[Llarry]

To close out the story of early USN carrier aviation, let me introduce the first dive bomber.

In 1928, the Navy issued a specification for a dive bomber. They wanted an airplane that could dive steeply with a 1,000-pound bomb attached and pull out of the dive without dropping the bomb. The aircraft also had to be able to carry a torpedo.

There were a couple of candidates, and the Navy chose Martin's XT5M-1 (X = experimental, T = torpedo plane, 5 = 5th design and M = Martin).

Tests in early 1930 demonstrated that the Martin plane could meet the specification and the Navy ordered 32 production aircraft designated BM-1 and BM-2. The BMs entered service in 1932.