Grumman TBF Avenger
The Avenger was the replacement torpedo bomber for the Douglass TBD Devestator. Luckily, Grumman had begun developing and testing this plane well before the war started. The first time they saw action was at the Battle of Midway on June 4th, 1942. The six Avengers based at Midway were not vere successful at their first run. Five of the six were shot down, and none of them hit their target. Grumman outsourced some of the Avenger plane building to General Motors, and the Avengers built from them got the designation TBM instead of TBF.
The Avengers looked like the replacement for the newer Hellcat. There was, however, a difference between the two planes. A Japanese ace pilot was flying his Zero and spoted what he thought were Hellcats. He chose to intercept them from below and behind because Hellcats don't have any weapons pointing that way. He must have been very suprised, as the planes shot back at him from where they shouldn't have had guns! The Avengers shot the ace down.
Sturdy landing gear was a must for all carrier-capable planes.
The navigator would move to the lower gun turret (by rear landing gear) when over the target area.
| Crew | One pilot, one navigator/gunner, and one gunner |
| Armament | Three machine guns |
| Maximum Speed | 271 mph |
| Engine | Wright R-2600-8 Cyclone |
| Other Weapons | 1,600 pounds of bombs or one torpedo |
| Uses | Used in the Pacific as a carrier-launched torpedo bomber |
