Midway losses came to define the Devastator

The Devastator was designed to attack with fighter cover and dive-bomber support, conditions that failed to materialize for the torpedo squadrons at Midway. The type had performed adequately before that battle, but its intended combined-air-group system broke apart during the urgent search and strike. Of 41 aircraft available for the carrier attack, only six returned and roughly four remained practically repairable. Those figures overwhelmed the memory of nearly 130 aircraft procured and about 100 still operational when the war began. One catastrophic action therefore became the aircraft's lasting public identity even though the loss cannot be explained by airframe quality alone.