Devastator crew names

[Mark E Horan]

According to the Squadron documentation, the crew positions were pilot, bombardier, and radioman/gunner.

1. The pilot, often enlisted, was of course a naval aviator.

2. The bombardier, who sat in the middle seat and laid down in the lower fuselage under the pilots legs to man the bomb site, was usually a enlisted Ordnance (AOM or OM) man who had qualified, and rated as, a bombardier an was customarily referred to by that title. Some times the position was occupied by one of the spare enlisted pilots who had often obtained dual ratings for both positions. With the stick fitted, the plane could be flown from the center seat to allow the pilot an easier time with navigation issues while letting the spare pilot accumulate the hours needed each month to qualify for flight pay.

3. The radioman sat in the rear seat and manned the radio - their primary job. They all had superficial training with the .30 caliber free gun until such time as they could attend gunnery school and qualify as an air gunner.

It is worth noting that many of the Chief and senior enlisted pilots in the Pacific Fleets TBD squadrons were highly experienced aviators, having recorded large numbers of hours in their log books, often several thousand.

Hope this is of interest.

Mark E. Horan