On March 18, 1945, the Douglas XTB2D-1 Skypirate took flight for the first time. Designed as a carrier-based torpedo bomber, the Skypirate was intended to operate from the larger, planned Midway and Essex-class aircraft carriers. However, at the time of its development, the aircraft was too large for existing carrier decks. Ultimately, only two prototypes were built and test-flown.
Also known as the Devastator II, the XTB2D-1 was conceived as a replacement for the aging Douglas TBD Devastator, which had served with the U.S. Navy since 1937. Equipped with a powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360-8 Wasp Major radial engine producing 3,000 horsepower, the Skypirate featured contra-rotating Hamilton Standard four-bladed propellers. It had a maximum speed of 340 miles per hour and a cruising speed of 168 miles per hour.
The Skypirate was heavily armed, boasting seven .50 caliber machine guns—four in the wings, two in a dorsal turret, and one in a ventral bath turret. With a crew of three, the aircraft was well-equipped for both offensive and defensive operations. It could carry up to 8,400 pounds of bombs or four torpedoes, making it one of the most heavily armed torpedo bombers of its time.
Despite its impressive capabilities, the Douglas XTB2D-1 Skypirate never entered production. The end of the Pacific War and delays in the development of larger U.S. Navy carriers rendered the aircraft unnecessary. Additionally, the role of dedicated torpedo bombers was becoming obsolete as advancements in aviation technology allowed multi-role fighter bombers to assume this function. Both Skypirate prototypes were ultimately scrapped, but their legacy endures as an example of wartime innovation and the unrealized potential of aviation history.
My old Mum would be so proud the Mossie is still flying she was in the Quality Control department at Leavseden Field during WW2. She drank,ate and breathed her wonderful Wooden Wonder. I hope you can see it it Rosie from where you are. God bless you all. From ground crew, designes, engineers and carpenters. As Goerring once commented “how. did a nation piano makers concieve of such a wonder” . It was only after the Nazies developed the Foch Wulfe 109 much later that the Mossie could be caught. It didnt need guns to begin with it was so fast.
Tally Ho.
One of the most beautiful aircraft ever built, powered by the finest piston engines ever built. Your mum did an important job for what’s it worth I salute her.