The TBD was a practical late-1930s three-seat aircraft

The TBD carried a pilot, torpedo officer or navigator, and radioman-gunner beneath a canopy that covered much of the fuselage. Its 35-foot length, 50-foot wingspan, 15-foot-1-inch height, and 422-square-foot wing describe a substantial carrier aircraft rather than an unusually frail machine. Empty weight was about 5,600 pounds, gross weight 9,289 pounds, and maximum takeoff weight 10,194 pounds, leaving room for a useful operational load. A 900-horsepower Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp radial engine drove a three-bladed variable-pitch propeller, both credible features for entry into service in 1937. These specifications made practical sense when the type was designed even though wartime advances soon made it look dated.