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.

Apr 9, 2021 · First line USN torpedo bomber in 1941-42, the Douglas TBD was caught before its replacement. Ordered in 1934, it entered service in 1937 and at the time, it was not only the most advanced USN aircraft, but possibly the most serious contender for the title of “world’s best carrier-borne TB”.

Douglas TBD-1 Devastator from the USS Enterprise CV-6 heading out for a raid on Wake Island on February 1942. Near the beginning of the new decade (1940), naval intelligence indicated the TBD might be losing its combat edge to foreign designs and wheels were set in (slow) motion to find a replacement.

When the United States entered World War II, the U.S. Navy’s carrier-based torpedo bomber was the Douglas TBD Devastator. Already obsolete by some standards, it was not an effective carrier weapon.

Nov 28, 2024 · Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho is hit by a torpedo from a Douglas TBD-1 Devastator during attacks by U.S. Navy carrier aircraft in the late morning of May 7, 1942. (Image Credit: Wikimedia...

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 and possibly for any navy worldwide.

First line USN torpedo bomber in 1941-42, the Douglas TBD was caught before its replacement. Ordered in 1934, it entered service in 1937 and at the time, it was not only the most advanced USN aircraft, but possibly the most serious contender for …

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.

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most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy; however, by the time of the US entry into World War 2, the TBD was already outdated.

Sep 1, 2023 · Equipping four squadrons of the United States Navy, this aircraft, later officially designated TBD Devastator and also nicknamed “Torpecker,” remained its standard torpedo bomber for half a decade. In this capacity it went into action soon after the war broke out in …