63-465: USS Tripoli may refer to: USS Tripoli (CVE-64) was a Casablanca -class escort carrier in service from 1943 to 1958 USS Tripoli (LPH-10) was an Iwo Jima -class amphibious assault ship in service from 1966 to 1995 USS Tripoli (LHA-7) is an America -class amphibious assault ship commissioned in 2020 [REDACTED] [REDACTED] List of ships with
126-602: A 21-day trip thru the Panama Canal to St Nazaire, France. 13 June approx 500 US Air Force personnel of the 440th FIS from Spokane WA and 441st FIS from Hamilton AFB in San Francisco, CA boarded the ship. One source identifies the units as the 496th Fighter Squadron from Hamilton AFB, and the 440th from Geiger Air Force Base . On 2 July the ship arrived at the port of St Nazaire, France. The two squadrons were bound for Landstuhl AFB, Germany. Receiving "smart ship" awards from in
189-518: A 30,000 ft (9,000 m) ceiling and a fully loaded range of 1,000 miles (1,600 km), it was better than any previous American torpedo bomber, and better than its Japanese counterpart, the obsolete Nakajima B5N "Kate". Later Avenger models carried radar equipment for the ASW and AEW roles. Escort carrier sailors referred to the TBF as the "turkey" because of its size and maneuverability in comparison to
252-737: A Fleet Air Arm Avenger shot down a Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo" in low level combat over the jungle. Three Avengers were modified to carry the Highball "bouncing bomb" (given the new codename Tammany Hall), but when trials were unsuccessful, they were returned to standard configuration and passed to the Royal Navy. One hundred USN TBM-3Es were supplied to the Fleet Air Arm in 1953 under the US Mutual Defense Assistance Program . The aircraft were shipped from Norfolk , Virginia, many aboard
315-501: A German U-boat as the submarine cruised on the surface awaiting the arrival of her " Milch Cow " or refuelling partner. U-513 put up a spirited anti-aircraft barrage while the Avenger made three attacks. A pattern of rockets bracketed the submarine on the first pass as the Germans prepared to dive for comparative safety. On the second run, the aircraft's depth charges failed to release, giving
378-502: A former FPL Avenger on static display. An FPL Avenger that crashed in 1975 in southwestern New Brunswick was recovered and restored by a group of interested aviation enthusiasts and is currently on display at the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum. FPL was still operating three Avengers in 2010 configured as water-bombers, and stationed at Miramichi Airport . One of these crashed just after takeoff on 23 April 2010, killing
441-512: A further "Magic Carpet" run to San Diego. The carrier departed the west coast on 15 January 1946, for deactivation overhaul at Norfolk. On 22 May 1946, the need for her services not required, Tripoli was decommissioned and laid up in reserve. The outbreak of the Korean War in the summer of 1950 resulted in the return of many of the Navy's reserve ships to active service to support American operations in
504-468: A more powerful powerplant and wing hardpoints for drop tanks and rockets ). The dash-3 was the most numerous of the Avengers (with about 4,600 produced). However, most of the Avengers in service were dash-1s until near the end of the war in 1945. Besides the traditional surface role (torpedoing surface ships), Avengers claimed about 30 submarine kills, including the cargo submarine I-52 . They were one of
567-544: A set of forward-pointing lights automatically adjusted to match the brightness of the sky. The planes therefore appeared as bright as the sky, rather than as dark shapes. The technology, a development of the Canadian navy's diffused lighting camouflage research, allowed an Avenger to advance to within 3,000 yards (2,700 m) before being seen. Many Avengers have survived into the 21st century working as spray-applicators and water-bombers throughout North America, particularly in
630-495: A shipment of more than 100 aircraft was sent to the Navy, arriving only a few hours after the three carriers quickly departed from Pearl Harbor , so most of them were too late to participate in the pivotal Battle of Midway . Six TBF-1s were present on Midway Island – as part of VT-8 (Torpedo Squadron 8) – while the rest of the squadron flew Devastators from the aircraft carrier Hornet . Both types of torpedo bombers suffered heavy casualties. Out of
693-399: A sloping glass canopy that was better suited for observation duties. The modified Avengers were designated AS 3 . A number of these aircraft were later fitted with a large magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) boom on the rear left side of the fuselage and were redesignated AS 3M . However, RCN leaders soon realized the Avenger's shortcomings as an ASW aircraft, and in 1954 they elected to replace
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#1732873072374756-623: Is an American World War II -era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps , and eventually used by several air and naval aviation services around the world. The Avenger entered U.S. service in 1942, and first saw action during the Battle of Midway . Despite the loss of five of the six Avengers on its combat debut, it survived in service to become the most effective submarine killer and most widely-used torpedo bomber of World War II, sharing credit for sinking
819-415: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles USS Tripoli (CVE-64) USS Tripoli (CVE-64) was a Casablanca -class escort carrier of the United States Navy . Tripoli is the first US Navy ship named for the Battle of Derne in 1805. It was the decisive victory of a mercenary army led by a detachment of United States Marines and soldiers against the forces of Tripoli during
882-472: The California coast, the escort carrier entered the repair base at San Diego, California . There, on 4 January 1944, gasoline was inadvertently dumped into the water around the forward part of the ship, on the starboard side. Acetylene torch sparks ignited the volatile mixture, and flames quickly spread from the bow to frame 82, engulfing the forward galley walkway and the island superstructure. Yardcraft and
945-483: The Chesapeake Bay area before departing Hampton Roads on 1 August, bound for her new base of operations, Recife. Screened by O'Toole and Edgar G. Chase , the escort carrier proceeded south until 1 August, when O'Toole developed a sonar contact and gave chase. Aircraft from Tripoli laid patterns of sonobuoys at the initial contact point and dropped smoke floats and float lights on an oil slick. Picking up
1008-520: The Distinguished Flying Cross . Another famous Avenger aviator was Paul Newman , who flew as a rear gunner. He had hoped to be accepted for pilot training, but did not qualify because he was color blind . Newman was on board the escort carrier USS Hollandia roughly 500 mi (800 km) from Japan when the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima . The Avenger
1071-775: The Eastern Solomons . Based on the carriers Saratoga and Enterprise , the 24 TBFs present were able to sink the Japanese light carrier Ryūjō and claim one dive bomber, at the cost of seven aircraft. 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
1134-531: The F4F Wildcat fighters in the same airgroups. On the afternoon of 7 December 1941, Grumman held a ceremony to open a new manufacturing plant and display the new TBF to the public. Coincidentally, on that day, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor , as Grumman soon found out. After the ceremony was over, the plant was quickly sealed off to guard against possible sabotage. By early June 1942,
1197-672: The First Barbary War . It was the first recorded land battle of the United States fought overseas. She was built under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract (MC hull 1101) at Vancouver, Washington , and was laid down by the Kaiser Shipyards on 1 February 1943, as Didrickson Bay ( ACV-64 ). Renamed Tripoli on 3 April 1943, and launched on 13 July 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Leland D. Webb, and commissioned on 31 October 1943, at Astoria, Oregon . Following shakedown training off
1260-749: The Marshall Islands , where she made port on 20 February 1945. Returning to Pearl Harbor after this ferry run, the escort carrier commenced training operations which would continue through the end of the war, and into late 1945. With Japan's surrender and the end of hostilities in the Pacific, Tripoli was assigned to Operation Magic Carpet . Arriving at San Diego on 29 August, with 500 Navy veterans, Tripoli returned to Pearl Harbor on 8 September, before resuming local operations - including night carrier qualifications - through November. She subsequently made one trip with Army passengers to San Pedro, California , and
1323-487: The "Milch Cow" with a four-charge pattern. In the meantime, U-219 was not yet home free - one of Tripoli ' s Avengers dropped depth bombs on the fleeing boat on 2 October. American sonar-men felt that they had definitely "killed" the U-boat, but post-war accounting showed that U-219 had escaped to Batavia , Java . When fuel supplies ran low, Tripoli returned to Recife on 12 October. She conducted one further search of
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#17328730723741386-699: The "scent", O'Toole straddled the floats with her Hedgehog projectiles and depth charges and soon radioed victoriously "We hit the rodent!" A brief visual examination of the evidence - debris and a large quantity of diesel oil - satisfied the hunter-killer group that they had indeed sunk an enemy submarine. However, a post-war examination of German records did not confirm the kill. As night fell, Tripoli vectored two aircraft to another sonar contact by O'Toole , and four depth bombs were dropped - keeping another U-boat down and running. Tripoli and her group then returned to Recife on 13 August, and reported for duty with Admiral Jonas H. Ingram 's 4th Fleet . Designated as
1449-694: The AS 3 with the Grumman S-2 Tracker , which offered longer range, greater load-carrying capacity for electronics and armament, and a second engine, a great safety benefit when flying long-range ASW patrols over frigid North Atlantic waters. As delivery of the new license-built CS2F Trackers began in 1957, the Avengers were shifted to training duties, and were officially retired in July 1960. TBM Avengers were used in wartime research into counter-illumination camouflage . The torpedo bombers were fitted with Yehudi lights ,
1512-630: The Canadian province of New Brunswick . Forest Protection Limited (FPL) of Fredericton, New Brunswick , once owned and operated the largest civilian fleet of Avengers in the world. FPL began operating Avengers in 1958 after purchasing 12 surplus TBM-3E aircraft from the Royal Canadian Navy . Use of the Avenger fleet at FPL peaked in 1971 when 43 aircraft were in use as both water bombers and spray aircraft. The company sold three Avengers in 2004 (C-GFPS, C-GFPM, and C-GLEJ) to museums or private collectors. The Central New Brunswick Woodsmen's Museum has
1575-680: The Cape Verdes. Four days out, she changed course to intercept a German submarine estimated to be proceeding southwest from a position west of the Madeira Islands . When no contact was made by 30 May, Tripoli and her consorts steamed north to rendezvous with a convoy bound for Nova Scotia . Following her return to Norfolk on 18 June, Tripoli spent two months in carrier qualification training off Quonset Point , Rhode Island, before making port again at Norfolk on 15 July. Embarking Composite Squadron 6, she conducted two weeks of pilot qualifications in
1638-529: The Far East. Accordingly, Tripoli was recommissioned at New York on 5 January 1952. Assigned to the Military Sealift Command (MSC), Atlantic Area, the former "hunter-killer" began her new career as an aircraft transport and ferry. Over the next six years, Tripoli conducted 44 transport voyages, mostly to European and Mediterranean ports, but with one visit to Hawaii and two to the Far East. Following
1701-830: The French Navy in 1957–1958. The only other operator in World War II was the Royal New Zealand Air Force which used the type primarily as a bomber, equipping Nos. 30 and 31 Squadrons , with both operating from South Pacific island bases during 1944 in support of the Bougainville campaign . Some of the Avengers were later transferred to the British Pacific Fleet . In 1945, Avengers were involved in pioneering trials of aerial topdressing in New Zealand that led to
1764-648: The Japanese battleship Hiei , which had already been crippled the night before. After hundreds of the original TBF-1 models were built, the TBF-1C began production. The allotment of space for specialized internal and wing-mounted fuel tanks doubled the Avenger's range. By 1943, Grumman began to slowly phase out production of the Avenger to produce F6F Hellcat fighters, and the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors took over production, with these aircraft being designated TBM . The Eastern Aircraft plant
1827-544: The Japanese task force. Fighting 300 nmi (560 km) away from the fleet at the extreme end of their range, the group of Hellcats, TBF/TBMs, and dive bombers took many casualties. However, Avengers from the Independence -class aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood sank the light carrier Hiyō as their only major prize. Mitscher's gamble did not pay off as well as he had hoped. In June 1943, shortly before his 19th birthday, future-president, George H. W. Bush ,
1890-596: The Navy. Designed by Leroy Grumman , the first prototype was called the XTBF-1 . It was first flown on 7 August 1941. Although one of the first two prototypes crashed near Brentwood, New York , rapid production continued. To ease carrier storage concerns, simultaneously with the F4F-4 model of its Wildcat carrier fighter, Grumman designed the Avenger to also use the new Sto-Wing patented "compound angle" wing-folding mechanism, intended to maximize storage space on an aircraft carrier;
1953-621: The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Perseus . The Avengers were fitted with British equipment by Scottish Aviation and delivered as the Avenger AS.4 to several FAA squadrons including No. 767, 814, 815, 820 and 824. The aircraft were replaced from 1954 by Fairey Gannets and were passed to squadrons of the Royal Naval Reserve including No. 1841 and 1844 until the RNR Air Branch was disbanded in 1957. The survivors were transferred to
USS Tripoli - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-527: The Sea Echelon of Boat Unit 1. Loading a cargo of helicopters and military passengers, Tripoli returned to the west coast and arrived at Alameda on 11 November 1952. Subsequently making her sole Hawaiian voyage with the MSC, Tripoli then headed east to finish her career with transport voyages to European and Mediterranean ports. At Alameda May 1954, fifty F-86D aircraft were loaded on board Tripoli and cocooned for
2079-499: The US aeronautical research arm NACA used a complete Avenger in a comprehensive drag-reduction study in their large Langley wind tunnel . The Avenger was also used by the Royal Navy 's Fleet Air Arm , where it was initially known as the " Tarpon ". Initial test flights were carried out by British Admiralty test pilot Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner at RAF Boscombe Down . However, this name
2142-557: The Wildcat's replacement, the F6F Hellcat , also employed this mechanism. The engine used was the twin-row Wright R-2600-20 Twin Cyclone fourteen-cylinder radial engine, which produced 1,900 horsepower (1,420 kW). There were three crew members: pilot, turret gunner and radioman/bombardier/ventral gunner. A single synchronized .30 caliber (7.62 mm) machine gun was mounted in
2205-575: 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 omitted the cowl-mount synchronized 0.30 caliber (7.62 mm) gun, and replaced it with twin Browning AN/M2 0.50 caliber (12.7 mm) light-barrel guns, one in each wing outboard of the propeller arc, per pilots' requests for better forward firepower and increased strafing ability. There
2268-573: The carrier put to sea on 15 March as the center ship in Task Group 21.15 (TG 21.15). Supported by five destroyer escorts of Escort Division 7 (CortDiv 7), Tripoli patrolled west of the Cape Verde Islands to break up German U-boat refuelling activities in that area. After providing air cover for a convoy routed to the British West Indies , Tripoli ' s Wildcats and Avengers searched
2331-508: The center of TG 47.7, the escort carrier put to sea on 22 August with the four destroyer escorts of CortDiv 24 to operate against a homeward-bound German submarine estimated to pass at 25° south latitude and 5° west longitude. After a fruitless search pursuing two fading sonar contacts in the mid-South Atlantic narrows, Tripoli and her group returned to Recife on 11 September for provisioning and fuelling. Underway again two days later, TG 47.7 headed out to conduct another search - this time along
2394-401: The enemy submersible the time she needed to dive. The U-boat evaded the aircraft's last attack - a mine - but also missed her fuelling rendezvous with U-488 . Returning to Norfolk on 29 April, Tripoli underwent voyage repairs before embarking VC-6 - 12 Avengers and nine Wildcats. She then formed up with CortDiv 7 and departed Hampton Roads on 24 May for further searches in the vicinity of
2457-611: The enemy's estimated track. Gillespie went in to conduct a low-level rocket attack, but was shot down by heavy flak. Another Avenger, drawn to the battle, braved the flak to conduct another rocket run and also dropped depth bombs, while a Wildcat strafed the U-boat which struggled desperately to dodge the harassing attacks by the American aircraft. U-219 emerged from the firefight unscathed, but U-1062 did not enjoy similar good fortune. Fessenden , one of Mission Bay ' s screen, homed in on sonobuoy indications on 30 September and sank
2520-529: The establishment of an industry which markedly increased food production and efficiency in farming worldwide. Pilots of the Royal New Zealand Air Force 's No. 42 Squadron spread fertilizer from Avengers beside runways at Ohakea Air Base and provided a demonstration for farmers at Hood Aerodrome , Masterton, New Zealand. One of the primary postwar users of the Avenger was the Royal Canadian Navy , which obtained 125 former US Navy TBM-3E Avengers from 1950 to 1952 to replace their venerable Fairey Fireflies . By
2583-593: The estimated track of two U-boats slated to rendezvous for refuelling. One of the target U-boats was U-1062 , bound from Penang , British Malaya with a cargo of valuable petroleum products for the German war effort. Ordered to fuel U-219 , outward-bound for the Far East, U-1062 prepared to rendezvous with her smaller sister boat in the South Atlantic narrows - directly in the path of the Tripoli escort group. Passing to
USS Tripoli - Misplaced Pages Continue
2646-423: The inexperienced American pilots and lack of fighter cover were responsible for poor showing of US torpedo bombers, regardless of type. Later in the war, with growing American air superiority, better attack coordination and more veteran pilots, Avengers were able to play vital roles in the subsequent battles against Japanese surface forces. On 24 August 1942, the next major naval aircraft carrier battle occurred at
2709-600: The intervening years, Tripoli was reclassified a utility carrier and redesignated CVU-64 on 12 June 1955. Again redesignated T-CVU-64 on 1 July 1958, Tripoli was decommissioned at New Orleans , La., on 25 November 1958 and subsequently struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 February 1959. Her hull then scrapped by a Japanese firm in January 1960. Grumman TBF Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors )
2772-526: The most effective sub-killers in the Pacific theater , as well as in the Atlantic, when escort carriers were finally available to escort Allied convoys. There, the Avengers contributed to the warding off of 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
2835-449: The narrows from 26 October-12 November before heading for a much-needed overhaul at Norfolk. Subsequently, the escort carrier sailed for the Pacific and, after transiting the Panama Canal and touching at San Diego , arrived at Pearl Harbor on 10 January 1945. Tripoli transferred Composite Squadron 8 ashore to conduct operations from Hilo , Hawaii , before she loaded a miscellaneous cargo of fighters and bombers to be offloaded at Roi, in
2898-430: The nose, a .50 caliber (12.7 mm) gun was mounted right next to the turret gunner's head in a rear-facing electrically powered turret, and a single 0.30 caliber (7.62 mm) hand-fired machine gun flexibly-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
2961-600: The pilot. The last FPL Avenger was retired on 26 July 2012 and sold to the Shearwater Aviation Museum in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. There are several other Avengers, usually flying as warbirds in private collections around the world today. They are a popular airshow fixture in both flying and static displays. In 2020 the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) were flying three TBM Avengers with one based with
3024-547: The radios, allowing for a fourth passenger. The Avenger had a large bomb bay, allowing for one Bliss-Leavitt Mark 13 torpedo , a single 2,000-pound (907 kg) bomb, or up to four 500-pound (227 kg) bombs . The aircraft had overall ruggedness and stability, and pilots say it flew like a truck, for better or worse. With its good radio facilities, docile handling, and long range, the Grumman Avenger also made an ideal command aircraft for Commanders, Air Group (CAGs). With
3087-554: The reinforcements ashore - soon to be in action in their ground-attack role in Korea. After loading battle-damaged aircraft for repairs in the United States, the carrier embarked 245 Navy and Marine Corps personnel for rotation back to Alameda Naval Air Station , California. Making port on the West Coast on 22 September, she then put to sea for the Far East a second time, once again carrying jet aircraft to Yokosuka, as well as transporting men of
3150-519: The same or similar names This article includes a list of ships with the same or similar names. If an internal link for a specific ship led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended ship article, if one exists. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=USS_Tripoli&oldid=1047098866 " Categories : Set index articles on ships United States Navy ship names Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
3213-480: The sea lanes northwest, southwest, and west of the Cape Verdes before putting into Recife , Brazil on 5 April, to refuel and provision. Back at sea again two days later, Tripoli continued the routine of daily launchings and recoveries of her aircraft, guarding the Allied sea lanes against the incursions of enemy U-boats. About one hour before sunrise on 19 April, one of Tripoli ' s Avengers made radar contact with
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#17328730723743276-515: The ship's crew battled the flames and soon had the fire under control, but not before two men had died. Subsequently repaired, Tripoli departed San Diego on 31 January, bound for the Panama Canal and duty with the Atlantic Fleet. She arrived at her new home port, Norfolk, Virginia on 16 February. Embarking Composite Squadron 13 ( VC-13 ) - 13 Grumman FM-2 Wildcats and Grumman TBM Avengers -
3339-463: The ship's third voyage to Europe, Tripoli was berthed at the Port Newark Terminal on 5 August 1952, where she loaded 45 F-84 Thunderjets , 90 wingtip fuel tanks, and related gear for transport to the Far East. After going to sea on 7 August, bound for Japan, Tripoli steamed via the Panama Canal and San Diego and made port at Yokosuka with her vital cargo on 5 September, where cranes lifted
3402-483: The six Avengers, five were shot down and the other returned heavily damaged with one of its gunners killed, and the other gunner and the pilot wounded. Author Gordon Prange posited in Miracle at Midway that the outdated Devastators (and lack of new aircraft) contributed somewhat to the lack of a complete victory at Midway (the four Japanese fleet carriers were sunk directly by dive bombers instead). Others pointed out that
3465-529: The super-battleships Yamato and Musashi and being credited for sinking 30 submarines. Greatly modified after the war, it remained in use until the 1960s. The 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 replacement for the TBD and in April 1940 two prototypes were ordered by
3528-510: The time the Avengers were delivered, the RCN was shifting its primary focus to anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and the aircraft was rapidly becoming obsolete as an attack platform. Consequently, 98 of the RCN Avengers were fitted with an extensive number of novel ASW modifications, including radar , electronic countermeasures (ECM) equipment, and sonobuoys , and the upper ball turret was replaced with
3591-411: The westward of the Cape Verdes, TG 47.7 made rendezvous with Mission Bay ' s escort group to conduct a joint hunter-killer operation against the two enemy boats. Round-the-clock searches by radar-equipped Avengers continued until 40 minutes after sunset on 28 September, when an Avenger piloted by Lieutenant William R. Gillespie reported a definite contact with the surfaced U-219 only 11 miles from
3654-443: Was commissioned as the youngest naval aviator at the time. Later, while flying a TBM with VT-51 (from USS San Jacinto ), his Avenger was shot down on 2 September 1944 over the Pacific island of Chichi Jima . However, he released his payload and hit the radio tower target before being forced to bail out over water. Both of his crewmates died. He was rescued at sea by the American submarine USS Finback . He later received
3717-549: Was later discontinued and the Avenger name used instead, as part of the process of the Fleet Air Arm universally adopting the U.S. Navy's names for American naval aircraft. The first 402 aircraft were known as Avenger Mk I, 334 TBM-1s from Grumman were called the Avenger Mk II, and 334 TBM-3 were designated the Mk III. An interesting kill by a Royal Navy Avenger was the destruction of a V-1 flying bomb on 9 July 1944. The much faster V-1
3780-515: Was located in Ewing , New Jersey. Grumman delivered a TBF-1, held together with sheet metal screws, so that the automotive engineers could disassemble it, one part at a time, and redesign the aircraft for automotive-style production. This aircraft was known as the "P-K Avenger" ("P-K" being an abbreviation for Parker-Kalon, manufacturer of sheet metal screws). Starting in mid-1944, the TBM-3 began production (with
3843-475: Was only one set of controls on the aircraft, and no direct access to the pilot's position existed from the rest of the aircraft's interior. The radio equipment was massive, especially by today's standards, and filled the length of the well-framed "greenhouse" 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
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#17328730723743906-628: Was overtaking the Avenger when the Telegraphist Air Gunner in the dorsal turret, Leading Airman Fred Shirmer, fired at it from 700 yards (640 m). For this achievement, Shirmer was Mentioned in Dispatches , later being awarded the DSM for the 1945 Operation Meridian action at Palembang . In the January 1945 British carrier raid on the Soengei Gerong oil refinery during Operation Meridian ,
3969-486: Was the type of torpedo bomber used during the sinking of the two Japanese "super battleships", with the US Navy having complete air superiority in both engagements: Musashi and Yamato . The postwar disappearance on 5 December 1945 of a flight of five American Avengers, known as Flight 19 , was later added to the Bermuda Triangle legend, first written about by Edward Van Winkle Jones in an Associated Press article published in September 1950. During World War II,
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