Built in response to a
1939 requirement for a carrier-based torpedo-bomber to
replace the TBD Devastator, the TBF Avenger proved one
of the most versatile aircraft of World War II. Equipped
with an electrically powered gun turret and an internal
bomb bay, the aircraft carried a crew of three. All
told, a total of 9,842 production versions rolled off
assembly lines, including 7,546 examples built by the
Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors, which took
over production fully in 1943.
The combat debut of the
Avenger occurred during the Battle of Midway on 4 June
1942, when six TBF-1s of Torpedo Squadron (VT) 8
launched from Midway Atoll without fighter escort to
attack the approaching Japanese fleet. In the
Atlantic, it played a major role in carrier-based
antisubmarine warfare, which sent 34 U-boats to the
bottom.
Specifications for TBM-3 Avenger
Manufacturer: Easter Aircraft Division of General Motors Dimensions: Length: 40 ft., 11 ½ in.; Height: 16 ft., 5
in.; Wingspan: 54 ft., 2 in. Weights: Empty: 10,545 lb.; Gross: 17,895 lb. Power Plant: One 1,900 horsepower Wright R-2600-20
engine Performance: Maximum Speed: 276 m.p.h. at 16,500 ft.;
Service Ceiling: 30,100 ft.; Range: 1,010 miles Armament: Two fixed forward-firing .50-in. guns, one
flexible-mounted .50-in. gun, one flexible-mounted
.30-in. gun, and provisions for up to 2,000 lb. of
ordnance carried internally Crew: Pilot, gunner, and radioman
The Avenger served as the world's first airborne
early warning (AEW) airplane and was still in the naval aircraft
inventory as late as 1956. The Grumman design proved to be
tough and damage tolerant, as seen in the shot below:
