The Devastator Project Saving Douglas TBD 1 Devastator BN 1515

Some stories of the US Navy have been told for generations, others are waiting quietly beneath the sea to be told. Today the National Museum of the US Navy with our partners is proud to announce the Devastator project. This project is about saving a rare World War II aircraft, the Douglas TBD-1 Devastator. When it first flew it was revolutionary. It was among the first Navy aircraft to fight in the Pacific and now it's the last of its kind. Not one Devastator exists in a museum anywhere in the world. Resting underwater for more than 80 years in the Marshall Islands, one Devastator has been selected. Working with the Air Sea Heritage Foundation, Texas A&M University and Naval History and and in close partnership with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, we're undertaking an extraordinary effort to document, recover, conserve and one day display this aircraft exactly as history left it. This Devastator will help tell a powerful story, not just of technology or battle but of courage, sacrifice and service. This is preservation with purpose. This is history brought home.