NF030 – Douglas XSB2D-1 & BTD-1 Destroyer

Bob Kowalski continues the saga of the bomber Torpedo (BT) program and the similar Scout Bomber (SB) program with the obscure story of the Douglas XSB2D-1 and BTD-1 “Destroyer”.

The United States was still at peace when the Navy issued a requirement for a design to serve with the fleet as both a successor to the SBD, which would be nearing obsolescence, and as a possible replacement for the SB2C, which was undergoing what can charitably be called a prolonged proportional development period. To meet this requirement, two prototypes of the SXB2D-1 were ordered by the Navy on June 30, 1941.