Talk:Douglas TBD Devastator

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In reference to a statement near the end refering to how TBF Avengers would have likely suffered similar losses at the Battle of Midway under similar circumstances as those the TBD Devestators faced: I seem to recall from a book called "Miracle at Midway" that TBF Avengers used during the Battle of Midway also suffered severe losses, though only a handful of them (flying from Midway Island) were present. These also attacked without fighter escort, due to the fact that most of the fighters based at Midway had to defend the base from the initial attack and were unable to join the bombers. The one plane that did survive from this group landed wih over 200 bullet holes in it. I don't have the book with me, so I won't add this to the article until I can verify it (but if someone else verifies this or dis-verifies it before then, feel free to add this or refute it as you wish.)

--Jeff

I've read that story as well. The Avengers were a detachment of VT-8 based on Midway. Six attacked, one returned with the turret gunner (Jay Manning) dead. IIRC the aircraft was heavily damaged, crash-landed, and was scrapped. This is the pilot's story: http://boatcoach.tripod.com/id109.html 198.49.81.33 17:17, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

The 2nd paragraph needs a re-write. "Vastly outclassed in both speed and maneuverability by the Mitsubishi Zero"? Really? Of course it was "outclassed in speed and maneuverability" by the Zero, the Zero was a fighter, not a torpedo bomber! The Kate (Japanese TB) was equally outclassed by even the Wildcat, let alone the Hellcat or Corsair. The fact that a torpedo bomber couldn't out "dogfight" a fighter is not a valid criticism. The losses of the Devastators at Midway was far more of a leadership failure to conduct a coordinated attack with dive bombers and torpedo bombers attacking simultaneously while provided cover by fighter aircraft, than a specific failing of the aircraft. Yes, the Devastator was slow-but given the circumstances, I'm not sure that there is evidence to suggest that Avengers would have faired any better.-Brian 6/9/21

Lol

There are no surviving aircraft in museums or private collections, except for the three in al gore's garage

can this be edited? Im doing this on my phone or I would do it myself 94.3.135.22 (talk) 21:33, 8 May 2014 (UTC)

or the ones in the ocean 1111canada (talk) 20:54, 30 December 2024 (UTC)

Assessment comment

Template:Substituted comment Substituted at 13:45, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

From the Lede

"The Devastator performed well in early battles, most notably in the Battle of Coral Sea"

As a contrast, Toll 2012 summarizes Coral Sea after-action reports and calls it "disastrously obsolete" and says that it "must be replaced as quickly as possible".

So is there a source for the good performance? --84.132.144.110 (talk) 21:42, 17 April 2022 (UTC)

It is possible for an aircraft to be both totally obsolete but also to perform well in certain circumstances. They arent totally exclusive concepts. It performed well in Coral Sea because they managed to sink a carrier and several other ships and avoided taking disastrous losses, but that doesn't mean they can't look at the enemy opposition and decide that we really need to get something better very quickly. Idumea47b (talk) 16:14, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

A crew of two, or three?

The 3-view and data sheet at the end of the article states a crew of three. But VT-8 had 15 aircraft, crewed by 15 pilots and 15 gunners. Apparently (according to https://theaviationist.com/2024/11/28/tbd-1-devastator/ ) the third crewman would have been a bombardier, who I guess would be present for level bombing missions and not for torpedo missions. 

If this is correct, it would seem to be worth including in the article. But I am not really sure that it *is* correct.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.174.127.222 (talk) 16:23, 7 February 2025 (UTC) 

Recent footage from NOAA 2025

Recent footage on the NOAA Ocean Exploration mission to the wreck of the USS Yorktown CV-5 appears to show the wing of a Devastator.

A better Wiki editor than me could check the YouTube footage to verify. 2A00:23C6:1A3A:1701:298D:28AC:EF5B:E759 (talk) 09:03, 26 April 2025 (UTC)