Douglas BTD Destroyer

The Douglas BTD Destroyer is an American dive/torpedo bomber developed for the United States Navy during World War II. A small number had been delivered before the end of the war, but none saw combat.

BTD Destroyer
The XSB2D-1 in 1943
Role Dive bomber
Manufacturer Douglas Aircraft Corporation
First flight 8 April 1943
Introduction 1944
Retired 1945
Primary user United States Navy
Number built 30

Development
Douglas BTD-1 Destroyer with folded wings

On 20 June 1941, the United States Navy 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 and the new Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, designated XSB2D-1.[1] The resulting aircraft, designed by a team led by Ed Heinemann, 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. It was fitted with a bomb bay and underwing racks for up to 4,200 lb (1,900 kg) of bombs, 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.[2]

The prototype first flew on 8 April 1943, demonstrating excellent performance, being much faster and carrying nearly double the bombload of the Helldiver, and orders for 358 SB2D-1s quickly followed. The U.S. Navy changed its requirements, however, wanting single-seat carrier-based torpedo/dive bombers without defensive turrets, and Douglas reworked the SB2D 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 SB2Ds were converted to BTD-1s, with the first BTD flying on 5 March 1944.[3]

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, along with other aircraft types that had been designed from the start as single-seaters, such as the Martin AM Mauler.[4] 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.

Variants
The single-seat BTD-1
The XBTD-2
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 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

Surviving aircraft
Destroyer 4959 at Richard B. Russell Airport, 2017

BTD-1 Destroyer, Bureau Number 4959, is under restoration for display at the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center, Elmira-Corning Regional Airport, Elmira, New York.[5] This aircraft had long been in the Florence Air & Missile Museum collection until the museum's closing in 1997. In September 2015 the aircraft was relocated to the Hixson Flight Museum in Rome, Georgia.[6]

Specifications (BTD-1)

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1947[7], Dave's Warbirds:Douglas BTD Destroyer[8]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 38 ft 7 in (11.77 m)
  • Wingspan: 48 ft 0 in (14.64 m)
  • Height: 16 ft 7 in (5.05 m) over airscrew, one blade vertical
  • Wing area: 373 sq ft (34.7 m2)
  • Empty weight: 12,900 lb (5,851 kg)
  • Gross weight: 18,140 lb (8,228 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 19,000 lb (8,618 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-3350-14 Cyclone 18 18-cyl. two-row air-cooled radial piston engine, 2,300 hp (1,700 kW)
  • Propellers: 4-bladed constant-speed propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 344 mph (554 km/h, 299 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 188 mph (303 km/h, 163 kn)
  • Range: 1,480 mi (2,380 km, 1,290 nmi)
  • Ferry range: 2,140 mi (3,440 km, 1,860 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 23,600 ft (7,200 m)
  • Rate of climb: 1,650 ft/min (8.4 m/s)
  • Wing loading: 48.6 lb/sq ft (237 kg/m2)
  • Power/mass: 7.9 lb/hp (4.83 kg/kW)

Armament

  • Guns: 2 × 20 mm (0.787 in) AN/M2 cannon with 200 rpg
  • Bombs: Up to 3,200 lb (1,500 kg) of bombs in the bomb bay or two 1,947 lb (883 kg) Torpedoes

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. Kowalski, Bob; Ginter, Steve (1995). Douglas XSB2D-1 & BTD-1 Destroyer. Naval Fighters Number Thirty. Simi Valley, California: Ginter Books. ISBN 978-0942612301.
  2. Francillon 1979, p. 366.
  3. Francillon 1979, pp. 367–368.
  4. Francillon 1979, p. 369.
  5. "BTD Destroyer/4959" Wings of Eagles Museum Retrieved: 24 July 2014.
  6. http://www.hixsonflightmuseum.org/collection.html
  7. Bridgman, Leonard, ed. (1947). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1947. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. pp. 222c–223c.
  8. "Douglas BTD Destroyer". Dave's Warbirds. Retrieved 7 December 2017.

Bibliography
  • Donald, David; Lake, Jon (1996). Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft. London: AIRtime Publishing. ISBN 978-1880588246.
  • Francillon, René J. (1979). McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920. London: Putnam. ISBN 978-0370000503.
  • Kowalski, Bob; Ginter, Steve (1995). Douglas XSB2D-1 & BTD-1 Destroyer. Naval Fighters Number Thirty. Simi Valley, California: Ginter Books. ISBN 978-0942612301.
  • 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.
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