Douglas DT / SDW-1
L-W-F DT-2
Wright SDW-1
NAF DT-2
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The DT was the first aircraft to be produced in quantity by Douglas aircraft. Based largely on the design of Douglas’s first plane, the Cloudster, the DT was a two-bay biplane featuring a welded, steel tube fuselage, with wings and tail surfaces of built-up wooden construction. It could be rigged as either a landplane or seaplane, and the wings could be folded rearward for stowage.
The 1921 DT-1 was a single-seat 298kW Liberty-powered (with side radiators) torpedo plane. In November 1921, the Navy took delivery of the first of three single seat DT-1s ordered, then after trials concluded in early 1922, directed that the remaining two be completed as two-seaters. Soon afterward, the Navy gave Douglas an order to produce 38 two-seat types as the DT-2 and also contracted L-W-F to build 20 and with NAF to build another six.
![]() DT-2 2-T-3 of VT-2 early 1920s
The two-seat DT-2, a single-bay biplane was powered with a 335.3kW Liberty engine and nose radiator. The fuselage was of welded steel tubing, braced with tie-rods and provided with stiffening gussets. It was built in three detachable sections: engine section, mid-section and tail section, the first two plated with aluminium and the tail with fabric. The vertical tail surfaces had conventional wooden frames, while the horizontal tail surfaces were of steel tubing. The wings were of standard box-beam and built-up rib construction of wood, fabric-covered. The upper wing was made up of three panels, while the lower had the usual two. The undercarriage had a 3m wide track, although DT-2 could be fitted with two long wooden floats.
![]() DT-2 of 2-T-3 VT-2 1923
As deliveries proceeded, DT-2s began entering operational service in late 1922 with VT-2 in San Diego, California, and during 1923 and 1924, at least six were transferred to the Marine Corps.
A total of about 80 production DT-2-type aircraft were produced in the USA, most as standard DT-2 for the US Navy but including a small number of SDW-1 scouting floatplanes, but excluding five export models delivered to Norway and Peru. The latter had 484.3kW Wright engines and were operated by the small Naval Air Station at Ancon (20 miles from Lima) which was under the command of US Navy officers on loan to the Peruvian government. Seven DT-2 were also built in Norway under licence.
US Navy DT-2 entered service from 1922 and during their four-year career were experimentally flown from the aircraft carrier USS Langley. Several new versions of the DT were developed by fitting new engines into existing DT-2, two NAF DT-2s became DT-4s when they were fitted with 525 hp Wright TA-2 engines, able to carry a bomb load of 748kg. Another modified as a testbed with the installation of a 40 hp Wright P-1 air-cooled radial engine was re-designated DT-6.
![]() L-W-F DT-2
Three L-W-F DT-2s re-built by Dayton-Wright with deeper fuselages to carry more fuel returned to service as SDW long-range scouts. The 1924 Wright SDW-1 was an LWF DT-2 modified as a long-range USN scout with added fuel tanks. An open cockpit biplane, three conversions were made, including A6596. Landing gear was twin pontoons.
All DTs had been withdrawn from Navy and Marine service by the end of 1927.
DT-2
Engine: 1 x Liberty V-12, 336kW
Take-off weight: 2950 kg / 6504 lb
Empty weight: 1695 kg / 3737 lb
Wingspan: 15.24 m / 50 ft 0 in
Length: 10.41 m / 34 ft 2 in
Height: 4.14 m / 13 ft 7 in
Wing area: 65.68 sq.m / 706.97 sq ft
Max. Speed: 163 km/h / 101 mph
Ceiling: 2375 m / 7800 ft
Range: 472 km / 293 miles
Crew: 2
Armament: 1 x 830-kg torpedo
Douglas DT-2 Seaplane
Engine: Liberty 12A, 420 hp
Prop: 2 blade, fixed pitch, wooden
Armament: 1 x .30 mg
Bombload: 1 x 1835 lb torpedo
Max sped: 99 mph at SL
Ceiling: 7400 ft
Combat range: 275 mi
Empty weight: 4528 lb
Loaded weight: 7293 lb
Wingspan: 50 ft 0 in
Length: 37 ft 8 in
Wing area: 707 sq.ft
Seats: 2
Total produced: 67
L-W-F DT-2
Engine: Liberty 12A, 420 hp
Wingspan: 50 ft
Length: 34 ft 2 in
Height: 13 ft 7 in
Wing area: 707 sq.ft
Empty weight: 37 37 lb
Gross weight: 6502 lb
Fuel capacity: 115 Gal
Top speed: 101 mph at SL
Landing speed: 49 mph
Service ceiling: 7800 ft
Climb to 4050 ft: 10 min
Range w/torpedo: 293 miles
Wright SDW-1
Engine: Wright T-3, 585hp
Wingspan: 50'0"
Length: 34'3"
Speed: 105 mph
Ceiling: 3600 ft
Seats: 2
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