Douglas XTB2D Skypirate

Douglas · United States · first flew 1945 · bomber

The Douglas XTB2D Skypirate was a huge single-engined torpedo bomber designed for the US Navy's largest wartime carriers, built around the most powerful piston engine of the day.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	14.02 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Very large single radial engine driving contra-rotating propellers
Broad folding wings sized for the largest US carriers of the war
Power-operated dorsal gun turret behind the cockpit

Its sheer bulk for a single-engined aircraft is the tell: a very large radial cowling, contra-rotating propellers, folding wings and a dorsal gun turret.

Specifications

The Douglas XTB2D Skypirate has a length of 14.02 m (46 ft).
It has a wingspan of 21.34 m (70 ft).
Its maximum speed is 547 km/h (340 mph).
Typical crew: 3.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Design work traced back to a 1939 Douglas proposal to replace the TBD Devastator; by the time two XTB2D prototypes were ordered in 1943, the aircraft had grown into the largest single-engined carrier aircraft attempted, powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major turning contra-rotating propellers. The first prototype flew on 13 March 1945.

Variants

The second prototype, completed after the war, had a longer fuselage; neither aircraft entered production once the dedicated torpedo bomber concept was judged obsolete.

Where you'll see it

Both prototypes were scrapped in 1948 after the programme was cancelled in 1947; no Skypirate survives today.

Related aircraft

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