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115-731: The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy . 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most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy; however, by the time of the US entry into World War 2 , the TBD was already outdated. The Devastator performed well early in the war, most notably in the Battle of the Coral Sea , but earned infamy for

230-530: A bombing run, the bombardier lay prone, sliding into position under the pilot to sight through a window in the bottom of the fuselage, using the Norden bombsight . The normal TBD offensive armament consisted of either a 1,935 lb (878 kg) Bliss-Leavitt Mark 13 aerial torpedo or a 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb carried semi-recessed in the fuselage. Alternatively, three 500 lb (230 kg) general-purpose bombs (one under each wing root and one inside

345-474: A briefing that the Yamato had torpedo blisters to a depth of 22 ft (6.7 m), so he crawled back in the fuselage to reset the torpedo's running depth from the 10 ft (3.0 m) preset for the cruiser to 23 ft (7.0 m). He later explained that he heard no command to do this and doubted whether the other five planes had done so. In their case, their torpedoes would have exploded harmlessly against

460-593: 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. 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performance was later attributed to the many well-documented defects in the US Mark 13 torpedo , the aircraft was withdrawn from frontline service after Midway, being replaced by the Grumman TBF Avenger . The Douglas XTBD-1

575-582: A few ship-lengths range of their targets before dropping their torpedoes. At the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in 1942, the Nakajima B5N Kate , despite being in service since 1935, played a key role in sinking USS Hornet , while the new Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers failed to hit a fleet carrier. When the targets were ships able to maneuver at high speed and hence much harder to hit, torpedoes proved less effective, except in cases when

690-666: A hit during the Battle of Midway. The Avengers' only successes in 1942 would be against the light carrier Ryūjō and the battleship Hiei . In the initial part of the Pacific War, the poor performance of US torpedo bombers was due to the vulnerability of that type in general against fire from anti-aircraft artillery and defending fighters, plus the inexperience of American pilots and lack of coordinated fighter cover, as well as serious defects in US torpedoes which were not discovered and corrected until

805-545: A long, straight-line attack run, making the aircraft vulnerable, and the slow speed of the aircraft made them easy targets for the Mitsubishi A6M Zeros . Only four TBDs made it back to Enterprise , none to Hornet and two to Yorktown , without scoring a torpedo hit. Nonetheless, their sacrifice was not completely in vain, as several TBDs managed to get within a few ship-lengths range of their targets before dropping their torpedoes, being close enough to be able to strafe

920-534: A much higher launch speed from a much greater altitude than other types. Only five Kates were lost in the attack. In later months, torpedo bombers were responsible for the sinking of the American aircraft carriers Lexington and Hornet , and damaging Yorktown . During the war, Japanese torpedo bombers (mainly the Nakajima B5N ) played a key role in the fatal crippling of the carriers USS Lexington (scuttled as

1035-482: A result of an internal explosion), USS Yorktown (sunk by a Japanese submarine while being towed), and USS Hornet (abandoned and finished off by US and Japanese surface ships). Three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Sir Tom Phillips was returning to Singapore on board the new battleship HMS  Prince of Wales after an unsuccessful attempt to impede Japanese landings in Malaya . His fleet included

1150-464: A rollover bar. Other than requests by test pilots to improve pilot visibility, the prototype easily passed its acceptance trials that ran from 24 April to 24 November 1935 at NAS (Naval Air Station) Anacostia and Norfolk bases. After successfully completing torpedo drop tests, the prototype was transferred to the Lexington for carrier certification. The extended service trials continued until 1937 with

1265-500: A series of piecemeal attacks. However, two torpedoes hit the Bismarck , one of which jammed the rudder leaving the ship without proper directional control. The next day the Bismarck was sunk by British battleships and cruisers. In the early hours of 13 June 1941, two Beauforts found the German cruiser Lützow off Norway. The first was mistaken for a Junkers Ju 88 and was able to torpedo

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1380-604: A single bomb hit on Repulse and a single torpedo hit on Prince of Wales . The torpedo struck where the outer port propeller shaft exited the hull and Prince of Wales took on 2,400 t (2,400 long tons; 2,600 short tons) of water through a ruptured stern gland. The battleship listed 12 degrees to port preventing the starboard side 5.25 inch anti-aircraft guns from depressing low enough to deter more torpedo bombers. A second squadron, this time of Mitsubishi G4M Betty torpedo bombers, now attacked both ships. Repulse had dodged 19 torpedoes by skillful steering, but now G4Ms attacked

1495-561: A single design to excel at both. While some torpedo fighters were put into production, such as the Fiat G.55S and Blackburn Firebrand , they seldom launched torpedoes at enemy ships. From 1946, the US Navy officially discarded its separate designations for dive and torpedo bombers, and introduced a single "Attack" designation, similar to that already used by the USAAF. Conversely, the naval air services of

1610-454: A single overseer. This changed on January 1, 1943 with the creation of Commander, Air Force Atlantic Fleet appointment, in which Rear Admiral Alva D. Bernhard was the first incumbent. The former NAS commanding officer was tasked with providing administrative, material and logistic support for Atlantic Fleet aviation units. AIRLANT also furnished combat-ready carrier air groups, patrol squadrons and battleship and cruiser aviation units for both

1725-593: A test, the Naval Station refueled, restocked, and returned to service 25 ships in one week. This force was but the prelude to about 100 ships converging on Norfolk at the time. It included the battleships California , Idaho and New Mexico and the carriers, Lexington , Ranger , Yorktown and Enterprise . The expansion of shipboard aviation in the 1930s brought renewed emphasis to Naval Air Station Norfolk. Reverting to its experimental roots, development and testing of catapult and arresting gear systems took

1840-564: A torpedo bomber was that it had to fly a long, straight course at a constant altitude of 30 m (98 ft) toward the target ship before launching its torpedo. Torpedoes were very complicated weapons and were prone to damage when landing on water, especially on a wave; they were ideally aimed at the bottom of a wave, but this was difficult to achieve in practice. During a torpedo run, the attacking aircraft were easy targets for defending combat air patrol fighters. Furthermore, torpedo planes were also highly vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire. In

1955-692: A year after that. Even before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Royal Navy had studied the threat in the Mediterranean posed by the Italian fleet , which had its advance base in the new port of Taranto in the "heel" of Italy. Captain Lumley Lyster of the aircraft carrier HMS  Glorious proposed that his Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers could launch a night attack against Taranto. At that time,

2070-550: A year later the depot shut its doors. In 1998, the Navy began a major realignment of shore command organizations and processes throughout Hampton Roads in a process known as "regionalization". One of the biggest efficiencies in this process was the merger of separate Naval Station Norfolk and the Naval Air Station (which were directly adjacent to each other) into a single installation to be called Naval Station Norfolk. The former naval air station organizational structure became

2185-514: Is commonly known simply as, Chambers Field, and is named after Captain Washington Irving Chambers . It is a military airport in  Norfolk, Virginia that is a part of Naval Station Norfolk . It supports naval air forces in the  United States Fleet Forces Command , those operating in the  Atlantic Ocean ,  Mediterranean Sea , and  Indian Ocean . It's important to note that, "Chambers Field" only refers to

2300-500: The Shōkaku , the next day. Faults were discovered with the Mark 13 torpedo at this point. Many were seen to hit the target yet failed to explode; there was also a tendency to run deeper than the set depth. It took over a year for the defects to be corrected. These problems were not fixed by the time of the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942. At Midway, a total of 41 Devastators, the majority of

2415-525: The Aichi B7A Ryusei , Curtiss SB2C Helldiver and Fairey Barracuda , or; land-based twin-engined light bombers / attack aircraft , such as the Bristol Beaufighter , Douglas A-20C (Boston IIIA), Junkers Ju 88 , and Tupolev Tu-2 . As the war progressed, single-seat designs also emerged – omitting the roles of gunner, bombardier/bomb-aimer and/or observer. This configuration was favoured by

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2530-992: The B-25 Mitchell and many others. Some postwar jet aircraft (such as the Ilyushin Il-28T ) were adapted as torpedo bombers in the late 1940s and 1950s. The last known torpedo bomber attack was made by US Navy Skyraiders against the Hwacheon Dam during the Korean War . The North Korean Air Force finally retired the world's last operational torpedo bombers in the 1980s. In a parallel development, many maritime strike aircraft and helicopters have been capable of launching guided torpedoes; however, they are not generally referred to as torpedo bombers because of their vastly greater detection and tracking capabilities, although they remain just as capable of making attacks on surface ships as against submarines. Many naval staffs began to appreciate

2645-537: The Battle of Jutland in 1916 but when the war ended only 90 Cuckoos had been completed. The Vickers Vimy twin-engine heavy bomber was designed to bomb German cities in retribution for German air attacks on England. It reached squadrons in France too late to play a role in the First World War. Had the war continued, it would have been deployed as a torpedo bomber. Of the major maritime nations, only Britain, Japan and

2760-559: The Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō in the Battle of the Coral Sea , but failed to sink the aircraft carrier Shōkaku the next day. At the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942, 41 Devastators launched from three American carriers failed to score a single torpedo hit, and only six aircraft returned, as the rest fell to the Mitsubishi A6M Zero combat air patrols and ships' anti-aircraft fire. The attacks had been poorly coordinated, but

2875-572: The Lützow without return fire, putting her out of action for six months. The second was shot down by defending Messerschmitt Bf 109s . In the attack on Pearl Harbor , Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto 's fleet of six carriers launched 40 Nakajima B5N 2 Kate torpedo bombers on Sunday, 7 December 1941. The Japanese struck the United States Pacific Fleet when it was moored in harbour. The torpedo bombers coordinated their attacks with dive bombers;

2990-790: The Mitsubishi G3M Nell and Mitsubishi G4M Betty being used in the sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse . Other twin-engine or three-engined aircraft designed or used as torpedo bombers include the Mitsubishi Ki-67 , the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 "Sparviero", the CANT Z.1007 , the Bristol Beaufort and Bristol Beaufighter ("Torbeau"), the Junkers Ju 88 , the Heinkel He 111 ,

3105-743: The Royal Naval Air Service in April 1912 and took flying lessons to foster aviation development. Churchill ordered the RNAS to design reconnaissance spotters and torpedo bombers for the Fleet. The British Admiralty ordered the Short Admiralty Type 81 biplane floatplane as a reconnaissance aircraft. It first flew in July 1913 and was loaded aboard the cruiser HMS  Hermes , which had been converted to become

3220-629: The Royal Navy 's first seaplane tender . When the rival Sopwith Special , designed from the outset as a torpedo bomber, failed to lift its payload off the water, Shorts converted the Type 81 to carry torpedoes in July 1914, just before the outbreak of the First World War. On 28 July 1914, Arthur Longmore dropped the first aerial torpedo, a 14-inch 810 lb torpedo, from a Type 81 at the Royal Naval Air Station Calshot. The support wires of

3335-497: The 15th and 18th commanding officer of NAS Norfolk, to coordinate operations within the Norfolk area. The outlying fields were used for training, patrol plane operations, practice bombing and aerial gunnery. The assembly and repair (A&R) department also offers an excellent example of expansion at the Naval Air Station. In 1939, A&R occupied four World War I hangars and a few workshops. It employed 213 enlisted men and 573 civilians in

3450-516: The 1930s, the Imperial Japanese Navy developed the best way for torpedo bombers to achieve a hit. They used an "anvil attack", in which two groups of torpedo planes approached the target ship's bow from behind at an angle of about 45 degrees, one on each side of the ship. The torpedoes were to be launched at the same distance from the ship; this would have ensured a hit no matter where the ship tried to maneuver. In practice, this kind of attack

3565-521: The 5 in (130 mm) "Holy Moses" High Velocity Aircraft Rocket, with a 24 lb (11 kg) warhead for the US Navy. It was rushed to Europe for use on D-Day and later used by Navy aircraft in the Pacific. By the beginning of the Second World War, aircraft technology had increased to the extent that specialised torpedo bombers were no longer necessary. Multi-role designs were often adapted from either: single-engined, carrier-based dive-bombers like

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3680-774: The Atlantic and Pacific fleets. Following the formation of AIRLANT and the abolishment of recruit training on the surface side in 1942, the base transitioned to an advanced training location for men going directly to the fleet. With the change in the training station and the declaration of war, the mission became that of a pre-commissioning training station. The aviation service A school offered courses in metal smith work, engine repair, radio repair and ordnance. Aviation machinist's mate A school consisted of two months of training and two months of practical experience in A&;R department shops. The advanced base aviation training unit helped sailors develop

3795-732: The Beaufighters, a development of the Beaufort fitted with four 20mm cannon, shot up the anti-aircraft gunners. This was intended to give the Beauforts a clear torpedo run. However, none of the 28 Beauforts achieved a hit, and three aircraft were lost. The United States Navy's standard torpedo bomber in 1942 was the Douglas TBD Devastator , first flown in 1935 and embarked on carriers of the Pacific Fleet in 1937. On 7 May 1942, Devastators sank

3910-462: The Devastator sorties were credited with pulling the defending A6M Zeros out of position, as well as preventing the Japanese carriers from launching their aircraft, so three of the four carriers were caught with their hangar decks full of fueled and armed planes when the American dive bombers struck by surprise. Nonetheless, the Devastator was immediately withdrawn from front-line service. The successor to

4025-769: The Devastator, most notably the disastrous attack by VT-8 , including its only survivor, Ensign George Gay , using his plane's seat cushion to conceal himself from the Japanese as he watched the SBDs bomb the IJN Carrier force. Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Torpedo bomber Torpedo bombers first appeared immediately prior to the First World War. Generally, they carried torpedoes specifically designed for air launch, which were smaller and lighter than those used by submarines and surface warships. Nonetheless, as an airborne torpedo could weigh as much as 2,000 pounds (910 kg), more than twice

4140-401: The Devastator, the Grumman TBF Avenger , arrived too late at Pearl Harbor to be loaded onto carriers for the Battle of Midway. However, six were flown from Midway Island . They fared no better, with five lost without a single hit. Avengers became more successful as tactics improved and crews became more skilled. On 24 August 1942, 24 Avengers sank the light carrier Ryūjō at the Battle of

4255-515: The Eastern Solomons . At Guadalcanal , Avengers from the Navy and Marine Corps helped to finish off the battleship Hiei , which had lost steering after being damaged the prior night. Beauforts also had more success when they moved to Malta to attack Italian warships and transport. Flying Officer Arthur Aldridge discovered a convoy guarded by the heavy cruiser Trento early on 14 June 1942 some 200 miles (320 km) east of Malta. As in

4370-435: The First World War battlecruiser HMS  Repulse and should also have had the new aircraft carrier HMS  Indomitable with a squadron of Sea Hurricanes . But the carrier was delayed for repairs after running aground in the harbour at Kingston, Jamaica . Eight Mitsubishi G3M Nell twin-engine level bombers and 17 Nell torpedo bombers found the two capital ships without air cover in broad daylight. They scored just

4485-542: The IJN carrier forces. The Navy immediately withdrew the 39 remaining TBDs from frontline units after the debacle at Midway. The surviving Devastators in VT-4 and VT-7 remained in service briefly in the Atlantic and in training squadrons until 1944. Many were relegated to training duties for pilots and mechanics or were destroyed following use as instructional airframes for firefighting training. By late 1944, no TBD Devastators were left in

4600-473: The James River and moored to stakes in the water until canvas hangars were constructed. The new location offered sheltered water in an ice-free harbor , perfect for seaplane landings, good anchorage on the beach front, accessibility to supplies from Naval Station Norfolk and room for expansion. Its mission was to conduct anti-submarine patrols, train aviators and mechanics and run an experimental facility. When

4715-565: The Japanese would prevent a counterstrike against the US carriers. The TBDs from Hornet and Enterprise lost contact with their escort and started their attacks without fighter protection. The Devastator proved to be a death trap for its crews: slow and hardly maneuverable, with poor armor for the era; its speed on a glide-bombing approach was a mere 200 mph (320 km/h), making it easy prey for fighters and defensive guns alike. The aerial torpedo could not even be released at speeds above 115 mph (185 km/h). Torpedo delivery requires

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4830-515: The Navy compensated the city by improving Kersloe Road (forming what is now Admiral Taussig Boulevard/ Interstate 564 ) between Hampton Boulevard and Granby Street. Special attention was paid to control facilities—prior to the expansion, operations from Chambers Field had no traffic control system except for a white placard inserted through a slot on the roof to indicate the direction of the runway in use. A new command, Naval Air Center, had been formed October 12, 1942 under Captain J.M. Shoemaker,

4945-481: The Navy had over $ 4 million in projects underway on the station. By the summer of 1940 the Station employed some 8,000 personnel, a number larger than any time since the end of World War I. The Hepburn Board had made recommendations to Congress earlier in the year that would also double the size and workload of the station. Since Chambers and West Fields were encroaching on the activities of the former Naval Operating Base, it

5060-439: The Royal Navy was the only force in the world with this capability. The Swordfish, a three-seat biplane, looked outmoded, but its low stall speed made it an ideal platform for launching torpedoes into the shallow waters of Taranto. The torpedoes were adapted with wire cables attached to their nose and wooden fins at their tail to slow their fall and make a shallow impact with the water, which was only 39 ft (12 m) deep. On

5175-581: The UK and other Commonwealth countries, persisted with specialised torpedo bombers such as the Grumman Avenger until the early 1960s. While the importance of air-launched torpedoes declined, relative to anti-ship missiles , during the Cold War and subsequently, they were retained by many air services and are now generally delivered by anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft . One crucial limitation of

5290-566: The US Navy inventory. The original prototype finished its career at NAS Norman , Oklahoma ; the last TBD in the US Navy was used by the Commander of Fleet Air Activities-West Coast. When his TBD was scrapped in November 1944, there were no more. None survived the war and there are none known to exist on dry land today. In fairness to the Devastator, the newer TBF Avengers were similarly ineffective in 1942, losing five out of six aircraft without scoring

5405-477: The US Navy was aware that the TBD had become outclassed and a replacement, the Grumman TBF Avenger , was in the works, but it was not yet operational when the US entered World War II . Attrition had by then reduced their numbers to just over 100 aircraft. When the US Navy assigned popular names to its aircraft in late 1941, the TBD became the Devastator , although its nickname "torpecker" was still commonly used. In

5520-504: The US Navy, in particular, and included the Martin AM Mauler and Douglas A-1 Skyraider , both of which could carry up to three torpedoes. Another concept, the torpedo fighter , also known as the strike fighter, was intended to also have air superiority capabilities – when it was not carrying or had dropped its torpedo. However, the radically differing requirements of these two roles created design constraints that made it difficult for

5635-561: The United States became involved in World War I , the size of the Navy's air component was rapidly expanded. In the 19 months of U. S. participation, a force of 6,716 officers and 30,693 enlisted served in naval aviation. The training of mechanics to support the aircraft began in January 1918 at the Norfolk detachment and the first patrol was conducted five months later. By then, the air detachment

5750-463: The United States developed carrier-borne torpedo bombers after hostilities ceased in Europe. Initially, Japan purchased both ships and aircraft from Britain, as the Imperial Japanese Navy modelled itself on the Royal Navy. Of the three, only Britain and Japan also perceived a need for land-based torpedo bombers, though a number would be developed by other countries. Bordered by oceans against any possible foe,

5865-470: The United States ignored landplane torpedo bomber development. The first landplane specifically designed as a torpedo bomber was the Hawker Horsley . By the mid 1930s, the torpedo bombers that would start the Second World War were being deployed. The Fairey Swordfish flew first in 1934, the Douglas TBD Devastator and Mitsubishi G3M (Nell) in 1935 and the Nakajima B5N (Kate) and Bristol Beaufort

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5980-514: The air operations in Norfolk continued. On July 12, 1921, the name was changed again under the command of Capt. S.H.R. Doyle , to NAS Norfolk, with direct reporting to the Bureau of Aeronautics in Washington, D.C. Using the same theories of Eugene Ely's flight nearly 13 years earlier, another milestone was achieved. The air station developed an arresting device to train pilots for deck landings aboard

6095-491: The aircraft's performance proved inadequate. Admiral Bradley A. Fiske of the United States Navy took out a patent in 1912 for a torpedo carrying aircraft entitled "Method of and apparatus for delivering submarine torpedoes from airships ." He suggested that aircraft would attack at night. Winston Churchill , as First Lord of the Admiralty from October 1911 to May 1915, was a strong proponent of naval air power. He established

6210-456: The airfield by 540 acres (2.2 km²), the matter was dropped. At the outbreak of war in Europe on September 1, 1939, NAS Norfolk encompassed 236 acres (1.0 km²) with two small operating areas, Chambers Field and West Landing Field. During World War II , the Naval Air Station had a direct combat support role in the area of anti-submarine patrols. President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's response to

6325-615: The attack on Lützow , the Beaufort was mistaken for a Junkers Ju 88, and Aldridge hit Trento with his torpedo; the ship was eventually finished off by the submarine HMS  Umbra  (P35) , which was close by. At the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea , with little or no Japanese air cover opposing them, US carrier aircraft concentrated most of their attacks against Musashi , sinking her with about 19 torpedoes that caused heavy flooding which disabled her engineering (dive bombers also scored around 17 bomb hits), while an aerial torpedo crippled

6440-554: The blisters. A crewman photographed the explosion, in which debris rose to their altitude of 300 feet (91 m). Possibly a torpedo had hit the fuel storage. The Yamato rolled over and sank, with the loss of 90 percent of the crew. The Yorktown lost ten planes and twelve aircrew. All pilots involved in the attack were awarded the Navy Medal and every crewman the Distinguished Flying Cross . The torpedoes in use during

6555-501: The bomb load of contemporary single-engined bombers, the aircraft carrying it usually needed to be specially designed for the purpose. Many early torpedo bombers were floatplanes , such as the Short 184 (the first aircraft to sink a ship with a torpedo), and the undercarriage had to be redesigned so that the torpedo could be dropped from the aircraft's centerline. While many torpedo bombers were single-engine aircraft, some multi-engined aircraft have also been used as torpedo bombers, with

6670-496: The bow from both sides and scored another hit. At about this point, Repulse radioed for defensive fighters. A squadron of 10 Royal Australian Air Force Brewster Buffalos arrived an hour later to watch Prince of Wales sink. Repulse had already sunk. Each ship had been hit by four torpedoes out of 49 fired. The Japanese lost four aircraft. Neither G3Ms nor G4Ms carried defensive armament, which had been stripped to extend their range. The presence of modern Allied fighters to defend

6785-490: The closest to a complete airframe. An expedition has been proposed to recover several TBDs from the wreck of the USS Lexington . Note that these aircraft exist in varying degrees of intactness due to circumstances of their loss and subsequent saltwater corrosion. For example, the pair at Jaluit, a shallow warm-water atoll, have reef creatures growing on their exteriors; several of those lost at Coral Sea have broken wings and fuselages due to avgas explosions and their free-fall to

6900-408: The combined effort sank or damaged all eight of the battleships which they found moored in Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had studied the attack on Taranto and had practiced dropping specially modified Type 91 torpedoes in the shallow waters of Japan's Inland Sea . The Type 91 torpedo was considerably more capable than any others in the world at that time, being very fast and reliable, as well as allowing

7015-407: The crews launching them were especially well trained. Still, even a single torpedo hit on an enemy warship could cripple it decisively, especially in the case of vessels without an armored belt (cruisers and aircraft carriers often had torpedo blisters, but these were not as extensive as those of battleships). Even on heavily armored battleships, there was nothing to protect the rudder and propellers at

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7130-409: The deep sea floor. On 4 March 2018, Paul G. Allen 's R/V Petrel team discovered the wreck of the USS Lexington at 3,000 meters (about two miles) below the surface, resting on the floor of the Coral Sea more than 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia. Near the wreck were the remains of seven Devastators, as well as an F4F-3 Wildcat. An attempt by A and T Recovery to recover at least four of

7245-477: The defenders were caught by surprise. Torpedo bombers were best used as part of a coordinated attack with other types of aircraft. For instance, during the attack on the battleship Yamato , fighter planes strafed the ship with machine guns to suppress its anti-aircraft gun fire, while dive bombers tried to cause havoc and inflict topside damage, thus leaving the torpedo bombers unmolested in their attack runs, In total she took 12 torpedoes and 8 bombs to destroy

7360-433: The defending troops in the expected Allied seaborne invasion. Her 18.1 inch guns could have created havoc among frail landing craft. Yamato and her sister the Musashi were the largest, most powerful battleships in the world. The squadron led by Lieutenant Tom Stetson found the cruiser, which was the prime target, already sinking, so six planes were detached to attack the Yamato instead. One in which Frederick E. Wicklund

7475-478: The early 20th century travelled under water at about 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) – a speed easily matched by destroyers and even fast battleships which could make 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph). Consequently, a skillful captain could often evade torpedoes. For instance, when HMS  Repulse came under attack on 10 December 1941 , she avoided 19 torpedoes, before Japanese aircraft attacked simultaneously from both forward quarters. Caltech developed

7590-463: The early days of the Pacific war, the TBD acquitted itself well during February and March 1942, with TBDs from Enterprise and Yorktown attacking targets in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, Wake and Marcus Islands , while TBDs from Yorktown and Lexington struck Japanese shipping off New Guinea on 10 March. In the Battle of the Coral Sea Devastators helped sink the Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō on 7 May, but failed to hit another carrier,

7705-528: The enemy ships and force the Japanese carriers to take sharp evasive maneuvers. By obliging the Japanese to keep their flight decks clear and to continually cycle and reinforce their combat air patrols , they prevented any Japanese counter-attacks against the American carriers, just as Spruance had anticipated. These windows of opportunity were exploited by the late-arriving Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers led by Lieutenant Commander C. Wade McClusky and Max Leslie , which dive-bombed and fatally damaged three of

7820-421: The fall of 1943. It took growing American air superiority, improved attack coordination, and more experienced pilots, before the Avengers were able to successfully accomplish their roles in subsequent battles against Japanese surface forces. No TBD’s survive in museums or private collections, nor are there any currently under restoration. However, below are eleven underwater aircraft that are known to exist and are

7935-441: The first two production aircraft retained by the company exclusively for testing. The US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) purchased 129 examples, and began to equip the carriers USS  Saratoga , Enterprise , Lexington , Wasp , Hornet , Yorktown and Ranger starting in 1937. Even prewar, TBD units were being shifted to training duties with at least one aircraft being converted to target tug duty. By 1940,

8050-447: The fleet's first aircraft carrier, USS  Langley . At the same time, the station also began work on the development of the catapult. In January 1923, the Secretary of the Navy ordered a detailed study of the capacity of the bases and stations during war and peace. In comparing the development of the fleet and shore establishments, only Hampton Roads met the requirements. Airship operations, important for off-shore patrols during

8165-399: The floats were moved to allow the torpedo to be carried above the water and a specially designed quick-release mechanism was used. The first plane designed from the outset as a torpedo bomber was the five-seat floatplane biplane AD Seaplane Type 1000 or AD1. However, it proved to be a failure. When the prototype built by J. Samuel White from the Isle of Wight first flew in June 1916, it

8280-522: The four Japanese carriers about one hour after the first TBD torpedo attacks had developed. While the Devastators faced the stiff defenses of the carriers and their fighters, their attacks served to distract the Japanese attention from the Dauntless dive bombers' strikes, resulting in relatively lighter resistance from the IJN carriers' defensive fighter patrols, and more effective American attacks that crippled

8395-546: The fuselage), or twelve 100 lb (45 kg) fragmentation bombs (six under each wing root), could be carried. This weapons load would often be used when attacking Japanese targets on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands in 1942. Defensive armament consisted of a .30 in (7.62 mm) Browning machine gun for the rear gunner. Fitted in the starboard side of the cowling was either a .30 in (7.62 mm) or .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun . The powerplant

8510-575: The future of naval aviation. Within seven months of the war's end, Navy manpower fell to less than half its wartime highs. The Republican party rose to power in 1920, promising fiscal austerity. Congress cut naval appropriations by 20% and manpower Navy-wide was reduced. The carriers which Congress had authorized were impossible to man. After the 1929 stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression , President Herbert Hoover favored more naval limitation through international conferences, but

8625-495: The geographical area of the airport runway, taxiways, two heliports and six helipads. NAS (Naval Air Station) Norfolk started its roots training aviators at Naval Air Detachment, Curtiss Field, Newport News , on May 19, 1917. Approximately five months later, with a staff increasing to five officers, three aviators, ten enlisted sailors and seven aircraft, the detachment was renamed Naval Air Detachment, Naval Operating Base, Hampton Roads. The aircraft, all seaplanes, were flown across

8740-427: The heavy cruiser Myōkō, which was never repaired for the remainder of the war. Action continued in the Pacific, where the last notable torpedo bomber attack took place on 7 April 1945. Avengers from Yorktown were searching between Okinawa and Honshu for the Japanese battleship Yamato , which was escorted by cruisers and destroyers. Her mission was to run aground on Okinawa to provide floating heavy artillery for

8855-487: The highest priority at the Air Station. The commissioning of the aircraft carriers Ranger , Yorktown , Wasp , and Hornet increased the tempo of routine training in navigation, gunnery and aerial bombing as new air wings formed prior to World War II . This demanded expansion, but appropriations for shore activities were meager. Although congressional approval was gained in 1934 for the purchase of land that would expand

8970-526: The late 1930s, major construction took place at NS Norfolk. At this time, building K-BB (Naval Station headquarters), the galley, and many barracks were built. As the 1930s came to a close, the station also began to prepare for total war. By 1939, when the Atlantic Fleet returned to the East Coast, the Naval Station was clearly the biggest naval installation on the Atlantic coast. In April 1939, in something of

9085-448: The mission failed to rendezvous due to bad weather. Campbell received a posthumous Victoria Cross for launching his solo torpedo attack, which put Gneisenau out of action for six months. At 1900 hours on 26 May 1941, fifteen Fairey Swordfish were launched from the Royal Navy's carrier HMS  Ark Royal to attack the German battleship Bismarck . Their formation was badly disrupted by heavy clouds and driving rain which resulted in

9200-672: The night of 11 November 1940, 21 Swordfish left the new aircraft carrier HMS  Illustrious . Some carried bombs and flares, but the main force carried torpedoes. British decoy maneuvers and the Italians' lack of radar allowed the British to surprise the ill-prepared Italian fleet at anchor in Taranto. Three battleships were put out of action, half of the Italian fleet, for the loss of two Swordfish. Two airmen were killed and two others captured. The next day,

9315-472: The only survivor. VT-8 was followed by Torpedo Squadron 6 (VT-6, from Enterprise ). VT-6 met nearly the same fate, with no hits to show for its effort. Torpedo Squadron 3 (from Yorktown ) then followed the same routine, despite VT-3 having six Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter escorts. The Japanese combat air patrol, flying the much faster Mitsubishi A6M2 "Zeros", made short work of the unescorted, slow, under-armed TBD torpedo bombers. A few TBDs managed to get within

9430-410: The overhaul of aircraft engines and fuselages. During the war, the A&R Department went to two 10-hour shifts per day, seven days a week for a work force that now numbered 1,600 enlisted and 3,500 civilians. Women, who had been employed only as seamstress for wing and fuselage fabric, began working in A&R machine shops as labor shortages became acute. During the summer of 1942, the apprentice school

9545-556: The possibility of using aircraft to launch torpedoes against moored ships in the period before the First World War. Captain Alessandro Guidoni , an Italian naval captain, experimented with dropping weights from a Farman MF.7 in 1912. which led to Raúl Pateras Pescara and Guidoni developing a purpose-built torpedo bomber from which a 375 lb dummy torpedo was dropped in February 1914 but they abandoned their work shortly afterwards when

9660-498: The pride of the imperial Japanese Navy. Another instance, during the attack on battleship Musashi , fighter planes strafed the ship with machine guns to suppress its anti-aircraft gun fire, while dive bombers caused major topside damage, She holds the distinction of taking 19 torpedoes and 17 bombs before she sank to the bottom of the Sibuyan Sea. However, if the attackers failed to achieve air superiority or surprise, torpedo bombers suffered heavy losses, regardless of whether

9775-513: The recovery operations of Apollo 7 . As part of the Navy's response to the post-Cold War drawdown of the 1990s, many new initiatives were implemented at Navy shore installations to reduce their operating cost, improve their efficiency, and better match their capacity to the reduced size of the Navy. The 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the closure of Naval Aviation Depot Norfolk and its workforce of over 4,000 repairing Grumman F-14 Tomcats and Grumman A-6 Intruders , and

9890-512: The remaining Italian battleships withdrew to Naples, ceding control of the Mediterranean to the British. On 6 April 1941, a single Bristol Beaufort piloted by Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell attacked the German battleship Gneisenau in Brest harbour in Brittany, where she and her sister ship, Scharnhorst , were sheltering beneath a massive array of anti-aircraft guns. The other five Beauforts on

10005-676: The skills necessary to maintain all types of aircraft at advanced bases in combat area. The aircraft they completed went to the fleet pool for distribution to squadrons in the process of commissioning. A similar service for maintenance crews in squadrons awaiting the commissioning of new carriers was provided by the carrier air service unit. Among the earliest schools at NAS was the fighter director school, which taught fleet communications and tactics, radar operations and direction of aircraft from ships before moving to  Georgia . The celestial navigation training unit instructed pilots being assigned to patrol squadrons. The aerial free gunnery training unit

10120-429: The specification but were not developed beyond prototype status. The XTBD Devastator flew for the first time on 15 April 1935 while marking a number of "firsts" for the US Navy. It was the first American carrier-based monoplane to be widely used, the first all-metal naval aircraft, the first with a completely enclosed cockpit, the first with power-actuated (hydraulically) folding wings . A semi-retractable landing gear

10235-484: The start of the war in Europe was the National Emergency Program of September 8, 1939. It resulted in fantastic growth for all Navy activities in the Norfolk area. The combat support role began on October 21, 1939, when a 600-mile (970 km)-wide Neutrality Zone was declared around the American coast. Four Norfolk-based patrol squadrons, VP-51, US VP-52, VP-53 and VP-54 were among the first units to enforce

10350-549: The stern, as was demonstrated in the cases of the Bismarck and HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse , and few had their protective belt extend to the extremities, and a hole made in the bow could be forced wider from the pressure of the water which could buckle and crush unarmored internal bulkheads, which worked against Musashi and Yamato . Naval Station Norfolk Chambers Field Naval Station Norfolk Chambers Field  ( IATA :  NGU ,  ICAO :  KNGU ,  FAA   LID :  NGU ),or LP-1/Chambers Field,

10465-516: The two capital ships might have led to a different outcome. On 12 February 1942, Bristol Beauforts were dispatched to intercept the German cruiser Prinz Eugen off Trondheim, Norway . Prinz Eugen had accompanied Bismarck into the Atlantic, but returned to Brest. For the first time, the Beauforts were accompanied by Bristol Beaufighters and Bristol Blenheims . In a new RAF tactic, the Blenheims acted as decoys, making pretense torpedo runs, while

10580-451: The type still operational, were launched from Hornet , Enterprise and Yorktown to attack the Japanese fleet. The sorties were not well coordinated, in part because Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance ordered a strike on the enemy carriers immediately after they were discovered, rather than spending time assembling a well-coordinated attack involving the different types of aircraft – fighters, bombers, torpedo planes – reasoning that attacking

10695-474: The type was obsolete or not. This is best exemplified at the Battle of Midway, where Air Group Eight's dive bombers missed the Japanese carriers. Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8, from Hornet ), led by Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron , sighted the enemy carriers and attacked without any coordination with dive bombers or fighter cover. Without fighter escort, every TBD Devastator of VT-8 was shot down without inflicting any damage, with Ensign George H. Gay, Jr. being

10810-637: The war, ceased in 1924. In an effort similar to base closure struggles the military has today, civilian employees of the Assembly and Repair Department (forerunner of the former Naval Air Depot) joined the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce in successfully fighting the planned suspension of aircraft overhaul work. The training of air groups from newly commissioned aircraft carriers such as USS Langley , USS Saratoga and USS Lexington demanded expansion, but appropriations were meager for shore establishments. During

10925-651: The wing headquarters for Reserve Patrol Wing Atlantic, the local headquarters for Naval Air Reserve Norfolk and Reserve E-2 Hawkeye , C-9 Skytrain II and various helicopter squadrons. A Marine Corps Reserve medium helicopter squadron with CH-46 Sea Knight aircraft was also assigned. NAS Norfolk also responded to national times of stress, such as Operation Sincere Welcome in 1994, when 2,000 civilian workers, dependents, and non-essential military personnel were evacuated to Norfolk from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba . This influx of people

11040-415: The winning of World War II was in the training it provided to a wide variety of allied naval air units. With only a few exceptions, all Navy air squadrons that fought in the war trained in Norfolk. The air station also trained numerous British fighter squadrons and  French  and  Russian  patrol squadrons. At the start of the war, training activities at NAS did not fall under the direction of

11155-609: The wrecks, including the Devastator, is currently underway as of January 2023. On 19 September 2019, the USS Midway Museum acquired a 1:1 scale replica used in the World War II movie, Midway . The plane was donated from Lionsgate following the conclusion of filming and will become an exhibit on USS  Midway  (CV-41) 's hangar. Data from Devastator...The Not-so-Devastating TBD-1 General characteristics Performance Armament Dive Bomber (1941)

11270-623: The zone. After war was formally declared following Pearl Harbor,  Germany  began a  U-boat  offensive, " Operation Drumbeat ", against shipping along the Atlantic coast. The Eastern Sea Frontier , a command headquartered in New York, directed the American response. Locally,  Fleet Air Wing 5  units flew under its operational command of the 5th Naval District . Wing 5 units involved consisted of scouting squadrons, 12  OS2U Kingfisher  seaplanes and VPs 83 and 84 equipped with  PBY-5A Catalinas . By 1942, NAS Norfolk

11385-461: Was a 850 hp (630 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp radial engine , a development of the prototype's 800 hp (600 kW) Pratt & Whitney XR-1830-60/R-1830-1 . Other changes from the 1935 prototype included a revised engine cowling and a raised cockpit canopy to improve visibility. The XTBD had a flat canopy that was replaced on production models by a higher, domed canopy with

11500-718: Was an American film directed by Michael Curtiz . It is notable for both its Technicolor photography of pre- World War II United States Navy aircraft featuring the TBD Devastator, and scenes on the aircraft carrier Enterprise as well as the NAS North Island in San Diego . The 2014 film Against the Sun depicts a real-life story of the survival of a Devastator's crew after it had to ditch due to running out of fuel. The crew survived 34 days adrift. The 2019 film Midway featured

11615-508: Was an instance of history repeating itself, as the station also welcomed evacuees during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. In 1968, the air station was given a major role in John F. Kennedy 's vision of putting a man on the moon . The air station became Recovery Control Center (RCC) Atlantic, which provided command, control, and communications for the ships and aircraft that participated in

11730-549: Was decided to expand to the east. East Camp, with an area of about 1,000 acres (4 km²) between the east side of Naval Station and Granby Street, had been sold off by the Army at the end of World War I. Congress authorized its repurchase in early 1940. On June 29 of that year, a contract was signed with the Virginia Engineering Company of Newport News for the expansion of the station. The cost of expansion and construction

11845-405: Was difficult to coordinate and therefore extremely rare. Usually, combat air patrols and anti-aircraft fire quickly broke up approaching plane formations, forcing each aircraft to attack on its own. At Pearl Harbor, the ships were lined up and basically stationary, so the first attack wave of 40 torpedo bombers armed with Type 91 torpedoes , out of 183 planes, were able to hit the ships broadside, as

11960-399: Was fitted, with the wheels protruding 10 in (250 mm) below the wings to potentially limit damage to the aircraft in a " wheels-up " landing. A crew of three was normally carried beneath a large "greenhouse" canopy almost half the length of the aircraft. The pilot sat in front; a rear gunner/radio operator took the rearmost position, while the bombardier occupied the middle seat. During

12075-529: Was found to be too heavy and its float struts too weak for operations. Remaining orders were cancelled. On 12 August 1915, a Royal Naval Air Service Short 184 floatplane torpedo bomber sank a Turkish merchantman in the Sea of Marmara . It was operating from HMS  Ben-my-Chree , a seaplane carrier converted from a ferry. Fitted with an aircraft hangar, Ben-my-Chree was used to carry up to six biplanes with their wings folded back to reduce carrying space. This

12190-642: Was home to 24 fleet units. From January through April 1942, the Eastern Sea Frontier recorded 82 sinkings by U-boats. During the same period, only eight U-boats were sunk by U.S. forces. Eventually, coastal convoys were instituted and more aircraft became available. German U-boats moved elsewhere and sinkings decreased. To move closer to their patrol areas and free up space for the training of new squadrons, NAS Norfolk-based patrol squadrons transferred their operations from Breezy Point to Chincoteague and Elizabeth City. However, NAS Norfolk's biggest contribution to

12305-456: Was opened to provide training in nine trades. By war's end, assembly and repair had developed into a Class "A" industrial plant with peak employment of 3,561 civilians and 4,852 military workers. The air station has hosted more than 70 tenant commands, including several carrier groups, a carrier airborne early warning wing and associated squadrons, a helicopter sea control wing and associated squadrons, and various Naval Air Reserve units, primarily

12420-713: Was ordered on 30 June 1934 after being one of the winners of a US Navy competition for new bombers to operate from its aircraft carriers. Other aircraft also ordered for production as a result of the competition included the Brewster SBA , the Vought SB2U Vindicator , and the Northrop BT-1 , the last of which would evolve into the Douglas SBD Dauntless . The Great Lakes XB2G , Great Lakes XTBG , Grumman XSBF , Hall XPTBH and Vought XSB3U were also tendered to

12535-501: Was originally located at Breezy Point, but moved to  Dam Neck  in 1943 to be able to carry out range work without restricting airspace. From 1943 to the end of the war, a total of 326 U.S. units were commissioned and trained under the control of AIRLANT. World War II profoundly changed the appearance of the Naval Station. With the eruption of war in Europe in September 1939, the station began to vibrate with activity. By December,

12650-446: Was recognized as one of the most important sources of trained naval aviators. In recognition of its importance, on August 27, 1918, the detachment became NAS Hampton Roads, a separate station under its own commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Patrick N. L. Bellinger . As World War I came to an end, the former NAS Hampton Roads saw erratic growth, growing to nearly 167 officers, 1,227 enlisted men and 65 planes. However, demobilization threatened

12765-456: Was still largely composed of temporary hangars and workshops left over from World War I. Many were unsafe and costly to maintain. The last permanent structure added had been the administration building, constructed in 1930. Some 353 acres (1.4 km²) were eventually reclaimed at a cost of $ 2.1 million. Two large hangars and ramps for seaplanes, barracks, officer quarters and family housing were built. This construction cut off Mason Creek Road and

12880-615: Was the Sopwith Cuckoo . First flown in June 1917, it was designed to take off from the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers, but had to land on an airfield as arrester wires , needed to stop an aircraft during landing on a ship, had not yet been perfected. The Admiralty planned to use five carriers and 100-120 Cuckoos to attack the German High Seas Fleet , which had been sheltering in Kiel since

12995-725: Was the first ship sunk by air-launched torpedo. Five days later, another ship supplying Turkish forces in the Gallipoli campaign against British, Australian and New Zealand troops was also sunk. Production of the Short 184 continued until after the Armistice of 11 November 1918 , with a total of 936 built by several manufacturers. It served in eight navies, including the Imperial Japanese Navy , which built them under licence. The first torpedo bomber designed for operation from aircraft carriers

13110-451: Was the tail gunner and radar/radio operator became detached from the formation whilst climbing in heavy cloud cover. The pilot, Lieutenant Grady Jean, asked each crewman in turn if they wished to make a solo attack, which was likely to prove suicidal. The crew referred the decision to the skipper, who deftly dodged anti-aircraft fire and 18-inch shell splashes from the Yamato ' s big guns to release their torpedo. Wicklund had recalled from

13225-452: Was to reach more than $ 72 million. Hangars, a new dispensary, three runways, magazine areas, warehouses, barracks and docking areas were patterned after similar existing airfields. The plan was revised and approved by Captain Bellinger, returning as commanding officer 20 years after first holding the job. Bellinger insisted that as many structures as possible be permanent ones, as the air station

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