The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

) is an American

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

-era

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...

developed initially for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

, and eventually used by several air and

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

services around the world. The Avenger entered U.S. service in 1942, and first saw action during the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...

. Despite the loss of five of the six Avengers on its combat debut, it survived in service to become the most effective and widely-used torpedo bomber of World War II, sharing credit for sinking the super-battleships and (the only ships of that type sunk exclusively by American aircraft while under way) and being credited for sinking 30 submarines. Greatly modified after the war, it remained in use until the 1960s.Wheeler 1992, p. 53.

Design and development

The

Douglas TBD Devastator The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy and possibly for any na ...

, the U.S. Navy's main torpedo bomber introduced in 1935, was obsolescent by 1939. Bids were accepted from several companies, but Grumman's TBF design was selected as the replacement for the TBD and in April 1940 two prototypes were ordered by the Navy. Designed by

Leroy Grumman Leroy Randle "Roy" Grumman (4 January 1895 – 4 October 1982) was an American aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and industrialist. In 1929, he co-founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co., later renamed Grumman Aerospace Corporation, and now ...

, the first prototype was called the XTBF-1. It was first flown on 7 August 1941. Although one of the first two prototypes crashed near

Brentwood, New York Brentwood is a hamlet in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 62,387 at the 2020 Census, making it the most populous in Suffolk County and on all of Long Island outside of New York C ...

, rapid production continued. TBF mid1942

The Avenger was the heaviest single-engined aircraft of World War II, and only the USAAF's

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

came close to equalling it in maximum loaded weight among all single-engined fighters, being only some lighter than the TBF, by the end of World War II. To ease carrier storage concerns, simultaneously with the F4F-4 model of its Wildcat carrier fighter, Grumman designed the Avenger to also use the new ''Sto-Wing'' patented "compound angle" wing-folding mechanism, intended to maximize storage space on an aircraft carrier; the Wildcat's replacement, the

F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...

, also employed this mechanism. The

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

used was the twin-row Wright R-2600-20 Twin Cyclone fourteen-cylinder radial engine, which produced . There were three crew members: pilot, turret gunner and radioman/bombardier/ventral gunner. A single synchronized .30 caliber (7.62 mm) 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 0.30 caliber (7.62 mm) hand-fired machine gun flexibly-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 omitted the cowl-mount synchronized 0.30 caliber (7.62 mm) gun, and replaced it with twin Browning AN/M2 0.50 caliber (12.7 mm) light-barrel guns, one in each wing outboard of the propeller arc, per pilots' requests for better forward firepower and increased strafing ability. There was only one set of controls on the aircraft, and no direct access to the pilot's position existed from the rest of the aircraft's interior. The radio equipment was massive, especially by today's standards, and filled the length of the well-framed "greenhouse" 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, allowing for a fourth passenger. The Avenger had a large bomb bay, allowing for one Bliss-Leavitt

Mark 13 torpedo The Mark 13 torpedo was the U.S. Navy's most common aerial torpedo of World War II. It was the first American torpedo to be originally designed for launching from aircraft only. They were also used on PT boats. Design Originating in a 1925 des ...

, a single bomb, or up to four

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

s. 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 ceiling and a fully loaded range of , it was better than any previous American torpedo bomber, and better than its Japanese counterpart, the obsolete

Nakajima B5N The Nakajima B5N ( ja, 中島 B5N, Allied reporting name "Kate") was the standard carrier-based torpedo bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for much of World War II. Although the B5N was substantially faster and more capable than its Al ...

"Kate". Later Avenger models carried radar equipment for the ASW and

AEW AEW or aew may refer to: * Airborne early warning, airborne radar system for detecting aircraft * Aerosvit Airlines, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine (ICAO airline designator: AEW) * AEW Capital Management, a property investment management company ...

roles.

Escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

sailors referred to the TBF as the "turkey" because of its size and maneuverability in comparison to the

F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atlan ...

fighters in same airgroups.

Operational history

U.S. Navy

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 The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

attacked Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, as Grumman soon found out. After the ceremony was over, the plant was quickly sealed off to guard against possible sabotage. By early June 1942, a shipment of more than 100 aircraft was sent to the Navy, arriving only a few hours after the three carriers quickly departed from

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

, so most of them were too late to participate in the pivotal

. Six TBF-1s were present on

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

as part of VT-8 (Torpedo Squadron 8)while the rest of the

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

flew Devastators from the aircraft carrier . Both types of torpedo bombers suffered heavy casualties. Out of the six Avengers, five were shot down and the other returned heavily damaged with one of its gunners killed, and the other gunner and the pilot wounded. Author

Gordon Prange Gordon William Prange (; July 16, 1910 – May 15, 1980) was the author of several World War II historical manuscripts which were published by his co-workers after his death in 1980. Prange was a professor of history at the University of Maryland ...

posited 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 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 growing American air superiority, better 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 aircraft carrier battle occurred at the Eastern Solomons. Based on the carriers and , the 24 TBFs present were able to sink the Japanese light carrier 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 The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...

in November 1942, when Marine Corps and Navy Avengers helped sink the Japanese

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

, which had already been crippled the night before. 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

fighters, and the Eastern Aircraft Division of

took over production, with these aircraft being designated TBM. The Eastern Aircraft plant was located in

Ewing Ewing may refer to: People * Ewing (surname) * Ewing (given name) Places ;United States * Ewing Township, Boone County, Arkansas * Ewing, Illinois, a village * Ewing Township, Franklin County, Illinois * Ewing, Indiana, an unincorporated communi ...

, New Jersey. Grumman delivered a TBF-1, held together with sheet metal screws, so that the automotive engineers could disassemble it, a part at a time, and redesign the aircraft for automotive style production. This aircraft was known as the "P-K Avenger" ("P-K" being an abbreviation for Parker-Kalon, manufacturer of sheet metal screws). Starting in mid-1944, the TBM-3 began production (with a more powerful powerplant and wing hardpoints for drop tanks and

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

s). 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 A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

kills, including the cargo submarine . They were one of the most effective sub-killers in the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, as well as in the Atlantic, when escort carriers were finally available to escort Allied convoys. There, the Avengers contributed to the warding off of German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s while providing air cover for the convoys. After the " Marianas Turkey Shoot", in which more than 250 Japanese aircraft were downed,

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Marc Mitscher Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during the latter half of ...

ordered a 220-aircraft mission to find the Japanese task force. Fighting away from the fleet at the extreme end of their range, the group of Hellcats, TBF/TBMs, and

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

s took many casualties. However, Avengers from the sank the light carrier as their only major prize. Mitscher's gamble did not pay off as well as he had hoped. In June 1943, shortly before his 19th birthday, future-President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

was commissioned as the youngest naval aviator at the time. Later, while flying a TBM with VT-51 (from ), his Avenger was shot down on 2 September 1944 over the Pacific island of

Chichi Jima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of Chichijima, Anijima and Otoutojima , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Chichijima , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , ...

. However, he released his payload and hit the radio tower target before being forced to bail out over water. Both of his crewmates died. He was rescued at sea by the American submarine . He later received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Another famous Avenger aviator was

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

, who flew as a rear gunner. He had hoped to be accepted for pilot training, but did not qualify because he was

color blind Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...

. Newman was on board the escort carrier roughly from Japan when the

Enola Gay The ''Enola Gay'' () is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, piloted by Tibbets and Robert A. Lewis during the final stages of World War II, it be ...

dropped the

first atomic bomb Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. It was conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert ab ...

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

. The Avenger was the type of torpedo bomber used during the sinking of the two Japanese "super battleships", with the US Navy having complete air superiority in both engagements: and . The postwar disappearance on 5 December 1945 of a flight of five American Avengers, known as

Flight 19 Flight 19 was the designation of a group of five General Motors TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945, after losing contact during a United States Navy overwater navigation training flight fro ...

, was later added to the

Bermuda Triangle The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is an urban legend focused on a loosely defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterio ...

legend, first written about by Edward Van Winkle Jones in an

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

article published in September 1950. During World War II, the US aeronautical research arm

NACA The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...

used a complete Avenger in a comprehensive drag-reduction study in their large

Langley Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...

wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

. The resulting NACA Technical Report shows the impressive results available if practical aircraft did not have to be "practical".

Royal Navy

The Avenger was also used by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

, where it was initially known as the "

Tarpon Tarpons are fish of the genus ''Megalops''. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae. Of the two species, one (''M. atlanticus'') is native to the Atlantic, and the other (''M. cyprinoides'') to the Indo-Pacific Oceans. Species an ...

". Initial test flights were carried out by British Admiralty test pilot

Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner (3 June 1916 – 18 July 1944) was a Canadian Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm naval aviator and wing leader during the Second World War, who attained the rank of Lieutenant commander. He was a veteran of the evacuation of Dunk ...

RAF Boscombe Down MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Def ...

. 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 I, 334 TBM-1s from Grumman were called the Avenger Mk II, and 334 TBM-3 were designated the Mk III. An interesting kill by a Royal Navy Avenger was the destruction of a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

on 9 July 1944. The much faster V-1 was overtaking the Avenger when the Telegraphist Air Gunner in the dorsal turret, Leading Airman Fred Shirmer, fired at it from . For this achievement, Shirmer was

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

, later being awarded the

DSM DSM or dsm may refer to: Science and technology * Deep space maneuver * Design structure matrix or dependency structure matrix, a representation of a system or project * Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ** DSM-5, the fifth ed ...

for the 1945

Operation Meridian During World War II, Operation Meridian was part of Operation Outflank, a series of British air attacks directed at Japanese-held oil refineries on Sumatra. Meridian had two phases: ''Meridian One'' on 24 January 1945 and ''Meridian Two'' on 2 ...

action at

Palembang Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...

. In the January 1945 British carrier raid on the Soengei Gerong oil refinery during

, a Fleet Air Arm Avenger shot down a

Nakajima Ki-44 The Nakajima Ki-44 ''Shoki'' (鍾馗, " Devil Queller") was a single-seat fighter-interceptor which was developed by the Nakajima Aircraft Company and operated by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1942 to 1945 during World War II. Its official de ...

"Tojo" in low level combat over the jungle. Three Avengers were modified to carry the

Highball A highball is a mixed alcoholic drink composed of an alcoholic base spirit and a larger proportion of a non-alcoholic mixer, often a carbonated beverage. Examples include the Seven and Seven, Scotch and soda, gin and tonic, screwdriver (a.k.a ...

"bouncing bomb" (given the new codename Tammany Hall), but when trials were unsuccessful, they were returned to standard configuration and passed to the Royal Navy. One hundred USN TBM-3Es were supplied to the Fleet Air Arm in 1953 under the US

Mutual Defense Assistance Program The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Eur ...

. The aircraft were shipped from

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, Virginia, many aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier . The Avengers were fitted with British equipment by

Scottish Aviation Scottish Aviation Limited was an aircraft manufacturer based at Prestwick, Scotland. History The company was founded in 1935. Originally a flying school operator, the company took on maintenance work in 1938. During the Second World War, Scotti ...

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 Gannet The Fairey Gannet is a carrier-borne aircraft that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed for the Royal Navy, being the first fixed-wing aircraft to combine both the search an ...

s and were passed to squadrons of the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

including No. 1841 and 1844 until the RNR Air Branch was disbanded in 1957. The survivors were transferred to the French Navy in 1957–1958.

Royal New Zealand Air Force

The only other operator in World War II was the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

which used the type primarily as a bomber, equipping Nos. 30 and 31 Squadrons, with both operating from South Pacific island bases during 1944 in support of the

Bougainville campaign The Bougainville campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan, named after the island of Bougainville. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied ...

. Some of the Avengers were later transferred to the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships ...

. In 1945, Avengers were involved in pioneering trials of

aerial topdressing Aerial topdressing is the aerial application of fertilisers over farmland using agricultural aircraft. It was developed in New Zealand in the 1940s and rapidly adopted elsewhere in the 1950s. Origins Previous aerial applications The first k ...

in New Zealand that led to the establishment of an industry which markedly increased food production and efficiency in farming worldwide. Pilots of the

's No. 42 Squadron spread fertilizer from Avengers beside runways at Ohakea Air Base and provided a demonstration for farmers at

Hood Aerodrome Hood Aerodrome is an aerodrome, located in Masterton, New Zealand, it is located 1 NM South West of the town centre in the suburb of Solway. The aerodrome was named after George Hood, a pioneer Masterton aviator who died trying to make the fi ...

, Masterton, New Zealand.

Royal Canadian Navy

One of the primary postwar users of the Avenger was the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

, 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 Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

(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 Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

electronic countermeasures An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...

(ECM) equipment, and

sonobuoy A sonobuoy (a portmanteau of sonar and buoy) is a relatively small buoy – typically diameter and long – expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic resea ...

s, 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 A magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) is an instrument used to detect minute variations in the Earth's magnetic field. The term refers specifically to magnetometers used by military forces to detect submarines (a mass of ferromagnetic material crea ...

(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

Grumman S-2 Tracker The Grumman S-2 Tracker (S2F prior to 1962) was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventiona ...

, 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 The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

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.

Camouflage research

TBM Avengers were used in wartime research into

counter-illumination Counter-illumination is a method of active camouflage seen in marine animals such as firefly squid and midshipman fish, and in military prototypes, producing light to match their backgrounds in both brightness and wavelength. Marine animals of ...

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

. The torpedo bombers were fitted with

Yehudi lights Yehudi lights are lamp (electrical component), lamps of automatically controlled brightness placed on the front and leading edges of an aircraft to raise the aircraft's luminance to the average brightness of the sky, a form of active camouflage ...

, a set of forward-pointing lights automatically adjusted to match the brightness of the sky. The planes therefore appeared as bright as the sky, rather than as dark shapes. The technology, a development of the Canadian navy's

diffused lighting camouflage Diffused lighting camouflage was a form of active camouflage using counter-illumination to enable a ship to match its background, the night sky, that was tested by the Royal Canadian Navy on corvettes during World War II. The principle was disc ...

research, allowed an Avenger to advance to within before being seen.

Civilian use

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 New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. Forest Protection Limited (FPL) of

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

, 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

."History: Timeline."
''forestprotectionlimited.com.'' Retrieved: 17 November 2012. Use of the Avenger fleet at FPL peaked in 1971 when 43 aircraft were in use as both water bombers and spray aircraft. 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 The Central New Brunswick Woodsmen's Museum is a Canadian forestry museum located in Boiestown, New Brunswick. The museum is located on a site alongside Highway 8 and the Southwest Miramichi River. Its collection includes tools and models wh ...

has a former FPL Avenger on static display. An FPL Avenger that crashed in 1975 in southwestern New Brunswick was recovered and restored by a group of interested aviation enthusiasts and is currently on display at the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum. FPL was still operating three Avengers in 2010 configured as water-bombers, and stationed at

Miramichi Airport Miramichi Airport is located south of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. The runway was originally but was shortened to ; in 2012 it was re-extended to and is maintained year-round. It has a pavement overlay (from 1998), new approach lights a ...

. One of these crashed just after takeoff on 23 April 2010, killing the pilot. The last FPL Avenger was retired on 26 July 2012 and sold to the Shearwater Aviation Museum in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. There are several other Avengers, usually flying as

warbird A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight, or the ...

s in private collections around the world today. They are a popular airshow fixture in both flying and static displays. the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) flies three TBM Avengers with one based with the Rocky Mountain Wing in Grand Junction, Colorado; another with the Missouri Wing at St Charles Smartt Field; and their newest with the Capital Wing in Culpeper, Virginia. Each of these allow non-CAF members to ride in the aircraft for a Living History Flight Experience.

Variants

TBM-3Es VC-22 over USS Coral Sea (CVB-43)

TBF

;XTBF-1 :Prototypes each powered by a R-2600-8 engine, second aircraft introduced the large dorsal fin. (2 built) ;TBF-1 :Initial production model based on the second prototype. (1,526 built) ;TBF-1C :TBF-1 with provision for two wing guns and fuel capacity increased to . (765 built) ;TBF-1B :Paper designation for the Avenger I for the Royal Navy. ;TBF-1D :TBF-1 conversions with centimetric radar in radome on right wing leading edge. ;TBF-1CD :TBF-1C conversions with centimetric radar in radome on right wing leading edge. ;TBF-1E :TBF-1 conversions with additional electronic equipment. ;TBF-1J :TBF-1 equipped for bad weather operations ;TBF-1L :TBF-1 equipped with retractable searchlight in bomb bay. ;TBF-1P :TBF-1 conversion for photo-reconnaissance ;TBF-1CP :TBF-1C conversion for photo-reconnaissance ;XTBF-2 :TBF-1 re-engined with a XR-2600-10 engine. ;XTBF-3 :TBF-1 re-engined with R-2600-20 engines. ;TBF-3 :Planned production version of the XTBF-3, cancelled

TBM

;TBM-1 :as TBF-1. (550 built) ;TBM-1C :as TBF-1C. (2336 built) ;TBM-1D :TBM-1 conversions with centimetric radar in radome on right wing leading edge. ;TBM-1E :TBM-1 conversions with additional electronic equipment. ;TBM-1J :TBM-1 equipped for all weather operations ;TBM-1L :TBM-1 equipped with retractable searchlight in bomb bay. ;TBM-1P :TBM-1 conversion for photo-reconnaissance ;TBM-1CP :TBM-1C conversion for photo-reconnaissance ;TBM-2 :One TBM-1 re-engined with a XR-2600-10 engine. ;XTBM-3 :Four TBM-1C aircraft with R-2600-20 engines. ;TBM-3 :as TBM-1C, double cooling intakes, engine upgrade, minor changes. (4,011 built) ;TBM-3D :TBM-3 conversion with centimetric radar in radome on right wing leading edge. ;TBM-3E :as TBM-3, stronger airframe, search radar, ventral gun deleted. (646 built). ;TBM-3H :TBM-3 conversion with surface search radar. ;TBM-3J :TBM-3 equipped for all weather operations ;TBM-3L :TBM-3 equipped with retractable searchlight in bomb bay. ;TBM-3M :TBM-3 conversion as a

Tiny Tim rocket The Tiny Tim was an American air-to-ground rocket used near the end of the Second World War. It was built in response to a United States Navy requirement for an anti-ship rocket capable of hitting ships from outside of their anti-aircraft range, ...

launcher. ;TBM-3N :TBM-3 conversion for night attack. ;TBM-3P :TBM-3 conversion for photo-reconnaissance. ;TBM-3Q :TBM-3 conversion for electronic countermeasures, retained gun turret. ;TBM-3R :TBM-3 conversions as seven-passenger,

Carrier onboard delivery Carrier onboard delivery (COD) is the use of aircraft to ferry personnel, mail, supplies, and high-priority cargo, such as replacement parts, from shore bases to an aircraft carrier at sea. Several types of aircraft, including helicopters, have ...

transport. ;TBM-3S :TBM-3 conversion as an anti-submarine strike version. ;TBM-3U :TBM-3 conversion as a general utility and target version. ;TBM-3W :TBM-3 conversion as the first ship based airborne early warning control and relay platform with

AN/APS-20 The AN/APS-20 was an airborne early warning, anti-submarine, maritime surveillance and weather radar developed in the United States in the 1940s. Entering service in 1945, it served for nearly half a century, finally being retired in 1991. Initia ...

radar in ventral radome. ;XTBM-4 :Prototypes based on TBM-3E with modified wing incorporating a reinforced center section and a different folding mechanism. (3 built) ;TBM-4 :Production version of XTBM-4, 2,141 on order were cancelled.

Royal Navy Avenger

Avenger from HMS Victorious in flight c1944

;Tarpon GR.I :RN designation of the TBF-1, 400 delivered. ;Avenger Mk.II :RN designation of the TBM-1/TBM-1C, 334 delivered. ;Avenger Mk.III :RN designation of the TBM-3, 222 delivered ;Avenger Mk.IV :RN designation of the TBM-3S, 70 cancelled ;Avenger AS4 :RN designation of the TBM-3E, delivered postwar with minimum modifications ;Avenger AS5 : RN designation of the TBM-3S, delivered postwar & fitted with British equipment ;Avenger AS6 : RN designation of the TBM-3S, fitted with British equipment including a centrline radome. A total of one hundred TBM-3E & TBM-3S were delivered to the Royal Navy in 1953.

Royal Canadian Navy Avengers

;Avenger AS3 :Modified by RCN for anti-submarine duty, dorsal gun turret removed, 98 built ;Avenger AS3M :AS3 with magnetic anomaly detector boom added to rear fuselage ;Avenger Mk.3W2 :Similar to TBM-3W, with large ventral radome. 8 operated.

Operators

TBF-1C 30 Sqn RNZAF on Espiritu Santo 1944

; *

Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious warf ...

operated three Avengers in the 1950s for deck crew training aboard the carrier

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

(A-11). ; *

operated Avengers until replaced by the CS2F Tracker in 1960. ; *

Cuban Navy The Cuban Revolutionary Navy ( es, Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria) is the navy of Cuba. History The Constitutional Navy of Cuba was the navy of Cuba that existed prior to 1959. During World War II, it sank the German submarine ''U-176'' on 15 ...

received 7 TBM-3S2 in 1956; however, they were out of service by 1960. ; * Aéronavale operated Avengers in the 1950s. ; *

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

operated Hunter-Killer Avengers groups in the 1950s and 1960s. ; *

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

– the

Dutch Naval Aviation Service The Netherlands Naval Aviation Service ( nl, Marineluchtvaartdienst, shortened to MLD) is the naval aviation branch of the Royal Netherlands Navy. History World War I Although the MLD was formed in 1914, with the building of a seaplane base ...

operated Avengers during the 1950s. ; *

No. 30 Squadron RNZAF No. 30 Squadron RNZAF was a New Zealand light bomber squadron which saw service against the Japanese in the Pacific Theatre during the last two years of the Second World War. History No.30 Squadron formed on 28 May 1943, being stood up at RNZAF ...

No. 31 Squadron RNZAF No. 31 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in December 1943, it was equipped with Grumman TBF Avenger Torpedo bombers. History 31 Squadron was stationed in New Zealand from December 1943 to May 1944. The squadron d ...

No. 41 Squadron RNZAF No. 41 Squadron was a transport unit of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). The squadron was formed in 1944, and conducted transport flights in the south Pacific during World War II. It remained active after the war, and flew supplies to the ...

No. 42 Squadron RNZAF No. 42 Squadron is an active transport squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). It was formed at Rongotai Airport (Wellington) in December 1943 to provide a communications service around New Zealand, initially using impressed civilia ...

Central Fighter Establishment The Central Fighter Establishment was a Royal Air Force formation that dealt with the development of fighter aircraft tactics which was formed on 4 September 1944 at RAF Wittering. It also tested new fighter aircraft and equipment, and with the ...

; *

Nicaraguan Air Force The Nicaraguan Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Nicaragüense) is the air defense branch of the armed forces of Nicaragua. It continues the former Sandinista air units. Before 1979 the Nicaraguan National Guard had some air units (). Air force In 1 ...

; *

–

738 Naval Air Squadron 738 Naval Air Squadron (738 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was initially active from 1943 to 1945 as a training squadron for USA aircraft types used by the Fleet Air Arm. Reformed in 1950, it continued to for ...

820 Naval Air Squadron 820 Naval Air Squadron is a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier-based squadron flying the AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 in an Anti-Submarine role from RNAS Culdrose. The Squadron was formed at RNAS Gosport on 3 April 1933 with the transferral of the F ...

828 Naval Air Squadron 828 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed in September 1940 as a torpedo spotter reconnaissance squadron. It operated in a number of the theatres of the Second World War, carrying out a number of attacks ...

832 Naval Air Squadron 832 Naval Air Squadron (832 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...

845 Naval Air Squadron 845 Naval Air Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. Part of the Commando Helicopter Force, it is a specialist amphibious unit operating the AgustaWestland Commando Merlin HC4 helicopter and provides troop transport and load ...

846 Naval Air Squadron 846 Naval Air Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. Between December 1979 and the summer of 2013, 846 Naval Air Squadron operated the Westland Sea King HC4 helicopter to provide troop transport and load lifting support to 3 ...

848 Naval Air Squadron 848 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. It operated the Westland Sea King HC.4 helicopter and previously provided advanced flying training to pilots for the other squadrons in the Commando Helicopter Force. The s ...

849 Naval Air Squadron 849 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the Fleet Air Arm, the Air Arm of the British Royal Navy. It was formed during the Second World War as a carrier based torpedo-bomber, unit, flying missions against Japanese targets in the Far East. Its ...

850 Naval Air Squadron 85 may refer to: * 85 (number) * one of the years 85 BC, AD 85, 1885, 1985, 2085 See also * * M85 (disambiguation), including "Model 85" * 1985 (disambiguation) 1985 was a year. 1985 may also refer to: Literature * ''1985'' (Burgess novel ...

851 Naval Air Squadron 851 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm squadron of the Royal Navy, first formed in October 1943 at Squantum Naval Air Station in Massachusetts, United States as a MAC-ship escort squadron. It was later disbanded around December 1945. It w ...

852 Naval Air Squadron 852 Naval Air Squadron (852 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...

853 Naval Air Squadron 853 Naval Air Squadron (853 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...

854 Naval Air Squadron 854 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, first formed on 1 January 1944 at Squantum Naval Air Station in the United States. It was disbanded in December 1945, and reformed December 2006 as a helicopter squadron des ...

855 Naval Air Squadron 855 Naval Air Squadron (855 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...

856 Naval Air Squadron 856 Naval Air Squadron (856 NAS) was a List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons, Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. References

800 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons Military units and formations established in 1944 Milita ...

857 Naval Air Squadron 857 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. It was first formed on 1 April 1944 at Squantum NAS in the United States as a torpedo reconnaissance unit with Grumman Avenger IIs. It reformed in its present state on 13 De ...

; *

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

; *

Uruguayan Navy The National Navy of Uruguay () is a branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay under the direction of the Ministry of National Defense and the commander in chief of the Navy (''Comandante en Jefe de la Armada'' or COMAR). History Independence Unde ...

operated 16 TBF Avengers in the 1949 to 1963.

Notable incidents

* A famous incident involving the TBM / TBF Avenger aircraft was the disappearance of

, a training flight of five Avengers that originated from

Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale was an airfield of the United States Navy just outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In 1942, the U.S. Navy selected Merle Fogg Airport in Fort Lauderdale to expand into a naval air station for both pilot and enlist ...

and was lost in December 1945 over the

. * During an airshow on 17 April 2021, TBM #91188 made a successful water landing south of Cocoa Beach, Florida near

Patrick Space Force Base Patrick Space Force Base is a United States Space Force installation located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick, USAAC. It is home to Space Lau ...

, in shallow surf. Valiant Air Command, the group that owns the plane, recovered the TBM for transport to Titusville, Florida, for extensive repairs.

Surviving aircraft

Specifications (TBF Avenger)

Data on Armament from Flight Journal.comFlight journal.com Grumman TBF Avenger
/ref>

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{Authority control TB01F Avenger 1940s United States bomber aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Carrier-based aircraft TB01M Avenger World War II torpedo bombers of the United States Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1941