Photo by John Lackey  #avgeek    

Originally shared by Fly By Photography

Warbird Wednesday!!

Meet Doris Mae. I know her well! She is assigned to my Commemorative Air Force unit, the Capita Wing. Doris is a TBM-3E Avenger. The TBM was a World War II torpedo bomber.

Grumman designed the TBF Avenger in 1939-1940. The Avenger made its first flight on August 7, 1941. In 1943 Grumman switched to manufacturing its F6F Hellcat fighter for the Navy and Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors took up building Avengers. Avengers built by Eastern were designated as TBM.

The TBM is over 40 feet long, with a wingspan of 54 feet 2 inches and an empty weight of 10,545 lbs. Fully loaded and fueled, the TBM weighed in at nearly 18,000 lbs. That load included a 2,000 lbs. torpedo or 2,000 lbs. of bombs and rockets. The TBM is powered by a 1,900 horsepower Wright R-2600-20 Twin Cyclone air-cooled 14 cylinder engine. The R-2600 was capable of taking the TBM to a top speed of 275 mph, an altitude of 30,100 feet, with a range of 1,000 miles.

Doris is a pretty big plane and the TBF/M was the largest aircraft operated from Navy aircraft carriers during WWII. Her handling is rather truck like when compared to contemporary trainers and fighters of the day.

Change the oil in your car and you’ll put in 4-5 quarts. Change the oil in your TBM and you’ll be adding 30 gallons. Yes, gallons!

In my photo you see Doris Mae taking off from her home base at Culpeper Airport on a very cold March 29, 2015.

“Doris Mae Take Off”
http://goo.gl/DsBbTj

‪#‎warbirdwednesday‬
Commemorative Air Force
Capital Wing of the CAF
CapitalWing Tbm Doris Mae