XSB2D-1 Destroyer

The Douglas XSB2D-1 Destroyer was a mid‑1940s carrier‑based dive‑bomber and torpedo bomber developed for the United States Navy. Ordered in 1943 as the successor to the SBD Dauntless, it was intended to combine high‑speed dive‑bombing capability with a powerful radial engine and a modern retractable landing gear. The aircraft featured a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, a low‑wing monoplane design, and a large internal bomb bay that could carry a 2,000‑lb bomb or a torpedo. Its armament included eight .50‑caliber machine guns in the wings and provisions for rockets. Flight testing began in early 1945, but the program was cancelled before production when the Navy opted for the faster, carrier‑compatible AD Skyraider and the emerging jet‑powered attack aircraft. Although only two prototypes were built, the XSB2D‑1 demonstrated advanced concepts such as a fully enclosed cockpit, electrically powered wing flaps, and an all‑metal stressed‑skin structure that influenced later Douglas designs. The Destroyer thus occupies a transitional niche, illustrating the shift from piston‑engine dive bombers to more versatile, jet‑driven attack platforms in post‑war aviation. Today both prototypes reside at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, epitomizing a key transitional phase in naval attack aviation.