Warbirds
Grumman TBM-3 'Avenger'
The Avenger was a torpedo bomber which carried a crew of three; a pilot, a navigator and a gunner. In some versions it even had a crew of four with an extra gunner in the lower tail section. It carried a torpedo in a bay in its belly. The plane was the last to be designed specificaly as a torpedo bomber. The Avenger was often seen in hunter-killer combinations agains enemy U-Boats. A hellcat or a wildcat would fullfill the role as hunter, who scouted and hunted the sub so the Avenger could finish him of. It was mostly used in the pacific scenario. Of the six Avengers deployed in the battle of Midway, only one made it back to its carrier without inflicting any dammage. The divebombers were much more succesfull. Torpedo bombers were vulnerable because they had to make a low and straight approach to their target in order to drop their torpedo.
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