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The Douglas XTB2D Skypirate (also known as the Devastator II) was a
The two "Skypirate" prototypes, BuNo 36933 and 36934, were ready for flight trials in 1945 with the first prototype XTB2D-1 flying on 13 March 1945. The second example had a 58 cm increase in the length of the fuselage, and flew later in summer 1945. Both prototypes were test flown without any armament. Despite the flying trials proceeding on schedule, the collapse of the Japanese forces in the Pacific along with delays in the ''Midway'' class, eliminated the need for the type and the 23 pre-production aircraft on order were subsequently cancelled. The flight trials were suspended and the two prototypes were eventually reduced to scrap in 1948.Kowalski 1996, pp. 42–43.
XTB2D-1
'. United States Naval Aviation News, January 1982, pp. 20–21 * Francillon, René J. ''McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920: Volume I''. London: Putnam, 1979. . * Kowalski, Bob. ''Douglas XTB2D-1 Skypirate'' (Naval Fighters, Volume Thirty-Six). Simi Valley, CA: Ginter Books, 1996. . *Wagner, Ray. ''American Combat Airplanes of the 20th Century: A Comprehensive Reference''. Reno, Nevada: Jack Bacon & Co., 2004. {{USN torpedo aircraft TBD2 Skypirate Douglas TBD2 Skypirate Carrier-based aircraft Aircraft with contra-rotating propellers World War II torpedo bombers of the United States Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1945
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 ...
intended for service with 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 ...
's ''Midway''- and ''Essex''-class aircraft carriers
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 n ...
; it was too large for earlier decks. Two prototypes were completed, but the dedicated torpedo bomber was becoming an outdated concept, and with the end of 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the type was deemed unnecessary and cancelled.
Design and development
In 1939, Douglas designersEd 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 ...
and Bob Donovan began work on a VTB Proposal to replace the TBD Devastator
The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy and possibly for any ...
torpedo bomber. In 1942, the team led by Heinemann and Donovan began work on a new project named the "Devastator II". On 31 October 1943, just four days after the very large s were ordered into production, Douglas received a contract for two prototypes, designated TB2D, receiving the official name: "Skypirate".
The TB2D was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-4360
The Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major is an American 28-cylinder four-row radial piston aircraft engine designed and built during World War II. First run in 1944, at , it is the largest-displacement aviation piston engine to be mass-produced i ...
Wasp Major driving contra-rotating propellers
Aircraft equipped with contra-rotating propellers, also referred to as CRP, coaxial contra-rotating propellers, or high-speed propellers, apply the maximum power of usually a single piston or turboprop engine to drive a pair of coaxial propell ...
. Four 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, ...
es (such as the Mark 13 torpedo
The Mark 13 torpedo was the U.S. Navy's most common aerial torpedo of World War II. It was the first American torpedo to be originally designed for launching from aircraft only. They were also used on PT boats.
Design
Originating in a 1925 des ...
) or an equivalent bomb load could be carried on underwing pylons. Defensive armament consisted of two 20 mm (.79 in) cannon in the wings and .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns mounted in a power-operated dorsal turret.
Very large for a single-engined aircraft, the TB2D would have been the largest carrierborne aircraft at the time; it could carry four times the weapon load of the Grumman TBF Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...
. With only limited support from the US Navy, and facing a recommendation for cancellation on 20 May 1944 due to the aircraft being designed only for the CVB and CV9 carriers, the TB2D project was in peril even at the design and mockup stage.
Operational history
The two "Skypirate" prototypes, BuNo 36933 and 36934, were ready for flight trials in 1945 with the first prototype XTB2D-1 flying on 13 March 1945. The second example had a 58 cm increase in the length of the fuselage, and flew later in summer 1945. Both prototypes were test flown without any armament. Despite the flying trials proceeding on schedule, the collapse of the Japanese forces in the Pacific along with delays in the ''Midway'' class, eliminated the need for the type and the 23 pre-production aircraft on order were subsequently cancelled. The flight trials were suspended and the two prototypes were eventually reduced to scrap in 1948.Kowalski 1996, pp. 42–43.
Specifications (XTB2D-1 Skypirate)
See also
Citations
Bibliography
* Andrews, Harold:XTB2D-1
'. United States Naval Aviation News, January 1982, pp. 20–21 * Francillon, René J. ''McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920: Volume I''. London: Putnam, 1979. . * Kowalski, Bob. ''Douglas XTB2D-1 Skypirate'' (Naval Fighters, Volume Thirty-Six). Simi Valley, CA: Ginter Books, 1996. . *Wagner, Ray. ''American Combat Airplanes of the 20th Century: A Comprehensive Reference''. Reno, Nevada: Jack Bacon & Co., 2004. {{USN torpedo aircraft TBD2 Skypirate Douglas TBD2 Skypirate Carrier-based aircraft Aircraft with contra-rotating propellers World War II torpedo bombers of the United States Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1945