US Navy and USMC Between The Wars in 1/100

[Butelczynski]

Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Company was located in Buffalo,NY? Wasn't Bell Aircraft also located there? Was Buffalo and aero business centre before and during ww2?

[Don Boose]

Karol -

Lawrence Bell worked for Consolidated, which had its factory in the former Curtiss plant in Buffalo. When Consolidated moved to San Diego in 1935, Bell stayed behind and established his company in the former-Consolidated-former-Curtiss operation. Both Curtiss and Bell continued to build airplanes in Buffalo during WWII.

Don

[scissorsandplanes]

So Buffalo was perhaps not an aero center but certainly an aero birthplace of several companies

[gomidefilho]

Awesome Goshawk my friend! Very beautiful!

[Rata]

Thanks guys. Working on something a bit 'out of the square' for our next project. So far so good.....

[Rata]

Next up is a Curtiss F8C-4 Helldiver of Battle Force Fighting Sqn One (VF-1B) ca 1931.
Not one of Bruno's but I pinched the wheels, gun, engine and prop from his Vought O2U Corsair, evolving the fuselage from the same model. Flying surfaces, landing gear and struts are from scratch.
And yes, I will be doing King Kong movie (1933 and 2005) versions down the track!
Model has been submitted to Ecards and now over to Don Boose for his usual in-depth description of the full size.

[Don Boose]

Garry’s model is of Curtiss F8C-4 Helldiver Bureau of Aeronautics Number (BuNo) A-8421 in the markings it carried in 1931 when it was the lead aircraft of Battle Force Fighting Squadron One (VF-1B) commanded by then-Lieutenant Commander Arthur Radford, who would serve with distinction during World War II in the Pacific and later become the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In 1928, the U.S. Navy was interested in a high performance two-place fighter for fleet defense that would also be capable of dive bombing. The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company offered the Navy Department a two-place aircraft, the Curtiss Model 37, based on the U.S. Army Air Corps Falcon attack/observation Falcon airplane. Since the Navy did not have an “attack” designation, the Navy Falcon was designated as the F8C-1 (eighth fighter built for the Navy by Curtiss) and later re-designated as the OC-1 (first observation aircraft built for the Navy by Curtiss) and F8C-3 (later re-designated as the OC-2).

The same year, Curtiss also developed a two-place fighter/dive bomber biplane for the Navy and, although it was an entirely different aircraft, it was designated XF8C-2 (Curtiss Model 49). The XF8C-2 first flew in November 1928, and in 1930 the now-renamed Curtiss-Wright Corporation delivered 25 production models, F8C-4 (Curtiss Model 49B), to the Navy. Most of them served with VF-1B aboard USS Saratoga. Since the missions of the new airplane included fighting and dive bombing, Curtiss assigned the popular name “Helldiver.”

The F8C-4 had a fabric covered welded steel tube fuselage structure with wood framed wings and aluminum framed tail surfaces. The main fuel tanks were built into the sides of the fuselage, giving the airplane a more rounded appearance than previous Curtiss fighters. It was armed with two fixed .30-caliber machines guns mounted in the upper wing center section outboard of the propeller arc and two flexible .30-caliber machine guns on a Scarff ring mounting in the rear cockpit. It could also carry a 500-pound bomb.

Newly assigned Commander Radford flew to Buffalo to take delivery of the new F8C-4s in August 1930. Radford and his pilots were not impressed with the new Helldivers. They found them to be adequate dive bombers, but too slow and cumbersome for air-to-air combat compared to the fast, agile Boeing F2Bs that they replaced. Furthermore, the engines tended to over-heat and the gunners got airsick when the pilots conducted fighter aerobatics. Nonetheless, the VF-1B “Tophatters” (so named for squadron emblem of a black top hat on a red disk) made the most of their new aircraft and frequently performed aerobatics at air races and other events.

Because of VF-1B's reputation, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film company requested the Navy allow the squadron to participate in the Clark Gable-Wallace Beery film “Helldivers.” The Navy gave substantial cooperation, and most of the movie, including aerial scenes of the VF-1B Helldivers in flight, was filmed at North Island Naval Air Station. The Navy also agreed to the inclusion in the film of historical footage from 1928 of the airship USS Los Angeles landing aboard Saratoga . Among the pilots who flew for the film was Lieutenant Junior Grade John S. Thach, who would become famous as a Navy ace in the Pacific War, commanded an aircraft carrier during the Korean War, and retired as a full Admiral.

In January 1932, VF-1B’s Helldivers were replaced with Boeing F4B-3s. All F8C-4s were transferred to Marine Corps and Naval Reserve units. Follow-on F8C-5s were built as land-based observation/dive bombers without arrestor hooks and, re-designated as O2C-1s, were issued to Marine units and, later, transferred to the Reserves. As far as I can determine, all the Reserve F8C-4s retained their original designations and were never re-designated as O2Cs. All of the F8C-5s/O2C-1s were fitted with Curtiss-designed anti-drag engine rings (the Reserve F8C-4s were so retrofitted). Two of the Reserve Helldivers from Naval Reserve Air Base New York at Floyd Bennett Field would appear in the 1933 film King Kong, but that’s another story. By the late 1930s, the Helldivers all were stricken from the Navy list, many of them being donated to high schools and colleges as instructional air frames.

Garry’s model is of the airplane piloted by Commander Radford. His back seat gunner was Aviation Machinist Mate [First Name Unknown] Womsies. The model is in the standard Naval Aviation colors of 1931: all fabric surfaces were painted with Aluminum Pigmented Dope, metal and wood surfaces were Naval Aircraft Gray, the upper wing surfaces were painted Orange Yellow, and the tail surfaces were painted Insignia Red. The engine front plate, fuselage stripe (identifying the lead ship of Section One, which was also the lead ship of the squadron), and top wing formation-keeping chevron are all Insignia Red. The airplane Bureau of Aeronautics number appears in three-inch high white characters on the vertical stabilizer. The top hat on a red disk emblem (adopted by VF-1B in 1927) appears on the fuselage side under the rear cockpit.

Images

1. A dramatic Jo Katula painting of the 1928 Curtiss XF8C-2. Model Airplane News, January 1954. I was so impressed by this cover when that issue of MAN came out that I saved it, and still have it in my “Curtiss” files.

2-4. Images of Curtiss F8C-4 Helldiver BuNo A-8421 1-F-1, lead aircraft of Battle Force Fighting Squadron 1 (VF-1B Top Hatters), USS Saratoga (CV-3) air group, 1931. Gates, p. 13, Alamy Photo Service, and San Diego Air and Space Museum still image collection.

5. Painting by Don Greer of Curtiss F8C-4 Helldiver BuNo A-8421 1-F-1, lead aircraft of Battle Force Fighting Squadron 1 (VF-1B Top Hatters), USS Saratoga (CV-3) air group, 1931. Gates, p. 33.

6. Curtiss F8C-4 Helldivers taking off from the deck of USS Saratoga in 1931. The broad vertical stripe on the funnel was to identify Saratoga , which was visually almost identical to USS Lexington (CV-2). Gates, p. 12.

7. A photograph taken during the filming of Helldivers. The caption reads, “Standing by a Curtiss F8C-4 aircraft of Fighting Squadron 1-B, at Naval Air Station, North Island, California, 16 September 1931, while filming the movie Helldivers. Those present are (from left to right): Actor Cliff Edwards; Lieutenant (Junior Grade) John S. Thach, USN; Actor Clark Gable; Actor (and USNR Officer) Wallace Beery; Lieutenant (Junior Grade) H.S. Duckworth, USN, and Lieutenant (Junior Grade) E.P. Southwick, USN. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives. Catalog #: 80-G-450865”

Sources:

Aviastar, “Curtiss F8C-4/O2C-1 1929,” available at Curtiss F8C-4, -5 / O2C-1 Helldiver - fighter, dive-bomber

Joe Baugher, “US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos, First Series (A6002 to 9999),” available at US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos--First Series (A6000 to 9999)

Peter M. Bowers, Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1979, pp. 274-277.

John M. Elliott, The Official Monogram US Navy & Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide, Vol. 1, 1911-1939, Boylston, MA: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1987, pp. 67, 120, 123.

Thomas F. Gates, Fighter Squadron Fourteen “Tophatters,” Carrolton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1993.

Roy A. Grossnick, United States Naval Aviation, 1910-1995, Washington, DC: Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center, 1997, available at: United States Naval Aviation, 1910-1995 : Grossnick, Roy A : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Jo Katula, painting of XF8C-2, Model Airplane News, January 1954.

William T. Larkins, U.S. Navy Aircraft 1921-1941, Concord, CA: Aviation History Publications, 1961.

Paul R. Matt and Bruce Robertson, United States Navy and Marine Corps Fighters 1918-1962, Fallbrook, CA: Aero Publishers, 1962, reprint of the Harleyford edition of 1962, pp. 44-46.

Gordon Swanborough and Peter M Bowers, “Curtiss F8C, O2C Helldiver,” United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968, pp. 130-131.

U.S. Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 14 website available at http://www.vfa14.navy.mil/

[Butelczynski]

Is this the predecessor of Curtis SBC Helldiver ? If so it looks like SCB was a huge leap forward for Curtis and US Navy.

Very nice and highly educational model. Thanks Garry.

[Don Boose]

Thanks for stopping in, Karol. I'm always glad to hear from you and to get your feedback.

The F8C-4 was a predecessor of the SBC in that it was a Curtiss Navy dive bomber, but as you say, there was a lot of difference between those airplanes. There were several intermediate steps during which the all-metal monocoque fuselage, retractable landing gear, flaps, closed canopy, and other innovations were introduced. I traced the immediate heritage of the SBC via the XF12C-1, XS4C-1, XSBC-1, XSBC-2, and XSBC-3 in my write up for Garry's SBC-4: http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/763634-post518.html

The link between the SBC and the SB2C is more obvious, especially in the fuselage and tail configuration.

Don

[papermate]

Beautiful Helldiver, Rata. Another top job.