Grumman Avenger Mk II

From The Air Combat Wiki

Contents 1 Fighter Ace Screenshots 2 Fighter Ace Ratings 3 Fighter Ace Performance 4 Historical Statistics 5 Strengths 6 Weaknesses 7 History 8 Sources 9 See Also

Fighter Ace Screenshots

Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ
Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ

Fighter Ace Ratings

Durability: 6

Speed: 4

Maneuverability: 7

Firepower: 2

Climb Rate: 1

Ground Attack: 3

Fighter Ace Performance

Top Speeds						Climb Rates
	Sea Level	4921' 1500m	9843' 3000m	19685' 6000m	Best Speed	Best IAS	to 1000m	to 3000m	to 6000m
mph	249	252	253	261	267@ 16404'	155 mph	2:53	9:44	23:57
kph	401	405	407	420	430@ 5000m	250 kph

Historical Statistics

Service Date: February 1943

Primary Guns: 1x Browning M2 0.5" (12.7mm) machine guns with 600 rpg in wing

Secondary Guns: 1x Browning M2 0.5" (12.7mm) machine guns with 600 rpg in wing

Defensive Guns: 1x Browning M2 0.5" (12.7mm) machine gun with 400 rpg in dorsal turret and 1x Browning 0.3" (7.62mm) machine gun with 500 rpg in ventral tunnel position

Ordnance: 1x 1,548 lb Mk XII torpedo or 12x 119 lb (54 kg) or 6x 250 lb (113 kg) or 4x 535 lb (242 kg) or 2x 910 lb (413 kg) bombs in internal bomb bay, plus 2x 348 lb (158 kg) drop tanks under inner wings, plus 8x 84 lb (38 kg) rockets under outer wings. Maximum load of 2500 lbs.

Engine(s): Wright Cyclone R-2600-8 radial rated for 1,700 hp at sea level

Int Fuel Capacity: 2,010 lbs (912 kg)

Ext Fuel Capacity: 696 lbs (316 kg)

Maximum Speeds: 249 mph (401 kph) at sea level, 257 mph (414 kph) at 12,000 ft (3,658 m)

Ceiling: 21,400 ft (6,523 m)

Loaded Weight: 16,412 lbs (7,444 kg)

Wing Area: 490 sq ft (45.5 sq m)

Wing Loading: 33.5 lbs/sq ft (163.6 kg/sq m)

Strengths

Ground Attack: Featuring a bomb load of 2,000 lbs. and a barrage of eight 55 lb. rockets the Avenger can do as much damage as many medium bombers.

Durability: Like all Grumman designs, the TBF has the ability to absorb huge amounts of damage and still stay airborne.

Weaknesses

Maneuverability: Don’t let the single engine fool you, this is a big, heavy airplane and handles as such.

History

In the early years of the war, the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm was definitely the red-headed stepchild of Britain's aircraft industry. While the RAF was showing off their latest Spitfire and Typhoon designs the FAA was stuck with aircraft of antiquated and inferior design, such as the Fairey Swordfish, the Gloster Sea Gladiator, and the Fairey Fulmar.

This sorry state of affairs was not the case in the US Navy where daring, purpose-built designs such as those coming from Grumman were prevalent. Recognizing the superiority of these American designs, the FAA made arrangements to purchase US Navy planes until such a time as the British aircraft industry could be geared towards more capable designs.

The first Avengers appeared in Britain early in 1943 at the Norfolk Naval Air Station with No. 832 Squadron taking delivery. Several months later, in April the squadron was assigned to the USS Saratoga to help provide support for landings in the Middle Solomons. Avenger squadrons operated primarily from land bases and escort carriers, such as those escorting the PQ convoys to Murmansk.

The largest deployment of Avengers occurred in early 1944 when they took part in "Operation Channel Stop", which was intended to deny the use of the English Channel to all enemy shipping. Avengers also served with the carrier Formidable in suppressing Japanese airfields on Formosa in support of the US Marine landings on Okinawa.

Sources

Scrivner, Charles L.; TBM/TBF Avenger In Action, Aircraft Number 82; Squadron/Signal Publications, Carrollton, Texas; 1987.

Brown, Eric; Wings Of The Navy, Flying Allied Carrier Aircraft of World War Two; Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland; 1980.

See Also

Fighter Ace Planes Inventory

Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation

Aircraft Manufacturers During World War II