The Douglas TBD Devastator was a torpedo bomber of the United States Navy, ordered in 1934, first flying in 1935 and entering service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the USN and possibly for any navy in the world. However, the fast pace of aircraft development caught up with it, and by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the TBD was already outdated. It performed well in some early battles, but in the Battle of Midway the Devastators launched against the Japanese fleet were almost totally wiped out. The type was immediately withdrawn from front line service, replaced by the Grumman TBF Avenger.

The TBD Devastator marked a large number of "firsts" for the U.S. Navy. It was the first widely-used carrier-based monoplane as well as the first all-metal naval aircraft, the first with a totally enclosed cockpit, the first with hydraulically folding wings; it is fair to say that the TBD was revolutionary. A semi-retractable undercarriage was fitted, with the wheels designed to protrude 10 in (250 mm) below the wings to permit a "wheels-up" landing with only minimal damage.

A crew of three was normally carried beneath a large "greenhouse" canopy almost half the length of the aircraft. The pilot sat up front; a rear gunner/radio operator took the rearmost seat, 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 offensive armament that he targeted would be either a single Bliss-Leavitt Mark 13 aerial torpedo or a single 1,000 lb (454 kg) bomb. Defensive armament consisted of either a .30 caliber or .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun firing forwards, and a .30 caliber machine gun for the rear gunner.

The powerplant was a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp radial engine of 900 hp (671 kW). A total of 129 of the type were purchased by the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), equipping the carriers USS Saratoga, USS Enterprise, USS Lexington, USS Wasp, USS Hornet, USS Yorktown and USS Ranger.

The U.S. Navy became aware by about 1940 that the TBD had become outclassed by the fighters and bombers of other nations and a replacement (the TBF Avenger) was in the works, but it was not in service yet when the United States entered World War II. By then, training attrition had reduced their numbers to just over 100 aircraft. The Devastator had become a death trap for its crews: slow and poorly maneuverable, with light defensive weaponry and poor armor relative to the weapons of the time. Its speed on a glide-bombing approach was a mere 200 mph (322 km/h), making it easy prey for fighters and defensive guns alike. The aerial torpedo could not even be released at speeds above 115 mph (185 km/h). The U.S. Navy assigned popular names to its aircraft in late 1941, and the TBD became the Devastator.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a USN Douglas TBD-1 Devastator torpedo plane that was piloted by Lt. Cdr. James Brett, who was attached to VT-2, then embarked upon the USS Lexington (CV-2), during May 1942 at the Battle of the Coral Sea. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 8-1/4-inches
Length: 5-3/4-inches

Release Date: October 2024

Historical Account: "When the World Changed Forever" - Eugene Lindsey's first real combat occurred on February 1st, 1942, when he led VT-6's first division in two strikes against Japanese targets in the Marshall Islands. In the first, he led nine bomb-carrying TBDs as part of a full-scale dawn strike against Roi and Kwajalein. For the second, he took off as part of a follow-up strike of eight SBDs and nine TBDs (again carrying bombs) to hit shipping and facilities at Wotje. In both cases, Lindsey's division returned without loss. His performance and leadership on these strikes would earn him the Distinguished Flying Cross.

On February 24th, 1942, Lindsey again led nine bomb-equipped TBDs as part of Enterprise's strike against Wake Island. Again, VT-6 returned without loss (although two SBDs went down). On March 4th, Enterprise continued the campaign by hitting Marcus Island. However, Lindsey's men missed out as they were being held in reserve in case any important shipping targets turned up.

On May 28th, 1942, as Enterprise departed Pearl Harbor in preparation for the Battle of Midway, Lindsey made a bad landing while leading his squadron aboard. As his plane neared touchdown, it suddenly stalled, struck the deck hard, and careened over the port side. The destroyer USS Monaghan rescued Lindsey and his crew (ACRM Charles T. Grenat and Machinist Thomas E. Schaffer). According to the Enterprise log, Lindsey suffered "several cracked ribs, punctured lung, multiple cuts, and other lacerations." With such severe injuries, his shipmates expected him to be sidelined for the coming battle.

Lindsey, however, refused to let his injuries prevent him from leading his squadron. On June 4th, the day of the battle, he surprised Air Group Commander Wade McClusky by joining him at breakfast. After almost a week of recuperation, Lindsey was still so bruised about the face that he could not put on his flight goggles. However, when McClusky asked if he could fly, Lindsey answered, "This is what I've been trained to do."

Lindsey died in action on June 4th, 1942, with his rear-seat gunner, Charles T. Grenat, ACRM, in the Battle of Midway, when their Douglas TBD Devastator was shot down by Japanese A6M2 Zero fighters, while attacking the aircraft carrier Kaga. VT-6 lost 10 out of 14 planes. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his contribution to the battle.