Rejected By Its Own Designer: Douglas BTD Destroyer

In this video, we take a look at the Douglas BTD Destroyer, an American late-World War II dive and torpedo bomber that was intended to serve as a replacement for the Douglas SBD Dauntless, Grumman TBF Avenger, and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver. We first talk about the poor state of America's carrier-based bombers at the start of WWII in 1939, and how they desperately needed to improve. We talk about the early push for improvement, how that led to the above mentioned planes, and how the US Navy and Bureau of Aeronautics wanted to push further and construct their successors before they really had a chance to fly in combat. We then talk about the Douglas XSB2D, the early version of the BTD, how it was similar to the SBD Dauntless, and how it improved upon it. We talk about its sluggish development, its solid early performance, and its first contract. We then talk about how its designer, Ed Heinemann, saw the early performance in a different light, which led to him requesting to the Navy that the project be cancelled. We end by talking about how this cancellation led to a veritable legend in the Douglas A-1 Skyraider.