The Consolidated TBY Sea Wolf was a United States Navytorpedo bomber of World War II. A competitor and contemporary to the Grumman TBF Avenger, the Sea Wolf was subject to substantial delays and never saw combat; only 180 of the type were built before cancellation after VJ Day.
The original design was not by Consolidated Aircraft, but rather by Vought, who designed the then XTBU-1 Sea Wolf to a 1939 US Navy requirement. The first prototype flew two weeks after Pearl Harbor. Its performance was deemed superior to the Avenger and the Navy placed an order for 1,000 examples.[1]
A TBY-2 Sea Wolf with folded wings
Several unfortunate incidents intervened; the prototype was damaged in a rough arrested landing trial, and when repaired a month later was again damaged in a collision with a training aircraft. Once repaired again, the prototype was accepted by the Navy. However, by this time Vought was heavily overcommitted to other contracts, especially for the F4U Corsair fighter, and had no production capacity. It was arranged that Consolidated-Vultee would produce the aircraft (as the TBY), but this had to wait until the new production facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania, was complete, which took until late 1943.
Operational history
A TBY-2 Sea Wolf in flight c.1945
The production TBYs were radar-equipped, with a radome under the right-hand wing. The first aircraft flew on 20 August 1944. By this time though, the Avenger equipped every torpedo squadron in the Navy, and there was no need for the Sea Wolf; in addition, numerous small problems delayed entry into service.[citation needed] Orders were cancelled after production started, and the 180 built were used for training.[2]
Variants
XTBU-1 Sea Wolf
Prototype three-seat torpedo bomber powered by a R-2800-22 engine, one built.
TBY-1 Sea Wolf
Production variant of the XTBU-1, not built.
TBY-2 Sea Wolf
TBY-1 with an additional radar pod mounted under starboard-wing, 180 built, a further 920 were cancelled.
TBY-3 Sea Wolf
Improved variant, order for 600 cancelled, not built.
Specifications (TBY-2 Sea Wolf)
Data from General Dynamics aircraft and their predecessors[3]
^Chant, Chris (2007). Aircraft of World War II: 300 of the World's Greatest Aircraft. Grange Books.
^Wegg, John (1990). General Dynamics aircraft and their predecessors (1st ed.). Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. pp. 178–179. ISBN0-87021-233-8.
^Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
Further reading
Ginter, Steve, Bill Chana and Phil Prophett. Vought XTBU-1 & TBY-2 Sea Wolf (Naval Fighters number Thirty-Three). Simi Valley, CA: Ginter Books, 1995 . ISBN0-942612-33-7.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Consolidated TBY Sea Wolf.
TBY Seawolf at Brown Shoe Navy
TBY Seawolf at Dave's Warbirds
January 21, 2023
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The Consolidated TBY Sea Wolf was a United States Navy torpedo bomber of World War II A competitor and contemporary to the Grumman TBF Avenger the Sea Wolf was subject to substantial delays and never saw combat only 180 of the type were built before cancellation after VJ Day TBY Sea WolfA production TBY 2Role Torpedo bomberNational origin United StatesManufacturer Consolidated AircraftDesign group VoughtFirst flight 22 December 1941Introduction 1944Status RetiredPrimary user United States NavyNumber built 180 1 prototypeVariants Vought V 326 Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 Variants 4 Specifications TBY 2 Sea Wolf 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Notes 6 2 Further reading 7 External linksDesign and development Edit The Vought XTBU 1 in December 1941 The original design was not by Consolidated Aircraft but rather by Vought who designed the then XTBU 1 Sea Wolf to a 1939 US Navy requirement The first prototype flew two weeks after Pearl Harbor Its performance was deemed superior to the Avenger and the Navy placed an order for 1 000 examples 1 A TBY 2 Sea Wolf with folded wings Several unfortunate incidents intervened the prototype was damaged in a rough arrested landing trial and when repaired a month later was again damaged in a collision with a training aircraft Once repaired again the prototype was accepted by the Navy However by this time Vought was heavily overcommitted to other contracts especially for the F4U Corsair fighter and had no production capacity It was arranged that Consolidated Vultee would produce the aircraft as the TBY but this had to wait until the new production facility in Allentown Pennsylvania was complete which took until late 1943 Operational history Edit A TBY 2 Sea Wolf in flight c 1945 The production TBYs were radar equipped with a radome under the right hand wing The first aircraft flew on 20 August 1944 By this time though the Avenger equipped every torpedo squadron in the Navy and there was no need for the Sea Wolf in addition numerous small problems delayed entry into service citation needed Orders were cancelled after production started and the 180 built were used for training 2 Variants EditXTBU 1 Sea Wolf Prototype three seat torpedo bomber powered by a R 2800 22 engine one built TBY 1 Sea Wolf Production variant of the XTBU 1 not built TBY 2 Sea Wolf TBY 1 with an additional radar pod mounted under starboard wing 180 built a further 920 were cancelled TBY 3 Sea Wolf Improved variant order for 600 cancelled not built Specifications TBY 2 Sea Wolf Edit Data from General Dynamics aircraft and their predecessors 3 General characteristicsCrew 3 Length 39 ft 2 in 11 94 m Wingspan 56 ft 11 in 17 35 m Height 15 ft 6 in 4 72 m Wing area 440 sq ft 41 m2 Airfoil root NACA 23018 tip NACA 23010 4 Empty weight 11 636 lb 5 278 kg Max takeoff weight 18 940 lb 8 591 kg Powerplant 1 Pratt amp Whitney R 2800 22 Double Wasp 18 cylinder air cooled radial piston engine 2 100 hp 1 600 kW Performance Maximum speed 312 mph 502 km h 271 kn at 17 700 ft 5 395 m Cruise speed 156 mph 251 km h 136 kn Combat range 1 025 mi 1 650 km 891 nmi with one torpedo Service ceiling 29 400 ft 9 000 m Rate of climb 1 770 ft min 9 0 m s Armament Guns 1 50 in 12 7 mm M2 Browning machine gun in cowling 2 50 in machine gun in the wings 1 50 in machine gun in dorsal turret 1 30 in 7 62 mm M1919 Browning machine gun in ventral mountBombs Up to 2 000 lb 910 kg of bombs or one torpedoSee also Edit Aviation portalRelated development Vought V 326Aircraft of comparable role configuration and era Aichi B7A Douglas TBD Devastator Douglas XTB2D Skypirate Fairey Barracuda Grumman TBF Avenger Nakajima B5N Nakajima B6NRelated lists List of aircraft of World War II List of United States Navy aircraft designations pre 1962 References EditNotes Edit Hansen Dave Vought TBU Consolidated TBY Sea Wolf daveswarbirds com Retrieved 29 September 2010 Chant Chris 2007 Aircraft of World War II 300 of the World s Greatest Aircraft Grange Books Wegg John 1990 General Dynamics aircraft and their predecessors 1st ed Annapolis Md Naval Institute Press pp 178 179 ISBN 0 87021 233 8 Lednicer David The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage m selig ae illinois edu Retrieved 16 April 2019 Further reading Edit Ginter Steve Bill Chana and Phil Prophett Vought XTBU 1 amp TBY 2 Sea Wolf Naval Fighters number Thirty Three Simi Valley CA Ginter Books 1995 ISBN 0 942612 33 7 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Consolidated TBY Sea Wolf TBY Seawolf at Brown Shoe Navy TBY Seawolf at Dave s Warbirds AirToAirCombat Com Vought TBU 1 Sea Wolf Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Consolidated TBY Sea Wolf amp oldid 1091734881, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
