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The prototype of the Devastator torpedo bomber flew for the first time on 15 April 1935. It was the first monoplane selected for aircraft-carrier operations, the first of 129 ordered by the US Navy entering service in 1937. Armed with only one forward-firing and one rear-mounted machine-gun (plus a 533mm torpedo or 450kg bomb), it was. very vulnerable to enemy attack: heavy losses were suffered in action against the Japanese during the early part of World War II, especially during the Battle of the Coral Sea when the type operated from USS Lexington and Yorktown, the former being sunk but only after Devastator and Dauntless bombers had sunk the Japanese carrier Shoho and severely damaged Shokaku. The Battle of Midway, fought between 4 and 7 June 1942, was the Devastator's last major action: it was relegated to non-combat duties after suffering heavy losses during the battle.
| CREW | 3 |
| ENGINE | 1 x 900hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp radial piston engine |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 4624 kg | 10194 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 15.24 m | 50 ft 0 in |
| Length | 10.67 m | 35 ft 0 in |
| Height | 4.60 m | 15 ft 1 in |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 332 km/h | 206 mph |
 | A three-view drawing (800 x 734) |
| samuel., snubley(@)gmail.com, 10.02.2010 the tbd was not a failure. in fact, it was good for its time. but that was 1935. by 1942, it was obsolete. | | Mark, 23.08.2009 I like the TBD. Very nice aircraft with a sad ending. | | leo rudnicki, leo_rudnicki(@)hotmail.com, 08.04.2009 The Devastator was a failure? The role of torpedo delivery aircraft was a hazardous duty and the TBF's at Midway fared no better but were called a success. The British Beaufort torpedo bomber was statistically the most deadly a/c to fly, in the RAF. The fact that the torpedoes didn't work( another story) did not affect the aircraft. I heard that someone did hear the impact of a dud torpedo on a Japanese ship. The failure was the lack of fighter cover during the attack, as well as dive bomber co-ordination. It all went wrong and resulted in 3 dead carriers and never-to-be-replaced aircrews. The loss of TBD's used up and drew off the fighter cap and that is history. An operational disaster provided a pivotal victory. | | Greg, mdiamond3(@)cox.net, 16.05.2008 Paul is correct, the clamshell window was for use when delivering a torpedo attack. For your information, there is a group, working with the USN, that intends to rasie a TBD-1 out of the waters of a lagoon at Jaluit Atoll. They are raising money for the effort. Check out the website at www.tighar.org. | | paul, mrw33olds(@)yahoo.com, 24.12.2007 I believe those clamshells were for opening the window
so the assist pilot/bombadier could use the norden bomb sight | | Ray, Kawabunganorth(@)juno.com, 14.11.2007 Can you tell me on the TBD Devastator as to what the small clam shell underneath the engine is for? It looks too small for bombs. The model airplane I have don't tell what it was for and I'm not sure if it's for a small bombs or for the pilot to observe his torpedo run. Thanks. Ray |
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COMPANY
PROFILE
FACTS AND FIGURES© For the first time in a Navy
bomber rhe TBD featured an
enclosed cockpit and all-meta
construction. The corrugated
wing surfaces contributed to
strength bur increased drag. © Useless torpedoes, weak defensive
armament and a lack of self-sealing
fuel tanks contributed to
the Devastator's failure in combat. © The folding wings were a novel
feature and in the prewar days
sometimes the wing locks were
forgotten, leading to a plunge
into the sea on take-off.
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