Flightline: 10/TBD

"user314" (user314) 07/22/2020 at 11:00 • Filed to: flightline, Planelopnik, planelopnik history, ww2, WWII, devastator, Midway

2

3

Douglas TBD Devastators are staged on the deck of the USS Enterprise

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! are lined up on the flight deck of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on the morning of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! before launching to attack the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! near !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Of the 41 TBDs launched that day, only four returned to the Enterprise , two to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and none to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Due to a combination of faults with the Devastator, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and overall coordination of the strike, the TBDs did not score a single torpedo hit on the Japanese ships, and the type was quickly retired from front line duty.

Ordered prior to the outbreak of WWII, the TBD first flew in 1937 and was, at the time, the most advanced aircraft in the Navy’s arsenal. It was the first USN carrier-based monoplane, as well as the first all-metal plane, the first with an enclosed cockpit and the first with wings folded by hydraulics.   By 1941 the Devastator was hopelessly outclassed by opponents however, especially the Japanese !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . It was slow, couldn’t match the maneuvering ability of attacking planes, and lacked sufficient armor. The TBD served well enough after Pearl Harbor, attacking ground targets at the Marshall, Wake, Gilbert and Marcus Islands, as well as attacking Japanese shipping off New Guinea and sinking the carrier !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! at the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

While the Devastators were unable to directly affect the outcome at Midway, their actions did allow !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! dive bombers, arriving an hour later, to attack the Japanese ships almost with impunity. After they were withdrawn from active duty, the TBDs were transferred to training squadrons, though by 1944 none were in USN service. Of the 130 planes built, none survive intact, though several wrecks have been found in the Marshall Islands, off the coasts of Florida and California, and in the hanger deck of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , two miles down on the floor of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . A replica TBD was built for the film !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and has since been !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Museum for display.

Ash78, voting early and often > user314 07/22/2020 at 11:19

2

As a young boy, being a combination of a plane fanatic and a young boy, I derived endless pleasure “flying” into the room, farting, and shouting “SBD ground attack!” at my grandfather or whoever might be sitting there.

It was especially amusing (or not) to my gramps because he was a South Pacific Navy vet.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

ttyymmnn > user314 07/22/2020 at 11:43

2

It was a good looking aircraft, classic 1930s design.  Too bad for the Devastator (and her crews) that the war didn’t start a few years earlier.

Mondial goes to 11 > user314 07/22/2020 at 16:13

1

Just as you promised! I needed some TBDs after being teased by your titles.