heavily modified version, intended as a long-range scout bomber, capable of being fitted with a conventional wheeled undercarriage, for operations from aircraft carriers or land airbases, or with floats. To give the required increased range, the fuselage fuel tank fitted to the SB2U-1 and -2 was supplemented by integral wing tanks, while the aircraft's tail had an increased span. The prototype XSB2U-3, converted from the last SB2U-1, flew in February 1939, and after testing as both a landplane and floatplane, 57 SB2U-3s were ordered on 25 September 1939, mainly for the US Marine Corps. The SB2U is prominently featured in the 1941 film Dive Bomber. There were 260 examples of all Vindicator variants produced, and a single example is preserved at the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola, Florida. Operational history U.S. Navy Deliveries to the US Navy began in December 1937, when four aircraft joined VB-3 aboard the aircraft carrier , replacing Curtiss BFC-2 biplanes. As well as Saratoga, Vindicators served on the carriers , , and . Air Group Nine, destined for , trained in Vindicators aboard the escort carrier , but they transitioned to the Douglas SBD Dauntless before Essex joined the war. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, seven Vindicators from the U.S. squadron VMSB-231 were destroyed at Ewa Field. U.S. Marine Corps VMSB-131 and VMSB-241 were the only two USMC squadrons that fielded the Marine-specific SB2U-3 between March 1941 and September 1943. VMSB-241's Vindicators saw combat at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Airmen with experience in more modern aircraft spoke disparagingly of SB2Us as "vibrators" or "wind indicators" in their later combat assignments. Captain Richard E. Fleming piloted a SB2U-3 Vindicator in an attack on the Japanese cruiser Mikuma on 5 June 1942, for which he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. French Navy Based on the SB2U-2, the V-156-F incorporated specific French equipment. Briefly after the deliveries started in July 1939, V-156-F crews were trained for carrier operations aboard the French carrier , but when the war broke out the old carrier was declared too slow for operational service. As a result, V-156-F-equipped units escadrilles AB 1 and AB 3 were based ashore when the Battle of France started. AB 1 sustained heavy losses while attacking bridges and German ground targets in Northern France, as well as providing air cover for the Evacuation of Dunkirk. AB 3's V-156-Fs were briefly