In the 1930s it became obvious for the U.S. Navy that the biplane era is over. Cantilever low-wing monoplane with retractable undercarriage, phenomenon of the time, offered much better performance in comparison with the classical biplanes. This fact convinced the decision-makers to call for a competition for a new SB category machine (SB for Scout-Bomber) and dive bombing abilities were required. XSB2U prototype, named Vindicator and made by Vought factory was the winner and was accepted into production for the U.S. Navy and Marines, and manufactured in SB2U-1, -2 and -3 variants. Longer range than the earlier models had was required by the Navy and Marines and so the -3 version got enlarge