USN Grumman TBF Avenger Torpedo Bomber WWII DVD
This DVD is about the famous Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. After it went into service, it was considered the greatest US torpedo bomber in WW2. From the Battle of Midway, it saw service throughout WW2. President George Bush #41 flew the TBF and had 3 of them shot out from under him.
The TBF Avenger entered service with the US Navy in 1942. It replaced the Douglas TBD Devastator which by the late 1930s was obsolete. The Avenger used the new "Sto-Wing" folding wings in order to better utilize the storage space on aircraft carriers.
The TBF Avenger carried a crew of three: pilot, turret gunner and a third crew member that fulfilled multiple roles as a radioman, ventral gunner and bombardier.
The armament for the TBF Avenger was a .30 caliber machine gun mounted on the nose, a 0.50 caliber machine gun mounted on the turret and another 0.30 caliber machine gun mounted under the tail. The TBF bomb load was either one 2,000lb torpedo or 2,000 lb of bombs or a Fido mine.
After Guadalcanal was captured, TBF Avengers played a major role in the Japanese naval counterattack by successfully sinking the Japanese carrier Ryujo. Later, Avengers were able to sink the Japanese battleship Hiei. Besides the torpedoing of surface ships, the TBF Avenger was also effective in killing enemy submarines with about 30 sunk in the Pacific Theater. In the latter stages of World War II, TBF Avengers using their torpedoes and bombs sunk two Japanese mega-battleships, the Musashi and the Yamato.
DVD Contents:
Film #1 - ID the TBF Avenger - This is a collection of Navy films on the Grumman TBF Avenger. First film is how to identify the aircraft by its features. Great piece of history. Second film is a really amazing film in great color about the way a crew lands F4F Wildcats and TBF Avengers on a WW2 aircraft Carrier at sea. Lots of really great team work plus fantastic footage of these two great planes. This is the original phrase - Hook Down, Wheels Down, Flaps Down - in great WW2 fashion. Runtime is about 35 minutes.
Film #2 - TBF Factory - This film was made by the War Dept and was called - Mary Smith, American. The storyline is about an American woman (Mary Smith) working in factories to aid the war effort. In this version, Mary and other girls build TBF Grumman Avengers. At the end she sings - Swing High for the Navy - because she lost her man in the war. Runtime is about 9 minutes.
Film #3 - Aerial Torpedo Attack - This a great piece of history of the Navy's Grumman TBF Avenger and the SB2C Helldiver dropping different types of torpedoes at different heights. Runtime is about 28 minutes.
Film #4 - WW2 TBF Pacific War Newsreels - This is a short collection of newsreels on the US Navy fighting the Japanese in the Pacific War. We picked out five that included the TBF Avenger"
Runtime is about 19 minutes.
Film #5 - TBF Crashes - This is a collection of the film clips of the hazards and crashes of the TBF Avenger. First, watch a very rare Navy cartoon called - Avoidable Carrier Accidents. Then onto carrier and land crashes of the TBF Avenger. The last footage shows a badly damaged TBF that landed and her tail gunner was killed by a 20mm round. The crew pushed the TBF off the fantail of the carrier with the gunner still inside of the plane as a memorial to the gunner. Runtime is about 13 minutes.
Total runtime for the Grumman TBF Avenger Torpedo Bomber WW2 DVD is about 104 minutes. Format is NTSC DVD and region-free.
