Knowledge Quiz for Warbird wiz
05-01-2015, 01:09 PM
The aircraft I'm thinking of
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
05-02-2015, 10:45 AM
The aircraft I'm thinking of
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
05-03-2015, 06:51 AM
The aircraft I'm thinking of
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
5. Heroic Crews flew them and they ended their career as communications & training aircraft .
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
5. Heroic Crews flew them and they ended their career as communications & training aircraft .
Last edited by uncljoe; 05-03-2015 at 09:34 AM.
05-03-2015, 04:41 PM
Bonus clueThe aircraft I'm thinking of
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
5. Heroic Crews flew them and they ended their career as communications & training aircraft .
6.Crew of three, On one mission ,One squadron had only one survivor .
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
5. Heroic Crews flew them and they ended their career as communications & training aircraft .
6.Crew of three, On one mission ,One squadron had only one survivor .
05-04-2015, 04:37 AM
My Feedback: (6)
That last clue makes it easy, but I'm going to pass because I'm in a building frenzy at the moment. On that particular mission, though, I think they had a crew of two. No need for the third, who would just have been extra weight.
05-04-2015, 06:59 AM
Top_Gunn As far as that mission I understand the aircraft had a crew of three but in the FOG of War who knows.
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
5. Heroic Crews flew them and they ended their career as communications & training aircraft .
6.Crew of three, On one mission ,One squadron had only one survivor .
7.On that mission 35 of these aircraft we're shot down including all of one squadron with exception of a SOLE SURVIVOR .Who BTW watch the battle bobbing in a life raft.
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
5. Heroic Crews flew them and they ended their career as communications & training aircraft .
6.Crew of three, On one mission ,One squadron had only one survivor .
7.On that mission 35 of these aircraft we're shot down including all of one squadron with exception of a SOLE SURVIVOR .Who BTW watch the battle bobbing in a life raft.
Last edited by uncljoe; 05-04-2015 at 08:44 AM.
05-04-2015, 01:46 PM
Senior Member
My Feedback: (3)
Top_Gunn As far as that mission I understand the aircraft had a crew of three but in the FOG of War who knows.
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
5. Heroic Crews flew them and they ended their career as communications & training aircraft .
6.Crew of three, On one mission ,One squadron had only one survivor .
7.On that mission 35 of these aircraft we're shot down including all of one squadron with exception of a SOLE SURVIVOR .Who BTW watch the battle bobbing in a life raft.
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
5. Heroic Crews flew them and they ended their career as communications & training aircraft .
6.Crew of three, On one mission ,One squadron had only one survivor .
7.On that mission 35 of these aircraft we're shot down including all of one squadron with exception of a SOLE SURVIVOR .Who BTW watch the battle bobbing in a life raft.
05-04-2015, 03:28 PM
Originally Posted by uncljoe 
Top_Gunn As far as that mission I understand the aircraft had a crew of three but in the FOG of War who knows.
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
5. Heroic Crews flew them and they ended their career as communications & training aircraft .
6.Crew of three, On one mission ,One squadron had only one survivor .
7.On that mission 35 of these aircraft we're shot down including all of one squadron with exception of a SOLE SURVIVOR .Who BTW watch the battle bobbing in a life raft.
This is a video of the Swordfish: Just thought some migt like it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUS5Ho5Msyc
Last edited by HoundDog; 05-04-2015 at 03:52 PM.
05-04-2015, 06:16 PM
Its NOT the string bag(swordfish)
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
5. Heroic Crews flew them and they ended their career as communications & training aircraft .
6.Crew of three, On one mission ,One squadron had only one survivor .
7.On that mission 35 of these aircraft we're shot down including all of one squadron with exception of a SOLE SURVIVOR .Who BTW watch the battle bobbing in a life raft.
8.After the above mission All of these aircraft were withdrawn from combat units....left behind as war was moving faster than it did
Bonus clue
9.This aircraft was a perfectly acceptable aircraft by prewar standards,but it came on the scene when change was occurring rapidly.(represented the state of the art in the mid 1930's)
1.Delivered nine days after it's inital flight
2. Prototype had a lower cockpit canopy.this was raised on production aircraft to improve visibilty on take off & landing
3 First production aircraft was fitted with floats
4.First aircraft with hydraulically powered wing folding,and wings upward fold
5. Heroic Crews flew them and they ended their career as communications & training aircraft .
6.Crew of three, On one mission ,One squadron had only one survivor .
7.On that mission 35 of these aircraft we're shot down including all of one squadron with exception of a SOLE SURVIVOR .Who BTW watch the battle bobbing in a life raft.
8.After the above mission All of these aircraft were withdrawn from combat units....left behind as war was moving faster than it did
Bonus clue
9.This aircraft was a perfectly acceptable aircraft by prewar standards,but it came on the scene when change was occurring rapidly.(represented the state of the art in the mid 1930's)
05-05-2015, 06:43 AM
OK, I had it at clue 4 but it looks like no-one wants to run the next quiz so I'll bite.
Douglas TBD Devastator
And the witness was Ensign George Gay at Midway. I suspect the TBD crews at Midway had the biggest cojones in the USN at the time, and perhaps for all time.
Douglas TBD Devastator
And the witness was Ensign George Gay at Midway. I suspect the TBD crews at Midway had the biggest cojones in the USN at the time, and perhaps for all time.
05-05-2015, 07:18 AM
JohnnyS you are Correct.
[h=1]Douglas TBD Devastator[/h]From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[TABLE="class: infobox, width: 315"]
[TR]
[TH="colspan: 2, align: center"]TBD Devastator[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"]US Navy TBD-1 Torpedo Squadron Six (VT-6), from USS Enterprise (CV-6), in about 1938[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Role[/TH]
[TD]Torpedo bomber[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Manufacturer[/TH]
[TD]Douglas Aircraft Company[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]First flight[/TH]
[TD]15 April 1935[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Introduction[/TH]
[TD]3 August 1937[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Retired[/TH]
[TD]1942 (from active service)
1944 (completely)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Primary user[/TH]
[TD]United States Navy[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Produced[/TH]
[TD]1937-1939[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Number built[/TH]
[TD]130[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
The Douglas TBD Devastator was a torpedo bomber of the United 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 USN and possibly for any navy in the world. However, the fast pace of aircraft development quickly caught up with it, and by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the TBD was already outdated.
The Devastator performed well in some early battles, but earned notoriety for its catastrophically poor performance in the Battle of Midway, in which the 41 Devastators launched during the battle produced zero successful torpedo hits and only 6 survived to return to their carriers. Vastly outclassed in both speed and maneuverability by the Mitsubishi Zero fighters they faced, the vast majority of the force was wiped out with little consequence except to distract the Zeros from the much more capable (and survivable) SBD Dauntless dive bombers that eventually sank 4 Japanese carriers and a heavy cruiser. Although a small portion of the Devastator's dismal performance was later attributed to the many well-documented defects in the US Mark 13 torpedo, the aircraft was immediately withdrawn from frontline service after Midway, being replaced by the Grumman TBF Avenger.
[h=2]Design and development[edit][/h]
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
Ordered on 30 June 1934, and entered into a US Navy competition for new bomber aircraft to operate from its aircraft carriers, the Douglas entry was one of the winners of the competition.[SUP][1][/SUP] Other aircraft ordered for production as a result of the competition included the Northrop BT-1 which would evolve into the SBD Dauntless, the Brewster SBA and the Vought SB2U Vindicator.[SUP][2][/SUP][SUP][N 1][/SUP]
The XTBD Devastator, which flew for the first time on 15 April 1935, marked a large number of "firsts" for the US Navy.[SUP][3][/SUP] It was the first widely used carrier-based monoplane as well as the first all-metal naval aircraft, the first with a totally enclosed cockpit, the first with power-actuated (hydraulically) folding wings and in these respects the TBD was revolutionary.[SUP][4][/SUP] A semi-retractable landing gear was fitted, with the wheels designed to protrude 10 in (250 mm) below the wings to permit a "wheels-up" landing which might limit damage to the aircraft. 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 the Norden Bombsight.[SUP][5][/SUP]
The normal TBD offensive armament consisted of either a 1,935 lb (878 kg) Bliss-Leavitt Mark 13 aerial torpedo or a 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb, to be carried semi-recessed into a fuselage bomb bay. Alternatively, three 500 lb (230 kg) general-purpose bombs (one under each wing root and one inside the bomb bay), or twelve 100 lb (45 kg) fragmentation bombs (six under each wing root), could be carried. This weapons load was often used when attacking Japanese targets on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands in 1942.[SUP][5][/SUP] Defensive armament consisted of a .30 in (7.62 mm) Browning machine gun for 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.[SUP][5][/SUP]
The powerplant was a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp radial engine of 850 hp (630 kW), an outgrowth of the prototype's Pratt & Whitney XR-1830-60/R-1830-1 of 800 hp (600 kW).[SUP][6][/SUP] Other changes from the 1935 prototype included a revised engine cowling[SUP][7][/SUP] and raising the cockpit canopy to improve visibility.[SUP][4][/SUP]
The XTBD had a flat canopy that was replaced on production models by a higher, domed canopy over a rollover bar. Other than requests by test pilots to improve pilot visibility, the prototype easily passed its acceptance trials that took place from 24 April-24 November 1935 at NAS (Naval Air Station) Anacostia and Norfolk bases. After successfully completing torpedo drop tests, the prototype was transferred to the USS Lexington for carrier certification.[SUP][8][/SUP] The extended service trials continued until 1937 with the first two production aircraft retained by the company exclusively for testing.[SUP][9][/SUP]
A total of 129 of the type were purchased by the US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), and starting from 1937, began to equip the carriers USS Saratoga, Enterprise, Lexington, Wasp, Hornet, Yorktownand Ranger. In prewar use, TBD units were engaged in training and other operational activities and were gradually approaching the end of their useful service life with at least one aircraft being converted to target tug duty.[SUP][10][/SUP] By 1940, the US Navy was aware that the TBD had become outclassed by the fighters and bombers of other nations and a replacement [SUP][N 2][/SUP] was in the works, but it was not yet in service when the US entered World War II. By then, attrition had reduced their numbers to just over 100 aircraft.[SUP][11][/SUP] The US Navy assigned popular names to its aircraft in late 1941, and the TBD became the Devastator, although its nickname "torpecker" was commonly used.[SUP][12][/SUP]
The TBD is prominently featured in the 1941 film Dive Bomber.
[h=2]Operational history[edit][/h]
A VT-6 TBD after attacking Wake 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, LCDR John C. Waldron, Horace F. Dobbs CRMP) taking off from USS Hornet, 4 June 1942
In the early days of the Pacific war, the TBD acquitted itself well during February and March 1942, with TBDs from Enterprise and Yorktown attacking targets in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, Wake and Marcus Islands, while TBDs from Yorktown and Lexington struck Japanese shipping off New Guinea on 10 March.[SUP][13][/SUP] In the Battle of the Coral Sea Devastators helped sink the Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō on 7 May, but failed to hit another carrier, the Shōkaku, the next day.[SUP][14][/SUP]
Faults were discovered with the Mark 13 torpedo at this point. Many were seen to hit the target yet fail 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 the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942.
At Midway, a total of 41 Devastators, the majority of the type still operational, were launched from Hornet, Enterprise and Yorktown to attack the Japanese fleet.[SUP][15][/SUP]The sorties were not well coordinated, in part because Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance ordered 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 from Hornet and Enterprise lost contact with their escort and started their attacks without fighter protection.[SUP][16][/SUP][SUP][17][/SUP]
The Devastator proved to be a death trap for its crews: slow and hardly maneuverable, with light defensive weaponry and poor armor relative to the weapons of the time; 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).[SUP][18][/SUP] 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 the Mitsubishi A6M Zeros. Only four TBDs made it back to Enterprise, none to Hornet and two to Yorktown, without scoring a torpedo hit.[SUP][19][/SUP]
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.[SUP][20][/SUP] By obliging the Japanese to keep their flight decks clear and to continually cycle and reinforce their combat air patrols, they prevented any Japanese counter-attacks against the American carriers, just as Spruance had anticipated. These windows of opportunity was exploited by the late-arriving Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers led by Lieutenant Commander C. Wade McClusky and Max Leslie, which dive-bombed and fatally damaged three of the four Japanese carriers about one hour after the first TBD torpedo attacks had developed.[SUP][21][/SUP] While the Devastators faced the stiff defenses of the carriers and their fighters, their attacks served to distract the Japanese attention from the Dauntlesses, resulting in relatively lighter resistance and more effective attacks that crippled the Japanese carriers.
[h=3]Obsolescence[edit][/h]The Navy immediately withdrew the 39 remaining TBDs from frontline units after the debacle at Midway. The surviving Devastators in VT-4 and VT-7 remained in service briefly in the Atlantic and in training squadrons until 1944.[SUP][22][/SUP] 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.[SUP][23][/SUP] The original prototype finished its career at NAS 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,[SUP][24][/SUP] there were no more.[SUP][25][/SUP] None survived the war and there are none known to exist on dry land today.[SUP][26][/SUP]
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 carrier Ryūjō and the battleship Hiei [SUP][N 3][/SUP][SUP][27][/SUP] In the initial part of the Pacific War, the poor performances of US torpedo bombers was due to the vulnerability of that type in general against fire from anti-aircraft artillery and 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.[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][15][/SUP] 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.[SUP][28][/SUP]
[h=2]Variants[edit][/h]XTBD-1Prototype powered by a 800 hp (600 kW) XR-1830-60, one built.TBD-1Production variant powered by a 850 hp (630 kW) R-1830-64, 129 built.TBD-1AOne TBD-1 modified with twin floats.[SUP][N 4][/SUP][h=2]Operators[edit][/h]
VT-4 TBD-1 taking off from USS Ranger in 1942
United States
TBD-1, Bureau Number 0298Ex-VT-5 / USS Yorktown (CV-5) "5-T-7", Jaluit Lagoon, Marshall Islands.[SUP][33][/SUP]TBD-1 BuNo 0353Ex-NAS Miami, Atlantic Ocean, Miami, Florida.[SUP][34][/SUP]TBD-1 BuNo 1515Ex-VT-5 / USS Yorktown (CV-5) "5-T-6", Jaluit Lagoon, Marshall Islands.[SUP][31][/SUP]TBD-1 BuNo 0377Ex-VT-2 / USS Lexington (CV-2) "6-T-7", Pacific Ocean, Mission Beach, California.[SUP][32][/SUP][SUP][35][/SUP][h=2]Specifications (TBD-1)[edit][/h]Data from Devastator...The Not-so-Devastating TBD-1[SUP][36][/SUP]
General characteristics
[h=2]See also[edit][/h]
A VT-6 TBD dropping a torpedo in October 1941
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and eraRelated lists[h=2]References[/h]
[h=1]Douglas TBD Devastator[/h]From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[TABLE="class: infobox, width: 315"]
[TR]
[TH="colspan: 2, align: center"]TBD Devastator[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"]
[/TD][/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"]US Navy TBD-1 Torpedo Squadron Six (VT-6), from USS Enterprise (CV-6), in about 1938[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Role[/TH]
[TD]Torpedo bomber[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Manufacturer[/TH]
[TD]Douglas Aircraft Company[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]First flight[/TH]
[TD]15 April 1935[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Introduction[/TH]
[TD]3 August 1937[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Retired[/TH]
[TD]1942 (from active service)
1944 (completely)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Primary user[/TH]
[TD]United States Navy[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Produced[/TH]
[TD]1937-1939[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Number built[/TH]
[TD]130[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
The Douglas TBD Devastator was a torpedo bomber of the United 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 USN and possibly for any navy in the world. However, the fast pace of aircraft development quickly caught up with it, and by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the TBD was already outdated.
The Devastator performed well in some early battles, but earned notoriety for its catastrophically poor performance in the Battle of Midway, in which the 41 Devastators launched during the battle produced zero successful torpedo hits and only 6 survived to return to their carriers. Vastly outclassed in both speed and maneuverability by the Mitsubishi Zero fighters they faced, the vast majority of the force was wiped out with little consequence except to distract the Zeros from the much more capable (and survivable) SBD Dauntless dive bombers that eventually sank 4 Japanese carriers and a heavy cruiser. Although a small portion of the Devastator's dismal performance was later attributed to the many well-documented defects in the US Mark 13 torpedo, the aircraft was immediately withdrawn from frontline service after Midway, being replaced by the Grumman TBF Avenger.
[h=2]Contents[/h] [hide]
- 1 Design and development
- 2 Operational history
- 3 Variants
- 4 Operators
- 5 Survivors
- 6 Specifications (TBD-1)
- 7 Notable appearance in media
- 8 See also
- 9 References
- 10 External links
[h=2]Design and development[edit][/h]
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
Ordered on 30 June 1934, and entered into a US Navy competition for new bomber aircraft to operate from its aircraft carriers, the Douglas entry was one of the winners of the competition.[SUP][1][/SUP] Other aircraft ordered for production as a result of the competition included the Northrop BT-1 which would evolve into the SBD Dauntless, the Brewster SBA and the Vought SB2U Vindicator.[SUP][2][/SUP][SUP][N 1][/SUP]
The XTBD Devastator, which flew for the first time on 15 April 1935, marked a large number of "firsts" for the US Navy.[SUP][3][/SUP] It was the first widely used carrier-based monoplane as well as the first all-metal naval aircraft, the first with a totally enclosed cockpit, the first with power-actuated (hydraulically) folding wings and in these respects the TBD was revolutionary.[SUP][4][/SUP] A semi-retractable landing gear was fitted, with the wheels designed to protrude 10 in (250 mm) below the wings to permit a "wheels-up" landing which might limit damage to the aircraft. 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 the Norden Bombsight.[SUP][5][/SUP]
The normal TBD offensive armament consisted of either a 1,935 lb (878 kg) Bliss-Leavitt Mark 13 aerial torpedo or a 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb, to be carried semi-recessed into a fuselage bomb bay. Alternatively, three 500 lb (230 kg) general-purpose bombs (one under each wing root and one inside the bomb bay), or twelve 100 lb (45 kg) fragmentation bombs (six under each wing root), could be carried. This weapons load was often used when attacking Japanese targets on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands in 1942.[SUP][5][/SUP] Defensive armament consisted of a .30 in (7.62 mm) Browning machine gun for 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.[SUP][5][/SUP]
The powerplant was a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp radial engine of 850 hp (630 kW), an outgrowth of the prototype's Pratt & Whitney XR-1830-60/R-1830-1 of 800 hp (600 kW).[SUP][6][/SUP] Other changes from the 1935 prototype included a revised engine cowling[SUP][7][/SUP] and raising the cockpit canopy to improve visibility.[SUP][4][/SUP]
The XTBD had a flat canopy that was replaced on production models by a higher, domed canopy over a rollover bar. Other than requests by test pilots to improve pilot visibility, the prototype easily passed its acceptance trials that took place from 24 April-24 November 1935 at NAS (Naval Air Station) Anacostia and Norfolk bases. After successfully completing torpedo drop tests, the prototype was transferred to the USS Lexington for carrier certification.[SUP][8][/SUP] The extended service trials continued until 1937 with the first two production aircraft retained by the company exclusively for testing.[SUP][9][/SUP]
A total of 129 of the type were purchased by the US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), and starting from 1937, began to equip the carriers USS Saratoga, Enterprise, Lexington, Wasp, Hornet, Yorktownand Ranger. In prewar use, TBD units were engaged in training and other operational activities and were gradually approaching the end of their useful service life with at least one aircraft being converted to target tug duty.[SUP][10][/SUP] By 1940, the US Navy was aware that the TBD had become outclassed by the fighters and bombers of other nations and a replacement [SUP][N 2][/SUP] was in the works, but it was not yet in service when the US entered World War II. By then, attrition had reduced their numbers to just over 100 aircraft.[SUP][11][/SUP] The US Navy assigned popular names to its aircraft in late 1941, and the TBD became the Devastator, although its nickname "torpecker" was commonly used.[SUP][12][/SUP]
The TBD is prominently featured in the 1941 film Dive Bomber.
[h=2]Operational history[edit][/h]
A VT-6 TBD after attacking Wake 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, LCDR John C. Waldron, Horace F. Dobbs CRMP) taking off from USS Hornet, 4 June 1942
In the early days of the Pacific war, the TBD acquitted itself well during February and March 1942, with TBDs from Enterprise and Yorktown attacking targets in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, Wake and Marcus Islands, while TBDs from Yorktown and Lexington struck Japanese shipping off New Guinea on 10 March.[SUP][13][/SUP] In the Battle of the Coral Sea Devastators helped sink the Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō on 7 May, but failed to hit another carrier, the Shōkaku, the next day.[SUP][14][/SUP]
Faults were discovered with the Mark 13 torpedo at this point. Many were seen to hit the target yet fail 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 the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942.
At Midway, a total of 41 Devastators, the majority of the type still operational, were launched from Hornet, Enterprise and Yorktown to attack the Japanese fleet.[SUP][15][/SUP]The sorties were not well coordinated, in part because Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance ordered 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 from Hornet and Enterprise lost contact with their escort and started their attacks without fighter protection.[SUP][16][/SUP][SUP][17][/SUP]
The Devastator proved to be a death trap for its crews: slow and hardly maneuverable, with light defensive weaponry and poor armor relative to the weapons of the time; 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).[SUP][18][/SUP] 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 the Mitsubishi A6M Zeros. Only four TBDs made it back to Enterprise, none to Hornet and two to Yorktown, without scoring a torpedo hit.[SUP][19][/SUP]
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.[SUP][20][/SUP] By obliging the Japanese to keep their flight decks clear and to continually cycle and reinforce their combat air patrols, they prevented any Japanese counter-attacks against the American carriers, just as Spruance had anticipated. These windows of opportunity was exploited by the late-arriving Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers led by Lieutenant Commander C. Wade McClusky and Max Leslie, which dive-bombed and fatally damaged three of the four Japanese carriers about one hour after the first TBD torpedo attacks had developed.[SUP][21][/SUP] While the Devastators faced the stiff defenses of the carriers and their fighters, their attacks served to distract the Japanese attention from the Dauntlesses, resulting in relatively lighter resistance and more effective attacks that crippled the Japanese carriers.
[h=3]Obsolescence[edit][/h]The Navy immediately withdrew the 39 remaining TBDs from frontline units after the debacle at Midway. The surviving Devastators in VT-4 and VT-7 remained in service briefly in the Atlantic and in training squadrons until 1944.[SUP][22][/SUP] 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.[SUP][23][/SUP] The original prototype finished its career at NAS 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,[SUP][24][/SUP] there were no more.[SUP][25][/SUP] None survived the war and there are none known to exist on dry land today.[SUP][26][/SUP]
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 carrier Ryūjō and the battleship Hiei [SUP][N 3][/SUP][SUP][27][/SUP] In the initial part of the Pacific War, the poor performances of US torpedo bombers was due to the vulnerability of that type in general against fire from anti-aircraft artillery and 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.[SUP][6][/SUP][SUP][15][/SUP] 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.[SUP][28][/SUP]
[h=2]Variants[edit][/h]XTBD-1Prototype powered by a 800 hp (600 kW) XR-1830-60, one built.TBD-1Production variant powered by a 850 hp (630 kW) R-1830-64, 129 built.TBD-1AOne TBD-1 modified with twin floats.[SUP][N 4][/SUP][h=2]Operators[edit][/h]
VT-4 TBD-1 taking off from USS Ranger in 1942
United States- United States Navy[SUP][29][/SUP]
- VT-2 used 58 Devastators between December 1937 and May 1942.
- VT-3 used 71 Devastators between October 1937 and June 1942. They starred in the 1941 movie Dive Bomber.[SUP][30][/SUP]
- VT-4 used nine Devastators between December 1941 and September 1942.
- VT-5 used 57 Devastators between February 1938 and June 1942.
- VT-6 used 62 Devastators between April 1938 and June 1942.
- VT-7 used 5 Devastators between January 1942 and July 1942.
- VT-8 used 23 Devastators between September 1941 and June 1942.
- VB-4 used three Devastators between December 1941 and January 1942.
- VS-42 used three Devastators between December 1940 and December 1941.
- VS-71 used eight Devastators between December 1940 and June 1942.
- VS-72 used two Devastators in June 1941.
- VU-3 used a single Devastator from January until May 1940.
- United States Marine Corps
- VMS-2 used a single Devastator, BuNo. 1518, from 26 March 1941 till 5 June 1941, loaned from VT-3.
TBD-1, Bureau Number 0298Ex-VT-5 / USS Yorktown (CV-5) "5-T-7", Jaluit Lagoon, Marshall Islands.[SUP][33][/SUP]TBD-1 BuNo 0353Ex-NAS Miami, Atlantic Ocean, Miami, Florida.[SUP][34][/SUP]TBD-1 BuNo 1515Ex-VT-5 / USS Yorktown (CV-5) "5-T-6", Jaluit Lagoon, Marshall Islands.[SUP][31][/SUP]TBD-1 BuNo 0377Ex-VT-2 / USS Lexington (CV-2) "6-T-7", Pacific Ocean, Mission Beach, California.[SUP][32][/SUP][SUP][35][/SUP][h=2]Specifications (TBD-1)[edit][/h]Data from Devastator...The Not-so-Devastating TBD-1[SUP][36][/SUP]
General characteristics
- Crew: Three: 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 ft² (39.2 m²)
- Empty weight: 5,600 lb (2,540 kg)
- Loaded weight: 9,289 lb (4,213 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 10,194 lb (4,624 kg)
- Powerplant: One Χ Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp radial engine, 900 hp (672 kW) each
- Maximum speed: 206 mph (179 knots, 331 km/h) at 8,000 ft (2,400 m)
- Cruise speed: 128 mph (111 knots, 206 km/h)
- Range: 435 mi (700 km) (378 nmi, 700 km) with Mk XIII Torpedo, 716 mi (623 nmi, 1,152 km) with 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs
- Service ceiling: 19,500 ft (5,945 m)
- Rate of climb: 720 ft/min (3.7 m/s)
- Guns:
- 1 Χ forward-firing 0.30 in (7.62 mm) or 0.50 (12.7 mm) machine gun
- 1 Χ 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun in rear cockpit (later increased to two)
- Bombs:
- 1 Χ Mark XIII torpedo or
- 1 Χ 1,000 lb (454 kg) bomb or
- 2 Χ 500 lb (227 kg) bombs or
- 12 Χ 100 lb (45 kg) bombs
[h=2]See also[edit][/h]
A VT-6 TBD dropping a torpedo in October 1941
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and eraRelated lists[h=2]References[/h]
05-05-2015, 12:32 PM
Friends,
I think we're getting a lot of lurkers and not many people who want to pose new quiz questions. Do we need to do something to improve participation?
Maybe we change the rules so we only provide new clues when someone poses a guess? Any other ideas?
I think we're getting a lot of lurkers and not many people who want to pose new quiz questions. Do we need to do something to improve participation?
Maybe we change the rules so we only provide new clues when someone poses a guess? Any other ideas?
05-05-2015, 06:50 PM
My Feedback: (6)
Twin engine A-7 goofy looking thing
I saw it in the weeds while flying into NAS Dallas in the late 70's.
On the Torpecker I was thrown off with the Float clue, I didn't do any research otherwise I might have figured it out. I keep wanting to say TBD. Interesting there were 3 not just one survivor from Torpedo 8
The one surviving plane limped back to Midway. The gunner dead the pilot and radio operator wounded. The Radio operator is Harry Farrier who lived about three miles from me in Oak Harbor wash, He would some times introduce himself as the,
"the third sole survivor of Torpedo 8"
Sparky
I saw it in the weeds while flying into NAS Dallas in the late 70's.
On the Torpecker I was thrown off with the Float clue, I didn't do any research otherwise I might have figured it out. I keep wanting to say TBD. Interesting there were 3 not just one survivor from Torpedo 8
The one surviving plane limped back to Midway. The gunner dead the pilot and radio operator wounded. The Radio operator is Harry Farrier who lived about three miles from me in Oak Harbor wash, He would some times introduce himself as the,
"the third sole survivor of Torpedo 8"
Sparky
05-06-2015, 04:33 AM
My Feedback: (6)
Twin engine A-7 goofy looking thing
I saw it in the weeds while flying into NAS Dallas in the late 70's.
On the Torpecker I was thrown off with the Float clue, I didn't do any research otherwise I might have figured it out. I keep wanting to say TBD. Interesting there were 3 not just one survivor from Torpedo 8
The one surviving plane limped back to Midway. The gunner dead the pilot and radio operator wounded. The Radio operator is Harry Farrier who lived about three miles from me in Oak Harbor wash, He would some times introduce himself as the,
"the third sole survivor of Torpedo 8"
Sparky
I saw it in the weeds while flying into NAS Dallas in the late 70's.
On the Torpecker I was thrown off with the Float clue, I didn't do any research otherwise I might have figured it out. I keep wanting to say TBD. Interesting there were 3 not just one survivor from Torpedo 8
The one surviving plane limped back to Midway. The gunner dead the pilot and radio operator wounded. The Radio operator is Harry Farrier who lived about three miles from me in Oak Harbor wash, He would some times introduce himself as the,
"the third sole survivor of Torpedo 8"
Sparky
05-06-2015, 04:34 AM
Not the A-7, no.
1. Only one built: It was a prototype for an improved version of a well-known aircraft.
2. First flight 1970.
3. Two engines.
4. Single wing, variable incidence.
1. Only one built: It was a prototype for an improved version of a well-known aircraft.
2. First flight 1970.
3. Two engines.
4. Single wing, variable incidence.
05-06-2015, 05:47 AM
Not the Tomcat!
1. Only one built: It was a prototype for an improved version of a well-known aircraft.
2. First flight 1970.
3. Two engines.
4. Single wing, variable incidence.
5. The fuselage in this prototype was stretched 100".
1. Only one built: It was a prototype for an improved version of a well-known aircraft.
2. First flight 1970.
3. Two engines.
4. Single wing, variable incidence.
5. The fuselage in this prototype was stretched 100".
05-06-2015, 07:14 AM
05-06-2015, 07:37 AM
Originally Posted by JohnnyS Friends,
I think we're getting a lot of lurkers and not many people who want to pose new quiz questions. Do we need to do something to improve participation?
Maybe we change the rules so we only provide new clues when someone poses a guess? Any other ideas?
There are a lot of people lurking and watching, and I have to admit that many times I am one of them. In the case of the last 2 quizzes I had the answers several clues before the the answers finally came out. But in fairness to the quiz I'm not answering because right now I'm super busy at work and with my duties here at RCU. It would be really hard for me to keep up with posting a new quiz and putting out the new clues in a timely manner. So in my defense that's why I'm just lurking and having fun just researching to try and find the answers to each quiz as it comes out. Maybe one day when if I'm not quite so busy I'll answer one so that I can post a new quiz.
Who cares who's watching (Lurking) maybe they'll learn
Something from the air plane Goo Roo's here. Heaven Knows I Have.
Last edited by HoundDog; 05-06-2015 at 07:40 AM.