TBM-3 Avenger Trivia

This is what most Avengers looked like in the mid 1940s. The Royal Naval Fleet Air Arm also used them. A number of Avengers were also used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force where they pioneered the use of the TBM in aerial applications.

For those of you who ever wondered just how did they fold the wings I offer you the schematic diagram out of an aircraft flight manual.

TBM Facts

• Wing span: 54'2"
• Length: 39'5"
• Propeller diameter: 13'1"
• Engine gear reduction 16:9
• Gross weight: 17,600 lbs
• Engine: 1,950 H.P. Wright Cyclone R-2600-20
• Nicknames: The Turkey, The Iron Frisbee, The Flying Manhole Cover

How to Keep a TBM Pilot Amused

The bun gun was a crude cannon or mortar which used a vaporised solvent as a propellant. The projectile was essentially a ball of hundred mile an hour tape with a bolt or a rock as a core The barrel was a series of beverage or juice tins secured by the ubiquitous hundred mile an hour tape. The solvent was poured down the barrel and shaken and when it was judged that the mixture was explosive enough, the bun was inserted down the muzzle a short distance. The device was then touched off with the aid of a "Zippo" cigarette lighter.In the photo a young John Wood displays two different sized guns and the accessories. Wood is starting his twentieth season on the TBM this year.

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