General Motors TBM-3E Avenger at the Evergreen Aviation Museum

Photo by Cliff West

Introduced in 1942, the Avenger was the first new U.S. Navy aircraft to enter service after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Avenger was designed by Grumman but was also produced by General Motors. The Grumman version is designated TBF while the General Motors version is designated TBM. This example was built by General Motors. The Avenger was a torpedo bomber and dive bomber that was launched from aircraft carriers. It is shown here with its wings folded for storage. The folding wings allowed more aircraft to be carried aboard a carrier. The folding wing concept was adopted for later Naval aircraft and continues to be used on modern Navy aircraft today.

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