Their first aircraft was the SBW-4E Helldiver. AT-7, Douglas A-24 Dauntless, Curtiss A-25 Helldiver, and the B-34 Lexington. By 1944 the U.S. Navy began replacing the SBD with the more powerful SB2C Helldiver. The group was initially equipped with a few Douglass Dauntless and Curtis Helldiver dive bombers. Notable later kits were the PZL-23, the Morane-Saulnier 230, and the SBC Helldiver (biplane). Nearly 1,500 landings were made by Fairey Barracuda, Fairey Swordfish and Curtiss Helldiver aircraft. F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair fighters to the multi-seat SB2C Helldiver dive bomber. By that point, Marine Corps dive-bombing squadrons were transitioning to the SB2C Helldiver. The Helldiver was developed to replace the Douglas SBD Dauntless. Eventually the Duck was joined by a SNJ-3 Texan, and a SBC-4 Helldiver biplane. The French "Aeronavale" flew the Helldiver from 1951 to 1958. Two later generations of Curtiss dive-bombers would also be named Helldiver.