[Pathfinder]

I am planning a painting of a Curtiss Helldiver in the near future and have been doing some research.

It seems this aircraft type was was not well liked by it aircrews, and had the nickname, 'Son of a bitch, 2nd Class' due to its poor overall performance.

However, I do believe that overall this aircraft type served well and dished out some severe punishment on Japanese shipping and other targets.

Can anyone confirm this for me please, to give me a little more background to this aircraft? Although I know many veterans who flew various types, I have never spoken to a pilot of one of these.

Pathfinder