Hello everyone, and thanks for visiting. Today's blog post is about the US Navy Grumman TBM "Avenger" torpedo plane. This aircraft wears the markings of the VT-40 squadron based off the USS Suwannee in 1945. I call this image a "lost" file. Over the years I have taken literally thousands of photos and frankly, some get lost in the shuffle for one reason or another. But, I am at a place where I am combing through a lot of those air show batches of images and bringing images to light.
The Avenger entered service in early 1942 and first saw combat during the Battle of Midway. It replaced the woefully inadequate Douglas TBD "Devastator" which had only entered service in 1937 but by then, it was already outdated. Despite heavy losses in the Battle of Midway, the Avenger survived in service to become the most effective submarine killer and most widely used torpedo bomber of World War II. The aircraft type shared credit for sinking the super-battleships Yamato and Musashi and being credited for sinking 30 submarines.
I hope you like the photo. Enjoy!
Talley ho!
Steve
