Vought SB2U Vindicator: Американдық әскери ұшағының тарихы

The Vought SB2U Vindicator is an American carrier based dive bomber developed for the United States Navy in the 1930s, the first monoplane in this role. Vindicators still remained in service at the time of the Battle of Midway, but by 1943, all had been withdrawn to training units. It was known as the Chesapeake in Royal Navy service.

In 1934, the United States 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 biplane was considered alongside the monoplane design as a "hedge" against the U. S. Navy's reluctance to pursue the modern configuration. The XSB2U 1 was of conventional low wing monoplane configuration with a retractable conventional tailwheel landing gear, the pilot and tail gunner being seated in tandem under a long greenhouse style canopy. The fuselage was of steel tube construction, covered with aluminum panels from the nose to the rear cockpit with a fabric covered rear fuselage, while the folding cantilever wing was of all metal construction. A Pratt & Whitney R 1535 Twin Wasp Junior radial engine drove a two blade constant speed propeller, which was intended to act as a dive brake during a dive bombing attack. The use of propeller braking was not entirely successful, and in practice US Navy Vindicators lowered the aircraft's undercarriage to act as a speed brake and dived at shallower angles. A single bomb could be carried on a swinging trapeze to allow it to clear the propeller in a steep dive, while further bombs could be carried under the wings to give a maximum bombload of
The SB2U was evaluated against 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. Designated XSB2U 1, one prototype was ordered on 15 October 1934 and was delivered on 15 April 1936. Accepted for operational evaluation on 2 July 1936, the prototype XSB2U 1, BuNo 9725, crashed on 20 August 1936. Its successful completion of trials led to further orders, and a further 58 of a slightly modified version, the SB2U 2, on 6 October 1938. The SB2U 3 was a more heavily modified version, intended as a long range scout bomber, capable of being fitted with a conventional wheeled undercarriage, for operations from aircraft carriers or land airbases, or with floats. To give the required increased range, the fuselage fuel tank fitted to the SB2U 1 and 2 was supplemented by integral wing tanks, while the aircraft's tail had an increased span. The prototype XSB2U 3, converted from the last SB2U 1, flew in February 1939, and after testing as both a landplane and floatplane, 57 SB2U 3s were ordered on 25 September 1939, mainly for the US Marine Corps. The SB2U is prominently featured in the 1941 film Dive Bomber. There were 260 examples of all Vindicator variants produced, and a single example is preserved at the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola, Florida.

Deliveries to the US Navy began in December 1937, when four aircraft joined VB 3 aboard the aircraft carrier Saratoga, replacing Curtiss BFC 2 biplanes. As well as Saratoga, Vindicators served on the carriers Lexington, Ranger, and Wasp. Air Group Nine, destined for Essex, trained in Vindicators aboard the escort carrier Charger, but they transitioned to the Douglas SBD Dauntless before Essex joined the war. Airmen with experience in more modern aircraft spoke disparagingly of SB2Us as "vibrators" or "wind indicators" in their later combat assignments. Captain Richard E. Fleming piloted a SB2U 3 Vindicator in an attack on the Japanese cruiser Mikuma on 5 June 1942, for which he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

On 22 February 1939, France placed an order for 20 V 156 Fs for the carrier based squadrons of the Aéronautique Navale (French Naval Aviation), with an order for 20 more V 156 Fs following in May 1939. Based on the SB2U 2, the V 156 F incorporated specific French equipment, included Darne machine guns and French radios, while the aircraft were fitted with dive brakes, as tested and rejected by the US Navy. On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the French Navy decided that its only aircraft carrier, French aircraft carrier Béarn was two slow for operational service, and the ship's squadrons disembarked for land based service. By mid October 1939, the first escadrille, AB 1, had reequipped with the V 156 F, In March–April 1940, AB 1's pilots carried out successful deck landing training aboard Béarn, and were declared carrier qualified. AB 1 was ordered up to Northern France from Hyères as a replacement, sustaining heavy losses while attacking bridges and German ground targets in Northern France, including seven aircraft shot down by Messerschmitt Bf 109s during an attack on a bridge over the Sambre–Oise Canal on 20 May 1940, and later that month provided air cover for the Evacuation of Dunkirk. By the time of the Armistice, there were only a handful of remaining Voughts in French hands, and the type was phased out of service.

France had placed an order for a further 50 V 156 Fs in March 1940, with delivery planned from March 1941. Following the defeat of France, this order was taken over by the British government for use by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, who named the aircraft the Chesapeake. The British required several modifications to the Chesapeake, including the additional fuel tank fitted to the SB2U 3, Fourteen Chesapeakes were used to equip a reformed 811 Naval Air Squadron on 14 July 1941 at RNAS Lee on Solent. The squadron, whose crews referred to it as the "cheesecake", intended to use them for anti submarine patrols, and they were earmarked for the escort carrier
By the end of October that year, it had been decided that the Chesapeakes were underpowered for the planned duties and would not be able to lift a useful payload from the small escort carriers. Accordingly, they were withdrawn from 811 Squadron in November 1941 for use as training aircraft and the unit was re equipped with the biplane Fairey Swordfish.