The Douglas DT bomber marked the initial military contract of the Douglas Aircraft Company, establishing a connection between the company and the United States Navy.
Navy Contract No. 53305, dated April 1, 1921, encompassed a mere 18 pages outlining the specifications that led to the procurement of three DT (D for Douglas, T for torpedo) folding-wing aircraft.
The DT featured a welded steel fuselage with aluminium covering the forward and centre sections and fabric covering the rear section.
Douglas constructed a total of 46 DT-1 and DT-2 torpedo bombers for the U.S. Navy, Norwegian Navy, and Peruvian Navy.
The L-W-F Engineering Company Inc. built 20 DT-2 aircraft under license, while the Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) and Dayton-Wright Company built six and 11, respectively.
Norway also received seven DTs under license from Marinens Flyvebåtfabrik.
Although the Norwegian DTs were still in service when the Germans invaded Norway, they did not participate in the Norwegian Campaign.
The DT could be equipped with either pontoons or wheeled landing gear and could carry an 1,800 lb (816 kg) torpedo.
The first flight occurred in November 1921, and production continued until 1929.
The DT operated from land bases, seaplane tenders, and the U.S. Navy’s first aircraft carrier, USS Langley.
The Marine Corps also flew several DTs.
Variations of the DT-2 aircraft were designated DT-4, DT-5, DT-6, and DTB.
Dayton-Wright internally designated the machines they licensed-built as SDW.
The DT served as the foundation for the Douglas World Cruiser. Variants DT-1 Preproduction prototypes; three built. DT-2 Two-seat torpedo-bomber biplane, powered by a 450 hp (340 kW) Liberty V-12 piston engine; 64 built. DT-3 Proposed version of the DT-2, Not built. DT-4 Four DT-2s were converted into bomber aircraft by the Naval Aircraft Factory. The aircraft were fitted with direct-drive Wright T-2 V-12 engines. DT-5 Redesignation of two DT-4s fitted with a geared 650 hp (480 kW) Wright T-2B V-12 engine. DT-6 One DT-2 aircraft fitted with a 450 hp (340 kW) Wright P-1 radial piston engine. DT-2B This designation was given to one DT-2 aircraft supplied to the Norwegian government. Seven similar aircraft were built under licence in Norway. DTB Export version for Peru. Four aircraft were built for the Peruvian navy, fitted with 650 hp (480 kW) Wright Typhoon V-12 piston engines. SDW-1 Redesignation of three DT-2s modified by the Dayton-Wright company. Specifications DT-2 floatplane Crew Two Length 38 ft 9 in (11.8 m) Wingspan 51 ft 10 in (15.8 m) Height 15 ft 1 in (4.60 m) Wing area 707 sq ft (65.7 m2) Empty weight 4,528 lb (2,054 kg) Gross weight 7,293 lb (3,308 kg) Powerplant 1 × Liberty L-12 V-12 water-cooled piston engine, 450 hp (340 kW) Propellers 2-bladed wooden propeller Performance Maximum speed 100 mph (160 km/h, 87 kn) Range 274 mi (441 km, 238 nmi) Service ceiling 7,400 ft (2,300 m) Rate of climb 345 ft/min (1.75 m/s) Time to altitude 14.5 min to 5,000 ft (1,524 m) Wing loading 10.3 lb/sq ft (50 kg/m2) Power/mass 0.0617 hp/lb (0.1 kW/kg) Armament Guns 1 × 0.30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine gun Bombs 1 × 1,835 lb (832 kg) aerial torpedo.
Sources
McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920, Volume 1-René J Francillon.
San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
