Scale: 1/32
Wingspan: 16.75"
Length: 12.75"
Code: ATBFBT

 
This collectable model TBF/TBM-3 Avenger represents the Navy’s torpedo bomber that sank the most powerful battleships ever built. Painstakingly built from Philippine mahogany by our skilled craftsmen, this 1/32-scale model TBF/TBM-3 Avenger makes a great pilot gift or a present for any veteran, aviation enthusiast or history buff.
 
Douglas' TBD Devastator, the U.S. Navy's main torpedo bomber introduced in 1935 was obsolete by 1939. Bids were accepted from several companies but Grumman's TBF design was selected as the TBD's replacement. Designed by Leroy Grumman, its first prototype was called the XTBF-1. Although one of the first two prototypes crashed near Brentwood, New York, rapid production continued.
 
Grumman's first torpedo bomber was the heaviest single-engine aircraft of World War II, and it was the first design to feature a new wing-folding mechanism created by Grumman, intended to maximize storage space on an aircraft carrier; the F4F-4 and later models of Wildcat received a similar folding wing and the F6F Hellcat (both designed by Grumman) would employ this mechanism as well. The engine used was the Wright R-2600-20 (which produced 1,900 hp/1,417 kW).

There were three crew members: pilot, turret gunner and radioman/bombardier/ventral gunner. One .30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun was mounted in the nose, a .50 in (12.7 mm) gun was mounted right next to the turret gunner's head in a rear-facing electrically powered turret, and a single .30 in (7.62 mm) hand-fired machine gun mounted ventrally (under the tail), which was used to defend against enemy fighters attacking from below and to the rear. This gun was fired by the radioman/bombardier while standing up and bending over in the belly of the tail section, though he usually sat on a folding bench facing forward to operate the radio and to sight in bombing runs. Later models of the TBF/TBM dispensed with the nose-mounted gun for one .50 in (12.7 mm) gun in each wing per pilots' requests for better forward firepower and increased strafing ability.

There was only one set of controls on the aircraft, and no access to the pilot's position from the rest of the aircraft. The radio equipment was massive, especially by today's standards, and filled the whole glass canopy to the rear of the pilot. The radios were accessible for repair through a "tunnel" along the right hand side. Any Avengers that are still flying today usually have an additional rear-mounted seat in place of the radios, which increases crew to four.