A U.S. Navy Douglas XT3D-1 (BuNo 8730) in September 1931. Note the shadow of the photographer and his camera in the left foreground.
The Douglas T3D was ordered as a successor for the Martin T4M and Great Lakes TG torpedo-bombers. It featured folding wings and a forward-looking window in the fuselage to assist in the aiming of ordnance. It was delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1931, but flight testing revealed inadequate performance, particularly with the Pratt & Whitney Hornet S2B1-G engine. Subsequently, the aircraft was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney XR-1830-54 and enclosed cockpits. The aircraft was then re-designated XT3D-2 and delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1933, by which time the service had shifted its attention to