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A multidisciplinary team of maritime and naval conservation organizations have announce the launch “The Devastator Project”, an effort to recover and preserve a rare World War II torpedo bomber, the Douglas TBD-1 Devastator. The project brings together the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, Texas A&M University’s Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation, the Republic of the Marshall Islands Cultural and Historic Preservation Office, Jaluit Atoll local government officials and traditional leaders, and Naval History and Heritage Command. The team aims to recover Bureau Number 1515, a TBD-1 Devastator that has remained submerged off Jaluit Atoll for more than 80 years.
Script:
Some stories of the U.S. 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. Its crew survived combat, captivity, and eventually came home. The
plane never did.
Working with the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, Texas A&M University, and Naval History
and Heritage Command—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.
When the new National Museum of the United States Navy opens, 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.
Attribution: Video B-roll, and photos provided by Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, NHHC, and project partners.
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.30.2026 10:41 |
| Category: | Package |
| Video ID: | 994451 |
| VIRIN: | 260130-M-IP911-4370 |
| Filename: | DOD_111503129 |
| Length: | 00:02:07 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Downloads: | 4 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 4 |
This work, Devastator Project, by SSgt Bryce Hodges, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
