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The Douglas BTD Destroyer is an American dive/
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
bomber developed for the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. A small number had been delivered before the end of the war, but none saw combat.


Development

On 20 June 1941, the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
placed an order with the Douglas Aircraft Company for two prototypes of a new two-seat dive bomber to replace both the
Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/di ...
and the new
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver is a dive bomber developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II. As a carrier-based bomber with the United States Navy (USN), in Pacific theaters, it supplemented and replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless. A few surviv ...
, designated XSB2D-1. The resulting aircraft, designed by a team led by
Ed Heinemann Edward Henry Heinemann (March 14, 1908 – November 26, 1991) was a military aircraft designer for the Douglas Aircraft Company. Biography Heinemann was born in Saginaw, Michigan. He moved to California as a boy and was raised in Los Angeles. A ...
, was a large single-engined mid-winged monoplane. It had a laminar flow gull-wing, and unusually for a carrier-based aircraft of the time, a
tricycle undercarriage Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...
. It was fitted with a bomb bay and underwing racks for up to 4,200 lb (1,900 kg) of bombs or one torpedo (typically the
Mark 13 Mark 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains Jesus' predictions of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and disaster for Judea, as well as his eschatological discourse.Hall ...
), while defensive armament consisted of two wing-mounted 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon and two remote-controlled turrets, each with two .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns.Francillon 1979, p. 366. The prototype first flew on 8 April 1943, demonstrating good performance, being faster than the Dauntless and capable of carrying more bombload, but it was heavier and more complex. The U.S. Navy had made a request for a new torpedo bomber developed from the XSB2D-1. Douglas reworked the XSB2D-1 by removing the turrets and second crewman, while adding more fuel and armor, while wing racks could carry not just one but two torpedoes, producing the BTD-1 Destroyer. The orders for the SB2D-1 were converted to the BTD-1, with the first BTD-1 flying on 5 March 1944.Francillon 1979, pp. 367–368. The BTD-1 was heavier than the XS2BD-1 and had poorer performance. Ed Heinemann asked for cancelling of the BTD-1.Yenne 1989, p. 90.


Operational history

The first production BTD-1s were completed in June 1944. By the time Japan surrendered in August 1945, only 28 aircraft had been delivered, and production was cancelled due to performance, along with other aircraft types that had been designed from the start as single-seaters, such as the
Martin AM Mauler The Martin AM Mauler (originally XBTM) was a single-seat carrier-based attack aircraft built for the United States Navy. Designed during World War II, the Mauler encountered development delays and did not enter service until 1948 in small numbe ...
.Francillon 1979, p. 369. None saw combat action. In any event, Heinemann and his team were already working on developing the single-seat BT2D that became the
Douglas A-1 Skyraider The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly known as the AD Skyraider) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age ...
.


Variants

;XSB2D-1 :Prototype two seat torpedo/dive bomber. Two built. ;SB2D-1 :Proposed production version of XSB2D-1. 358 ordered, but order converted to BTD-1 before any completed ;BTD-1 :Single seat variant. 26 built. ;XBTD-2 :Prototypes with mixed propulsion, the additional Westinghouse 19B
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, an ...
in rear fuselage giving 1,500 lbf (6.7 kN) thrust did not sufficiently improve performance. First flight May 1944. Two built.


Operators

; *
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...


Surviving aircraft

BTD-1 Destroyer, Bureau Number ''04959'', was under restoration for display at the
Wings of Eagles Discovery Center Elmira Corning Regional Airport is in Chemung County, New York, seven miles northwest of Elmira and eight miles east of Corning. It is in the town of Big Flats but its mailing address is Horseheads, New York. The airport was formerly Elmira ...
,
Elmira-Corning Regional Airport Elmira Corning Regional Airport is in Chemung County, New York, seven miles northwest of Elmira and eight miles east of Corning. It is in the town of Big Flats but its mailing address is Horseheads, New York. The airport was formerly Elmira R ...
, Elmira, New York. This aircraft had long been in the
Florence Air & Missile Museum The Florence Air & Missile Museum was an aviation museum previously located at the entrance to the Florence Regional Airport, in Florence, South Carolina. The museum closed at the end of 1997. The airport was originally known as Florence Army Ai ...
collection until the museum's closing in 1997. In September 2015 the aircraft was relocated to the Hixson Flight Museum in Rome, Georgia, where it is undergoing restoration.


Specifications (BTD-1)


See also


References


Notes


Bibliography

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External links



A link to the official USN BuAer ACP (Airplane Characteristics and Performance) sheet from USN archives on the Douglas BTD-1 Destroyer.

A three-view plan of the BTD-1 Destroyer. {{USN scout aircraft Douglas aircraft, BTD Destroyer 1940s United States bomber aircraft Carrier-based aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft World War II dive bombers of the United States World War II torpedo bombers of the United States Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1943 Inverted gull-wing aircraft