I think it's hard to talk about the evolution of Marine aviation without paying homage to the warriors of VMSB-241 who boldly took the obsolete Vindicator into battle at Midway in 1942. This aircraft would be great for Midway/Marine Dive bomber campaigns and even single missions... frankly it would just be great to have in general, it played an unsung but pivotal role in the early part of the War when the Marines simply didn't have much in the way of modern assets and just had to make do. My focus is on the Marine -3's but there is room for further development in regards to the -1's and 2's and even the Chesapeake's of the Royal Navy should modders/skinners be so inclined, so it is a versatile platform in my opinion. I could go on and make more of a case, but I think the sacrifices of the aircrews of VMSB-241 are enough to justify this old bird's development and inclusion in our favorite sim! Semper Fi
[b]General characteristics[/b]
Crew: Two, pilot and gunner
Length: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)
Wingspan: 42 ft in (12.80 m)
Height: 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m)
Wing area: 305 ft² (28 m²)
Empty weight: 4,713 lb (2,138 kg)
Loaded weight: 6,379 lb (2,893 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 7,332 lb (3,326 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1535-96 Twin Wasp Jr radial engine, 825 hp (616 kW)
[b]Performance[/b]
Maximum speed: 251 mph (404 km/h)
Range: 630 mi (1,014 km)
Service ceiling: 27,500 ft (8,382 m)
Rate of climb: 1,340 ft/min (6.8 m/s)
Wing loading: 21 lb/ft² (103 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.13 hp/lb (0.21 kW/kg)
[b]Armament[/b]
Guns:
1 × forward firing 0.30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine gun in starboard wing (0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun in SB2U-3)
1 × .30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun in flexible mount for tail gunner (.50 in (12.7 mm) in SB2U-3)
Bombs: 1 × 1,000 lb (454 kg) or 500 lb (227 kg) bomb
Author
Topic: Vought SB2U-3 Vindicator (Read 6017 times)
