Wikipedia

Douglas TBD Devastator

TheDouglas TBD Devastatorwas an Americantorpedo bomberof theUnited States Navy.Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy, being the firstmetalmonoplanein theUnited States Navy;[1]however, by the time of theUS entry into World War 2,the TBD was already outdated.

TBD Devastator
US Navy TBD-1 Torpedo Squadron Six (VT-6), fromUSSEnterprise(CV-6),circa 1938
General information
TypeTorpedo bomber
National originUnited States
ManufacturerDouglas Aircraft Company
Primary userUnited States Navy
Number built130
History
Manufactured1937–1939
Introduction date3 August 1937
First flight15 April 1935
Retired1944

The Devastator performed well early in the war, most notably in theBattle of the Coral Sea,but earned infamy for a catastrophic performance during theBattle of Midwayin which 41 Devastators recorded zero torpedo hits with only six surviving to return to their carriers. Although much of the Devastator's dismal performance was later attributed to the many well-documented defects in the USMark 13 torpedo,the aircraft was withdrawn from frontline service after Midway, being replaced by theGrumman TBF Avenger.

Design and development

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The XTBD-1 with the original flat canopy in 1935
The first production TBD-1 in 1937
A single TBD-1A was tried as a floatplane

The Douglas XTBD-1 was ordered on 30 June 1934 after being one of the winners of aUS Navycompetition for new bombers to operate from its aircraft carriers.[2]Other aircraft also ordered for production as a result of the competition included theBrewster SBA,theVought SB2U Vindicator,and theNorthrop BT-1,the last of which would evolve into theDouglas SBD Dauntless.[3]TheGreat Lakes XB2G,Great Lakes XTBG,Grumman XSBF,Hall XPTBHandVought XSB3Uwere also tendered to the specification but were not developed beyond prototype status.[3]

The XTBD Devastator flew for the first time on 15 April 1935 while marking a number of "firsts" for the US Navy.[4]It was the first American carrier-basedmonoplaneto be widely used, the first all-metal naval aircraft, the first with a completely enclosed cockpit, the first with power-actuated (hydraulically)folding wings.[5]A semi-retractable landing gear was fitted, with the wheels protruding 10 in (250 mm) below the wings to potentially limit damage to the aircraft in a "wheels-up"landing. A crew of three was normally carried beneath a large" greenhouse "canopy almost half the length of the aircraft. The pilot sat in front; a rear gunner/radio operator took the rearmost position, while the bombardier occupied the middle seat. During a bombing run, the bombardier lay prone, sliding into position under the pilot to sight through a window in the bottom of the fuselage, using theNorden bombsight.[6]

The normal TBD offensive armament consisted of either a 1,935 lb (878 kg)Bliss-Leavitt Mark 13aerial torpedoor a 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb carriedsemi-recessedin the fuselage. Alternatively, three 500 lb (230 kg) general-purpose bombs (one under each wing root and one inside the fuselage), or twelve 100 lb (45 kg) fragmentation bombs (six under each wing root), could be carried. This weapons load would often be used when attacking Japanese targets on theGilbertandMarshall Islandsin 1942.[6]Defensive armament consisted of a.30 in (7.62 mm)Browning machine gunfor the rear gunner. Fitted in the starboard side of the cowling was either a.30 in (7.62 mm) or.50 in (12.7 mm)M2 Browning machine gun.[6]

The powerplant was a 850 hp (630 kW)Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64Twin Waspradial engine,a development of the prototype's 800 hp (600 kW)Pratt & Whitney XR-1830-60/R-1830-1.[7]Other changes from the 1935 prototype included a revised engine cowling[8]and a raised cockpit canopy to improve visibility.[5]

The XTBD had a flat canopy that was replaced on production models by a higher, domed canopy with a rollover bar. Other than requests by test pilots to improve pilot visibility, the prototype easily passed its acceptance trials that ran from 24 April to 24 November 1935 at NAS (Naval Air Station)AnacostiaandNorfolkbases. After successfully completing torpedo drop tests, the prototype was transferred to theLexingtonfor carrier certification.[9]The extended service trials continued until 1937 with the first two production aircraft retained by the company exclusively for testing.[10]

The US Navy'sBureau of Aeronautics(BuAer) purchased 129 examples, and began to equip the carriersUSSSaratoga,Enterprise,Lexington,Wasp,Hornet,YorktownandRangerstarting in 1937. Even prewar, TBD units were being shifted to training duties with at least one aircraft being converted to target tug duty.[11]By 1940, the US Navy was aware that the TBD had become outclassed and a replacement, theGrumman TBF Avenger,was in the works, but it was not yet operational when the US enteredWorld War II.Attrition had by then reduced their numbers to just over 100 aircraft.[12]When the US Navy assigned popular names to its aircraft in late 1941, the TBD became theDevastator,although its nickname "torpecker" was still commonly used.[13]

Operational history

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A VT-6 TBD after attackingWake Island,24 February 1942
TBDs from VT-5 over the Huon Gulf, 10 March 1942
A TBD-1 from VT-3 en route to the Japanese fleet at Midway
VT-8's "T-16" (BuNo 1506, LCDRJohn C. Waldron,Horace F. Dobbs CRMP) taking off fromUSSHornet,4 June 1942. The twin.30 caliber machine guns in the rear were unique to VT-8.[14]

In the early days of the Pacific war, the TBD acquitted itself well during February and March 1942, with TBDs fromEnterpriseandYorktownattacking targets in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands,WakeandMarcus Islands,while TBDs fromYorktownandLexingtonstruck Japanese shipping offNew Guineaon 10 March.[15]In theBattle of the Coral SeaDevastators helped sink the Japanese aircraft carrierShōhōon 7 May, but failed to hit another carrier, theShōkaku,the next day.[16]

Many faults were discovered with theMark 13 torpedoat this point. Many were seen to hit the target yet failed to explode; there was also a tendency to run deeper than the set depth. It took over a year for the defects to be corrected. These problems were not fixed by the time of theBattle of Midwayon 4 June 1942.

At Midway, a total of 41 Devastators, the majority of the type still operational, were launched fromHornet,EnterpriseandYorktownto attack the Japanese fleet.[17]The sorties were not well coordinated, in part because Rear AdmiralRaymond A. Spruanceordered a strike on the enemy carriers immediately after they were discovered, rather than spending time assembling a well-coordinated attack involving the different types of aircraft – fighters, bombers, torpedo planes – reasoning that attacking the Japanese would prevent a counterstrike against the US carriers. The TBDs fromHornetandEnterpriselost contact with their escort and started their attacks without fighter protection.[18][19]

The Devastator proved to be a death trap for its crews: slow and hardly maneuverable, with poor armor for the era; its speed on a glide-bombing approach was a mere 200 mph (320 km/h), making it easy prey for fighters and defensive guns alike. The aerial torpedo could not even be released at speeds above 115 mph (185 km/h).[20]Torpedo delivery requires a long, straight-line attack run, making the aircraft vulnerable, and the slow speed of the aircraft made them easy targets for theMitsubishi A6M Zeros.[21]Only four TBDs made it back toEnterprise,none toHornetand two toYorktown,without scoring a torpedo hit.[22]

Nonetheless, their sacrifice was not completely in vain, as several TBDs managed to get within a few ship-lengths range of their targets before dropping their torpedoes, being close enough to be able to strafe the enemy ships and force the Japanese carriers to take sharp evasive maneuvers.[23]By obliging the Japanese to keep their flight decks clear and to continually cycle and reinforce theircombat air patrols,they prevented any Japanese counter-attacks against the American carriers, just as Spruance had anticipated. These windows of opportunity were exploited by the late-arriving Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers led byLieutenant CommandersC. Wade McCluskyandMax Leslie,which dive-bombed and fatally damaged three of the four Japanese carriers about one hour after the first TBD torpedo attacks had developed.[21][24]While the Devastators faced the stiff defenses of the carriers and their fighters, their attacks served to distract the Japanese attention from the Dauntless dive bombers' strikes, resulting in relatively lighter resistance from the IJN carriers' defensive fighter patrols, and more effective American attacks that crippled the IJN carrier forces.

Obsolescence

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The Navy immediately withdrew the 39 remaining TBDs from frontline units after the failure at Midway. The surviving Devastators inVT-4and VT-7 remained in service briefly in the Atlantic and in training squadrons until 1944.[25]Many were relegated to training duties for pilots and mechanics or were destroyed following use as instructional airframes for firefighting training. By late 1944, no TBD Devastators were left in the US Navy inventory.[26]The original prototype finished its career atNAS Norman,Oklahoma;the last TBD in the US Navy was used by the Commander of Fleet Air Activities-West Coast. When his TBD was scrapped in November 1944,[27]there were no more.[28]None survived the war and there are none known to exist on dry land today.[29]

In fairness to the Devastator, the newer TBF Avengers were similarly ineffective in 1942, losing five out of six aircraft without scoring a hit during the Battle of Midway. The Avengers' only successes in 1942 would be against the light carrierRyūjōand the battleshipHiei.[N 1][30]In the initial part of the Pacific War, the poor performance of US torpedo bombers was due to the vulnerability of that type in general against fire fromanti-aircraft artilleryand defending fighters, plus the inexperience of American pilots and lack of coordinated fighter cover, as well as serious defects in US torpedoes which were not discovered and corrected until the fall of 1943.[7][17]It took growing American air superiority, improved attack coordination, and more experienced pilots, before the Avengers were able to successfully accomplish their roles in subsequent battles against Japanese surface forces.[31]

Variants

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XTBD-1
Prototype powered by an 800 hp (600 kW) XR-1830-60, one built.
TBD-1
Production variant powered by an 850 hp (630 kW) R-1830-64, 129 built.
TBD-1A
One TBD-1 modified with twin floats.[N 2]

Operators

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VT-4 TBD-1 taking off from USSRangerin 1942
VT-6 TBDs onUSSEnterprise,during theBattle of Midway
United States
  • United States Navy[32]
    • VT-2used 58 Devastators between December 1937 and May 1942.
    • VT-3used 71 Devastators between October 1937 and June 1942. They starred in the 1941 movieDive Bomber.[33]
    • VT-4used nine Devastators between December 1941 and September 1942.
    • VT-5used 57 Devastators between February 1938 and June 1942.
    • VT-6used 62 Devastators between April 1938 and June 1942.
    • VT-7used 5 Devastators between January 1942 and July 1942.
    • VT-8used 23 Devastators between September 1941 and June 1942.
    • VB-4used three Devastators between December 1941 and January 1942.
    • VS-42used three Devastators between December 1940 and December 1941.
    • VS-71used eight Devastators between December 1940 and June 1942.
    • VS-72used two Devastators in June 1941.
    • VU-3used a single Devastator from January until May 1940.
  • United States Marine Corps
    • VMS-2used a single Devastator, BuNo.1518,from 26 March 1941 till 5 June 1941, loaned from VT-3.

Surviving aircraft

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TBD Devastators of VT-2 in flight c. 1938

No TBD’s survive in museums or private collections, nor are there any currently under restoration.[26]However, below are eleven underwater aircraft that are known to exist and are the closest to a complete airframe.[34]An expedition has been proposed to recover several TBDs from the wreck of theUSSLexington.[35][36]Note that these aircraft exist in varying degrees of intactness due to circumstances of their loss and subsequent saltwater corrosion. For example, the pair at Jaluit, a shallow warm-water atoll, have reef creatures growing on their exteriors; several of those lost at Coral Sea have broken wings and fuselages due to avgas explosions and their free-fall to the deep sea floor.

TBD-1, Bureau Numbers 0298 and 1515
Ex-VT-5 / USSYorktown(CV-5)"5-T-7","5-T-6"Jaluit Lagoon, Marshall Islands.[37][38]
TBD-1 BuNo 0353
Ex-NAS Miami,Atlantic Ocean, Miami, Florida.[39]
TBD-1 BuNo 0377
Ex-VT-2 / USSLexington(CV-2)"6-T-7",Pacific Ocean, Mission Beach, California.[36][40]
Wreck of theUSSLexington(CV-2)

On 4 March 2018,Paul G. Allen'sR/V Petrelteam discovered the wreck of the USSLexingtonat 3,000 meters (about two miles) below the surface, resting on the floor of the Coral Sea more than 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia.[41]Near the wreck were the remains of seven Devastators, as well as an F4F-3 Wildcat. An attempt byA and T Recoveryto recover at least four of the wrecks, including the Devastator, is currently underway as of January 2023.[42]

Replica

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On 19 September 2019, theUSS Midway Museumacquired a 1:1 scale replica used in the World War II movie,Midway.The plane was donated fromLionsgatefollowing the conclusion of filming and will become an exhibit onUSSMidway(CV-41)'s hangar.[43]

Specifications (TBD-1)

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Douglas TBD-1 Devastator 3-view drawing

Data fromDevastator...The Not-so-Devastating TBD-1[44]

General characteristics

  • Crew:3: (Pilot, Torpedo Officer/Navigator, Radioman/Gunner)
  • Length:35 ft 0 in (10.67 m)
  • Wingspan:50 ft 0 in (15.24 m)
  • Height:15 ft 1 in (4.60 m)
  • Wing area:422 sq ft (39.2 m2)
  • Empty weight:5,600 lb (2,540 kg)
  • Gross weight:9,289 lb (4,213 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight:10,194 lb (4,624 kg)
  • Powerplant:1 ×Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp14-cylinder two-row air-cooledradial piston engine,900 hp (670 kW)
  • Propellers:3-bladedvariable-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed:206 mph (332 km/h, 179 kn) at 8,000 ft (2,400 m)
  • Cruise speed:128 mph (206 km/h, 111 kn)
  • Range:435 mi (700 km, 378 nmi) withMark 13 torpedoor
716 mi (622 nmi; 1,152 km) with 1,000 lb (450 kg) of bombs
  • Service ceiling:19,500 ft (5,900 m)
  • Rate of climb:720 ft/min (3.7 m/s)

Armament

Notable appearance in media

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Dive Bomber(1941) was anAmerican filmdirected byMichael Curtiz.[45]It is notable for both itsTechnicolorphotography of pre-World War IIUnited States Navyaircraft featuring the TBD Devastator,[46]and scenes on the aircraft carrierEnterpriseas well as theNAS North IslandinSan Diego.[47]

The 2014 filmAgainst the Sundepicts a real-life story of the survival of a Devastator's crew after it had to ditch due to running out of fuel. The crew survived 34 days adrift.

The 2019 filmMidwayfeatured the Devastator, most notably the disastrous attack byVT-8,including its only survivor, EnsignGeorge Gay,using his plane's seat cushion to conceal himself from the Japanese as he watched the SBDs bomb the IJN Carrier force.

See also

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A VT-6 TBD dropping a torpedo in October 1941

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

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Notes

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  1. ^TheHieihad already beencrippled the night before.
  2. ^In 1939, the first production TBD was test flown with floats at Newport, Rhode Island.[5]

Citations

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  1. ^"TBD-1 | War Thunder Wiki".wiki.warthunder.com.Retrieved28 December2024.
  2. ^Doll 1967, p. 28.
  3. ^abDoll 1992, p. 4.
  4. ^Gunston 1976, p. 66.
  5. ^abcWinchester 2004, p. 78.
  6. ^abcWinchester 2004, p. 79.
  7. ^abMondey 2006, p. 128.
  8. ^Taylor 1969, p. 485.
  9. ^Doll 1967, p. 29.
  10. ^Tillman 1973, p. 25.
  11. ^Doll 1967, p. 32.
  12. ^Tillman and Lawson 2001, p. 56.
  13. ^Tillman and Lawson 2001, p. 57.
  14. ^Tillman 2000, p. 96.
  15. ^Air InternationalMarch 1990, p. 155.
  16. ^Doll 1967, pp. 7–8.
  17. ^ab"USS Enterprise CV-6: The Most Decorated Ship of the Second World War, p. 2."cv6.org.Retrieved: 11 April 2010.
  18. ^Cressman et al. 1990, pp. 84–89.
  19. ^Parshall and Tulley 2005, pp. 206–215.
  20. ^Jackson and Doll 1973, p. 5.
  21. ^abHanson, Victor Davis (18 December 2007).Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power.Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.ISBN978-0-307-42518-8.
  22. ^Buell 1987, p. 494.
  23. ^"USS Enterprise CV-6: The Most Decorated Ship of the Second World War, p. 3."cv6.org.Retrieved: 7 June 2010.
  24. ^Parshall and Tully 2005, pp. 215–216, 226–227.
  25. ^Doll 1967, p. 34.
  26. ^abTillman and Lawson 2001, p. 61.
  27. ^Ginter 2006, p. 91.
  28. ^Jackson and Doll 1973, p. 43.
  29. ^Champlin, Doug."Douglas TBD-1."Archived2011-05-22 at theWayback Machinenwrain.net.Retrieved: 11 April 2010.
  30. ^Mondey 2006, p. 152.
  31. ^"'Sinking the Supership'."PBS-Nova.Retrieved: 11 April 2010.
  32. ^Tillman 2000, p. 82.
  33. ^Ginter 2006, p. 45.
  34. ^"To save a Devastator: TBD Devastator Jaluit Lagoon Survey 2004, p. 2."Archived2007-05-09 at theWayback Machinetighar.org,1997. Retrieved: 7 June 2010.
  35. ^Hogan, Mickeen."USS Lexington Aircraft Recovery Project".A&T Recovery.Retrieved12 March2023.
  36. ^ab"Holy Grail of Warbirds Found off San Diego."Archived17 December 2011 at theWayback Machineeaa.org.Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  37. ^"TBD Devastator Jaluit Lagoon Survey 2004."Archived2007-05-09 at theWayback Machinetighar.org.Retrieved: 7 June 2010.
  38. ^""To save a Devastator: TBD Devastator Jaluit Lagoon Survey 2004, p. 2."".Archived fromthe originalon 9 May 2007.Retrieved9 May2007.
  39. ^1998 Return to the TBDpage at the "Douglas TBD-1 #0353 wreck."Archived2007-09-28 at theWayback Machinenwrain.com,1998. Retrieved: 7 June 2010.
  40. ^"Accident Report, TBD-1 BuNo.0377."Archived2012-06-09 at theWayback Machineeaa.org.Retrieved: 21 November 2011.
  41. ^"Wreck of Aircraft Carrier USS Lexington Located in Coral Sea After 76 Years".paulallen.com.Archived fromthe originalon 1 August 2019.Retrieved6 March2018.
  42. ^"Attempt to recover four WWII aircraft from Pacific sea bed".17 January 2023.
  43. ^"'They don't exist – except this one' | USS Midway's newest addition is one-of-a-kind military plane ".19 September 2019.
  44. ^"Devastator...The Not-so-Devastating TBD-1".Air International:152. March 1990.
  45. ^Dolan 1985, p. 63.
  46. ^Hardwick and Schnepf 1989, pp. 57–58.
  47. ^Orriss 1984, p. 28.

Bibliography

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  • Adcock, Al.TBD Devastator in Action, Aircraft Number 97.Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1989.ISBN0-89747-231-4.
  • Buell, Thomas B.The Quiet Warrior: A Biography of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance.Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 1987.ISBN978-0-87021-562-9.
  • Cressman, Robert B. et al.A Glorious Page in Our History: The Battle of Midway, 4–6 June 1942.Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1990.ISBN978-0-929521-40-4.
  • "Devastator...The Not-so-Devastating TDB-1".Air International,March 1990, Vol 38 No 2. pp. 148–156. ISSN 0306-5634.
  • Dolan, Edward F. Jr.Hollywood Goes to War.London: Bison Books, 1985.ISBN0-86124-229-7.
  • Doll, Thomas E.The Douglas TBD Devastator, Aircraft in Profile Number 171.Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1967. No ISBN.
  • Doll, Thomas E.SB2U Vindicator in action, Aircraft Number 122.Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1992.ISBN0-89747-274-8.
  • Drendel, Lou.U.S. Navy Carrier Bombers of World War II.Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc., 1987.ISBN0-89747-195-4.
  • Ginter, Steve.Douglas TBD-1 Devastator, Naval Fighters Number Seventy-one.Simi Valley, California: Ginter Publishing Company, 2006.ISBN0-942612-71-X.
  • Gunston, Bill.The Encyclopedia of the World's Combat Aircraft: A Technical Directory of Major Warplanes from World War 1 to the Present Day.New York: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1976.ISBN0-89009-054-8.
  • Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies".The Making of the Great Aviation Films,General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
  • Jackson, B.R. and Thomas E. Doll.Douglas TBD-1 "Devastator", Aero Series 23.Fallbrook, CA: Aero Publishers, 1973.ISBN0-8168-0586-5.
  • Kinzey, Bert.U.S. Navy and Marine Aircraft of World War II, Part 1: Dive and Torpedo Bombers.Northbrook, Illinois: Revell-Monogram, LLC, 2003.ISBN0-9709900-5-7.
  • Lawson, Robert and Barrett Tillman.U.S. Navy Dive and Torpedo Bombers of WWII.St. Paul, MN: MBI Publishing Company, 2001.ISBN0-7603-0959-0.
  • Mondey, David. "Douglas TBD Devastator."The Hamlyn Concise Guide to American Aircraft of World War II.London: Bounty Books, 2006.ISBN0-7537-1460-4.
  • Nowicki, Jacek.Douglas TBD Devastator – SBD Dauntless (Wydawnictwo Militaria 119)(in Polish). Warszawa, Poland: Wydawnictwo Militaria, 2000.ISBN83-7219-074-7.
  • Orriss, Bruce.When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II.Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984.ISBN0-9613088-0-X.
  • Parshall, Jonathan B. and Anthony P. Tully.Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway.Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2005.ISBN1-57488-923-0.
  • Taylor, John W.R. "Douglas TBD Devastator".Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the Present.New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969.ISBN0-425-03633-2.
  • Tillman, Barrett. "Go in and get a hit!: The Navy's last combat torpedo bombers."Airpower,Volume 3, No. 4, July 1973.
  • Tillman, Barrett.TBD Devastator Units of the U.S. Navy, Combat Aircraft Vol. 20.Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2000.ISBN1-84176-025-0.
  • Tillman, Barrett and Robert L. Lawson.U.S. Navy Dive and Torpedo Bombers of WWII.St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company, 2001.ISBN0-7603-0959-0.
  • Winchester, Jim. "Douglas TBD Devastator."Aircraft of World War II(The Aviation Factfile). Kent, UK: Grange Books plc, 2004.ISBN1-84013-639-1.
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