Dive bomber in miniature
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Title (Dublin Core)
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Dive bomber in miniature
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Article Title and/or Image Caption (Dublin Core)
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Dive bomber in miniature
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extracted text (Extract Text)
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WHEN we attacked
the Japs at Rabaul,
we unleashed against
them a hitherto untried
weapon — the Helldiver.
Since then this plane, a
dive bomber made by
Curtiss, has pursued the
enemy throughout the
Southwest and - Central
Pacific, bombing and
strafing them in an awe-
some manner. Carrier
based and amazingly
versatile, it is called the
world’s biggest, fastest,
and deadliest dive
bomber.
A two-place monoplane
of semimonocoque con-
struction, the Helldiver
has an over-all length of
37" and a full-cantilever
wing that spans almost 50’. Although it
weighs nearly seven tons, the plane can
take off from and land on the smallest of
baby flattops, thanks to the mechanically
operated quick-opening wing flaps. |
It is powered with a Wright Cyclone air-
cooled radial engine and equipped with a
three-blade Curtiss electric constant-speed,
full-feathering propeller, which is made of
hollow steel and is 12’ in diameter. The
retractable landing gear, the folding wings
that facilitate storage aboard ship, and the
bomb-bay doors in the belly are all hydrau-
lically operated. |
As you did when building the other models |
in this series, first lay out a full-size draw- |
ing of the plane, using the accompanying
half-size illustration as a guide. Carve the
fuselage to shape; then slot it to take the
wing. This is made in one piece. It can be
cut at the points where it folds, if desired,
and small flush hinges inserted. Make the
rudder and elevators from 3/16” stock. Glue
them and the wing to the fuselage and fill
in the crevices with plastic composition
wood, building it up to form fairing fillets.
Use match sticks for the wing-mounted
machine guns and Pitot tube and for the
fuselage-mounted aerial. The propeller is
a celluloid disk with a hub cut from dowel-
ing. Paint the underbody light blue and the
topsides gray, as shown in the photos.
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Language (Dublin Core)
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eng
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Date Issued (Dublin Core)
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1945-05
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pages (Bibliographic Ontology)
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157
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Rights (Dublin Core)
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Public domain
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Archived by (Dublin Core)
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Sami Akbiyik
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Marco Bortolami (editor)
Popular Science Monthly, v. 146, n. 5, 1945
