleartheprop** · June 1st, 2010, 10:15

Actual SB2C Helldiver flight manuals are here for $20.
might be useful... :ernae:

**CheckSix** · June 1st, 2010, 10:22

Prowler, it WAS the Matchbox model

**traindriver98** · June 1st, 2010, 11:09

I remember a USN dive bomber called "The Big Tail F****R. Is this the one they were talking about? My father-in-law told me a story about a mission he went on. He was not a crew member just knew the pilot. He learned how to use the gun before the end of the flight.

**Helldiver** · June 1st, 2010, 13:28

I doubt that it was the SB2C. You mentioned "The Gun". I must have been a single .50. We opted for the twin .30s, both smaller and it put more ammo out there in a shorter period of time.
He would have uncaged the gun. Park it to one side. Then put the hydraulic selector to "Fold Canopy". Put in the wobble pump handle and start pumping. Remove pump handle and stow it. .Start the electrical system and take off the safetys and charge the guns.
Hardly something that someone would be able to teach himslf.

***modelr*** · June 2nd, 2010, 04:29

Originally Posted by mal998

I have fond memories of building a wonderful Monogram 1/48 scale Helldiver (now I am dating myself).

It was loaded with moving features, folding wings, opening/closing bomb bay, retractable landing gear...what a great model that was.

Monogram had a complete line of 1/48 scale WWII Navy and Army aircraft. I built 'em all...P-39, F4F, TBM, SBD etc. etc.

Good times, those days!

mal998
You can get most of the old Monogram 1/48 kits now, as they have been rereleasing them over the years. I have managed to pickup some I missed when originally released. My SB2C is still in the box, just the interior green base coat hand painted so far. Must have been done over 20 years ago.

**Helldiver** · June 2nd, 2010, 05:00

Was it in the yellowsh green, known as "baby crap yellow" for the Zinc Chomate they used for the insides, or was it the dark green paint, that they used on the outside exterior parts, like the landing gear?

**mal998** · June 2nd, 2010, 05:07

Originally Posted by modelr

mal998
You can get most of the old Monogram 1/48 kits now, as they have been rereleasing them over the years. I have managed to pickup some I missed when originally released. My SB2C is still in the box, just the interior green base coat hand painted so far. Must have been done over 20 years ago.

Funny thing is, I have a Monogram P-61 sitting in the closet in the exact same shape. Still unbuilt with only the cockpit area painted zinc chromate green.

They used zinc chromate on the interior parts of planes for many, many years. I believe it was used because of it's anti-corrosive properties.

"Back in the 1940s as well as in the paint industry of today, the term Zinc Chromate does not refer to a paint color, but rather a protective coating.
Zinc Chromate is a corrosion resistant agent that is added to certain coatings. Even today, chromate finishes including Zinc Chromate provide superior corrosion resistance. Additionally, Zinc Chromate is highly toxic thus protecting the surface from proliferation of organic matter.
In the aircraft industry of the 1940s, Zinc Chromate was used as an anti-corrosive barrier primer; it could be described as a sort of painted-on galvanizing. It has been developed by Ford Motor Company by the late 1920s, subsequently adopted in commercial aviation and later by the US Military. Official USAAC notes mention successful application of Zinc Chromate primer starting from 1933, but it has not been adopted as standard until 1936."

Interestingly enough, I just came across this picture of a P-39 that had the landing gear painted green, which in my recollection is very unusual.

Most were either left as bare metal or painted aluminum color.

Attachment 9385

**Mithrin** · June 2nd, 2010, 12:13

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Will buy this one for sure!

**Helldiver** · June 2nd, 2010, 12:37

That dark green was used on most of the war time aircraft. It was called exterior Zinc Chromate. Not like the pale yellow/green stuff used in the inside. The paint was called "Zinc Chromate" not to be confused with Ford's patents.
Here a picture of a poorly serviced landing gear. Showing the dark green in the gear and the wheel cover.