Devastator

I think the Devastators suffered the highest loss rate of all naval types. It was virtually a one-way ticket every time. I think the mission you are referring to is the one where almost all of them were shot down without a single successful bomb drop, but because the Japanese Zeros were then out of place the few surviving TBDs were able to sneak in and sink 3 unprotected carriers.

No. The Devastators (TBD) had drawn the Zeroes down low, so when (by complete accident) the Dauntlesses (SBD) and Wildcats (F4F-4) arrived high overhead they were able to begin their attacks completely unmolested.

The 3 IJN carriers (and a 4th later the same day) were sunk completely by USN bombs (actually the bombs simply turned then into blazing wrecks) and Japanese torpedoes fired from destroyers (to scuttle them when the Japanese retreated).

No USN air-dropped torpedo hit any IJN carrier that day.

Thanks Anne.

It is a Fairchild model H-1 gun camera. Here is what the data plates from that model look like:

Most of the Fairchild gun cameras shared a common mechanism inside and differed by their housing assembly, the installed optics and filters, and the operating voltage. The “M” models operated at 12 volts and the “N” models operated at 24 volts. They could be set to operate at 16, 32, and 64 frames per second and 32 frames was the standard setting.

Here is a short U.S. Army Air Corp film showing the details and operation of the Fairchild AN (G.S.A.P.) gun camera, which is very similar in most respects to the H-1 and H-3 models.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9ad_1332278306

Fascinating pctures, thanks for sharing Duggy.
I’m guessing that the two ‘bladders’ over the wings were a ditching bouyancy aid?

According to the picture title they are.

‘TBD-1picturedonthegroundwithemergencyflotationgearfullyinflated.jpg’

Thanks Anne, did a quick Google prompted by your post, it seems to be this type, http://www.snyderstreasures.com/pages/aac.htm (scroll down), http://snyderstreasures.com/images/usmilitaria/breed/B24GunCameraOC.jpg

[QUOTE=pagen01;1986322]
Does anyone know what the device is to stbd of the pilots windscreen, is it a gun camera?

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It is, and a Fairchild one at that although I couldn’t tell you the model number.

Anne

For real flying footage of all these types get the DVD of the movie Dive Bomber. Sillyish plot but great flying scenes of the real aircraft.

re;

thanks for posting, those pictures are some of the best I have ever seen!

I think the Devastators suffered the highest loss rate of all naval types. It was virtually a one-way ticket every time. I think the mission you are referring to is the one where almost all of them were shot down without a single successful bomb drop, but because the Japanese Zeros were then out of place the few surviving TBDs were able to sneak in and sink 3 unprotected carriers.

Thanks for confirming about the powered wing fold.

Brilliant photos Duggy and DC Page. That early arrester hook is an interesting design.
But its things like “a top speed of 206mph” and “Of the 41 Devastators launched by the US Navy aircraft carriers, 37 failed to return to their ships. A loss rate of over 90% in just one mission” that caught my eye.

Brave men indeed!

Rob

Yes these shots are spectacular. And I think there are higher resolution versions of these pictures on the T/L archive website. Incredible detail.

Whatever it is, none of the early marks of this type seem to have this rig installed in any of the pictures I have seen.

Interesting theory and interesting that the Northrop BT-1 seems to have the same equipment, maybe it could have been for comparitive trials?

Some of those images show that we haven’t come as far as we like to think with photography!

Does anyone know what the device is to stbd of the pilots windscreen, is it a gun camera?

Pagen none of my other historic photos of Devastators shows that device attached to the starboard side of the aircraft, but these color Time/Life pictures of VT-6 show that virtually every aircraft photographed has one installed, and the ones that don’t still have the mounting struts installed. Some of the other types of aircraft on deck also have the same device installed in the same location. Look at aircraft 6B10 in this next picture, there is an additional tube that looks like a telescope mounted on the cowling in front of the side-mounted device. This is in addition to the winshield-mounted sight that all of the TBDs have. It sure looks like a camera or some type of optical device, and there is a cable loom coming out of the back of it. The Bombardier had to lie prone to use a Norden bombsight that looked down through the belly of the aircraft so I don’t think it has to do with bombing. There was a film made around 1941 that was shot in Technicolor (“Dive Bomber”?), maybe it has something to do with that. Possibly a mission camera to gather more intel that just a gun camera?

Fascinating pctures, thanks for sharing Duggy.
I’m guessing that the two ‘bladders’ over the wings were a ditching bouyancy aid?

Yes it was the first with powered wings.
Here’s a link – http://www.axis-and-allies-paintworks.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?406

Regards Duggy

I might have got this wrong Rob, but I think it was the Devastator that was the first carrier aircraft design to have power fold wings.
Superb shots above!

Does anyone know what the device is to stbd of the pilots windscreen, is it a gun camera?

Edit, I don’t know how reliable thay are but these seem to concur, http://www.aviation-history.com/douglas/tbd.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_TBD_Devastator
I built the nice little Airfix one years ago and I think that’s where I read about the wings!

Great subject and photos guys. Just out of curiosity even though it was an early design did the Devastator have power folding wings seeing as they are the ‘up and over’ type, instead of the more manageable Wildcat / Hellcat ‘swingback’ variety?

Rob

Here is an article from February 2011 with some details regarding the (then) current hunt for TBDs. I’m pretty sure that the 2 Devastators at Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands were brought to the surface a few years ago but this article seems to indicate that attempt was abandoned due to cost. I have pictures of those 2 TBDs in the lagoon at Jaluit that were taken by divers in 2008, and their notes say that after the pictures were taken Americans came and salvaged both of planes and took them back to the U.S. for restoration.

I’ve got a friend in Pensacola that should know the current status of the existing examples, I’ll ask him about it.

http://www.eaa.org/news/2011/2011-03-02_tbd.asp

Also, if you haven’t seen the Time/Life pre-war color pictures of a Devastator squadron, they really are amazing. Here are a couple.

Yes, Doug Champlin had plans to raise the one off the coast of Miami about 15 to 20 years ago. I believe he was supposed to be working in conjunction with the Navy Museum whereby he would recover the aircraft for the Navy in exchange for two Wildcats. His team recovered one of the canopies as proof that they had actually located the aircraft. However, the Navy changed tacks, and impounded the recovered canopy (which was in very good condition… I’ve seen it in the Navy Museum stores), and nixed the recovery. From what I remember reading, the Navy Museum (Pensacola) were given the location of the wreck for free by the guy who’d initially located the wreck (not Champlin) and decided not to deal with Chaplin. It was all a huge mess, and resulted in several law suits and the aircraft sitting under water for another 20 years, when it could already be gracing the floor of the Navy Museum. This is all going off my memory though, and I am sure there are more details that I am missing, but I believe it more or less sums up the situation. Since that time though, the three other wrecks were located. My guess is that they will be trying to get the one up off the California coast, as it is the least problematic of the four possibilities. All it will take is someone, not the Navy, coming up with the dosh to pay for the recovery… but any that are recovered will almost certainly end up in the Navy Museum.

Cheers,
Richard

re;

didn’t somebody have plans to raise one but got the wrath of the USN?

There are four known substantially intact, though submerged wrecks; two in the Marshall Islands, one off the coast of Florida, and another off the coast of California (IIRC). There are no survivors in “captivity” though there are tentative plans to recover one or more of these aircraft for the Navy Museum.

Cheers,
Richard