1995 0813y04
Grumman TBM "Avenger" a WW-II Navy torpedo bomber flies over Hector Field. CC 89, N1293E
Grumman's first torpedo bomber was the heaviest single-engined aircraft of World War II. Grumman designed the Avenger to also use the new Sto-Wing patented "compound angle" wing-folding mechanism, intended to maximize storage space on an aircraft carrier. The engine used was the powerful, twin-row Wright R-2600-20 Twin Cyclone fourteen-cylinder radial engine, which produced 1,900 hp.
There were three crew members: pilot, turret gunner and radioman/bombardier/ventral gunner. A single synchronized .30 caliber machine gun was mounted in the nose, a .50 caliber gun was mounted right next to the turret gunner's head in a rear-facing electrically powered turret, and a single .30 caliber hand-fired machine gun flexibly-mounted ventrally (under the tail), which was used to defend against enemy fighters attacking from below and to the rear. -[Wiki]
Photo by Craig on Sunday, August 13, 1995 at the Fargo Airsho.