L4809 DOUGLAS TBD-1 DEVASTATOR (WAKE ISLAND 1942)

The Douglas TBD-1 Devastator was an on-board bomber-torpedo plane of American production from the interwar period and World War II in the low wing configuration. The drive was provided by a single engine in the basic version Pratt and Whitney R-1830-64 with 900 hp. The first flight of this machine took place in April 1935. Its serial production lasted in the years 1937-1939 and led to the creation of about 130 aircraft of this type. The deck armament consisted of two 7.62 mm machine guns. The plane could also carry a bomb load of up to approx. 800 kg or a Mark XIII torpedo weighing approx. 1 ton. The Douglas TBD-1 Devastator was commissioned by the US Navy, which in the mid-1930s decided to introduce a new, on-board bomber-torpedo plane into service. In addition to the basic version, with a retractable wheel undercarriage, a TBD-1A version with a fixed float undercarriage was also created. The TBD-1 aircraft was characterized by a conservative, proven design, but compared to Japanese machines it had very poor performance. Despite this, the Douglas TBD-1 Devastator was one of the US Navy's primary on-board machines during the first struggle in the Pacific in 1941-1942. He took an active part in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, where, however, aircraft of this type suffered significant losses. The planes, after this battle, were relatively quickly decommissioned and directed to training tasks. Eventually, they were withdrawn from service in 1943.