1:72 TBM-1c Avenger

Four machines, four ships

In 1943 demand for carrier-borne torpedo aircraft outgrew the capacity of the parent factory, and so a division of the General Motors corporation took over production. Machines from its line were given the letter M in their designation, but otherwise this was the same design with two heavy machine guns in the lifting surfaces. It was precisely these examples that made up the majority of aircraft of the type on American decks in the last two years of the war. Series production at an automotive plant made it possible to deliver machines in numbers the original aircraft factory would never have managed while building fighters at the same time.

The real subjects on the sheet

The selection is remarkable in that no two machines belong to the same ship. One aircraft served with the torpedo squadron of a large aircraft carrier, two more with composite squadrons on smaller escort carriers, and one of them carries a clover leaf on the fuselage as a personal marking. The last subject belongs to the commander of a composite squadron whose parent ship was lost in action off the island of Samar in the fall of 1944; it was the only American carrier sunk during the war by the gunfire of surface ships. The selection can therefore also be read as a cross section of everywhere the type served in that year.

Shades and application

All four aircraft carried a finish composed of a blue upper side, an intermediate blue on the sides and a white underside. On this type the border between the bands runs across the rounded side of the fuselage and across the bomb bay cover, so settle the markings only onto firm gloss varnish and hold the smaller symbols while they dry, so that they do not slip. Once dry it is useful to unify the whole surface with a satin top coat, otherwise the glossy base stays visible at the edges.