Ww2 Torpedo Bomber - The Douglas TBD Devastator is a United States Navy torpedo bomber. It was ordered in 1934, first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At the time, it was the most advanced aircraft flown by the Navy, and possibly any Navy in the world. However, the speed of the aircraft increased greatly, and by the time the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the TBD was out of date.
The Devastators performed well in early engagements, especially the Battle of the Coral Sea, but became known for their disastrous performance at the Battle of Midway, when 41 Devastators recorded zero torpedo hits, with only six returning as survivors. Significantly superior in speed and maneuverability to the Mitsubishi Zero fighters in the encounter, most of the force was destroyed except for the Zeros which were distracted by SBD Dauntless dive bombers which sank four carriers and a heavy cruiser. Although much of the Devastator's poor performance was later attributed to the heavy damage to the US Mark 13 torpedoes, the aircraft was withdrawn from the front after Midway when replaced by the Grumman TBF Avger.
Ww2 Torpedo Bomber
The Douglas XTBD-1 was ordered on June 30, 1934 after being one of the winners of a competition for a new bomber to operate from US Navy carriers.
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Other aircraft ordered into production as a result of the competition included the Brewster SBA, the Vought SB2U Vindicator, and the Northrop BT-1, which eventually became the Douglas SBD Dauntless.
Great Lakes XB2G, Great Lakes XTBG, Grumman XSBF, Hall XPTBH and Vought XSB3U were also included in the specification, but were not developed beyond prototype status.
The XTBD Devastator first flew on April 15, 1935 for the US Navy with several "first" designations.
It was the first widely used American carrier-based monoplane, the first iron seaplane, the first fully enclosed cockpit, and the first powered (hydraulic) wing.
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10 (250 mm) semi-retractable wheels were installed under the wings to limit damage to the aircraft in the "wheeled" position. Three man crew. It was usually carried under a large "weeping" canopy that covered about half of the aircraft. The plane sits at the front; rear gunner/radio operator occupied the rearmost position, with the bomber occupying the middle seat. When the bomb explodes, the bomber uses his Nord bomb attack to get under the pilot to see through the window below the screen.
Standard TBD offensive armament consisted of 1,935 lb (878 kg) Bliss-Leavitt Mark 13 aerial torpedoes or 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs mounted in a semi-trailer. Alternatively, three 500 lb (230 kg) multipurpose bombs (one under each wingroot and one in the sail) or twelve 100 lb (45 kg) fragmentation bombs (six under each wingroot) could be carried. This ammunition was to be used in the 1942 raid against Japanese targets in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands.
.30 caliber (7.62 mm) for the rear shooter. A 0.30 in (7.62 mm) or 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun is mounted on the gunboard.
850 hp (630 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp radial engine, 800 hp (600 kW) Pratt & Whitney XR-1830-60/R-1830-1 prototype.
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The XTBD has a flat top, replaced by a roll bar with a domed roof which was higher on the production model. Despite requests from test pilots to improve pilot visibility, the prototype easily passed acceptance tests between April 24 and November 24, 1935 at Anacostia and Norfolk NAS (Naval Air Station) bases. After successfully completing torpedo launch tests, the prototype was transferred to Lexington for carrier certification.
Extended service trials continued until 1937, when the first two production aircraft were retained by the company for testing purposes only.
The US Bureau of Naval Aeronautics (BuAer) purchased 129 examples and began equipping the USS Saratoga, Terprise, Lexington, Wasp, Hornet, Yorktown and Ranger in 1937. at least one aircraft was targeted.
In 1940, the US Navy learned that the TBD had been replaced and replaced by the Grumman TBF Auger, but it was not yet operational by the time the US entered World War II. Holidays reduced their numbers to just over 100 planes.
Grumman Tbf Avenger
When the US Navy gave its aircraft a popular name in late 1941, it became the TBD Devastator, although the nickname "torpecker" was still used.
"T-16" of VT-8 (BuNo 1506, LCDR John C. Waldron, Horace F. Dobbs CRMP) took off from USS Hornet on 4 June 1942. The rear .30 caliber machine gun was unique to the VT-8. .
The TBD did well in the early days of the Pacific War in February and March 1942, with the Terrible and Yorktown TBD targeting the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, the Wake and Marcus Islands, while the Yorktown and Lexington TBD involved Japanese shipping. Papua New Guinea on March 10.
At the Battle of the Coral Sea, she helped sink the Japanese carrier Shōhō on May 7, but missed another carrier, Shōkaku, the following day.
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With the Mark 13 torpedo, deficiencies were discovered at this time. Many were supposed to hit the target but failed to explode; There is also a tdcy for working deeper than a specified depth. It took a year to fix the flaw. These issues were not resolved at the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942.
At Midway, a total of 41 Devastators were flown from Hornet, Terprise and Yorktown to attack the Japanese fleet.
The formations were poorly coordinated, partly because Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance ordered different types of aircraft—fighters, bombers, and bombers—to attack as soon as the carriers were located, instead of taking the time to put together well-coordinated formations. attack. torpedo planes — attacking Japan indicated that the US would counterattack against the carriers. He lost contact with the Hornet and caught the TBD soldiers by surprise and launched his attack without any combat cover.
The Devastator crew themselves; proved to be a death trap for them: slow and immovable, the weapons of the era were inferior; with a speed of only 200 mph (320 km/h) on the slide bomb approach, it was easy prey for fighters and defensive weapons. Air-to-air missiles cannot reach speeds above 115 mph.
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Delivering torpedoes required a long direct hit, leaving the aircraft vulnerable, and the aircraft's slow speed made it an easy target for the Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
Only four TBD hit her, no Hornet and two Yorktown, without being hit by torpedoes.
The sacrifice was not entirely in vain, as some of the TBs were able to penetrate several ship-to-ship targets before firing their torpedoes, capturing their ships and forcing the Japanese carriers to use force. evasive maneuver.
By forcing the Japanese to keep their flight decks clear and to continue rotating and strengthening their combat air patrols, they prevented the Japanese counterattack on the American carriers that Spruance had anticipated. This window of opportunity was exploited by dive bombers led by the late commanders Douglas SBD Dauntless C. Wade McCluskey and Max Leslie, who bombed and killed three of the four Japanese carriers about an hour after the first TBD torpedo attacks. has grown.
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While the Devastators faced severe carrier and fighter shortages, their attacks diverted the Japanese from their Dauntless dive bombing raids, resulting in less resistance from IJN carrier strike aircraft patrols and more effective American attacks. The IJN paralyzes the transport troops.
The Navy immediately disabled the remaining 39 TBDs after the Midway disaster. The surviving destroyers VT-4 and VT-7 served briefly in the Atlantic and in training squadrons until 1944.
Many were transferred to training missions for pilots and mechanics, or were destroyed after being used as demonstration airstrips for firefighting training. By the end of 1944, there were no TBD destroyers left in the US Navy.
The original prototype ended its career in Norman, Oklahoma; The newest TBD in the US Navy is deployed by Commander Fleet Air Arm-West Coast. TBD was abolished in November 1944,
Ww2 Torpedo Bomber
Compared to the Devastator, the newer TBF Avgers were also ineffective in 1942, losing five of six aircraft in the Battle of Midway. The Avgers' only successes in 1942 were the light carrier Ryūō and the battleship Hiei.
The poor performance of US torpedo bombers was due to the type's vulnerability to anti-aircraft artillery and fire from defending fighters.
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