Quote:
Originally Posted by Treetop64
The Seamew turned out to be quite useful as a radio controlled target. No kidding.
Curtis tried to rescue the situation with the SO3C by building a lighter version with a more powerful engine, and it had a limited production run, but no one was interested.
Poor Curtiss. They started off brilliantly with the Hawk and P-40 series, then it all went downhill from there. At least they continued to build very good propeller and hub systems for a long time, used by many other aircraft, and they could be proud of that.
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From what I've read, Curtiss ended up with severe management problems that stifled the potential of their engineers. Like a lot of companies but worse I suppose
Another Curtiss aircraft ..the SB2C Helldiver is lambasted in some of the short histories of aircraft... it seems that any more in depth reading suggests that after some modifications and changes that it ended the war with a good reputation and a solid combat record (more shipping sunk than any other USN type). I'm sure the Hispano cannons and HVAR rocket attachments on later models were very appreciated.