Brand: Hobby Master

Model: HA1224, TBF-1 "first Avenger" US Navy, Jan 1942 (w/decal for 8-T-1 to 8-T-6)

Material: Diecast

Type: Military Aircraft

Scale: 1/72

Length: 17cm, Wingspan:22.9cm, Height:6.9cm

[Stock Available. Original, Brand new and unused]

Features:

Authentic 1/72 Scale.

Die-cast Display Model.

Premium Quality Product.

Professionally painted. 

Great attention to detail. 

All markings are Tampoed (pad applied). 

Option to display the model on a stand that is provided. 

Model can be shown with the landing gear in the down or up positions. 

Canopy can be displayed open or closed. 

Pilot figure included. 

Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic. 

Highly collectable.

Recommended Age Range: 14 years & Up

Country/Region of Manufacture: Bangladesh

Background:

Just prior to the start of WW II the USN started to look for a replacement for their aging Douglas Devastator. Grumman won the USN contract and delivered a huge rotary engine that was enclosed in a barrel like fuselage to cut down on drag and a fuselage and wing lengths that would accommodate a three-man crew. The aircraft was officially known as the TBF/TBM Avenger but would come to receive the affectionate name of “The Turkey”. The first delivery came in time for the Battle of Midway June 1942.

The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps and also eventually used by several air and naval aviation services around the world. From 1942 on, production of the Avenger (representing nearly three-quarters of its total production) was subcontracted to a purposely established division of General Motors, the Eastern Aircraft Division.

The Avenger entered U.S. service in 1942 and first saw action during the Battle of Midway, losing five of the six Avengers on its combat debut. The Avenger remained in service to become the most widely used torpedo bomber of World War II, particularly in the Pacific Theater, where it helped to sink numerous surface ships, including the super battleships Yamato and Musashi. The Avenger was also one of the most effective submarine killers in both the Pacific and Atlantic, with about 30 kills, including the cargo submarine I-52. Greatly modified after World War II, the Avenger remained in use until the 1960s.

On the afternoon of 7 December 1941, Grumman held a ceremony to open a new manufacturing plant and display the new TBF to the public. Coincidentally, on that day, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, as Grumman soon found out. After the ceremony was over, the plant was quickly sealed off to guard against possible sabotage. By early June 1942, a shipment of more than 100 aircraft was sent to the Navy, arriving only a few hours after the three carriers quickly departed from Pearl Harbor, so most of them were too late to participate in the pivotal Battle of Midway.

On 24 August 1942, the next major naval aircraft carrier battle occurred at the Eastern Solomons. Based on the carriers Saratoga and Enterprise, the 24 TBFs present were able to sink the Japanese light carrier Ryūjō and claim one dive bomber, at the cost of seven aircraft.

The first major "prize" for the TBFs (which had been assigned the name "Avenger" in October 1941, before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor) was at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942, when Marine Corps and Navy Avengers helped sink the Japanese battleship Hiei, which had already been crippled the night before in a surface action against U.S. cruisers and destroyers.

TBF-1: Initial production model based on the second prototype. (1,526 built)