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Grumman TBM Avenger
History
It is an unmistakable sound-the mighty roar of a
TBM Avenger's R-2600 engine as the veteran flyer streaks past.
This was a sound of hope to thousands on the front lines in
WWII, where Avengers patrolled the seas for enemy vessels,
fought in numerous naval battles, helped prepare invasion zones,
and provided close air-to-ground support for allied troops.
The Avenger first took shape in 1940 as engineers from Grumman
Aircraft worked to design a new torpedo bomber to fill a US Navy
requirement to replace the obsolete Douglas TBD Devastator.
Named "Avenger" in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor, Grumman began to produce the new torpedo bomber in
January of 1942. Avengers first flew in combat six months later
during the Battle of Midway. Unfortunately, all but one of the
six Avengers launched were shot down. However, subsequent events
afforded the Grumman torpedo bomber the opportunity to
demonstrate its lethality as it fought in every
carrier-versus-carrier battle of the war.
While the Avenger had many successes in its combat career, there
are a few that stand out. At the Battle of Guadalcanal, the
Avengers scored several key hits on the battleship Hiei. In the
1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Avengers sank the carrier
Hiyo. Yet, the real victories for the Avenger occurred in 1945
when the Musashi and Yamato, the world's two largest
battleships, were sunk as a direct result of Avenger torpedo
attacks. Avengers also flew in the Atlantic throughout the war
from small escort carriers and were pivotal in helping defend
allied convoys, sinking more than thirty German U-boats between
1943 and 1944.
The Great Lakes Composite Group's (GLCG) TBM was produced in
March of 1945 under license from Grumman by General Motor's
Eastern Aircraft division. Built too late to see combat, the TBM
served with a number of US Navy squadrons on both the East and
West Cost. Eventually stricken from the US Navy Register, the
torpedo bomber was acquired by number of companies who planned
on converting it into a fire-bombing airplane. However, these
plans failed to materialize and the aircraft sat derelict in
Texas for many years. Finally, in 1993 brothers Dave and Larry
Tinker acquired the vintage bomber with the intention of
restoring it to its wartime condition. The Tinkers were
successful in their efforts and with considerable assistance
from a crew of dedicated volunteers and noted vintage aircraft
restoration expert John Lane, the once-derelict TBM roared to
life again.
Sixty years after WWII, the GLCG's TBM continues to make a deep
impression upon people of all ages as it takes to the skies as a
memorial to the veterans who gave so much over half a century
ago. |
