French Avengers in Tunisia

[Wez]

I've recently received the rather nice Academy boxing of Accurate Miniatures 1/48th TBM-3 Avenger from Relish Models (thanks Graham)!

It's a beautifully moulded kit, shame the instructions were drawn in crayon by an 8 year old but that's another matter entirely.

Anyway, when I finally get around to it (which won't be for some considerable time), I plan to make it as a TBM-3E serving with 4F based in Karouba which I think is in modern day Tunisia in 1953.

I've tried searching on t'web for info and particularly pictures of French post-war ops in Tunisia and particularly their use of Avengers and drawn a blank.

Can anybody point me towards a site that has pictures of French Avengers in Tunisia, I'm particularly interested in weathering and wear on the airframe, weapons loads and whether French Avengers ever had the bubble windows fitted to the observation windows behind the wing/below the turret?

Many thanks

Wez

[tonyot]

http://www.frenchwings.net/navy/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=336I`m not well up on French Avengers but they were not fitted with the bulged side windows, only British Avengers had these. You might like to check up on US Navy TBM-3E`s if you cannot find any French ones, as I`m sure that this was a lightened version with straight engine cooling gills (all level at the rear with no kink in the bottom one), the lower gun position was deleted and plated over and the majority had an external arrester hook, but not all of them.

Hope that helps and good luck with your search,

Tony O

PS- I`ve just done a google search on `French Navy Avenger' and come up with quite a few photos which might be useful, here is the website addressy thing;

http://www.frenchwings.net/navy/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=336

Edited January 25, 2013 by tonyot

[FalkeEins]

..some colour images at the bottom of this first page, which presents a general history of the type before detailing French use, but other than that

http://forummarine.forumactif.com/t4512-grumman-tbf-avenger

Jacques Moulin's 'Aircraft of the Algerian War' blog - wow, look at those Wellingtons! Second link has lots of French naval Avengers

http://avions-de-la-guerre-d-algerie.over-blog.com/

http://avions-de-la-guerre-d-algerie.over-blog.com/article-grumman-tbf-tbm-avenger-52525334.html

Moulin's 'Le Fana de l'Aviation' article on French Aviation over Suez - not Algeria I appreciate but of interest for Avenger ops in French service (French text..)

http://240plan.ovh.net/~flottill/cd/tbm-08.htm

Edited January 25, 2013 by FalkeEins

[Wez]

I`m not well up on French Avengers but they were not fitted with the bulged side windows, only British Avengers had these. You might like to check up on US Navy TBM-3E`s if you cannot find any French ones, as I`m sure that this was a lightened version with straight engine cooling gills (all level at the rear with no kink in the bottom one), the lower gun position was deleted and plated over and the majority had an external arrester hook, but not all of them.

Hope that helps and good luck with your search,

Tony O

Tony,

Thanks for that bit of advice, I was just about to take a look at US ones when FalkeEins post came in. I was particularly wondering how desert ops might affect the weathering...

..some colour images at the bottom of this first page, which presents a general history of the type before detailing French use, but other than that

http://forummarine.forumactif.com/t4512-grumman-tbf-avenger

Jacques Moulin's 'Aircraft of the Algerian War' blog - wow, look at those Wellingtons! Second link has lots of French naval Avengers

http://avions-de-la-guerre-d-algerie.over-blog.com/

http://avions-de-la-guerre-d-algerie.over-blog.com/article-grumman-tbf-tbm-avenger-52525334.html

Moulin's 'Le Fana de l'Aviation' article on French Aviation over Suez - not Algeria I appreciate but of interest for Avenger ops in French service (French text..)

http://240plan.ovh.net/~flottill/cd/tbm-08.htm

FalkeEins,

Many thanks, just the sort of thing I was after.

Wez

[FalkeEins]

more pics here

http://www.frenchwings.net/navy/gallery/thumbnails.php?search=avenger&submit=search&album=search&title=on&newer_than=&caption=on&older_than=&keywords=on&type=AND

[Wez]

more pics here

http://www.frenchwings.net/navy/gallery/thumbnails.php?search=avenger&submit=search&album=search&title=on&newer_than=&caption=on&older_than=&keywords=on&type=AND

Thanks FalkeEins, all very, very useful.

Interestingly, the actual aircraft I want to model is pictured in the 3rd link.

Wez