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TBD Devastator

The Devastator was the first all metal, low-winged, three-man aircraft specifically designed for service aboard carriers.45 Of special note, the Devastator was the first naval carrier-based aircraft with power folding wings, which made storage and spotting aboard space-constrained carriers easier. The aircraft had the capability to carry a payload of either a 21in Mk-VII torpedo or 1000lb bomb in the bomber role. Additional armament for self-defense included the 0.50in machine-gun forward mounted on the right side and the aft mounted rear firing 0.30in machine-guns.

The U.S. Navy ordered the first Devastator (XTBD-1) on 30 June 1934, with its first flight on 15 April 1935. Production of the Devastator began on 3 February 1936 with the final TBD-1 of 129 total aircraft delivered to the Navy in November 1939. The initial design held a crew of three, the pilot, a navigator/torpedo officer in the middle, and a radio-operator/gunner in the rear. Eventually the navigator/torpedo officer's duties were assigned to the pilot, thus reducing the crew requirement to two. The TBD-1 was a big improvement over what had gone before in the way of torpedo planes, but still lacked range, speed, and altitude performance.

The Devastator's performance specifications are, when compared to the other aircraft of the air group in 1942, the slowest, shortest and lowest. The maximum range of a Devastator equipped with a Mk-VII torpedo conducting combat operations was 380 nautical miles, which gave the aircraft a maximum combat radius of 190nm. Maximum speed of the aircraft was 180 knots and a cruise speed, loaded with the Mk-VII torpedo, of 110kts. The ceiling of 19,500 ft is of insignificant importance, because the primary mission of the aircraft required an altitude of 80ft, thus, the aircraft cruised at about 1,800ft. In addition, with a climb rate of 720 ft/min, the aircraft would expend valuable time gaining altitude and by staying low, the Devastator gained a small amount of protection from the much nimbler Japanese Zero.

The aircraft's performance specifications were not the only faults with the -weapon system" as a whole. The Mk-VII torpedo was a poor performing weapon. There were many instances, far more than were acceptable, where the torpedo would malfunction due to numerous reasons and not inflict the desired damage to the target. In 1939 the aircraft was a big improvement over previous torpedo-bombers, but by 1942 advancements in other aircraft designs rendered the aircraft obsolete and ineffective, thus making Midway the final major engagement in which the TBD-1 Devastator would participate on a large scale.