Grumman TBF Avenger

TBF: Torpedo Bomber, F (Grumman)

Introduction

The TBF/TBM (later the TBF Avenger) was an American torpedo bomber, used by the U.S. Military. It entered service in 1942, and began major use during the Battle of Midway.

The Douglas Devastator, the main torpedo bomber of the U.S. Navy (from 1935 to about 1942) had become obsolete by 1939. In order to replace it, Grumman (the "Iron Works") was contracted to create a new replacement. Leroy Grumman, an engineer, designed this new plane. Its first prototype was called the XTBF-1 (X standing for experimental). Although one of the first two prototypes crashed near Brentwood, New York, rapid production continued.

Design

The powerplant of the TBF (as it was known after production) was the Wright R-2600-8, which had 1700 horsepower. It was the first to feature a new wing-folding mechanism (designed by Grumman) that would minimize space; the F6F Hellcat (also manufactured by Grumman) would have the same mechanism. There were three seats (pilot, rear gunner, and bombardier/belly gunner). There was a single .30 caliber rear turret and a belly turret; however, the most important piece of weaponry was probably the front machine gun.

During the Battle of Midway, all of the three aircraft carriers' torpedo groups (from the U.S.S. Hornet, U.S.S. Enterprise, and U.S.S. Yorktown) had taken horrendous casualties; one group had a single survivor (Ensign George Gay). This was partly due to the slow speed of the Devastator (less than 200 MPH during glide-bombing) and its lack of defense (only a single rear turret, which left the plane defenseless if its gunner was incapacitated). Ironically, the first shipment of TBFs had arrived only a few hours after the three carriers quickly departed from Pearl Harbor (although a few eventually participated, as we will soon see).

Continuing with its design, the TBF had a large bomb bay, allowing for either a single 2000 lb. torpedo or up to four 500 lb. bombs. It could also carry an extra fuel tank for long flights. Also, many Grumman-made planes had trademark large wings (allowing for easier handling, among other things). Finally, the plane had overall ruggedness, unlike its predecessor. With a 30,000 foot ceiling and a fully-loaded range of 1,000 miles, it was better than any previous American torpedo plane, and better than its chief opponent, the Japanese "Kate".

General History

On the afternoon of December 7, 1941, Grumman held a ceremony to open a new manufacturing plant and display the new TBF to the public. Ironically, on that day, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, as Grumman soon found out. After the ceremony was over, the plant was quickly sealed off to ward against possible enemy action. By early June, though, a shipment of more than 100 planes was sent to the Navy (although, as mentioned before, most were too late to participate in the fateful Battle of Midway).

However, exactly six torpedo bombers were present on Midway Island, as part of VT-8 (Torpedo Squadron 8), while the rest of the squadron flew Devastators. Unfortunately, most of the pilots had very little previous experience, and only one TBF survived (with heavy damage and casualties). As author Gordon Prange mentions in Miracle at Midway, the outdated Devastators (and lack of new planes) contributed somewhat to the lack of a complete victory (and the loss of the Yorktown); bravery was no equal to superior planes.

On August 24, 1942, the next major naval battle occurred at the Eastern Solomons. With only two carriers (the [[U.S.S. Saratoga|U.S.S. Saratoga) and the Yorktown), the 24 TBFs present were able to sink a Japanese light carrier (the Ryujo) and claim one dive bomber, at the cost of seven planes. During these problems, a non-aircraft related problem had emerged: the faulty torpedoes used by the U.S. Navy had failed to explode (even on direct hits) on many occasions; Prange mentions a likely problem in the magnetic detonation device (one submarine actually hit the Soryu with a faulty torpedo, although fortunately after it was already incapacitated).