CAF Rocky Mountain Wing

Recently, CAF Colonels Jim Korber, Trevor Burrell, Hyrum Webb, and Fred Suvel tackled the 50-hour maintenance on the TBM. For two weeks, “309” was inspected, checked, and tested to make sure all systems were GO for the TBM's appearance at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield earlier this month.

On 7 August 1941, Grumman chief engineer and test pilot Bob Hall took the XTBF-1 into the air for the very first time, marking the beginning of the story of one of World War II's most successful naval aircraft. The flight quickly revealed that the prototype needed more work. It was overweight, its center of gravity was too far aft, and it suffered from poor directional stability. Hall wisely cut the flight short, giving Grumman's engineers the data they needed to refine the design.

The fixes proved remarkably effective. Engineers moved the Wright R-2600 engine forward, added the now-familiar dorsal fin fillet to improve stability, and reduced weight throughout the airframe. By October 1941, the Navy had officially named the aircraft the Avenger, weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Entering service as the TBF Avenger, it would go on to distinguish itself from Midway to Okinawa as a torpedo bomber, level bomber, anti-submarine aircraft, and reconnaissance platform. When Grumman shifted its attention to building the F6F Hellcat, General Motors' Eastern Aircraft Division assumed most production under the TBM designation, ultimately manufacturing about three-quarters of the nearly 9,900 Avengers built.

Today, the CAF Rocky Mountain Wing proudly flies TBM-3E Bu. No. 53503, better known today as TBM 309. Like many surviving Avengers, it was built by General Motors rather than Grumman, but its own story is every bit as remarkable. During its service with the Royal Canadian Navy, it participated in the aerial review celebrating the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Decades later, it reached an entirely different audience when it appeared in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In recognition of its extraordinary history, TBM 309 became the first aircraft ever listed on both the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties and the National Register of Historic Places, ensuring that this living piece of aviation history will continue inspiring future generations every time its Wright R-2600 engine comes to life.

TBM 309 waiting for her adventure to Offut AFB to begin. Come see us there at the Defenders of Freedom Air Show this weekend!

Did you know that the Rocky Mountain Wing has a Link Trainer? The "little blue box" was one of the most important training devices in aviation history and the world's first successful flight simulator. It became indispensable as military aviation expanded in the late 1930s and throughout World War II, allowing pilots to safely master instrument flying, navigation, and emergency procedures without leaving the ground. More than half a million Allied airmen trained in Link Trainers during the war!

Invented by Edwin Link in 1929, it used bellows, vacuum pumps, and electric motors to reproduce the sensations of flight while an instructor monitored the student's "flight" on a plotting table. It also used a lot of electrical wires, as shown here by RMW Colonel Tim Dyer. 😁

We had an awesome time flying ride flights at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport over the weekend with our friends from the Mile High Wing of the Commemorative Air Force. They did an outstanding job putting together the Mile High 150 Expo, an aviation celebration of Colorado's 150th! Did any of you make it out there?

Sunrise through the gunner's turret. This could be your seat today at Broomfield. Come see us!

On 31 July 1942, a Grumman TBF-1 Avenger of Es**rt Scouting Squadron 26 (VGS-26) launched from the es**rt carrier USS Charger (CVE-30) during one of the Navy's earliest experiments with operating combat aircraft from small aircraft carriers. Although Charger would never see combat herself, she played a vital role in preparing the men and aircraft that would.

Designed for the Navy's smaller Es**rt Carriers (CVEs), the Es**rt Scouting Squadron was structured to operate a mix of fighters and torpedo bombers, providing air defense, anti-submarine patrols, convoy es**rt, reconnaissance, and strike capability. In March 1943, the Navy standardized its es**rt carrier organization and redesignated the VGS squadrons as VC (Composite Squadrons), the designation by which they are better known today.

Although it had entered combat only weeks earlier during the Battle of Midway, the Grumman Avenger was already proving itself as a rugged and adaptable design. While best known as a torpedo bomber, it would ultimately excel in anti-submarine warfare, close air support, mine laying, reconnaissance, and conventional bombing missions, serving in every major naval campaign through the end of the war.

USS Charger had been converted from a commercial C3-P&C cargo/passenger liner hull built as "Rio de la Plata" and intended for the Moore-McCormack company's American Republics Line serving the east coast of South America. The ship was requisitioned for conversion to an es**rt carrier type intended for Royal Navy use and initially commissioned as HMS Charger (D27). Days later, the transfer was rescinded with the ship returning to U.S. Navy control to become USS Charger. She spent virtually her entire naval career in the Chesapeake Bay training pilots, deck crews, and composite squadrons for service aboard the rapidly expanding es**rt carrier fleet. Thousands of aviators made their first carrier launches and landings from her flight deck before deploying overseas.

By the end of the war, es**rt carriers and their composite squadrons had become indispensable. They protected Atlantic convoys from German U-boats, provided air cover for amphibious landings, hunted enemy submarines across the oceans, and supplied close air support in the Pacific. Although they lacked the size and striking power of fleet carriers, ships like USS Charger and the composite squadrons she trained made an outsized contribution to Allied victory by ensuring there were always skilled crews and capable aircraft ready to take their place on the front lines.

This Friday and Saturday, we'll be offering rides in Broomfield with our friends from the Commemorative Air Force Mile High Wing. Grab a seat while you can at https://rmwcaf.org/warbird-rides/

📸 James Church

The TBM classic: Three TBMs, no waiting. Of course you recognize the lead bird as our own 309, but do you know the other two?