In the 1940 the US Navy initiated a design competition for a modern Carrierborne torpedo bomber, and such was the urgency of the situation that an order was placed for 286 examples of the TBF even before the prototype first flew in December, 1941. Of the 9,839 aircraft finally produced, 2,293 were built by Grumman, and the balance by the Eastern Division of General Motors under the basic designation TBM and in the same sub variants as the baseline TBF series. The type had an inauspicious combat debut in the Battle of Midway (June 1942 ), but then went on to become Allies' most potent torpedo bomber of the Second World War. The Avenger was involved in the sinking the Japanese Musashi and Yamato, the world's two largest battleships, and the type served though to 1954 in later variants optimized for a number of different roles.

Description	Specifications
Manufacturer: Grumman	Length: 40 ft. 0 in.
First Flight: December, 1941	Height: 16 ft. 5 in.
Model: S	Wing Span: 54 ft. 2 in.
Crew: Three	Wing Area: 490.0 sq. ft.
Nickname: Guardian	Empty Weight: 10,700 lb.
Basic Role: Carrier borne torpedo bomber.	Max. Weight: 18,250 lb.
Other Versions: TBF-1 & British Avenger Mk I initial model with 1,700-hp Wright R2600-8 radial. TBF-1C with two extra wing guns and additional fuel. TBM-1 general motors productions. TBm-1C & Avenger Mk II General Motors production. TBM-3 & Avenger Mk III definitive model with more power.	Armament: Two 0.5-in 12.7-mm fixed forward firing machine guns, o 0.5-in 12.7 machine gun in the dorsal turret, one 0.3-in 7.62-mm machine gun in the ventral position, and one torpedo or up to 2,000 lb. of bombs.
Principal User: Great Britain, New Zealand, and USA.	Propulsion
Performance	Power Plant: Wright R-2600-20 Cyclone radial piston engine.
Range: 1,130 miles.	Horsepower: 1,750-hp.
Max. Speed: 267 mph.	No. Of Engines: One
Ceiling: 23,400 ft.
Climb Rate: 2,060 ft. per minute.