Avenger Profile

Spotlight  Grumman

Avenger 20 Pages in detail 66 Origin and history 68 In Combat Avengers in action 74 Artwork Flight 119 76 Inside the Avenger 78 Men Behind the Grumman 84 From the Archive

Main picture  A pair of US Navy Grumman Grumman TBM-3E  Avengers, with with 91704 nearest nearest the camera. KEY 

This month, Spotlight shines on the Grumman Avenger venger,, an American torpedo bomber bom ber that first saw action in 1942’s Battle of Midway. After playing a key role through the remainder of World War Two, the durable machine was rapidly rap idly developed, and continued to serve in a variety of roles until the 1960s. We We examine this rugged, dependable aircraft’s aircraft’s meritorious history history,, and reflect on a Flight that was mysteriously lost in the so-called Bermuda Triangl Triangle. e.

In this striking view, Planes of Fame’s Grumman Avenger TBM-3E N7835C (top) and Chance-Vought Corsair F4U-1A NX83782 fly above a beautiful  sunlit backdrop. backdrop. JOHN DIBBS

Spotlight  Grumman

Avenger

Scrutinizes the history of...

The Grumman

Above The Avenger was originally known as the Tarpon in Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm  service.

Right   A Grumman TBF  aboard the USS ‘Santee’ in November 1943. BOTH KEY 

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Avenger B

y the end of World War Two, Grumman had established a reputation for designing and building outstanding naval combat aircraft. The Avenger – a rugged, three-seat torpedo bomber – was among them, despite making an inauspicious debut during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Unlike most of its contemporaries, the big Grumman continued to serve long after the end of hostilities, and many variants  were developed developed post-war to fill anti-submarine and early warning roles, some fitted with distinctive underfuselage radomes. In 1939, the US Navy issued a requirement to replace its ageing Douglas TBD Devastator. During US reprisals following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, TBDs were shot down in large numbers by enemy fighters or lost to flak. Even before the US entry into the war, the Navy had predicted that a faster and more robust machine  would be required.

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Grumman’s TBF design (the ‘TB’ stood for Torpedo Bomber, the ‘F’ designated Grumman as the manufacturer) was selected as the Devastator’ss replacement in 1940. Devastator’ The XTBF-1 prototype flew for the first time on August 7, 1941.

Despite an early setback when one of the two prototypes crashed near Brentwood, New York, the programme proceeded apace, the first TBF-1 flying in January 1942. Such was the success of Leroy Grumman’s original design that

 Aven enge gerrs we werre us used ed in war arti time me SPOT FACT  Av research researc h into counter-illumination camouflage

Origin & history

Grumman TBF-1 Avenger

AT A GLANCE:  GLANCE:   RANGE (miles) 0

300

600

900

1,200 1,215

Construction:

AT A GLANCE:  GLANCE:   SPEED (mph) 0

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300 271

First Flight: Powerplant: Dimension: Weight: Performance: Armament:

AT A GLANCE:  GLANCE:   CEILING (feet) 0

5,000

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Crew: Note:

numerous variants and sub-variants  were produced over over the next few years. Other Grumman-built versions included the TBF-1C  which carried additional wing guns,  with later Avengers Avengers fitted with more powerful versions of the t he Wright R-2600 radial engine. Other conversions included the TBF-1D and ’E, which both had specialised radar equipment, the searchlight-equipped searchlight-equi pped TBF-1L and the photo-reconnaissance TBF1CP. Because demand for Grumman’s F6F Hellcat was so high, TBF production ended in December 1943. Most Avengers were built by General Motors’ Eastern Aircraft Division as the TBM – deliveries of the TBM-1 beginning in November 1942. Many other versions were built by GM, principally the massproduced TBM-3 with strengthened  wings (4,000-plus were made). In total, GM’ GM’ss aircraft division supplied more than 7,500 Avengers, compared to around 2,300 from Grumman.

Pacific warrior

 Around 100 Avengers Avengers had reached the US Navy by June 1942, but only six were present on Midway Island

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A total of 9,836 Avengers were built, comprising 7,543 TBMs made by General Motors’ Eastern Aircraft and 2,293 TBFs by Grumman. The prototype XTBF-1 first flew on August 1, 1941. One 1,700lb (1,268kW) Wright R-2600-8 or 1,900hp R-2600-20 Double Cyclone 14-cylinder radial driving a three-bladed propeller. propeller. Span 54ft 2in (16.5m). Length 40ft 0in. Height 16ft 5in. Wing area 490sq ft (45.5sq m). Empty 10,080lb (4,572kg). Loaded 15,905lb. Max speed 271mph (436km/h) at 12,000ft (3,658m). Service ceiling 22,400ft. Initial rate of climb 1,430ft per min. Range 1,215 miles (1,955km). Twoo 0.30in machine guns in nose and ventral positions, one 0.50in machine Tw gun in dorsal turret; internal bomb bay for one 22in torpedo or 1,600lb bomb load. Later models had provision for eight 60lb rockets under wings; max bomb load 2,000lb. Three – pilot, navigator/radio operator and gunner.

performance and weights varied according to role and configuration.

as part of VT-8 (Torpedo Squadron 8) in time for the Battle of Midway. The TBF’s TBF’s combat debut was not a success – five being shot down and the sixth returning severely damaged and with a dead crew member. Later in the war, with better numbers, more experienced airmen and superior attack co-ordination,  Avenger crews played played a pivotal role in turning the tide. On August 24, 1942, Avengers from the carriers USS Saratoga  and  and Enterprise  sunk  sunk a Japanese light carrier, but a bigger prize awaited in November when, at Guadalcanal, TBFs from the Navy and the US Marine Corps sunk the enemy battleship Hiei , which had been crippled the night before. Avengers also contributed to the demise of the two Japanese ‘super battleships’, the  Musashi  and  and the Yamato Yamato.. Over islands still held by the enemy,, TBF/TBM crews typically enemy ‘softened up’ defences by striking at pillbox-type installations, airfields and buildings. Using guns, rockets and napalm, airborne attacks often succeeded in driving enemy soldiers out from fortified positions, thereby assisting US ground troops. Famous Avenger pilots included future US President George Bush

 who, after successfully attacking a radio tower, was targeted by enemy fire and forced to bale out over  water on September 2, 1944. He  was rescued by a US submarine, and later received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Actor Paul Newman also flew operationally in Avengers, serving as a rear gunner. In service with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the type  was initially known known as the Tarpon, although the name was soon discontinued. The first 402 aircraft became known as Avenger Mk.Is,  with TBM-1s and -3s designated as the Mk.II and III respectively respectively.. A further 100 former US Navy TBM3Es were supplied to the FAA in 1953, and flew as Avenger AS.4s before being replaced over the next few years by Fairey Gannets.  Avengers also also served with the air arms of New Zealand, Uruguay, Cuba and Brazil, among others. The Royal Canadian Navy was among the type’s primary post-war users, fitting 98 of its aircraft with radar and electronic countermeasures equipment. Replaced in the late 1950s by Grumman S-2 Trackers, Trackers, the last Avengers were used for training and finally retired from use in July 1960.

RNZAF units, plus its Central Fighter Establishment, operated Avengers July 2016

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Spotlight  Grumman

Avenger 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

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Starboard elevator Starboard Fabric-covered aileron construction Elevator trim tab Elevator horn balance Tailplan ailplanee constru construction ction Rudder tab Trim tab control jack  Tail navigat navigation ion light Fabric-covered rudder construction Aerial cable rear mounting Fin construction Port elevator Port tailplane Elevator hinge controls Tailplan ailplanee suppor supportt frames Deck arrester hook (lowered) Arrester hook guide rails Rudder hinge control Rear fuselage frames Flush-riveted aluminium skin covering  Fin root fairing Tailplan ailplanee control cables Arrester hook retraction drive motor Lifting tube Rear fuselage frame and stringer construction Tailwheel shock absorber strut Catapult ‘hold-back’ shackle Retractable tailwheel Crew compartment rear bulkhead Search flares Parachute flare launch tube Ventral gun turret Ammunition magazine Browning 0.3in (7.62mm) machine gun Machine gun mounting  Gun camera switch box  Crew door Parachute stowage Rear fuselage production break point Spare coil stowage rack  Bombardier’s side window  Upper turret spare ammunition magazine Bombardier’s foldin foldingg seat Gun turret mounting ring Gun elevating mechanism Ammunition feed chute Browning 0.5in (12.7mm) machine gun Upper rotating gun turret Bullet-proof windscreen Gunner’s armoured seat back  Aerial cable Port wing folded position

53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72

73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92

Canopy aft glazing  Emergency life raft stowage Hydraulic reservoir Radio communications equipment ASB weapons aiming controller Bomb release levers Cabin heater duct Aft end of bomb bay  Fixed wing root construction Wing fold joint line Browning 0.5in (12.7mm) fixed machine gun Ammunition feed chute Ammunition magazine (320 rounds) Trailing edge flap shroud construction Lattice wing ribs Starboard, fabriccovered aileron construction Aileron hinge control Aileron trim tab Starboard wing tip Starboard navigation light

Leading edge ribs Fixed leading edge slot ASB aerial RT-5/APS-4 RT -5/APS-4 search radar pod Radar mounting sway braces Rocket launching pylons Jettisonable Jettisonab le fuel tank Main undercarriage wheel well Sloping main spar Wing fold hinge axis Twin hydraul hydraulic ic foldin foldingg  jacks Machine gun blast tube Starboard main fuel tank Centre section main spar Oxygen bottle Autopilot controls Rear cockpit entry hatch ASB equipment rack  Aerial mast Roll-over crash pylon

93 Second cockpit control column provision 94 Propeller de-icing fluid tank  95 Seat-back armour 96 Headrest 97 Safety harness 98 Pilot’s seat 99 Emergency hydraulic hand pump 100 Centre main fuel tank 101 Fuel tank filler cap 102 Main undercarriage undercarriage retraction retraction  jack  103 Wing fold locking locking cylinder 104 Machine gun muzzle 105 Centre section section leading edge construction 106 Front fuselage frames 107 Rudder pedals

SPOT FACT The Avenger featured featured a new ‘compound angle’ wing-folding mechanism 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129

Back of instrument panel panel Control column Pilot’s sliding entry hatch Illuminated torpedo sight Instrument panel shroud Windscreen panels Ring-and-bead gunsight Gun camera  Port split split trailing edge flaps Remote compass transmitter transmitter Aileron control rods rods Aileron hinge control control Fabric-covered port aileron Aileron trim tab Formation light Pilot tube Port navigati navigation on light Fixed leading edge shot Wing ‘tie-down’ ‘tie-down’ shackle ASB aerial aerial mounting  mounting  Retractable landing lamp Red, white and green approach

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130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146

lights Port ASB aerial Ground attack rockets (5in/12.7cm) Oil tank filler cap Engine oil tank Engine compartment compartment bulkhead bulkhead Engine mounting struts struts Cowling air exit flap Twin carburetto carburettors rs Carburettors air trunking  Wright R-2600-8 Cyclone 14-cylinder two-row radial engine Carburettor air intake Propeller governor Reduction gearbox Hamilton Standard threebladed variable-pitch propeller Engine cooling intake Engine cowlings Cowling air flap control lever

Inside the TBM-1C Avenger 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166

Lower cowling cowling air flap Batteries Starboard Starboar d exhaust pipe Oil cooler Oil cooler air exit flap Bomb release release shackle shackle Four 500lb 500lb (226.8kg) bombs bombs Bomb bay door construction Bomb doors (open) Port mainwheel Bomb bay jettisonable fuel tank  Main undercarriage undercarriage leg door Retraction strut Shock absorber absorber leg strut strut Torque scissor links Hydraulic brake pipe Starboard mainwheel Removable wheel disc cover Torpedo stabilising vanes Mk 13-2 13-2 torpedo torpedo

TBF-1C variants, with extra wing guns and greater fuel capacity, were were made July 2016

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Spotlight  Grumman Avenger

Out of W

hile Britain was During the longest-ranging celebrating Victory Fleet Air Arm strike of the in Europe Day on May 8, 1945, war Avengers Avengers helped to sink a in South East Asia and the Pacific  Japane  Jap anese se crui cruiser ser.. Andrew Thomas the war against Japan continued relentlessly.. In the Indian Ocean the relentlessly  Ja  Japan panese ese mai mainta ntaine ined d a garr garrison ison on describes the action

the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and on the morning after VE Day, an evacuation of this exposed outpost  was ini initiat tiated. ed. Under the command of Captain Kaju Sugiura, the heavy cruiser Haguro in Haguro  in company with the destroyer Kamikaze  sailed  sailed from Singapore. The following day,

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May 10, the battle fleet was sighted separately in the Malacca Strait by the submarines HMS Statesman Statesman and  and Subtle  and  and their reports triggered triggered Operation Dukedom.  Japane  Ja panese se reco reconnai nnaissa ssance nce air aircraf craftt spotted that the British fleet was at sea and the Haguro Haguro and  and Kamikaze  turned  turned back. Meanwhile the supply vessel Kurishoyo Maru had Maru had succeeded in evacuating the personnel on Nicobars. On May 14 the two warships again left Singapore, presumably to cover the Kurishoyo Maru. Maru. The first days of May had seen the Royal Navy heavily involved in Operation Dracula, the amphibious

SPOT FACT Grumman first displayed the TBF to the public on December 7, 1941

Grumman in Combat 

The Sun landings in Rangoon. Fleet Air Arm (FAA) aircraft operating from escort carriers carried out strikes with rockets and bombs against Japanese airfields and other targets in the Andaman Islands archipelago. One of these carriers was HMS Shah,, with the Avengers of 851 Shah Squadron, under Lt Cdr M T Fuller, embarked. The Dracula fleet returned to Ceylon on May 9 but no sooner had it moored up than reports of the movement of the Haguro Haguro arrived.  arrived.  At this this criti critical cal mome moment nt Shah Shah’’s catapult went unserviceable. The squadron diary described:: “Learnt that described aircraft would operate from [fellow escort carrier] Emperor due to Shah Shah’s ’s u/s accelerator. Thirty ratings and stores transferred to Emperor  in  in a panic.” To attack the Japanese ships, a task force including the battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and Elizabeth and the French Richelieu Richelieu,, the cruisers HMS Cumberland , Royalist and Nigeria , eight destroyers and the escort carriers

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Left 

Because of faults on  its own carrier during during Operation Dukedom, 851  Squadron flew from HMS ‘Emperor’. US NAVY  Below left 

One of 851 Squadron’ Squadron’ss  Avengers preparing preparing to be catapulted off HMS ‘Shah’,  just before Dukedom. Dukedom. MRS S SMYTH

Emperor , Hunter , Khedive and Shah sailed from Trincomalee in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to intercept.  At 1430h 1430hrs rs on May 11, ligh lightly tly loaded Avengers of 851 flew off the Shah to Shah  to the Emperor  while  while most of the latter’s Hellcats transferred in the opposite direction. Unlike the  Avenge  Av engers rs when carry carrying ing weap weaponry onry,, the the fighters could launch without the aid of a catapult.

Course 240, Speed 10

On May 14 an RAF Liberator sighted what was reported as a supply ship and escort heading south from the Nicobars. At 0730hrs the following morning, Emperor  launched four Avengers each armed  with four 500lb bombs on an armed reconnaissance to intercept the enemy vessels. Two of the Avengers found

TBFs took part in the attacks that sunk the Japanese light carrier ‘Ryujo’ in 1942 July 2016 FLYPAST

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SPOT FACT The TBM-3 had an upgraded engine and wing hardpoints for drop tanks and rockets

Right  The ‘Haguro’ under way in a heavy  swell – her main  armament readily readily  apparent. US NAVY 

Below right  Heavy cruiser ‘Haguro’ at anchor  in Rabaul harbour during an Allied  air attack attack in 1943. US NAVY 

Formidably armed warrior Haguro  was  was a Myoko -class -class heavy cruiser of 13,300 tons with a main armament of ten 8in guns fitted in five turrets. Commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy on April 25, 1929 she first saw action during the Battle of the Java Sea in late February 1942. She saw further action in the Battle of the Coral Sea the following May. Based in the Japanese stronghold at Rabaul, Haguro  was  was damaged at Empress Augusta Bay in late 1943 during the Bougainville Island campaign and in 1944 survived the savage battles against the US Navy at the Philippine S ea and Leyte Gulf. Following that she was moved to Singapore and received the attentions of the long-range Avengers of 851 Squadron. Right  One of the three  Avengers was was damaged when it  bounced over over the  arresterr wire and  arreste  into the barrier barrier  after the long-range long-range  attack. MRS S SMYTH

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and attacked the supply supply ship and her escort, and although they scored no hits they returned to strafe them. However Sub Lt J G V Burns’ crew in JZ137 was hit by flak, lost engine oil and ditched in the Andaman Sea. Burns and Sub Lt G H Robinson made it into their dinghy, but air gunner, PO A R Murley was lost. To make matters worse, having stayed to provide cover over the dinghy until the last moment, the other  Avenge  Av enger, r, JZ20 JZ203 3 flown flown by Sub Lt W R P Bowden and crew, ditched out of fuel 30 miles from the carrier, but  were pick picked ed up by a Walru alruss of of 1700 1700 Squadron from HMS Hunter . The others, including JZ147 flown by Lt K C Crompton, recovered safely, having responded to Burns’ distress call but found nothing. Two further  Avenge  Av engers rs were were laun launched ched to sear search ch for the enemy convoy and the Burns crew, but Sub Lt Riorden’s aircraft lost power and made an emergency landing aboard Hunter . The other Avenger, flown by the CO with his crew of Lt Lansdale and CPO Sherlock pressed on. To increase

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his endurance Lt Cdr Fuller jettisoned the bomb load, but then found the Kurishoyo Maru and Maru and her escort. As he circled, two more vessels were spotted about 15 miles to the south. Fuller tracked these new contacts out of gun range, identifying them as warships heading southwest off Sabang, Sumatra, and then accurately reported the Haguro Haguro and  and Kamikaze. Fuller recalled later: “This was a very big excitement. She was very large and very black against a very dark monsoon cloud. An enormously impressive sight, just as a warship ought to look, though trying to

remain unobtrusively out of sight, hoping not to be noticed.” Sherlock transmitted the electrifying signal that was received by the task force at 11:50: “One cruiser, one destroyer sighted. Course 240. Speed 10 knots.” For the next hour the crew sent a stream of accurate updates until shortage of fuel forced Fuller to

 withdraw.. His  withdraw His last rep report ort was made from directly above the Haguro Haguro to  to give the fleet’s direction finders the chance of obtaining an accurate ‘fix’.  When they land landed ed back aboa aboard rd Emperor , Fuller’s aircraft had just ten minutes’ worth of fuel remaining. On receiving his reports, three more  Avenge  Av engers rs had been cata catapul pulted ted off Emperor  but  but returned without making any sightings and one was damaged in a barrier engagemen engagement. t.

Dive-bombers

Each armed with four 500lb semi-armour piercing bombs

Grumman in Combat  Classic attack The location reports from 851 Squadron were used to good effect. That night the destroyers HMS Saumarez , Venus , Verulam Verulam,, Vigilant  and Virago Virago attacked  attacked the Haguro and the Kamikaze  in  in a classic night torpedo attack. Gunfire and three torpedoes caused Haguro Haguro to  to slow down with a 30° list to port. Soon after 0230hrs on May 16 the old cruiser began to go down by the stern approximately 55 miles off Penang, taking with her 900 of her crew, including her captain and Vice Admiral Hashimoto. This was the last major gun action fought  with 14-second delay fuses, three  Avengers - FN939 flown by Lt Crompton, JZ147 (Sub Lt J A Eedle) and JZ210 (Sub Lt RoweEvans) launched off Emperor ’s ’s deck for a strike at 1340hrs. Two Two hours later they found the enemy ships. Compton recorded: “Enemy sighted on starboard bow bearing 040, 12 miles. Commenced climbing, moving astern of the enemy. Initial and first sighting reports sent out during the climb.  Approached  Appro ached enemy force force out out of sun at 10,000ft, weaving to avoid antiaircraft fire and attacked from port quarter. “Cruiser turned port during dive, this did not appear to be particularly violent. Relative bearing of cruiser  when bombs bombs were were released released was about about 310. Method of getaway – turn to starboard, jinking and weaving at 3,000ft with full throttle.” Having attacked in the face of fierce anti-aircraft fire, the Avengers claimed one direct hit and a very near miss right forward on Haguro by Crompton, but causing only slight damage. The formation

Left 

Maintenance ratings  practising bombing-up bombing-up an  Avenger in Ceylon Ceylon shortly  before the ‘Haguro’ ‘Haguro’  attack. VIA R C STURTIVANT  Below left 

On May 17, to make  room for Hellcats Hellcats  aboard ‘Emperor’, ‘Emperor’, two unserviceable Avengers were pushed over the side – including ‘1C’ that had taken part in the search for the ‘Haguro’ two days earlier. MRS S SMYTH Below

 An Avenger of 851  Squadron in early 1945  showing that the ‘Type ‘Type B’ wing roundels have been  replaced by by two-tone blue blue  SEAC markings as worn when they attacked the ‘Haguro’ in May 1945. R G FLETCHER

re-formed and set course back to the carrier, landing on by 1830hrs.  Although the results were disappointing, the flight of 530 miles (853km) was the FAA’s longest round trip by carrier strike aircraft during the war. It was also the FAA’s only dive-bombing attack on a major enemy vessel in open water, albeit with disappointing results. However,, little more could have However been expected from such a small force with little recent practice in anti-shipping strikes.

334 TBM-1s were used by the Fleet Air Arm

between major surface ships during the war. Throughout the day, 851 Squadron continued searching for the dinghy of the Burns crew until the task force  withdrew  with drew to Ceylo Ceylon. n. The Av Avenge engers rs swapped back onto the Shah Shah the  the next day. The dinghy with Burns and Robinson aboard drifted onto the Burma coast where they were captured. Fortunately, they were among the prisoners released following VJ Day.

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SPOT FACT  A Ro Roy yal Na Navy vy Av Aven enge gerr gu gunn nner er su succ cces essfu sfull lly y shot down a V-1 bomb on July 9, 1944

‘Kiwi’ Avengers

Andrew Thomas recounts the valiant combat service of New Zealand Avengers Avengers in the South Pacific

Above RNZAF Avenger NZ2510 of 30  Squadron during work-up at Turtle Bay  in the New Hebrides  in February February 1944.

Right   Avenger NZ2506 NZ2506 of 31 Squadron while working up at Gisborne in early 1944.

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hen the Liberty Ship SS William Keith docked in Auckland in September 1943, its cargo transformed the strike capacity of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. On board were half a dozen TBF-1  Aven  Av enger gers, s, the fir first st of 48 to ser serve ve the RNZAF as land-based dive-bombers. The first one ready for action, NZ2505, was issued to 30 Squadron at Gisborne on the east coast, replacing obsolescent Vickers Vincent biplanes and Harvard trainers. As more Avengers became available, 31 Squadron was formed at Gisborne on December 7, under Sqn Ldr M  Wilkes  Wil kes.. The fol follow lowing ing mon month, th, 30 Squadron, commanded by Sqn Ldr R G Hartshorne, moved to Turtle Turtle Strip, Espiritu Santo, in the New Hebrides, to continue working up. Prime task for the Avengers was to neutralise the large and troublesome  Japan  Ja panese ese bas basee at at Raba Rabaul ul in Ne New w Britain. They were to operate from a strip at Piva on Bougainville in the notorious Solomon Islands.  Although a bridgehead had been established by the Allies, many thousands of Japanese troops remained on the island. When 30 Squadron’s Squadron’s servicing ser vicing element arrived on March 15, 1944 they  were greeted by a barrage of artillery fire. Their first task was digging foxholes, as the enemy were only a few hundred yards away.

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Counter-attack

The first TBF-1s touched down at Piva on March 23 and operations began the following afternoon when 19 sorties were flown. Along with more than 50 US Avengers and SBD Dauntlesses, 30 Squadron attacked Rabaul’s Kavieng airfield on the 26th. The ‘Kiwi’ Grummans bombed in the face of fierce antiaircraft fire, during which NZ2510  was badly damaged and made an emergency landing at a strip on Green Island.  As the Japanese Japanese counter-attack petered out, enemy supply dumps, moorings and gun emplacements  were hit. Additionally Additionally,, 30 Squadron provided close air support to US, New Zealand and Australian troops by bombing Japanese bunkers, personnel and transports. Rabaul and its airfields remained the main focus. From April 9, a

new CO, Sqn Ldr H N James, dispatched two formations of six  Avengers on most days throughout the month, despite intense antiaircraft fire. On the 25th, NZ2511  was badly damaged over Vunakanau Vunakanau but made it back to Green Island. During an attack on Lakunai airfield on May 10, Fg Off Alan Bailey steadied NZ2541 for its bombing run but was hit and dived into the sea off the coast. Bailey, navigator F/Sgt Louis Schlesinger and gunner W/O Reg Curtiss were killed. On the 22nd, a dozen Avengers struck a supply dump near Tahili Bay,, Rabaul. This brought an end to Bay to 30’ss tour, having flown almost 1,500 30’ hours on 35 strikes and dropping 330 tons of bombs, for the loss of one crew and aircraft. The squadron returned to New Zealand where it disbanded on June 26.

Grumman in Combat  Crop spraying

It was time for 31 Squadron to step up, and on May 25 Sqn Ldr  Wilkes led the way to Bougainville. Operations began immediately and the grim reality of action over Rabaul was brutally driven home on the 28th. Flt Lt Melvin Greenslade settled NZ2530 into its dive on Vunakanau but it was hit shortly after delivering its bombs. Greenslade, Flt Lt John Morrison and F/Sgt Bill McCloud  were all killed. Three days later, later, flak hit NZ2521 over Rabaul. It crashed  with the loss of Sgt Bill Truelove, Flt Sgt Malcolm Harsant and Flt Sgt Frank Brown. During May, 31 Squadron had also begun action against a new target  with a bizarre ‘weapon ‘weapon’’ – diesel fuel. To offset the Allied blockade, the  Japanese were were growing crops around Rabaul, and spraying them with diesel rendered the fields infertile. This was perilous flying, having to be done at very low level in the face of heavy return fire.

On June 5, Rapopo airfield on Lesson Point was the objective and, although most of 31’s Avengers bombed uneventfully, NZ2518 – named Plonky – was shot down, killing Flt Lt Charles Prior, Fg Off Sid Clayton and W/O Theo Scarlett. The largest action of 31’s tour came on May 30. Nine Avengers each flew three separate missions to deliver 27 tons of bombs on large concentrations of Japanese troops near the village of Pikei, on Empress Augusta Bay.  While attacking att acking Tobera Tobera airfield air field on July 1, the unit suffered its final loss. F/Sgt Rex Mathieson, piloting NZ2512, was hit and the Avenger spun in, killing him and F/Sgt  Albert Weber. The gunner, F/Sgt  Aitcheson,  Aitches on, managed to t o bale out, and after four days was rescued and flown back to Piva. The final strike was flown on  July 23, after which 31 Squadron Squ adron returned to New Zealand where it disbanded on September 1.

Old skills

This was not the end of the RNZAF’ss Avengers. A dozen TBFs RNZAF’  were retained on target-towing target-towing duties until going into store at the end of the war. In March 1949 three  were taken out and prepared for aerial top-dressing trials – not far removed from diesel spraying on Rabaul in 1944, but without the opposing fire! This flight became part of 42 Squadron, which re-formed under Sqn Ldr J R Wendon in March 1950. The unit continued in its prosaic, but important, task, through to the final RNZAF  Avenger sortie, by by NZ2504, on June June 30, 1959. One of the original TBF-1s offloaded from the William Keith in September 1943, NZ2504, was eventually passed to the RNZAF Museum (now Air Force Museum of New Zealand) at Wigram. Painted in wartime colours, it is an impressive memorial to the valour of RNZAF Avenger crews. Left centre

The RNZAF’s last Avenger, NZ2504, is displayed in the Air Force Museum at Wigram, masquerading as NZ2521. AIR FOR CE MUSE UM OF NEW ZEALAND

Left and below

 Several of of 30 Squadron’s Squadron’s  Avengers carried carried nose art. A suitably ‘modified’ ‘modified’  kiwi adorned the nose of of NZ2520 and the aircraft was known as ‘Dumbo’.  ALL VIA A UTHOR

“When 30 Squadron’s servicing element arrived... they were greeted by a barrage of artillery fire. Their first task was digging foxholes, as the enemy were only a few hundred yards away.”

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TBF-1s were lost during the Battle of Midway in June 1942 July 2016 FLYPAST 73

Spotlight  Grumman Avenger

Lost Patrol Andy Hay artwork of an Avenger Avenger lost within w ithin the so-called so-c alled Bermuda Triangle Triangle

Artwork

Grumman TBM-1C  Avenger F-T F-T 3 of Flight 19 was flown by US Navy Lt Charles Carroll Taylor on December  5, 1945. ANDY HAY 2016

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n December 5, 1945, a flight of five Grumman TBM Avengers – known as Flight 19 – went missing over the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean. Neither the aircraft nor any of the 14 airmen have been found. Leading the overwater navigation and combat training flight was US Navy Lt Charles Carroll Taylor,  whose TBM-1C, 45714 F-T 3, is our subject. The formation took off from the naval air station at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 1410hrs, heading roughly east over the sea to carry out a low-level bombing practice and a multiple-

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leg navigation exercise. Taylor Taylor had around 2,500 flying hours, mostly in Avengers, and had completed a combat tour in the Pacific theatre.  After finishing fin ishing the bombing b ombing training, radio transmissions indicated the flight was experiencing problems with compass readings and had effectively become lost. By 1750hrs, several land-based radio stations had triangulated Flight 19’s position as being north of the Bahamas and well away from the coast of central Florida. Taylor’s final radio transmission was reportedly received at around 1820hrs, his  words indicating indicat ing that the th e aircraft

 would probably probab ly have to ditch dit ch unless they made landfall soon.  A Consolidated Catalina Catalina had already been despatched to search for Flight 19, but was unable to make contact. After dark, two Martin PBM Mariner flying-boats were diverted to carry out square pattern searches. One of them, 59225, was lost along with all 13 crewmen aboard. It is assumed to have exploded in mid-air. The fate of Flight 19 has never been confirmed, leading to some  wild speculation. It It seems most likely likely they ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean somewhere north of the  Abaco Islands and east of Florida. Florida.

SPOT FACT In 1945 Avengers were used in crop-spraying crop-spr aying trials in New Zealand

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Avenger in profile

TBM-1Cs were built by General Motors’ Eastern Aircraft Division July 2016 FLYPAST 75

Spotlight  Grumman Avenger

Warren E Thompson highlights three pilots who flew the Avenger Avenger – a warplane that was given its name in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Hawaii

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Pearl R AVENGING

enowned naval fighter specialist Grumman served the US Navy from the FF-1 biplane of the 1930s all the way through to the F-14 Tomcat swing-wing 'hot-rod' in the 1970s. In 1939, the Bethpage, New York, company had ambitions to expand into other types and a requirement released by the navy  was too good to miss.

The Douglas TBD Devastator carrier-based torpedo-bomber was state-of-the-art when introduced in 1935. In 1939 a request was released demanding the TBD’s replacement needed a top speed of 300mph (482km/h), a 1,000mile (1,609km) range and a service ceiling of 30,000ft (9,144m), all  while fully loaded. It would have an internal weapons bay with a payload

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SPOT FACT  AS  AS.4 .4 was th thee Ro Roy yal Na Navy vy designation for the post-war TBM-3S

Men Behind the Avenger

Harbor of 2,000lb (907kg) and the airframe  would need to have increased resistance to battle damage. This was a tall order and the answer that came off the Bethpage drawing boards was the XTBF-1. Two examples were ordered on  April 8, 1940 and the prototype took to the air on August 1, 1941. Production was shared by Grumman (TBF variants) and the Eastern

 Aircraft Division of General Motors (TBMs) at Trenton, New Jersey. Between the two factories, 9,836  Avengers were were built.

Vengeful intent 

Robert Hall, assistant chief engineer at Grumman, was in charge of experimental work. He remembered the formative days of the Avenger: “The prototype XTBF-1 had to go

through a rigorous flight schedule   designed to give our engineering department what they needed. “The first prototype was lost in a cockpit fire, so we had to depend on the second prototype to take up the slack. This was mostly identical to the first aircraft except that a dorsal fin had been added between the fuselage and vertical stabiliser [the fin] for greater stability in combat.

Below

 An early TBF-1 TBF-1 under test from Grumman’s  plant at Bethpage during the spring of 1942. TAILHOOK  ASSO CIATIO N

TBM-3Es were made - featuring a stronger airframe with ventral ventral gun deleted July 2016 FLYPAST

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SPOT FACT The Avenger TBF-1P was the first of its kind to be modified for photo-reconnaissance Right  The ‘tunnel gun’ ventral position in a TBM. NAVY ARCHIVES 

Centre right  Lt George Bush  in the cockpit of  an Avenger on  board the USS ‘San  Jacinto’.  Jacinto ’. TAILHOOK  ASS OCIATI ON

Below TBF-1s during a torpedo dropping training session,  probably off off the coast of Florida in 1942. WARREN BODIE 

“Sunday December 7, 1941 was quiet for Grumman except that an ‘open house’ was beginning up at Plant 2. Not long after the event  was in full swing, swing, the news of the  Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor was broadcast and, at that time, the name of the new aircraft was not determined. That all changed and it became the Avenger Avenger,, typifying its role in the next few years. “The Japanese attack had a positive

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effect on the government to choose a contractor to produce the torpedobomber. This led to a contract for Grumman for 286 TBF-1s that arrived about three weeks after the attack. “Delivery of the first production TBF-1 to the navy was on January 30, 1942. After that, the Grumman facility was drawn into full gear and by the end of May, 85 Avengers had been delivered. Full production

of all aircraft types caused the government to cease all private automobile manufacturing and  within a week after Pearl Harbor, Harbor, General Motors shut down its lines. The game of producing machines to  win the war had begun.” begun.”

Decisive Midwa Mi dway y

For his action in the Battle of Midway – June 3-7, 1942 – Ensign Albert K Earnest received the Navy Cross. The

Men Behind the Avenger Left 

 An Avenger on the deck of of the training carrier, USS ‘Matanikau’ in October 1944. TAILHOOK ASSOCIATION

“The sky was suddenly filled with A6M ‘Zeros’ which pounced on the six as they dropped down to 200ft and opened their weapons bays ready to drop their torpedoes torpedoes””

atoll at Midway Midway was well named. It  was as far from the cont continen inental tal USA as it was from Japan. On June 1, 1942, six TBF-1s of VT-8 were dispatched from Ford Island on Pearl Harbor to Midway – an eight-hour, 1,200-mile flight, led by Lt Langdon K Fieberling. The Avengers were fitted with an extra fuel tank in their weapons bays for this epic venture and were shepherded by a pair of PBY PBY-5A -5A Catalinas of VP-24 that were carrying torpedoes under the wings for use by the strike wing that was

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being assembled at Midway.  At 0600hrs 0600hrs on the morning morning of June June 4, the six TBFs were ordered into the air because the Japanese fleet had been discovered about 100 miles away to the northwest. Earnest’s crew for the mission were: Radioman 3rd Class Harry H Ferrier, who also acted as ‘tunnel gunner’ (the ventral, rearward-facing position), and Seaman 1st Class Jay D Manning in the turret. Both were 18. Earnest was a ‘vet’ at 25. Their aircraft was TBF-1 00380 coded ‘8-T ‘8-T-1’. -1’.  Also bound for the Japanese Japanese fleet

 was a quartet of B-26 Marauders Marauders from Midway. Midway. Launched from the carrier USS Enterprise  were  were 41 aged TBDs. Target in sight, the Avengers formed up for an attack on the enemy fleet. The sky was suddenly filled with A6M ‘Zeros’ which pounced on the six as they dropped down to 200ft and opened their  weapons bays ready to drop torpedoes. Earnest was aware of the constant pings of bullets hitting the TBF,, especially the armour plating TBF behind his seat. Earnest had a warship in view  when he realised all was not well. He no longer heard return fire from the turret and could not raise either Ferrier or Manning on the intercom.  A piece of shrapnel whistled whistled through the cockpit, hitting Earnest in the neck, splattering blood all over the place.  With agile Zeros harassing him all the way way,, Earnest discovered the elevator was not working. Thankfully,, the elevator trim Thankfully t rim tab was functioning and with this minimal control of pitch, Earnest went on to complete the torpedo run. Despite his determination, his ‘tin fish’ fish’ was believed to have been ineffectual.

Left 

 A TBM-3 returning returning to the USS ‘Lexington’ during  late 1944. TAILHOOK  ASS OCIATI ON

TBM-3Es were acquired by the Royal Canadian Navy from 1950 to 1952 July 2016 FLYPAST

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SPOT FACT The AS.3M variant had a magnetic anomaly detector boom added to the rear fuselage

Flying-bomb killer

Above  A pair of TBF-1s TBF-1s  believed to to be from the USS ‘Lexington ‘Lexington’, ’, 1942. DAVE MENARD

Below right  Instrument panel of  a radar-equipped radar-equipped TBM-3. DAVE MENARD

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Course to steer

Thankfully, the Zeros gave up on Earnest. He would have set a course for Midway but the compass (no secondary compass on a TBF-1) was inoperative. He wasn’t to know it, but the weapons bay doors would not come up: the hydraulics had packed in. Using the sun as a guide, Earnest flew south, then eastwards when he guessed he was abeam Midway. Then Ferrier, who had been knocked out, spoke on the intercom and announced Manning was dead. Ferrier alerted him to a large plume of black smoke to the east: Midway was under attack. Obligingly, the Japanese had provided a course to steer.  With the hydr hydrauli aulics cs gone, gone, Earn Earnest est used the emergency release for the undercarriage, undercarri age, but only the port main leg deployed. With a dead gunner and a wounded radioman, baling out was not an option. Using the elevator trim tab, Earnest set up 00380 for a long, slow approach. It ended in a violent ground loop, but with no further harm to himself or Ferrier.  Avenge  Av engerr 00380 00380 had been ridd riddled led by the Zeros; ground crew counted 64 holes made by machine guns and nine from 20mm cannon. It was the only one of the six that had set out to return. Two of the four Marauders came back to base. Personnel on the Enterprise  were  were in shock. Of the 41 TBDs sent off, four made it back to the carrier.

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During the summer of 1944 several squadrons of Royal Navy Avengers attached to 157 Wing were flying ‘Channel Stop’ operations to secure the i nvasion forces from any threat from the German navy. The V-1 flying-bomb offensive against London and southern England was also at its height.  A D-Day striped Avenger Avenger of 854 Squadron Squadron over In the late evening of July 9, Avenger II the English Channel. VIA ANDY THOMAS  JZ554 of 854 Squadron, flown by Sub Lt D P Davies, left Hawkinge in Kent on another patrol over the Channel. At the end of the long patrol, at 0510hrs on the 10th, telegraphist air gunner Leading Aircraftman Fred Shirmer, spotted a V-1 approaching from behind, gradually overtaking them. As the ‘doodlebug’ passed about 700 yards (640m) away on the port side Shirmer had the opportunity to fire from his turret. His aim was good, he needed only 20 rounds to bring the V-1 down. This was the only success over a flying-bomb by a Fleet Air Arm aircraft and Shirmer was Mentioned in Despatches for his gunnery skill s. ANDREW THOMAS

Men Behind the Avenger

Presidential Avenger

The 41st President of the United States was the first aviator to take the post – George H W Bush (in office 1989-1993). On his 18th birthday,  January  Jan uary 20, 1942 1942,, Bush Bush enli enlisted sted in the US Navy, training initially at Corpus Christi, Texas. Texas. When commissioned co mmissioned in  June  Ju ne 1943 1943 he was the youn youngest gest nava navall pilot of his time. From September 1943 Bush flew  Avenge  Av engers rs with VT VT-51 -51 from the USS San Jacinto. Operating from Guam during the amphibious invasion of the Marianas Islands, on June 19, 1944 the San Jacinto came under attack as it  was prep prepari aring ng to to launc launch h a stri strike ke forc forcee of Avengers.

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 Waiti  W aiting ng on the deck deck,, hitche hitched d up up to the catapult was Lt Bush’s aircraft. Having beaten off the onslaught, the deck officer was cleared to launch. Off went Bush, but either his Avenger had received some damage, or the engine developed a fault while ticking over, and it toppled into the ocean. Bush and crew scrambled out and  were res rescued cued by one one of the the esco escortin rtingg  warships  wars hips.. During an attack on Chichijima to the north of Iwo Jima on September 2, 1944, Lt Bush and his crew were part of a flight of four attacking a heavily defended target. Having dropped his bombs and with his aircraft on fire, Bush ordered the crew to bale out.

Patrolling on lifeguard duties was the submarine USS Finback  and  and  Watch  W atchman man Donn Donnet et Kohle Kohlerr pluck plucked ed a young pilot from the water – it was the future President Bush. One of five lucky airmen rescued by the sub that day, they had to adjust to life underwater as the Finback  was  was not going to interrupt its combat cruise to drop off its ‘guests’.  went on to sink two Finback  went  Japanes  Jap anesee vess vessels els and was dep depththcharged, sustaining minimal damage. Bush, the unexpected submariner, re-joined VT-51 on October 30, going on to complete 58 combat missions  with the unit and 1,22 1,228 8 opera operation tional al flying hours.

Canadian Avengers Avengers were fitted with electronic countermeasures equipment  July 2016 FLYPAST

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