Grumman TBF 'Avenger'
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. The Avenger entered U.S. service in 1942, and first saw action during the Battle of Midway. Despite the loss of five of the six Avengers on its combat debut, it survived in service to become one of the outstanding torpedo bombers of World War II.
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Development
Grumman's TBF design was selected as the Douglas TBD Devastator's replacement and two prototypes were ordered by the Navy in April 1940. Designed by Leroy Grumman, the first prototype was called the XTBF-1 and was first flown on 7 August 1941. The Avenger was the first design to feature a new 'compound angle' wing-folding mechanism created by Grumman(which was also used in the F4F 'Wildcat' and F6F 'Hellcat'), intended to maximize storage space on an aircraft carrier and was the heaviest single-engined aircraft of World War II. There were three crew members: pilot, turret gunner and radioman/bombardier/ventral gunner. One .30 caliber machine gun was mounted in the nose, a .50 caliber (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 caliber hand-fired machine gun mounted ventrally (under the tail), which was used to defend against enemy fighters attacking from below and to the rear. 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. Starting in mid-1944, GM began building the TBM-3, with the more powerful (1900 hp) R-2600-20 engine and wing hard points for drop tanks or rockets. With over 4,600 TBM-3s built, they were the most numerous of the variants. However, even in February, 1945, most of the Avengers on the carriers in the Pacific were the Dash-1 versions. The aircraft had overall ruggedness and stability, and pilots say it flew like a truck, for better or worse. Later Avenger models carried radar equipment for the ASW and AEW roles. 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.
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In Action
During the Battle of Midway, 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 USS USS Hornet. Unfortunately, both types of torpedo bombers suffered heavy casualties. Out of the six Avengers, five were shot down and the other returning heavily damaged. By August 1942, enough TBF's had been delivered and worked their way to equip the USS USS Enterprise and USS Saratogas' air groups with 24 TBF's. The Americans had invaded Guadalcanal taking an airbase that the Japanese were in the process of building. It was here where major naval and air battles would rage, with the Japanese operating from Rabaul, attempting to both destroy the Americans and reinforce their own troops over the next six months. On August 24, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons took place. During that afternoon and evening, 26 Avengers were launched in four different strikes. On the second strike, the torpedos struck the light carrier IJN Ryujo and helped to sink her. A TBF gunner, claimed a D3A 'Val' dive bomber. In exchange, seven Avengers were lost. Later, TBF Avengers helped to sink the first Japanese battleship of the war, the IJNS Hiei. By November 1943, radar-equipped Avengers would lead Hellcats into position behind the incoming bombers, close enough for the Hellcat pilots to spot visually the G4M's blue exhaust flames. The night of November 26-27, 1943 was the first combat test of the plan, following an earlier mission that hadn't contacted the Japanese resulting in the loss of the famous Naval aviator Edward 'Butch' O'Hare who was one of several pilots launched to intercept the incoming 9 Japanese G4M bombers from 2nd Chutai of 4th Kokutai, at this time five had already been shot down.
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After the 'Marianas Turkey Shoot' (June 19-20, 1944) in the Battle of the Phillipine Sea , in which more than 350 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 the Independence-class light aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) torpedoed the carrier IJN Hiyo as their only major prize. 54 planes successfully launched, 29 of these were lost, plus 8 more operational losses. From these 37 planes, about 111 men went into the water - 67 were rescued. It wouldnt be until October 1944 in the Battle of Leyte Gulf where the IJNS Zuikaku and 3 light carriers used as decoy ships were finally sunk. Avengers were also responsible for the sinking of the two Japanese Super Battleships, the IJNS Musashi in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea on October 24, 1944 and Avengers sank the IJNS Yamato, in its kamikaze run for Okinawa on April 7, 1945.
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Sub Hunters
In the struggle for the North Atlantic, Avengers were credited with destroying 30 submarines, including the unique sinking of the Japanese cargo sub I-52. Flying from escort carriers (CVEs), TBFs were well-suited to the sub-killer role: long endurance, stable, large weapons capacity. They became the key strike aircraft in the hunter-killer groups that ranged the Atlantic: CVE's flying Avengers and F4F 'Wildcats' with Destroyers in support.
Foreign Service
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, as part of the process of the Fleet Air Arm universally adopting the U.S. Navy's names for American naval aircraft. 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. It was also used during the war by the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Post War
Greatly modified after the war, it remained in use until the 1960s. Avengers continued flying in the U.S. Navy, primarily in anti-submarine, Electronic Counter-Measures (ECM), as missile platforms, and for training. Large numbers of Avengers found postwar roles with Canada, France, Japan and the Netherlands, some still serving in 1960. Some were converted to civilian use as fire-fighters. A total of 9,839 TBF/TBM Avengers were built.
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F2A Buffalo
F4F Wildcat
F6F Hellcat
F4U Corsair
SBD Dauntless
SB2C Helldiver
PBY Catalina
