WOW351 Douglas TBD Devastator

Description

The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American torpedo bomber utilised by the US Navy during WW2, 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 US Navy and possibly for any navy in the world. However, the fast pace of aircraft development quickly caught up with it, and by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour the TBD was already outdated.

The Devastator performed well in early battles but earned notoriety for a catastrophic performance during the Battle of Midway in which 41 Devastators recorded zero torpedo hits with only six surviving to return to their carriers. Vastly outclassed in both speed and manoeuvrability by the Zero’s they faced, most of the force was wiped out with little consequence except to distract the Zeros from the SBD Dauntless dive bombers that sank four carriers and a heavy cruiser. Although much of the Devastator’s dismal performance was later attributed to the many well-documented defects in the US Mark 13 torpedo, the aircraft was withdrawn from frontline service after Midway, being replaced by the Avenger.

Our 1/30 scale aircraft was one piloted by Ensign George Gay, an air crewman with the USS Hornet’s air squadron. Gay along with 29 other crewmen took off in their Devastator’s from the Hornet to intercept the Japanese fleet off Midway, all 10 aircraft were shot down, with Gay being the only survivor. He hid amongst the wreckage of his aircraft as Japanese aircraft strafed him and any other airmen they could see in the water.

He spent 30 hours in the water watching 3 of the 4 carriers from the Japanese battle fleet being sunk. He was rescued and once he had recuperated, Gay later went on to fly again with the Navy, surviving the war, he then flew for another 30 years with Trans World Airlines.

Please note the JJD figures are for scale reference purposes only and are not included.