Editing Grumman TBF Avenger (section)

==Operational history==
===U.S. Navy===
[[File:TBF launching.jpg|thumb|TBF Avenger ready for catapult launch]]
[[File:Grumman TBF-1 Avenger of VT-5 about to take off from USS Yorktown (CV-10), circa in late 1943 (80-G-K-15278).jpg|thumb|A Grumman TBF Avenger aboard {{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|6}}, {{circa|late 1943}}]]
[[File:George H.W. Bush seated in a Grumman TBM Avenger, circa 1944 (H069-13).jpg|thumb|Future American President [[George H. W. Bush]], in a TBM Avenger on the light aircraft carrier {{USS|San Jacinto|CVL-30|6}} in 1944]]

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]] [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|attacked Pearl Harbor]], 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]], so most of them were too late to participate in the pivotal [[Battle of Midway]].

Six TBF-1s were present on [[Midway Atoll|Midway Island]]{{snd}}as part of [[VT-8]] (Torpedo Squadron 8){{snd}}while the rest of the [[Squadron (aviation)|squadron]] flew Devastators from the aircraft carrier {{USS|Hornet|CV-8|2}}. 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.<ref name="USN ONI Battle of Midway">{{cite report |author= Combat Intelligence Branch |date= 1943 |chapter= Midway's Attack on the Enemy Carriers |title= Combat Narrative: The Battle of Midway, June 3–6 1942 |page= 17 |publisher= U.S. Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence |url= http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-CN-Midway/ |chapter-url= http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-CN-Midway/USN-CN-Midway-6.html |via= HyperWar Foundation |access-date= 2021-05-13 }}</ref>

Author [[Gordon Prange]] posited in ''Miracle at Midway'' that the outdated Devastators (and lack of new aircraft) contributed somewhat to the lack of a complete victory at Midway (the four Japanese fleet carriers were sunk directly by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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Shepherd |first=Joel |date=2006 |title=1942 – Battle of Midway |url=http://www.cv6.org/1942/midway/midway_2.htm |access-date=27 October 2020 |website=USS Enterprise CV-6}}</ref> 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.<ref name=supership>{{cite episode |title=Sinking the Supership |date=4 October 2005 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/supership/ |series=[[Nova (American TV program)|Nova]] |network=[[PBS]] |season=33 |number=3212 |access-date=27 October 2011}}</ref>

On 24 August 1942, the next major naval aircraft carrier battle occurred at the [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons|Eastern Solomons]]. Based on the carriers {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|2}} and {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|2}}, the 24 TBFs present were able to sink the Japanese light carrier {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Ryūjō||2}} 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,<ref>Associated Press. [https://www.nytimes.com/1941/10/02/archives/fighting-names-given-to-planes-by-the-navy.html "Fighting Names Given to Planes by the Navy"]. ''The New York Times''. Vol. XCI No. 30,567, 2 October 1941, p. 17.</ref><ref>"New Plane Names". ''Flying and Popular Aviation'' (Chicago: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company), Vol. 30 [sic], No. 1, January 1942, p. 232.</ref> 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 Japanese [[battleship]] {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Hiei||2}}, 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 F6F Hellcat fighters, and the [[Eastern Aircraft Division]] of [[General Motors]] took over production, with these aircraft being designated ''TBM''. The Eastern Aircraft plant was located in [[Ewing Township, New Jersey|Ewing]], New Jersey. Grumman delivered a TBF-1, held together with sheet metal screws, so that the automotive engineers could disassemble it, one 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]]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]] kills, including the cargo submarine {{Ship|Japanese submarine|I-52|1943|2}}. They were one of the most effective sub-killers in the [[Pacific War|Pacific theater]], 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]]s while providing air cover for the convoys.

After the "[[Battle of the Philippine Sea|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. Fighting {{convert|300|nmi|km|abbr=on}} away from the fleet at the extreme end of their range, the group of Hellcats, TBF/TBMs, and [[dive bomber]]s took many casualties. However, Avengers from the {{sclass|Independence|aircraft carrier}} {{USS|Belleau Wood|CVL-24|6}} sank the light carrier {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Hiyō||2}} 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]], was commissioned as the youngest naval aviator at the time.<ref name="navy">{{cite web |title=Lieutenant Junior Grade George Bush, USNR |publisher=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]] |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq10-1.htm |archive-date=8 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108211228/http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq10-1.htm}}</ref> Later, while flying a TBM with VT-51 (from {{USS|San Jacinto|CVL-30|6}}), his Avenger was shot down on 2 September 1944 over the Pacific island of [[Chichi Jima]].<ref>Hove 2003, p. 178.</ref> 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 {{USS|Finback|SS-230|6}}. He later received the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]].

Another famous Avenger aviator was [[Paul Newman]], who flew as a rear gunner. He had hoped to be accepted for pilot training, but did not qualify because he was [[color blind]]. Newman was on board the escort carrier {{USS|Hollandia|CVE-97|6}} roughly {{convert|500|mi|km|abbr=on}} from Japan when the [[Enola Gay]] dropped the [[Little Boy|first atomic bomb]] on [[Hiroshima]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wise | first1=James E. Jr. |last2=Rehill |first2=Anne Collier |date=1997 |title=Stars in Blue: Movie Actors in America's Sea Services |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=1557509379 |ol=OL668535M |url=https://archive.org/details/starsinbluemovie0000wise |url-access=registration}}</ref>

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: {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Musashi||2}} and {{Ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato||2}}.<ref name=supership/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hackett |first1=Bob |last2=Kingsepp |first2=Sander |date=2017 |title=IJN Battleship Musashi: Tabular Record of Movement |website=CombinedFleet |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/musashi.htm |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref>

The postwar disappearance on 5 December 1945 of a flight of five American Avengers, known as [[Flight 19]], was later added to the [[Bermuda Triangle]] legend, first written about by Edward Van Winkle Jones in an [[Associated Press]] article published in September 1950.<ref name="Jones 1950">{{cite news |author=E. V. W. Jones |date=17 September 1950 |title=Sea's Puzzles Still Baffle Men In Pushbutton Age |newspaper=Miami Herald |agency=Associated Press |page=6F |url=http://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/BermudaTriangle/evwjones.html |via=course material, "The Scientific Method - Critical and Creative Thinking", SMU Department of Physics |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref>

During World War II, the US aeronautical research arm [[NACA]] used a complete Avenger in a comprehensive [[Drag (physics)|drag-reduction]] study in their large [[Langley Research Center|Langley]] [[wind tunnel]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071023032801/http://gis.larc.nasa.gov/masterplan/section7_public/#history "History of Langley Research Center."] ''NASA.'' Retrieved: 22 July 2011.</ref>{{Failed verification|date=October 2020}}

===Royal Navy===
[[File:Grumman Avenger AS.5 XB355 CU396 744 Sq.jpg|thumb|Royal Navy Grumman Avenger AS.4 XB355 'CU 396' of 744 Squadron at Blackbushe in 1955]]

The Avenger was also used by the [[Royal Navy]]'s [[Fleet Air Arm]] (FAA), where it was initially known as the "[[Tarpon]]". Initial test flights were carried out by British Admiralty test pilot [[Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner]] at [[RAF Boscombe Down]]. However, this name was later discontinued and the Avenger name used instead, as part of the process of the FAA 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]] on 9 July 1944. The much faster V-1 was overtaking the Avenger when the Telegraphist Air Gunner in the dorsal turret, [[Leading Seaman|Leading Airman]] Fred Shirmer, fired at it from {{convert|700|yd|m}}. For this achievement, Shirmer was [[Mentioned in Dispatches]], later being awarded the [[Distinguished Service Medal (United Kingdom)|DSM]] for the 1945 [[Operation Meridian]] action at [[Palembang]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/rollofhonour/TAG/Honours_TAGsindex.html |title=List of all Telegraphist Air Gunners (TAGs) receiving honours and awards whilst serving with front line squadrons, 1939–1945 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924014002/http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/rollofhonour/TAG/Honours_TAGsindex.html |archive-date=24 September 2015 |website=Fleet Air Arm Archive|url-status=usurped}}</ref> In the January 1945 British carrier raid on the Soengei Gerong oil refinery during Operation Meridian, an FAA Avenger shot down a [[Nakajima Ki-44]] "Tojo" in low level combat over the jungle.<ref>{{cite book|last=Iredale|first=W.|title=The Kamikaze Hunters|year=2015|page=211|publisher=Macmillan |isbn=9780230768192}}</ref> Three Avengers were modified to carry the [[Bouncing bomb|Highball]] "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.<ref>{{cite book | title = Bouncing-Bomb Man: the Science of Sir Barnes Wallis | first = Iain | last = Murray | publisher = Haynes | year = 2009 | page=117 | isbn = 978-1-84425-588-7}}</ref>

One hundred USN TBM-3Es were supplied to the FAA in 1953 under the US [[Mutual Defense Assistance Program]]. The aircraft were shipped from [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], Virginia, many aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier {{HMS|Perseus|R51|6}}. The Avengers were fitted with British equipment by [[Scottish Aviation]] 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]]s and were passed to squadrons of the [[Royal Naval Reserve|Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve]] including Nos. 1841 and 1844 until the RNVR 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]] which used the type primarily as a bomber, equipping Nos. [[No. 30 Squadron RNZAF|30]] and [[No. 31 Squadron RNZAF|31 Squadron]]s, with both operating from South Pacific island bases during 1944 in support of the [[Bougainville campaign]]. Some of the Avengers were later transferred to the [[British Pacific Fleet]].

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. Pilots of the [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]]'s [[No. 42 Squadron RNZAF|No. 42 Squadron]] spread fertilizer from Avengers beside runways at [[RNZAF Base Ohakea|Ohakea Air Base]] and provided a demonstration for farmers at [[Hood Aerodrome]], Masterton, New Zealand.<ref>Geelen 1983</ref>{{Page needed|date=June 2013}}

===Royal Canadian Navy===
[[File:Avenger of the RCNAS (5168695642).jpg|thumb|A Royal Canadian Navy Avenger over {{HMCS|Magnificent|CVL 21|6}}]]

One of the primary postwar users of the Avenger was the [[Royal Canadian Navy]], which obtained 125 former US Navy TBM-3E Avengers from 1950 to 1952 to replace their [[Fairey Firefly|Fairey Fireflies]]. By the time the Avengers were delivered, the RCN was shifting its primary focus to [[anti-submarine warfare]] (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]], [[electronic countermeasures]] (ECM) equipment, and [[sonobuoy]]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]] (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]], 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 [[Atlantic Ocean|North Atlantic]] 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Aircraft History: Grumman Avenger |website=Shearwater Aviation Museum |url=http://www.shearwateraviationmuseum.ns.ca/aircraft/avenger.htm |access-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220100104/http://www.shearwateraviationmuseum.ns.ca/aircraft/avenger.htm |archive-date=20 February 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Camouflage research===
TBM Avengers were used in wartime research into [[counter-illumination]] [[camouflage]]. The torpedo bombers were fitted with [[Yehudi lights]], 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]] research, allowed an Avenger to advance to within {{convert|3000|yd|m}} before being seen.<ref>Hambling, David. [https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2008/05/invisible-drone "Cloak of Light Makes Drone Invisible?"] ''Wired'', 9 May 2008. Retrieved: 17 June 2012.</ref>

===Civilian use===
[[File:Fire retardant aircraft and DC-3 Missoula Montana Aerial Fire Depot US Forest Service Johnson Flying Service August 1967.jpg|thumb|[[Johnson Flying Service]] TBM Avengers modified to drop fire retardant: [[Missoula International Airport|Missoula, Montana]] 1967]]
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]].

Forest Protection Limited (FPL) of [[Fredericton, New Brunswick]], 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 [[Royal Canadian Navy]].<ref name="FPL">[http://www.forestprotectionlimited.com/english/history.html "History: Timeline."] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20050312235157/http://www.forestprotectionlimited.com/english/history.html |date=2005-03-12 }} ''forestprotectionlimited.com.'' Retrieved: 17 November 2012.</ref> Use of the Avenger fleet at FPL peaked in 1971 when 43 aircraft were in use as both water bombers and spray aircraft.<ref name= "FPL"/> 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 has a former FPL Avenger on static display.<ref>[http://www.woodsmenmuseum.com/id2.html "Woods Museum: Avenger."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413201147/http://www.woodsmenmuseum.com/id2.html |date=2008-04-13 }} ''Central New Brunswick Woodsmen's Museum.'' Retrieved: 22 July 2011.</ref> 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.<ref>[http://acam.ednet.ns.ca/avenger/avenger.htm "Avenger On Display."] ''Canadian Aviation and Space Museum.'' Retrieved: 22 July 2011.</ref> FPL was still operating three Avengers in 2010 configured as water-bombers, and stationed at [[Miramichi Airport]]. One of these crashed just after takeoff on 23 April 2010, killing the pilot.<ref>[http://nbinsects.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html "New Brunswick, June 2007."] ''Insects.'' Retrieved: 22 July 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/landandsea/2009/12/nb-firefighters.html "Land and Sea: NB Firefighters."] ''CBC Television,'' 9 December 2009.</ref> The last FPL Avenger was retired on 26 July 2012 and sold to the Shearwater Aviation Museum in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/n-b-wwii-plane-lands-at-shearwater-museum-1.1217441 "N.B. WWII plane lands at Shearwater museum."] ''CBC News,'' 26 July 2012.</ref>

There are several other Avengers, usually flying as [[warbird]]s in private collections around the world today.<ref>[http://area51aviation.co.uk/northweald.html "Avenger."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628024400/http://www.area51aviation.co.uk/northweald.html |date=2006-06-28 }} ''Area 51 Aviation.'' Retrieved: 22 July 2011.</ref> They are a popular airshow fixture in both flying and static displays.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://air.blastmagazine.com/tbftbm-avenger/ |title=Air Cache: TBF/TBM Avenger |access-date=2012-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314153508/http://air.blastmagazine.com/tbftbm-avenger/ |archive-date=2013-03-14 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2020 the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) were flying three TBM Avengers<ref>{{cite web |title=Collection / CAF Fleet |url=https://commemorativeairforce.org/aircraft |website=Commemorative Air Force |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref name="cafrmw">{{cite web |title=Living History Flight Experience in a WWII TBM Torpedo Bomber |url=https://www.rockymountainwingcaf.org/buy-a-ride.html |website=Rocky Mountain Wing of the Commemorative Air Force |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="cafmo">{{cite web |title=Fly With US: TBM3E "Avenger" |url=https://commemorativeairforce.org/aircraft/11 |website=Missouri Wing of the Commemorative Air Force |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="cafcap">{{cite web |title=Warbird Rides |url=http://www.capitalwing.org/rides.asp |website=Capital Wing of the Commemorative Air Force |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref>