@ New Orleans, LA
September 2024
An overhead view of an Avenger on display at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. The heaviest single-engined aircraft of World War II, Grumman outsourced the production of this torpedo bomber to Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors in 1943, with Avengers manufactured by GM designated TBM. First flown in 1941, the Avenger served various countries as late as 1960. More than 9,800 were produced and became the most widely-used torpedo bomber of World War II. The TBM-3 (4,000 built) variant had a a more powerful engine and wing hardpoints for drop tanks and rockets. The Avenger’s rear turret was one of the first electrically-powered turrets to be fielded in combat, far superior to the mechanical and hydraulically-driven models used on other aircraft. With one offset .50 cal gun (to simplify the interrupter system protecting the vertical stabilizer), the electric turret design reduced weight, while improving turn rate and controllability. Actor Paul Newman was a rear gunner in one during the war.
