The Douglas T2D was an American twin-engined

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...

contracted by the military, and required to be usable on wheels or floats, and operating from

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s. It was the first twin-engined aircraft to be operated from an aircraft carrier.

Development and design

In 1925, 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 ...

Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and relate ...

designed a twin-engined

aircraft, intended to have greater performance than contemporary single-engined aircraft. A single prototype was built by the

Naval Aircraft Factory The Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) was established by the United States Navy in 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created to help solve aircraft supply issues which faced the Navy Department upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I. ...

as the XTN-1, which was quickly followed by three identical aircraft built by

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

, the T2D-1. The XTN/T2D was a large two bay

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

, capable of easy conversion between floats and wheels, and carrying a crew of four.

Operational history

The first three T2D-1's were delivered to the torpedo bomber squadron

VT-2 Vermont's 2nd congressional district is an obsolete district. It was created upon Vermont's admission as the 14th State in 1791. It was eliminated after the 1930 Census. Its last Congressman was Ernest W. Gibson, who was redistricted into t ...

on 25 May 1927, being used for successful trials aboard the aircraft carrier . A further nine T2D-1's were ordered in 1927, these normally being operated as floatplanes, partly owing to criticism from the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

of the Navy operating large land-based bombers, and partly as its large size prevented ''Langley'' from embarking a full airwing. A further 18 aircraft were ordered in June 1930 as patrol

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, m ...

s, being designated P2D-1. These were operated by Patrol Squadron

VP-3 VP-3 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 16-F (VP-16F) on 2 January 1937, redesignated Patrol Squadron 16 (VP-16) on 1 October 1937, redesignated Patrol Squadron 41 (VP-41) on 1 July 1939, redes ...

in the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the ter ...

until they were replaced by

Consolidated PBY The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served wit ...

s in 1937.

Variants

;XTN-1 :Original prototype built by Naval Aircraft Factory. One built. ;T2D-1 :Production aircraft, convertible torpedo bomber/patrol floatplane, powered by

Wright R-1750 Cyclone Wright Cyclone was the name given to a family of air-cooled radial piston engines designed by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation and used in numerous American aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. Background The Wright Aeronautical Corporation was ...

s. 12 built. ;P2D-1 :Dedicated patrol floatplane. Fitted with twin tail for improved engine out performance and powered by two

Wright R-1820 Cyclone The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright, widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. It was produced under license in France as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V, and in the Soviet Uni ...

s. 18 built.

Operators

; *

Specifications (T2D-1 landplane / floatplane)

References

External links

Boeing page for Douglas T2D
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas T2d T2D 1920s United States bomber aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1927 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft