TBM Avenger Damage

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Matt308

Matt308

Glock Perfection
18,961
94
Apr 12, 2005
Washington State
Anyone know the story behind this pic? Port wing damage and damage to the bifurcated fuselage spine doors aft of the turret.

Air-to-air collision perhaps?
 

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Hey Matt, here's some info:

From the book TBF/TBM Avenger units of World War 2 By Barrett Tillman.
TBM-3 White 113 of VT-82, USS Bennington (CV-20), February 1945
This Avenger was subject to one of the most dramatic aircraft photos of World War 2. Heavy flak damage resulted in the loss of nearly half the port wing, in addition to a five foot section of fuselage decking immediately aft of the turret. However, the VT-82 pilot skillfully retained control of his doomed TBM long enough to make a successful water landing. Standard early 1945 colors were gloss blue overall with the Bennington 'Christmas tree', or arrowhead, repeated on the upper starboard wing, overlapping the aileron.
Click to expand...

Also looks like debris took out one of the turret's .50s, too...
 
Nice find Dave; I've recently seen the pic when researching for the PTO Group Build, and wondered how the kite got that damage. BTW, the Avenger turret only mounted a single .50 cal Browning, off-set to starboard, with the gunner's seat on the port side of the turret.
 
Yeah single .50cal. And the damage to the upper fuselage behind the turret would likely not have taken too much to occur. These were bifurcating doors that collapsed down towards the centerline to allow for a greater range to the turret gunner. Thuse they were not not structurally reinforced to withstand great aerodynamic force, nor weapon damage.
 
Now that I didn't know Matt! Very intersting stuff - it's not shown on the cutaways or pics I've studied, although there does appear to be a series of joints in the panels that would correspond. Do you happen to have a pic or drawing of how they looked (the doors), as I'm doing an Avenger for the next modelling Group Build? No sweat if you haven't, just interested, that's all.
 
Matt308 said:
Yeah single .50cal. And the damage to the upper fuselage behind the turret would likely not have taken too much to occur. These were bifurcating doors that collapsed down towards the centerline to allow for a greater range to the turret gunner. Thuse they were not not structurally reinforced to withstand great aerodynamic force, nor weapon damage.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking you're thinking about the doors on the aft spine of the SB2C. The TBF-versions all show to be solid construction aft of the turret.
 
The Tillman information is not correct. That airplane was flown by Lt. King, whose airplane collided with Robert Cosbie's airplane after Cosbie's wing was blown off over Chichi Jima.

On February 18,1945 his squadron was to attack shipping and waterfront installations at Chi Chi Jima.

As they were approaching the waterfront installations they came under heavy anti-aircraft fire. The pilot in the flight behind Robert's, Jesse Naul, saw Robert's plane get hit by the anti-aircraft fire and his right wing was blown off. He said Robert's plane went into a spin and crashed into Lt. King's plane. The propeller on Robert's plane took off about four feet of the left wing and damaged the fuselage on Lt. King's plane. Jesse said he saw no parachutes from Robert's plane as it went down and crashed into the sea. He said Robert's crew John Louis Gerig and Gilbert Reynolds were presumed lost and later listed as Killed in Action.

Starting to lose control of his plane, Lt . King ordered his crew to bail out. As he started to lose altitude he was able to regain some control of his plane and was able to make it back to the task force and made a water landing and was rescued. His crew Grady Alvah and James Wesley were captured by the Japanese and never heard from again. The Japanese on Chi Chi Jima executed any airmen they captured. After the war the commanding officer and members of his staff paid for their crimes.

There is a memorial at the Punch Bowl National Cemetery in Hawaii to honor all those lost at sea during World War Two. On it you can find Robert's name. May he rest in peace with all the others.
Click to expand...

This and the rest of the story are on the USS Bennington site.

Robert

Main site is here: USS BENNINGTON - CV/CVA/CVS 20 Her History and her Crew 1944 - 1994
 
...of this collision recounted in the book "Flyboys: A True Story of Courage" by James Bradley. As I remember it was a collision during a dive bombing mission on Chi Chi Jima. Evidently there was only one hole in the cloud covering the target so the Japanese gunners task was made easier. Also, again if i remember correctly, the two crewmen who were told to bailout were not only executed, but where partially consumed by the Japanese commander(s?) The book is a hard read as it is quite disturbing...and not only because of Japanese actions.
 
Thanks for the info, Eric...sounds like Tillman took bits and peices of the action and lumped them together...

And Capt. Vick, are you serious?? What the heck possesses a person to commit attrocoties to another human being? Wartime or otherwise, there's just no excuse for that behavior at all!
 
Yep, I first ran across that pic in "Flyboys". Not a book to be reading late on a dark and stormy night....all the more gruesome for the fact that it's true.
 
Matt308 said:
Anyone know the story behind this pic? Port wing damage and damage to the bifurcated fuselage spine doors aft of the turret.

Air-to-air collision perhaps?
Click to expand...
This happened over the island of CHI CHI Jima.The U.S. had just taken Iwo Jima. Chi Chi Jima was a threat to the B-29's flying to Japan. The U.S. started to make bombing runs on the island with. Corsairs, Avengers, and Helldivers. The fly boys were informed to take out the satellite towers on the two mountain peaks. The wing of this aircraft was blown of by the flak guns the Japanese had on the island. An aircraft above the avenger was hit by flak and they collided with each other both planes went into a spin but the plane in the picture was able to regain control. The pilot stayed in the plane trying to regain control and the radio operator and gunner bailed. The 2 boys were captured by the Japanese and exicuted. You can read the whole story behind the island of CHI CHI JIMA in a booked called Flyboys.
 
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