The Douglas TBD-1 Devastator was an American-made torpedo bomber of the interwar period and World War II with a low-wing configuration. It was powered by a single engine in the basic version of the Pratt and Whitney R-1830-64 with a capacity of 900 hp. The first flight of this machine took place in April 1935. Its serial production lasted from 1937 to 1939 and resulted in the creation of about 130 aircraft of this type. The deck armament consisted of two 7.62 mm machine guns. The aircraft could also carry a bomb load of about 800 kg or a Mark XIII torpedo weighing about 1 ton.
The Douglas TBD-1 Devastator was ordered by the US Navy, which in the mid-1930s decided to introduce a new torpedo bomber into service. In addition to the basic version with retractable wheeled undercarriage, a version of the TBD-1A with fixed floating undercarriage was also created. The TBD-1 aircraft was characterized by a conservative, proven design, but compared to Japanese machines had very weak flight characteristics. Despite this, the Douglas TBD-1 Devastator was one of the main airborne vehicles of the US Navy during the first battles in the Pacific Ocean in 1941-1942. It took an active part in the Battle of Midway in June 1942, where, however, aircraft of this type suffered significant losses. The aircraft after this battle were relatively quickly decommissioned and directed to perform training tasks. In the end, they were withdrawn from service in 1943.
