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The Vought SB2U Vindicator (known as the Chesapeake in Royal Navy service) was a carrier-based dive bomber developed for the US Navy in the 1930s, the first monoplane in this role. Obsolescent at the outbreak of World War II, Vindicators still remained in service at the time of the Battle of Midway, but by 1943 all had been withdrawn to training units.1 Development
In 1934, the US Navy issued a requirement for a new Scout Bomber for carrier use, and received proposals from six manufacturers. The specification was issued in two parts, one for a monoplane, and one for a biplane. Vought submitted designs in both categories, which would become the XSB2U-1 and XSB3U-1 respectively.
The SB2U was evaluated alongside the Brewster XSBA-1 , Curtiss XSBC-3 , Great Lakes XB2G -1, Grumman XSBF -1, and Northrop XBT-1 . All but the Great Lakes and Grumman submissions were ordered into production. Around 170 of all variants were produced, and a single example is preserved at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola.
2 Operational history
2.1 US Navy
Vindicators served on five carriers, USS Lexington, USS Saratoga, USS Ranger, USS Wasp, and USS EssexThe USS Essex in heavy seas Career Laid down: 28 April 1941 Launched: 31 July 1942 Commissioned: 31 December 1942 Decommissioned: 30 June 1969 Fate:sold for scrap General Characteristics Displacement:27,100 tons Length:872 ft Beam:93 ft Extreme Width:147. between December 1937This is a list of aviation-related events from 1937: Events March March 5 Imperial Airways opens a new flying boat base at Hythe, Hampshire. April April 12 Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft at the British Th and September 1942This is a list of aviation-related events from 1942: Events January January 30 Canadian Pacific Air Lines formed by the acquisition and merger of Arrow Airways and Canadian Airways, along with all the various subsidiaries of the latter. April April 18 Col.
2.2 Royal Navy
Chesapeakes were obtained by the Fleet Air ArmThis article refers to the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. Many navies through the world operate a Fleet Air Arm of their own, covered under the article on that navy itself. The Fleet Air Arm is the operational group of the Royal Navy responsible for in July 1941This is a list of aviation-related events from 1941: Events Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to fly a bomber across the Atlantic Ocean. February February 8 a fleet of Junkers Ju 52s is used to airlift German troops to North Africa. February 10 Br, and used to equip a reformed No. 811 Squadron FAA811 Squadron is a squadron of Britain's Fleet Air Arm. The squadron was flying the Fairey Swordfish in 1939 from HMS Glorious. When that ship was lost the survivors were drafted to help reform No. 815 NAS who had been operating from the same ship. 811 was whose crews referred to it as the 'cheesecake'. The squadron was intended to use them for anti-submarine patrols and was earmarked for the escort carrier HMS Archer.
By the end of October that year it had been decided that the Chesapeakes were under-powered for the planned duties and would not be able to lift a sensible warload from the small escort carriers. Accordingly they were withdrawn and 811 re-equipped with the Fairey Swordfish
3 Description
The SB2U was of conventional low-wing tailwheel monoplane configuration, with the pilot and tailgunner seated in tandem under a long greenhouse-style canopy. Its only remarkable design feature was a propeller with reversible pitch, allowing it to be used to brake the aircraft during a dive bombing attack.
