Douglas BTD

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Douglas BTD Destroyer
Douglas XSB2D Destroyer in flight.jpg
Douglas XSB2D-1
Type: Torpedo bombers
Design country:

United States 48United States United States

Manufacturer:

Douglas Aircraft Company

First flight:

April 8, 1943

Production time:

1944 to 1945

Number of pieces:

32

The Douglas BTD Destroyer was a torpedo bomber produced by the US company Douglas Aircraft Company , which was developed for the United States Navy from 1941 to 1944 , but never entered service.

development

The United States Navy ordered two prototypes of a two-seater reconnaissance bomber from the Douglas Aircraft Company on June 20, 1941 , which was to replace both the Douglas SBD Dauntless, which had just been put into service, and the successor model Curtiss SB2C Helldiver , which was still in development . The construction team of Douglas' chief designer Ed Heinemann then designed the XSB2D-1 Destroyer . The two-seat machine was to receive the Wright R-3350 twin-radial engine and bent wings to increase ground clearance. 1900 kg of weapons were to be carried in an internal bomb bay and at lower wing stations, two remote-controlled rotating towers, each with two 12.7 mm machine guns, were used for self-defense. The first use of a nose landing gear on a carrier aircraft was unusual.

The single-seat BTD-1

The first prototype made its maiden flight on April 8, 1943. However, an engineer noted that the aircraft was flying "like a huge dog poop". The US Navy still ordered 358 SB2D-1s, but changed the configuration of the aircraft to a single-seater without defensive armament. From the two-seat SB2D-1, Douglas then developed the single-seat BTD-1 Destroyer, which lacked rear guns and turrets, but improved armor and fuel supplies. The BTD-1 first flew on March 5, 1944.

The SB2D order was transferred to BTD and the first production aircraft rolled off the assembly line in June 1944. Towards the end of the Second World War , however, only 28 machines were completed. After the end of the war, thousands of aircraft orders were canceled, including the BTD order. The reason for this was that later designed as a pure single-seater aircraft met the requirements of the US Navy, such as B. the Martin AM Mauler . Competitive models such as the Curtiss BTC and the Kaiser-Fleetwings BTK were also canceled. However, Heinemann was convinced that he could design a better aircraft and created the AD Skyraider , of which 3,180 machines were produced.

Of the SB2D / BTD, only one aircraft remained (BuNo 4959), which can currently be seen in the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center in Elmira (New York) .

Versions

XSB2D-1
Two two-seater prototypes with rotating towers.
BTD-1
Single-seat production version without defensive armament, 28 built, the construction of 330 more machines was canceled.
XBTD-2
Two prototypes completed in 1944 with an additional Westinghouse -WE-19XA- jet engine with 6.7 kN thrust in the stern. This only marginally improved performance.

Technical specifications

The only surviving BTD-1
Parameter BTD-1 data
Type single-seat fighter-bomber
length 11.76 m
span 13.72 m
height 4.14 m
Wing area 34.65 m²
Empty mass 5244 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 8618 kg
Top speed 538 km / h
Service ceiling 7195 m
Range 2382 km
drive a double radial engine Wright R-3350-14 Cyclone 18 with 2,300 PS (approx. 1,690 kW)

Armament

  • two 20 mm cannons
  • up to 1,900 kg weapons

See also

literature

  • David Donald, Jon Lake: Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft. London 1996, ISBN 1-880588-24-2 .
  • Robert F. Dorr: Douglas A-1 Skyraider. London 1989, ISBN 0-85045-906-0 .
  • René J. Francillon: McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920. London 1979, ISBN 0-370-00050-1 .
  • Bob Kowalski, Steve Ginter: Douglas XSB2D-1 & BTD-1 Destroyer. Simi Valley 1995, ISBN 0-942612-30-2 .

Web links

Commons : Douglas BTD  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Francillon, p. 366
  2. Dorr, p. 9.
  3. Francillon, pp. 367f.
  4. ^ Francillon, p. 369.
  5. Dorr, p. 14ff.
  6. Archive link ( Memento of the original dated December 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aero-web.org
  7. http://www.daveswarbirds.com/usplanes/aircraft/destroyr.htm