Grumman TBM Avenger Pilot's Flight Manual
On the afternoon of December 7, 1941, Grumman Aircraft first displayed the new TBF to the public. Ironically, on that day, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor.Six TBF-1s were present at the Battle of Midway, as part of VT-8 (Torpedo Squadron 8), while the rest of the squadron flew Devastators from the Hornet. Only one TBF survived the battle with heavy damage and casualties.On August 24, 1942, the next major naval battle occurred at the Eastern Solomons. With only USS Saratoga and the Enterprise, the 24 TBFs present were able to sink the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo and claim one dive bomber, at the cost of seven planes.The first major "prize" for the TBFs (which had been assigned the name "Avenger" in October 1941, 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 battleship Hiei.Besides the traditional surface role (torpedoing surface ships), Avengers claimed about thirty submarine kills, including the cargo submarine I-52, whose remains were found in 1998. They were one of the most effective sub-killers in the Pacific theatre, as well as in the Atlantic, when escort carriers were finally available to escort Allied convoys. There, the Avengers contributed in warding off German U-Boats while providing air cover for the convoys.After the "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. At the extreme end of their range (300 nautical miles out), the group of Hellcats, TBF/TBMs, and dive bombers took many casualties. However, Avengers from USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) torpedoed the light carrier Hiyo as their only major prize. Although Mitscher's gamble was acceptable, it did not pay off as well as he had hoped.Near the end of the war, TBF/TBMs killed two of the Japanese "super battleships": the Musashi and the Yamato (which was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's flagship for most of the war).The Avengers played a major role in the American victory during World War II.