Douglas A/B-26 Invader
Avenger
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Douglas A/B-26 Invader Avenger |
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TBF/TBM Avenger Torpedo bomber Grumman Leroy Grumman 7 August 1941 1942 1960s Retired United States Navy 9,837 The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft
manufactured by General Motors) was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and
eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world. It entered U.S. service in 1942, and first saw action during
the Battle of Midway. Douglas' TBD Devastator, the U.S. Navy's main torpedo bomber
introduced in 1935 was obsolete by 1939. Bids were accepted from several companies but Grumman's TBF design was selected as
the TBD's replacement. Designed by Leroy Grumman, its first prototype was called the XTBF-1. Although one of the first
two prototypes crashed near Brentwood, New York, rapid production continued. Grumman's first torpedo bomber was the heaviest single-engine
aircraft of World War II, and it was the first design to feature a new wing-folding mechanism created by Grumman, intended
to maximize storage space on an aircraft carrier; the F4F-4 and later models of Wildcat received a similar folding wing and
the F6F Hellcat (both designed by Grumman) would employ this mechanism as well. The engine used was the Wright R-2600-20 (which
produced 1,900 hp/1,417 kW). There were three crew members: pilot, turret gunner and radioman/bombardier/ventral
gunner. One .30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun was mounted in the nose, a .50 in (12.7 mm) gun was mounted right
next to the turret gunner's head in a rear-facing electrically powered turret, and a single .30 in (7.62 mm) hand-fired
machine gun mounted ventrally (under the tail), which was used to defend against enemy fighters attacking from below and to
the rear. This gun was fired by the radioman/bombardier while standing up and bending over in the belly of the tail section,
though he usually sat on a folding bench facing forward to operate the radio and to sight in bombing runs. Later models of
the TBF/TBM dispensed with the nose-mounted gun for one .50 in (12.7 mm) gun in each wing per pilots' requests for
better forward firepower and increased strafing ability. There was only one set of controls on the aircraft, and no access
to the pilot's position from the rest of the aircraft. The radio equipment was massive, especially by today's standards, and
filled the whole glass canopy to the rear of the pilot. The radios were accessible for repair through a "tunnel" along the
right hand side. Any Avengers that are still flying today usually have an additional rear-mounted seat in place of the radios,
which increases crew to four. During the Battle of Midway, all of the three aircraft carriers'
torpedo groups (from the USS Hornet (CV-8), USS Enterprise (CV-6), and USS Yorktown (CV-5))
had taken horrendous casualties; one group had a single survivor (Ensign George Gay). This was partly due to the slow speed of the Devastator (less than 200 mph/320 km/h)
during glide-bombing) and its weak defensive armament. Ironically, the first shipment of TBFs had arrived only a few hours
after the three carriers quickly departed from Pearl Harbor (although six eventually participated, operating from Midway Island,
with five being shot down and the other returning heavily damaged, with one of its two gunners killed). The Avenger had a large bomb bay, allowing for one Bliss-Leavitt
Mark 13 torpedo, a single 2,000 pound (907 kg) bomb, or up to four 500 pound (227 kg) bombs. The aircraft had overall
ruggedness and stability, and pilots say it flew like a truck, for better or worse. With its good radio facilities, docile
handling, and long range, the Grumman Avenger also made an ideal command aircraft for Commanders, Air Group (CAGs). With a
30,000 ft (10,000 m) ceiling and a fully-loaded range of 1,000 mi (1,610 km), it was better than any previous
American torpedo bomber, and better than its Japanese counterpart, the obsolete Nakajima B5N "Kate". Later Avenger models
carried radar equipment for the ASW and AEW roles. Although improvements in new types of aviation radar were soon forthcoming
from the engineers at MIT and the electronic industry, the available radars in 1943 were very bulky, because they contained
vacuum tube technology. Because of this, radar was at first carried only on the roomy TBF Avengers, but not on the smaller
and faster fighters. Escort carrier sailors referred to the TBF as the "turkey" because
of its size and maneuverability in comparison to the F4F Wildcat fighters in CVE airgroups. On the afternoon of 7 December 1941, Grumman held a ceremony
to open a new manufacturing plant and display the new TBF to the public. Coincidentally, on that day, the Imperial Japanese
Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, as Grumman soon found out. After the ceremony was over, the plant was quickly sealed off to ward
against possible enemy action. By early June 1942, a shipment of more than 100 aircraft was sent to the Navy (although most
were too late to participate in the pivotal Battle of Midway). However, six TBF-1s were present on Midway Island, as part of
VT-8 (Torpedo Squadron 8), while the rest of the squadron flew Devastators from the Hornet. Unfortunately, both types of torpedo
bombers suffered heavy casualties, with only one Avenger surviving, although they were credited with drawing away the Japanese
combat air patrols so the American dive bombers could successfully hit the Japanese carriers. Author Gordon Prange argued in Miracle at Midway that the outdated
Devastators (and lack of new aircraft) contributed somewhat to the lack of a complete victory at Midway (the four Japanese
fleet carriers were sunk directly by US dive bombers instead). Others pointed out that the inexperienced American pilots and
lack of fighter cover were responsible for poor showing of US torpedo bombers, regardless of type. Later in the war, with
improving American air superiority, attack coordination, and more veteran pilots, Avengers were able to play vital roles in
the subsequent battles against Japanese surface forces. On 24 August 1942, the next major naval battle occurred at the
Eastern Solomons. With only the carriers Saratoga and Enterprise, the 24 TBFs present were able to sink the Japanese aircraft
carrier Ryūjō and claim one dive bomber, at the cost of seven aircraft. The first major "prize" for the TBFs (which had been assigned
the name "Avenger" in October 1941, before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor) was at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in
November 1942, when Marine Corps and Navy Avengers helped sink the battleship Hiei. After hundreds of the original TBF-1 models were built,
the TBF-1C began production. The allotment of space for specialized internal and wing-mounted fuel tanks doubled the
Avenger's range. By 1943, Grumman began to slowly phase out production of the Avenger to produce F6F Hellcat fighters, and
the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors took over, with these aircraft being designated TBM. Starting in mid-1944,
the TBM-3 began production (with a more powerful powerplant and wing hardpoints for drop tanks and rockets). The dash-3
was the most numerous of the Avengers (with about 4,600 produced). However, most of the Avengers in service were dash-1s until
near the end of the war (in 1945). Besides the traditional surface role (torpedoing surface ships),
Avengers claimed about 30 submarine kills, including the cargo submarine I-52. They were one of the most effective sub-killers
in the Pacific theatre, as well as in the Atlantic, when escort carriers were finally available to escort Allied convoys.
There, the Avengers contributed in warding off German U-Boats while providing air cover for the convoys. After the "Marianas Turkey Shoot", in which more than 250 Japanese
aircraft were downed, Admiral Marc Mitscher ordered a 220-aircraft mission to find the Japanese task force. At the extreme
end of their range (300 nmi (560 km) out), the group of Hellcats, TBF/TBMs, and dive bombers took many casualties.
However, Avengers from Belleau Wood torpedoed the light carrier Hiyō as their only major prize. Mitscher's gamble did
not pay off as well as he had hoped. In June 1943, future-President George H.W. Bush became the youngest naval aviator at the time. While flying a TBM
with VT-51 (from the USS San Jacinto (CVL-30)), his TBM was shot down on 2 September 1944 over the Pacific island
of Chichi Jima. Both of his crewmates died. However, he released his payload and hit the target before being forced to bail
out; he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Another famous Avenger aviator was Paul Newman, who flew as a
rear gunner. He had hoped to be accepted for pilot training, but did not qualify because of being color blind. Newman was
on board the escort carrier Hollandia roughly 500 mi (800 km) from Japan when the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic
bomb on Hiroshima. The Avenger was the type of torpedo bomber used during the sinking
of the two Japanese "super battleships": the Musashi and the Yamato. The Avenger was also used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm where
it was initially known as the "Tarpon" however this name was later discontinued and the Avenger name used instead. The first
402 aircraft were known as Avenger Mk 1, 334 TBM-1s from Grumman were the Avenger Mk II and 334 TBM-3 the Mark III. The only other operator in World War II was the Royal New Zealand
Air Force which used the type primarily as a bomber, operating from South Pacific Island bases. Some of these were transferred
to the British Pacific Fleet. During World War II, the US aeronautical research arm NACA used
a complete Avenger in a comprehensive drag-reduction study in their large Langley wind tunnel. The resulting NACA Technical Report shows the impressive results
available if practical aircraft did not have to be "practical". In 1945 Avengers were involved in pioneering trials of aerial
topdressing in New Zealand that led to the establishment of an industry which markedly increased food production and efficiency
in farming worldwide. Pilots of the Royal New Zealand Air Force's 42 Squadron spread fertilizer from Avengers beside runways
at Ohakea air base. The postwar disappearance of a flight of American Avengers, known
as Flight 19, added to the Bermuda Triangle legend. 100 USN TBM-3Es were supplied to the Fleet Air Arm in 1953 under
the US Mutual Defense Assistance Programme. The aircraft were shipped from Norfolk, Virginia, many aboard the Royal Navy aircraft
carrier HMS Perseus. The Avengers were fitted with British equipment by Scottish Aviation and delivered as the Avenger
AS.4 to several FAA squadrons including No. 767, 814, 815, 820 and 824. The aircraft were replaced from 1954 by Fairey Gannets
and were passed to squadrons of the Royal Naval Reserve including No. 1841 and 1844. The survivors were transferred to the
French Navy in 1957-1958. One of the primary postwar users of the Avenger was the Royal
Canadian Navy, which obtained 125 former US Navy TBM-3E Avengers from 1950 to 1952 to replace their venerable Fairey Fireflies.
By the time the Avengers were delivered, the RCN was shifting its primary focus to anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and the aircraft
was rapidly becoming obsolete as an attack platform. Consequently, 98 of the RCN Avengers were fitted with an extensive number
of novel ASW modifications, including radar, electronic countermeasures (ECM) equipment, and sonobuoys, and the upper ball
turret was replaced with a sloping glass canopy that was better suited for observation duties. The modified Avengers were
designated AS 3. A number of these aircraft were later fitted with a large magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) boom on
the rear left side of the fuselage and were redesignated AS 3M. However, RCN leaders soon realized the Avenger's shortcomings
as an ASW aircraft, and in 1954 they elected to replace the AS 3 with the S-2 Tracker, which offered longer range, greater
load-carrying capacity for electronics and armament, and a second engine, a great safety benefit when flying long-range ASW
patrols over frigid North Atlantic waters. As delivery of the new license-built CS2F Trackers began in 1957, the Avengers
were shifted to training duties, and were officially retired in July 1960. Many Avengers have survived into the 21st century working as
spray-applicators and water-bombers throughout North America, particularly in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Forest Protection Limited (FPL) of Fredericton, NB once owned
and operated the largest civilian fleet of Avengers in the world. FPL began operating Avengers in 1958 after purchasing 12
surplus TBM-3E aircraft from the Royal Canadian Navy. Use of the Avenger fleet at FPL peaked in 1971 when 43 aircraft were
in use as both water bombers and spray aircraft. FPL was still operating 3 Avengers in 2007 configured as water-bombers. The
company sold three Avengers in 2004 (C-GFPS, C-GFPM, and C-GLEJ) to museums or private collectors. The Central New Brunswick
Woodsmen’s Museum has a former FPL Avenger on static display. An FPL Avenger that crashed in 1975 in southwestern New
Brunswick was recovered and restored by the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum and is currently on display. There are several Avengers in private collections around the
world today. TBF TBM Royal Navy Avenger The most famous incident involving the Avenger aircraft was Flight
19, a squadron of five Avengers lost in December 1945 which began the legend of the Bermuda Triangle. General characteristics Performance Armament
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