The name 'Avenger' was in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but those who flew her lovingly called her 'turkey'. She was the largest single-engine aircraft to serve in WWII, but paradoxically, she often flew off of the smallest carriers. She dropped far more bombs than she did the torpedoes she was designed to launch, and in spite of a disastrous combat debut, she ultimately gave as good as she got.
She was the result of a call for design orders by the Bureau of Aeronautics for a carrier-based bomber which could fulfill a variety of missions: Torpedo and bombing attacks, strafing, scouting and smoke laying. The requirement called for an aircraft with a maximum speed of 300 MPH (482 km/h), a maximum range of over 1000 miles (1609km), and a maximum ceiling of 30,000 feet (9144m). Additional requirements included a maximum carrier take-off distance of 325 feet (99m, with wind across the bow), and an internal weapons bay.
The design was awarded to Grumman, whose prototype not only bristled with armament, but also carried the innovative "Sto-Wing," which had been recently introduced on Grumman's stubby little F4F-3 Wildcat. This design was the brainchild of Roy Grumman, who created the concept of wings folding backwards along the fuselage by using an eraser and two paperclips.
She was ordered into production in December 1940 with the first delivery being made in January 1942. Grumman was producing 60 Avengers a month by mid-1942 when the Navy required an increased production. The need was met by adding the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors to the manufacturing program. These were identical to the Avengers produced by Grumman, but were designated 'TBM.' By the end of 1943, Eastern Aircraft was the sole producer of Avengers. Over 7500 Avengers had been produced by VJ day, of which over 100 samples survive to this day.
The end of WWII did not end the fight of the Turkey. Companies in the western United States and the US Forestry Service employed surplus Avengers as aerial tankers. Many of these aircraft were converted to single-seaters, and modified to carry heavy loads of flame retardant. By the 1970s, the Avenger had been replaced by more advanced multi-engine tankers, but as late as the late 1990s, Avengers still served as fire-bombers and sprayers in Canada.
She is, indeed, a paradox. She started her career destroying enemy targets, and ended it extinguishing fires that were destroying the countryside. Truly, her greatest asset was her versatility.
