How a Biplane Torpedo Bomber Fell Victim to Technology

When it entered service in 1937, the TBD was unquestionably the best torpedo bomber available to the Navy and arguably the best in the world. That same year, however, saw the first flight of Japan’s Nakajima B5N1, destined to outperform it in the early months of World War II in the Pacific. The Navy acknowledged the TBD-1’s obsolescence in 1939 as the last one left the production line when it held a second torpedo bomber competition. Jon Guttman March 31, 2022 at 12:38AM