History of the SB2N “Gannet” Naval Dive Bomber

The Gannet dive bomber was developed in the late 1930’s, and competed against the SBD Dauntless for the role of the Navy’s primary dive bomber. While it lost this position because of the Dauntless having a larger payload and offensive armament for self defense, the Gannet began to open its scope on possible users. A small amount of examples were used by countries such as the dutch to fight against the Japanese. While they did perform decently against Japanese naval assets, the smaller bomb load and lack of any real self defense gave something to be desired for the pilots. Seeing this, almost immediately work began to improve the combat efficiency of the Gannet. The first change was the armament, adding a pair of 100lb HE bombs to try and supplement the payload deficiency, along with the removal of one of the defensive guns and additional of two .50 cal. machine guns for the pilot. To allow these additions, the engine was also brought up to the Pratt & Whitney R-1830-94 engine, pushing out an extra 150hp, meaning the flight performance is slightly improved with payload and capable of fighting aircraft when without payload.

-Specifications

• Powered by an improved Pratt & Whitney R-1830-94 radial engine putting out 1350hp

• Weapons include a pair of front facing .50 caliber guns, a rear mounted .50 caliber gun, a 500lb SAP bomb, and a pair of 100lb HE bombs.

-Controls

• AG-1 - dive brakes
• AG-4 - drop 500lb bomb
• AG-5 - drop 100lb bombs
• AG-6 - arresting hook
• AG-7 - fold wings
• AG-8 - open/close canopy
• VTOL - flaps

All cockpit controls are in the instructions menu, with location and purpose stated.