World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe TBF Avenger torpedo bombers were introduced in 1942 to replace the TBD Devastator bombers. Designed by Leroy Grumman, these bombers held three crew members: a pilot, a turret gunner, and a radioman/bombardier/ventral gunner. They were designed with a versatile large bomb bay, which allowed them to be excellent ground support bombers when carrying bombs in the torpedo bay. Their advanced radio equipment also made them good reconnaissance aircraft. Although a small number of TBF Avenger torpedo bombers were present at Midway during its namesake battle in Jun 1942, the first battle where significant number of TBF Avenger aircraft were present was the Battle of the Eastern Solomons between 23 and 25 Aug 1942, where 24 TBF Avenger aircraft sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo, which acted as bait to draw American aircraft away from their home carriers. During the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in Nov 1942, Marine Corps and Navy TBF Avengers played a role in the sinking of the battleship Hiei, but Hiei was not the only big prize earned by the TBF Avenger pilots. Toward the end of the Pacific War, these torpedo bombers claimed kills for both of the Yamato-class battleships.

ww2dbaseGeorge H. W. Bush, the future American president, was an TBF Avenger pilot. He received a Distinguish Flying Cross for bravely releasing his payload before crashing down in enemy territory on 2 Sep 1944.

ww2dbaseJim Metcalf, a TBF Avenger gunner of US Navy VT-13 aboard carrier Franklin, noted that the "TBF was a big, sturdy airplane. It flew like a brick but we loved her anyway. We thought she was a terrific bird that could take an enormous amount of damage." Bob Frank, a maintenance officer aboard Franklin in charge of TBF Avenger aircraft, recalled that they were "pretty reliable and somewhat versatile."

ww2dbaseSome TBF Avenger torpedo bombers made their way to Britain's Fleet Air Arm while a few others to New Zealand Air Force. Together with the United States, these were the only three countries that operated TBF Avenger aircraft during WW2.

TBF Avenger Timeline

SPECIFICATIONS

TBF-1

Machinery	One Wright R-2600-8 radial engine rated at 1,700hp
Armament	3x7.62mm machine guns, 1x900kg torpedo or 900kg of bombs
Crew	3
Span	16.51 m
Length	12.48 m
Height	5.00 m
Wing Area	45.52 m²
Weight, Empty	4,580 kg
Weight, Loaded	7,214 kg
Speed, Maximum	445 km/h
Rate of Climb	10.50 m/s
Service Ceiling	7,132 m
Range, Normal	1,600 km
Range, Maximum	1,950 km

TBM-3E

Machinery	One Wright R-2600-20 radial engine rated at 1,900hp
Armament	2x7.62mm machine guns, 3x12.7mm machine guns, 1x900kg torpedo or 900kg of bombs
Crew	3
Span	16.51 m
Length	12.48 m
Height	5.00 m
Wing Area	45.52 m²
Weight, Empty	4,787 kg
Weight, Loaded	8,117 kg
Speed, Maximum	430 km/h
Rate of Climb	10.50 m/s
Service Ceiling	9,174 m
Range, Normal	1,600 km
Range, Maximum	1,950 km

Photographs

Visitor Submitted Comments

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3.  Alan Chanter says:
25 Oct 2007 09:48:03 AM

Early Avengers (TBF-1 & TBF-1B) had one 0.3-in (7.62mm) Machine gun in the upper right of the nose fired by the pilot, one 0.3-in rear firing machine gun in the ventral position operated by the Bomb-aimer, and one 0.5-in (12.7mm) in the dorsal turret uperated by the Radio-operator. Later models (TBF-1C, TBF-1D and TBF-3E) replaced the nose gun with two wing mounted 0.5-in (12.7mm) guns.

4.  Alan Chanter says:
13 Nov 2009 05:59:50 AM

Six Avengers did indeed participate in the Battle of Midway. These were based on Midway Island (not the carriers). Only one survived from the attack.

18.  David Stubblebine says:
16 Oct 2016 04:48:37 PM

To Pilot’s Daughter above:
Thousands of men were trained to fly the TBM. There was never a need to compile a single list of pilots trained to fly the TBM so no such list exists. If you want to know about your father’s service, request his service record (which is easier than it sounds). See: http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/ww2-participation.pdf