1/72 TBD Devastator

[georgerutherford1861]

Hello everyone, it has been a while since I have built a model. School plus a clogged up printer took me off track for a while.

Here we have Nobi’s 1/100 TBD Devastator repainted by PacificWind to be George Gay’s plane from VT-8 at Midway (moment of silence). It also has the torpedo from Murph’s Devastator kit, so it’s a bit of a kitbash if you will.

My kitbuilding supervisor is 13 and desired landing gear. Not liking landing gear (makes the plane less “swoosh-able” in flight, I devised a way to reinforce the landing gear with floral wire, then have them plug into rolled up pieces of paper in the wings themselves, sort of like how a plug on a set of headphones plugs into phones or computers. Anyway, best of both worlds I hope.

I am amazed at how big the plane is. I mean, I know it is bigger than a fighter, but even then I was a bit surprised. Kit went together great, my challenges came from kitbashing the landing gear and building an acceptable torpedo bay for the rear of the torpedo to fit into. Anyway, here it is.

Doug

[wireandpaper]

Very nice. Thank you for sharing this historic aircraft!

[Vinalssergio155]

Very good work!!

[Don Boose]

Nice work, Doug!

Good to hear from you again.

Thanks for the TTP on the undercarriage.

Don

[Butelczynski]

Very nice model-thank you for showing.

Question to Don-do you know if Devastators were ever assigned a bombing mission instead of torpedo one?

[Texman]

I'm not Don, but there are pictures of the TBD with bombs mounted under the fuselage.

While not exactly answering your question, Don may provide further information
about actual bombing missions.

[Don Boose]

Karol (and everybody) -

I have a lot of books and articles on the TBD, but to answer your question tonight I have relied on Barrett Tillman, TBD Devastator Units of the US Navy, Combat Aircraft 20, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publications, 2000 and David Doyle, Douglas TBD Devastator: America's First World War II Torpedo Bomber, Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publications 2017.

TBDs were designed to carry as alternatives to the torpedo several 100 lb., two 500 lb., or one 1,000 pound bombs, and a substantial amount of pre-war training was devoted to practicing level bombing against surface ships, although in the words of one TBD pilot of VT-2, AMM2c Thomas Cook, "horizontal bombing was a lost cause from the beginning." (p. 34)

Nonetheless, most of the TBD missions prior to Coral Sea involved bombing as well as torpedo attack:

1 February 1942, VT-6 (Enterprise)attacked Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands and VT-5 (Yorktown) attacked Jaluit in the Gilberts with 500 lb. bombs and torpedoes.

24 February 1942, VT-6 attacked facilities on Wake Island with 100-lb. bombs.

4 March 1942, VT-6 attacked Marcus Island with bombs. (Doyle, p. 90)

10 March 1942, VT-2 (Lexington) attacked Japanese ships at Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea, with torpedoes while VT-5 attacked with 500-lb. bombs.

4 May 1942, VT-5 attacked Japanese ships at Tulagi, Solomon Islands, with torpedoes.

In the Coral Sea and Midway actions, all the participating TBDs were armed with torpedoes.

I'd be glad to hear from anyone who has additional information.

Don

[Butelczynski]

Thanks Don.That answers my question well.

[georgerutherford1861]

Thanks to you all for your kind comments. Finishing up a Spitfire for one of the boys, then it is on to the next project.

Doug

[Don Boose]

I look forward to finding out what this model is. The tail markings are for an aircraft of the 3rd Squadron, 24th Flying Regiment, which flew Ki-27s (1938-42), Ki-43s (1942-end of the war) and Ki-84s (October 1944 to the end of the war).

But I cannot identify the shape of the vertical stabilizer and rudder assembly, which doesn't look like any of those to me.

I'm standing by for enlightenment.

Don