TBF/TBM Avenger
Type	Torpedo bomber
Manufacturer	Grumman General Motors
Designed by	Leroy Grumman
Maiden flight	7 August 1941
Introduced	1942
Retired	1960s
Status	Retired
Primary users	United States Navy Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy Royal New Zealand Air Force
Number built	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 used by a large number of air arms around the world. Types The torpedo bomber first appeared during the later years of World War I. An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing building testing selling and maintaining Aircraft, Aircraft parts The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading 20th century U General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States. Leroy Randle Grumman ( January 4 1895 - October 4 1982) was an American Industrialist and aeronautical engineer The maiden flight of an Aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) For the history of Canada's naval forces after 1968 see Canadian Forces Maritime Command The Royal Canadian Navy ( RCN) was the The Royal New Zealand Air Force ( RNZAF) is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading 20th century U General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States. Types The torpedo bomber first appeared during the later years of World War I. It entered service in 1942, and first saw action during the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway was a major Naval battle, widely regarded as the most important one of the Pacific Campaign of World War II.

Design and development

Douglas' TBD Devastator, the U. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout S. Navy's main torpedo bomber introduced in 1935 was obsolete by 1939. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 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. Leroy Randle Grumman ( January 4 1895 - October 4 1982) was an American Industrialist and aeronautical engineer Although one of the first two prototypes crashed near Brentwood, New York, rapid production continued. Brentwood is a hamlet and CDP (census-designated place in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York on Long Island New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous

TBF-1 Avenger early in 1942, note the red spot centered on US national insignia was removed just before the Battle of Midway

TBF Avenger in mid-1942

Grumman's first torpedo bomber was the heaviest single-engine plane of WWII, 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 Battle of Midway was a major Naval battle, widely regarded as the most important one of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Types The torpedo bomber first appeared during the later years of World War I. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The engine used was the Wright R-2600-20 (which produced 1,900 horsepower). An aircraft engine is a Propulsion system for an Aircraft. Aircraft engines are almost always a type of lightweight Internal combustion engine. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout There were three crew members—pilot, turret gunner, and radioman/bombardier/ventral gunner. A . 50-caliber machine gun was mounted in each wing, and one more . 50 caliber gun was mounted right next to the turret gunner's head in a rear-facing electrically powered turret. There was 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. 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. 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). The Battle of Midway was a major Naval battle, widely regarded as the most important one of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with Doolittle Raid April 1942 See also Doolittle Raid Hornet arrived at Alameda California 20 March 1942. Initial operations Enterprise was launched on 3 October 1936 at Newport News Shipbuilding, sponsored by Lulie Swanson wife of Secretary of the Early career Yorktown was laid down on 21 May 1934 at Newport News Virginia, by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co An ensign is a distinguishing Flag of a ship or a military unit or a distinguishing token emblem or badge such as a symbol of office Ensign (later Lieutenant Commander) George Henry Gay Jr ( March 8, 1917 &ndash October 21, 1994) was a TBD Devastator 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 a few eventually participated launched from Midway Island). Pearl Harbor is a Harbor on the Island of O{{okina}}ahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu.

The Avenger had a large bomb bay, allowing for one Bliss-Leavitt Mark 13 torpedo, a single 2000 lb (900 kg) bomb, or up to four 500 lb (230 kg) bombs. The Mark 13 torpedo was the US Navy 's most common air-launched Torpedo of World War II. A bomb is any of a range of devices that typically rely on the Exothermic Chemical reaction of an Explosive material to produce an extremely The plane 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 foot (10,000 m) ceiling and a fully-loaded range of 1,000 miles (1,600 km), it was better than any previous American torpedo plane, and better than its chief opponent, the then obsolete Japanese Nakajima B5N "Kate". For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Later Avenger models carried radar equipment for the ASW and AEW roles. Anti-submarine warfare (ASW or in older form A/S is a branch of Naval warfare that uses surface Warships Aircraft, space craft or other Submarines 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. Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range altitude direction or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as Aircraft, ships This article is about the electronic device not an evacuated pipe used for experiments in Free-fall. Because of this, radar was at first carried only on the roomy TBF Avengers, but not on the smaller and faster fighters.

Operational history

TBF Avenger ready for catapult launch.

A Grumman TBF Avenger aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-10), circa late 1943

A famous Avenger pilot was future American President George H. W. Bush, flying a TBM Avenger off the light aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) in 1944. World War II 1943 Yorktown remained in the Naval Station Norfolk area until 21 May, at which time she got underway for shakedown training George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 See also List of aircraft carriers List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy List of World War II

On the afternoon of December 7, 1941, Grumman held a ceremony to open a new manufacturing plant and display the new TBF to the public. Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ironically, on that day, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, as Grumman soon found out. For Combined Fleet, please see that article For Carrier Striking Task Force, please see that article 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 planes was sent to the Navy (although, as mentioned before, most were too late to participate in the fateful 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. Midway Atoll (or Midway Island or Midway Islands; Hawaiian: Pihemanu Kauihelani) is a 2 A squadron is a small unit or formation of Cavalry, armour, Aircraft (including Balloons) or Warships Army Unfortunately, most of the pilots had very little previous experience, and only one TBF survived (with heavy damage and casualties). As author Gordon Prange mentions in Miracle at Midway, the outdated Devastators (and lack of new planes) contributed somewhat to the lack of a complete victory (and the loss of the Yorktown); bravery was no equal to superior planes. Gordon William Prange ( July 16, 1910 – May 15, 1980) was the author of several World War II -based manuscripts published after his

On August 24, 1942, the next major naval battle occurred at the Eastern Solomons. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and in Japanese sources as the, took place on August 24, 1942 With only the carriers USS Saratoga (CV-3) 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 planes. Pre-War Years 1928 – 1940 Saratoga, the first fast carrier in the Navy quickly proved the value of her type Flagship In August–December 1937 Ryūjō supported land operations of the Japanese Army in China, as flagship of Carrier Division 1

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. The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons or in Japanese sources as A battleship is a large heavily armored Warship with a main battery consisting of the largest Calibre of Guns Battleships were Pre-war service Following World War I, her Boilers were upgraded for speed and bulges were added for better defense against Torpedoes Kongō

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. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Starting in mid-1944, the TBM-3 began production (with a more powerful powerplant and wing hardpoints for drop tanks and rockets). Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A rocket or rocket vehicle is a Missile, Aircraft or other Vehicle which obtains Thrust by the reaction of the 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). Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar

Besides the traditional surface role (torpedoing surface ships), Avengers claimed about thirty submarine kills, including the cargo submarine I-52. A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability Valuable cargo She is also known as Japan's "Golden Submarine" because she was carrying a cargo of gold to Germany as payment for war material and technology 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. The Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO was the World War II military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it a geographic scope There, the Avengers contributed in warding off German U-Boats while providing air cover for the convoys. U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word, itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot ( undersea boat) and refers

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. The Battle of the Philippine Sea (aka "The Marianas Turkey Shoot" was a decisive naval battle of World War II, and the largest aircraft carrier battle in history Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks of the highest Naval officers Admiral Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher ( 26 January 1887 – 3 February 1947) was a Vice-admiral in the United At the extreme end of their range (300 nautical miles out), the group of Hellcats, TBF/TBMs, and dive bombers took many casualties. A dive bomber is a Bomber aircraft that Dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy and limit the exposure to and effectiveness of However, Avengers from USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) torpedoed the light carrier Hiyō as their only major prize. World War II After a brief shakedown cruise Belleau Wood reported to the Pacific Fleet, arriving at Pearl Harbor 26 July 1943 Commanding Officers Chief Equipping Officer - Capt Akitomo Beppu - 15 November 1941 - 31 July 1942 Capt 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. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 While flying a TBM with VT-51 (from the USS San Jacinto (CVL-30)), his plane was shot down on September 2, 1944 over the Pacific island of Chichi Jima. See also List of aircraft carriers List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy List of World War II Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. ChichijimaportJPG|right|250px|thumb|Futami Harbor the port at Chichi-jima]] formerly known as Peel Island, is the largest Island in the Ogasawara archipelago ^[1] Both of his crewmates died; however, because he released his payload and hit the target before being forced to bail out, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in

Another famous Avenger aviator is Paul Newman, who flew as a rear gunner. Paul Leonard Newman (January 26 1925 &ndash September 26 2008 was an Academy Award He had hoped to be accepted for pilot training, but did not qualify because of being color blind. Color blindness, a Color vision deficiency is the inability to perceive differences between some of the Colors that others can distinguish Newman was onboard the escort carrier USS Hollandia (CVE-97) roughly five hundred miles from Japan when the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout ^[2]

TBF/TBMs sank the two Japanese "super battleships": the Musashi and the Yamato (which was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's flagship for most of the war). History In June 1937 executives from the Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard including Director Kensuke Watanabe and yard engineer Kumao Baba were ordered to begin Construction The Yamato class was built after the Japanese withdrew from the Washington Naval Treaty at the Second London Conference of 1936 Fleet Admiral ( 4 April 1884 – 18 April 1943) was the Commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II a flagship is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels a designation given on account of being either the largest fastest newest most heavily armed or for publicity purposes the most well The Avengers played a major role in the Allied victory during World War II, although torpedoes had become largely outdated (replaced by the faster and more effective dive bombers) by then.

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 Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships The tarpons are large coastal Fish prized by anglers. They grow up to 8 feet in length and sometimes weigh 200 pounds 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. Post war the antisubmarine version was the "Avenger AS Mk IV" in RN service.

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. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Royal New Zealand Air Force ( RNZAF) is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. Some of these were transferred to the British Pacific Fleet. The British Pacific Fleet (BPF was a multinational Allied naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II.

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. Aerial topdressing is the spreading of fertilisers such as Superphosphate over Farmland with the use of Aircraft. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Pilots of the Royal New Zealand Air Force's 42 Squadron spread fertilizer from Avengers beside runways at Ohakea air base. The Royal New Zealand Air Force ( RNZAF) is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. 42 Squadron of the RNZAF was formed at Rongotai ( Wellington) in December 1943 to provide a communications service around New Zealand, initially

The post-war disappearance of a flight of American Avengers, known as Flight 19, began the Bermuda Triangle legend. Flight 19 was the designation of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers which disappeared on December 5 1945 during a United States Navy -authorized overwater navigation The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean in which a number of Aircraft and surface

One of the primary postwar users of the plane was the Royal Canadian Navy, which obtained 125 former US Navy TBM-3E Avengers from 1950 to 1952 to replace their venerable Fairey Fireflies. For the history of Canada's naval forces after 1968 see Canadian Forces Maritime Command The Royal Canadian Navy ( RCN) was the Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout By the time the Avengers were delivered, the RCN was shifting its primary focus to anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and the plane was rapidly becoming obsolete as an attack platform. Anti-submarine warfare (ASW or in older form A/S is a branch of Naval warfare that uses surface Warships Aircraft, space craft or other Submarines 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. Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range altitude direction or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as Aircraft, ships Electronic Countermeasures ( ECM') are a subsection of Electronic warfare which includes any sort of electrical or electronic device designed to trick A sonobuoy (a Portmanteau of Sonar and Buoy) is a relatively small (typically 4⅞ inches or 124 mm in diameter and 36 inches or 910 mm long expendable 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. A magnetic anomaly detector (MAD is an instrument used to detect minute variations in the Earth's magnetic field. However, RCN leaders soon realized the Avenger's shortcomings as an ASW aircraft, and in 1954 they elected to replace the AS 3's with S-2 Trackers, 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. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) The Grumman S-2 Tracker (previously S2F) was the first purpose-built single airframe Anti-submarine warfare (ASW Aircraft to enter service 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. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[3]

Civillian Use

TBM-1 in three color camouflage scheme, c. 1943

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. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page New Brunswick ( French: Nouveau-Brunswick /nuvobʁɔnzwik/ is one of Canada 's three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally

Forest Protection Limited (FPL) of Fredericton, NB once owned and operated the largest civilian fleet of Avengers in the world. Fredericton (pronounced ˈfrɛdrɨktɨn is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial FPL began operating Avengers in 1958 after purchasing 12 surplus TBM-3E aircraft from the Royal Canadian Navy^[4]. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For the history of Canada's naval forces after 1968 see Canadian Forces Maritime Command The Royal Canadian Navy ( RCN) was the Use of the Avenger fleet at FPL peaked in 1971 when 43 aircraft were in use as both water bombers and spray planes^[5]. FPL was still operating 3 Avengers in 2007 configured as water-bombers^[6]. The company sold 3 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. The Central New Brunswick Woodsmen's Museum is a Canadian Forestry museum located in Boiestown, New Brunswick. [1] An FPL Avenger that crashed in 1975 in southwestern New Brunswick was recovered and restored by the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum^[7] and is currently on display. The Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum (ACAM is a Canadian Aerospace museum located in the Halifax Regional Municipality in the province of Nova Scotia

There are several Avengers in private collections around the world. [2]

Variants

Seven Grumman TBM-3D Avenger bombers of night torpedo squadron VT(N)-90 flying in formation in January 1945. The squadron was part of Night Air Group 90 on the carrier Enterprise. Initial operations Enterprise was launched on 3 October 1936 at Newport News Shipbuilding, sponsored by Lulie Swanson wife of Secretary of the Note radar pods in right-side wings, and the distinctive tail insignia.

TBM

Avenger

Operators

 Brazil

• Brazilian Navy operated Avengers in 1950's. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld The Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil is the Navy of Brazil and forms part of the Brazilian Armed Forces.

 Canada

• Royal Canadian Navy operated Avengers until 1960, when replaced by the S-2 Tracker. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page For the history of Canada's naval forces after 1968 see Canadian Forces Maritime Command The Royal Canadian Navy ( RCN) was the The Grumman S-2 Tracker (previously S2F) was the first purpose-built single airframe Anti-submarine warfare (ASW Aircraft to enter service

 France

• Aéronavale operated Avengers in 1950's. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Aviation navale ( Naval aviation) of the French Navy includes 162 airplanes (138 of them combat-capable and 6800 men both civilians and military personnel

 Japan

• Japan Air Self-Defense Force operated Avengers in 1950's. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The, or JASDF, is the Aviation branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces responsible for the defense of Japanese Airspace and other aerospace

 Netherlands

• Royal Netherlands Navy operated Avengers in 1950's. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The Koninklijke Marine ( Royal Netherlands Navy) is the Navy of the Netherlands.

 New Zealand

• Royal New Zealand Air Force
  • No. 30 Squadron RNZAF
  • No. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The Royal New Zealand Air Force ( RNZAF) is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. No 30 Squadron RNZAF was a New Zealand light Bomber squadron which saw service against the Japanese in the Pacific Theatre during the the last 31 Squadron RNZAF
  • No. 41 Squadron RNZAF
  • No. 42 Squadron RNZAF
  • Central Fighter Establishment

 United Kingdom

• Fleet Air Arm

 United States

• United States Navy
• United States Marine Corps

 Uruguay

• Uruguayan Navy operated Avengers in 1950's. 42 Squadron of the RNZAF was formed at Rongotai ( Wellington) in December 1943 to provide a communications service around New Zealand, initially The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Uruguay.(official full name in República Oriental del Uruguay;, Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America The Armed Forces of Uruguay ( Fuerzas armadas del Uruguay or FF

Famous incidents

Flight 19

Main article: Flight 19

US Navy TBF Grumman Avenger flight, similar to Flight 19. Flight 19 was the designation of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers which disappeared on December 5 1945 during a United States Navy -authorized overwater navigation This photo had been used by various Triangle authors to illustrate Flight 19 itself. (US Navy)

Flight 19 disappeared on December 5, 1945 while on a training mission over the Atlantic. According to the popular Bermuda Triangle stories, the flight leader reported a number of odd visual effects while lost; i. The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean in which a number of Aircraft and surface e. mentions of "white water", the ocean "not looking as it should", and his compass spinning out of control, before simply disappearing. Furthermore, Berlitz in his book claimed that because the TBM Avenger bombers were built to float for long periods, they should have been found the next day considering what were reported as calm seas and a clear sky. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout However, not only were the planes never found, a Navy search and rescue seaplane that went after them was also lost and never found. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident was ascribed to "causes or reasons unknown". ^[8]

While the basic facts of the Triangle version of the story are essentially accurate, some important details are missing. The popular image of a squadron of seasoned combat aviators disappearing on a sunny afternoon did not happen. By the time the last radio transmission was received from Flight 19, stormy weather had moved in. Only the Flight Leader, Lt. Charles Carroll Taylor, had combat experience and any significant flying time, but at the same time he had less than six months of flight experience in the south Florida area, less than the trainees serving under him, and a history of getting lost in flight, having done so three times previously in the Pacific theater during World War II and being forced to ditch his planes twice into the water. Charles Carroll Taylor ( October 25, 1917 - presumably December 5, 1945) was a United States Navy Lieutenant The Pacific Ocean theater was one of four major naval theatres of war of the Second World War that pitted forces of the Japan against those of the United World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Lt. Taylor also has since been depicted as a cool, calm and confident leader. Instead, radio transmissions from Flight 19 revealed Taylor to be disoriented, lacking confidence in his decisions, and completely lost.

Exaggerated claims also often stated that all the planes were having compass problems, however later naval reports and written recordings of the conversations between Lt. Taylor and the other pilots of Flight 19 do not indicate this. As for the Navy's report, it is stated that blame for the loss of the aircraft and men rest upon the flight leader's confusion. However the wording was changed from blaming Taylor to "cause unknown" in a second official report in deference to the wishes of his family. It was this incident as stated in the second, altered report, plus the later losses of the airliners Star Tiger and Star Ariel, which began the legend of the Bermuda Triangle. ^[8]

Specifications (TBF Avenger)

Grumman TBM-3E Avenger - Tom Buck, N683G

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Length: 40 ft 11. 5 in (12. 48 m)
• Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16. The wingspan (or just span) of an airplane or a Bird, is the distance from the left wingtip to the right wingtip 51 m)
• Height: 15 ft 5 in (4. 70 m)
• Wing area: 490. 02 ft² (45. 52 m²)
• Empty weight: 10,545 lb (4,783 kg)
• Loaded weight: 17,893 lb (8,115 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Wright R-2600-20 radial engine, 1,900 hp (1,420 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 276 mph (444 km/h)
• Range: 1,000 miles (1,610 km)
• Service ceiling 30,100 ft (9,170 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,060 ft/min (10. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion Engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central In Aviation, V-speeds or Velocity-speeds are standard terms used to define Airspeeds important or useful to the operation of Aircraft, such The maximal total range is the distance an Aircraft can fly between Takeoff and Landing, as limited by fuel capacity in powered aircraft or cross-country In Aeronautics, a ceiling is the maximum Density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditions In Aerodynamics, the rate of climb RoC is the speed at which an Aircraft increases its Altitude. 5 m/s)
• Wing loading: 36. In Aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing 5 ft·lbf² (178 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0. Power-to-weight ratio (specific power is a calculation commonly applied to Engines and other mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another 0094 hp/lb (0. 17 kW/kg)

Armament

• 1 x 0. 30 cal (7. 62 mm) nose-mounted M1919 Browning machine gun(on early models)
• 2 x 0. The Browning M1919 is a.30 caliber Medium machine gun family widely used during the 20th century 50 cal (12. 7 mm) wing-mounted M2 Browning machine guns
• 1 x 0. This article is about the.50 caliber M2 machine gun For the.30-06 M2 machine gun see M1919 Browning machine gun. 50 cal (12. 7 mm) dorsal-mounted M2 Browning machine gun
• 1 x 0. This article is about the.50 caliber M2 machine gun For the.30-06 M2 machine gun see M1919 Browning machine gun. 30 cal (7. 62 mm) ventral-mounted M1919 Browning machine gun
• Up to 2,000 lb (907 kg) of bombs
• 1 × 2,000 lb (907 kg) Mark 13 torpedo

See also

Comparable aircraft

• Fairey Barracuda
• Fairey Firefly
• Nakajima B5N
• Nakajima B6N
• TBD Devastator
• TB2D Skypirate
• TBY Sea Wolf
  

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of the United States
  

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• The Avenger
• Walkaround
• Raising Grumman
• History.navy.mil "Flight 19"
• American Air Power Museum