Early in the morning of June 4, 1942, Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron broke from the planned course to hunt for the enemy. While other squadrons followed a different heading, he trusted his instincts and led his men on their own path.
When smoke appeared on the horizon, confirming the presence of three Japanese carriers, Waldron knew the other American aircraft were too far behind to help. His squadron would face the enemy alone.
The American TBD Devastators of Torpedo Squadron 8 lined up their attack run. Outdated and outpaced, their slow-moving aircraft were no match for the swift Zero fighters circling above or the walls of anti-aircraft fire rising from the Japanese fleet.
Despite their slim chances of survival, they pressed forward. Waldron had made a promise earlier, and his words still echoed in the squadron’s mind—[QUOTE] “We’ll get them!”
The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American 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 Navy, being the first metal monoplane in the United States Navy; however, by the time of the US entry into World War 2, the TBD was already outdated.
The Devastator performed well early in the war, most notably in the Battle of the Coral Sea, but earned infamy for a catastrophic performance during the Battle of Midway in 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dismal performance was later attributed to the many well-documented defects in the US Mark 13 torpedo, the aircraft was withdrawn from frontline service after Midway, being replaced by the Grumman TBF Avenger.
Design and Development
The Douglas XTBD-1 was ordered on 30 June 1934 after being one of the winners of a US Navy competition for new bombers to operate from its aircraft carriers. Other aircraft also ordered for production as a result of the competition included the Brewster SBA, the Vought SB2U Vindicator, and the Northrop BT-1, the last of which would evolve into the Douglas SBD Dauntless. The Great Lakes XB2G, Great Lakes XTBG, Grumman XSBF, Hall XPTBH and Vought XSB3U were also tendered to the specification but were not developed beyond prototype status.
The XTBD Devastator flew for the first time on 15 April 1935 while marking a number of “firsts” for the US Navy. It was the first American carrier-based monoplane to be widely used, the first all-metal naval aircraft, the first with a completely enclosed cockpit, the first with power-actuated (hydraulically) folding wings. 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 the Norden bombsight.
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 carried semi-recessed in 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 the Gilbert and Marshall Islands in 1942.[6] 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.
Three U.S. Navy Douglas TBD-1 Devastators of Torpedo Squadron 2 (VT-2) pictured in formation. Note the squadron insignia, a Bombman astride a torpedo, on the fuselage beneath the cockpit. The three TBDs had much different careers: TBD-1, BuNo 0292, was delivered to VT-2 as “2-T-9”. The aircraft was lost on 12 January 1940 with VT-3 in a mid-air collision with TBD-1 BuNo 0373. The crew (Ens. Walter G. Barnes, Jr. P. E. Dickson, AMM2 C. W. Post, RM2) bailed out safely. TBD-1, BuNo 0292, was delivered to VT-2 as “2-T-7” (section leader). It was later lost with VT-5 (as “5-T-7″) when it crash-landed in the Jaluit Atoll lagoon, Marshall Islands, on 1 February 1942. The crew (Lt. Harlan T. Johnson (XO VT-5), Charles E. Fosha, ACMM, NAP, James W. Dalzell, RM1c) became prisoners of war. This aircraft was rediscovered, circa 1997 (location: N 5 58′ 39″ E 169 27′ 6”). TBD-1, BuNo 0293, was delivered to VT-2 as “2-T-8”. It was later lost with VT-8 (as “T-6”) during the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942. The crew (Ens. William W. Creamer, Francis S. Polston, SEA2c) was killed.
U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.253.887
The powerplant was a 850 hp (630 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp radial 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.
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) Anacostia and Norfolk bases. After successfully completing torpedo drop tests, the prototype was transferred to the Lexington for carrier certification. The extended service trials continued until 1937 with the first two production aircraft retained by the company exclusively for testing.
The US Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) purchased 129 examples, and began to equip the carriers USS Saratoga, Enterprise, Lexington, Wasp, Hornet, Yorktown and Ranger starting in 1937. Even prewar, TBD units were being shifted to training duties with at least one aircraft being converted to target tug duty.
By 1940, the US Navy was aware that the TBD had become outclassed and a replacement, the Grumman TBF Avenger, was in the works, but it was not yet operational when the US entered World War II. Attrition had by then reduced their numbers to just over 100 aircraft.
When the US Navy assigned popular names to its aircraft in late 1941, the TBD became the Devastator, although its nickname “torpecker” was still commonly used.
Top Photo: A U.S. Navy Douglas TBD-1 Devastator (BuNo 0322) of Torpedo Squadron Six (VT-6) pictured in flight, probably over Virginia (USA). Note the squadron insignia, a Great White Albatross, on the fuselage beneath the cockpit. Established as VT-8S in 1937, the squadron was redesignated VT-6 that same year. Accepting delivery of its first TBD-1 aircraft in 1938, the squadron operated from USS Enterprise (CV-6) until after the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The TBD-1 0322 ditched after stalling on takeoff from the Enterprise on 10 March 1939. The crew could be rescued uninjured. – U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.253.997
Sources: YouTube; Wikipedia