The TBF Avenger was a type of aerial torpedo bomber aircraft used by the United States of America and a number of its allies during the mid-20th century. Planes of this type first saw combat during the Battle of Midway.
Service history[]
TBF Avengers, along with the SBD Dauntless and F4F Wildcat, were among the aircraft types assigned to the United States Navy's aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Hornet.
On 26 October 1942, following the sinking of the Hornet at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the Enterprise made space on her flight deck for Hornet's surviving aircraft. Captain Osborne Hardison gave time for the landing signal operators to respot the hangar and flight decks. They then landed her F4F Wildcats, SBD Dauntlesses, and finally her TBF Avengers. When complete, Enterprise was packed with 84 aircraft, many damaged in combat. (ST - Enterprise Logs short story: "World of Strangers")
On 5 December 1945, the Flight 19 squadron of five Avengers took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. The bomber aircraft had been dragged through a wormhole to the planet Alin, and would not be rediscovered until 2371. (TNG - Strange New Worlds IV short story: "Flight 19")
Appendices[]
Connections[]
External links[]
- TBF Avenger article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- TBF Avenger article at the Military Factory wiki.
- TBF Avenger article at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum website.