The Douglas Devastator was the US Navy's first all-metal combat aircraft, the Navy's first airplane with a fully enclosed cockpit, the first aircraft to have hydraulically folding wings, and the first US Navy torpedo bomber to see combat. Although facing staggering losses in the early stages of the war in the Pacific, the brave men flying the Devastator from the decks of such famed ships as Enterprise , Hornet , Yorktown , and Lexington held the line against the enemy. Through carefully researched photos, many of which have never before been published and which are reproduced in remarkable clarity, the history and details of this iconic aircraft are revealed. This clarity, and the large size of many of the photos, coupled with descriptive and informative captions, puts the reader in the skies with this historic aircraft. Author of over 100 books, David Doyle was presented the Bart Vanderveen Award, recognizing, “… the individual who has contributed the most to the historic preservation of military vehicles worldwide” in 2015 by the Military Vehicle Preservation Association. Photographic history of the design development and combat deployment of the Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bomber
The first US Navy torpedo bomber to see combat in WWII
Profusely illustrated with scarce archival photographs from diverse collections including previously unpublished images