It is an unmistakable sound-the mighty roar of a TBM Avenger's R-2600 engine as the veteran flyer streaks past. This was a sound of hope to thousands on the front lines in WWII, where Avengers patrolled the seas for enemy vessels, fought in numerous naval battles, helped prepare invasion zones, and provided close air-to-ground support for allied troops.

The Avenger first took shape in 1940 as engineers from Grumman Aircraft worked to design a new torpedo bomber to fill a US Navy requirement to replace the obsolete Douglas TBD Devastator. Named "Avenger" in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Grumman began to produce the new torpedo bomber in January of 1942. Avengers first flew in combat six months later during the Battle of Midway. Unfortunately, all but one of the six Avengers launched were shot down. However, subsequent events afforded the Grumman torpedo bomber the opportunity to demonstrate its lethality as it fought in every carrier-versus-carrier battle of the war.

While the Avenger had many successes in its combat career, there are a few that stand out. At the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Avengers scored several key hits on the battleship Hiei. In the 1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Avengers sank the carrier Hiyo. Yet, the real victories for the Avenger occurred in 1945 when the Musashi and Yamato, the world's two largest battleships, were sunk as a direct result of Avenger torpedo attacks. Avengers also flew in the Atlantic throughout the war from small escort carriers and were pivotal in helping defend allied convoys, sinking more than thirty German U-boats between 1943 and 1944.

The Great Lakes Composite Group's (GLCG) TBM was produced in March of 1945 under license from Grumman by General Motor's Eastern Aircraft division. Built too late to see combat, the TBM served with a number of US Navy squadrons on both the East and West Cost. Eventually stricken from the US Navy Register, the torpedo bomber was acquired by number of companies who planned on converting it into a fire-bombing airplane. However, these plans failed to materialize and the aircraft sat derelict in Texas for many years. Finally, in 1993 brothers Dave and Larry Tinker acquired the vintage bomber with the intention of restoring it to its wartime condition. The Tinkers were successful in their efforts and with considerable assistance from a crew of dedicated volunteers and noted vintage aircraft restoration expert John Lane, the once-derelict TBM roared to life again.

Sixty years after WWII, the GLCG's TBM continues to make a deep impression upon people of all ages as it takes to the skies as a memorial to the veterans who gave so much over half a century ago.