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MUSEUM DECK
TBF/TBM Avenger - Grumman Torpedo Bomber
Standard carrier-borne torpedo aircraft
and light bomber of WWII and the period after the war. With its fat
fuselage and rectangular surfaces the TBF was rather ugly, but it was a
sturdy and reliable aircraft of advanced concept. Later models carried
radar equipment for the ASW and EAW roles. Many Avengers were TBMs,
built by General Motors. 9839 built.
Specifications: Grumman TBF Avenger bomber
Dimensions: Wing span: 54 ft 2 in; Length: 40 ft 0 in; Height: 16 ft 5 in
Weights: Empty: 15905 lbs loaded
Performance: Maximum Speed:
271 mph
Service
Ceiling: 22,400 ft - Range: 1215
miles
Armament:
3
ml, .50 machine guns, 1 Torpedo or #7600 bombs
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S58
Choctaw/Seahorse
The Sikorsky
(model S-58) was licensed and built in Great Britain as the "Wessex".
The Chocktaw had a single four-bladed main rotor and a four-bladed
metal tail rotor. Sikorsky Aircraft manufactured this single rotor
helicopter about 1960. It has a 4-blade main rotor with a diameter of
56 feet. The fuselage length, ignoring rotors, is 46’ 9”. The power
plant is one 1525 horsepower Wright R-1820-84 radial piston engine.
Pioneer of commercial airline helicopter
operations, a gross weight of 5900 kg and the ability to carry 12
passengers in airline-style seating or 18 troops. The radial engine was
fitted in the nose as in the S-55, but the fuselage was more
streamlined. The US Navy used the antisubmarine variant HSS-1 Sea Bat and the Marines the utility HUS-1 Sea Horse. S58 Choctaw/Seahorse
Although it was later capable of mounting
Sidewinders, the F-8 was the last fighter designed to employ air-to-air
guns as its primary weapon. The Crusader mounted not one, not
two, but four Colt Mk 12 20mm cannon, two on each side of the
fuselage. This is the business end of the starboard 20mms.
Over Southeast Asia, F-8s had the highest number of MiG kills per
engagement of any American fighter in the war, which led to its
unofficial nickname: "MiG Master."
Lary
Harris catches his wife Harriet with Vern and Letha Bouwman
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