Early 1942 was an anxious time for the U.S. west coast and the great Pacific northwest in particular due to the fear of attacks by enemy submarines as this
Seattle Post-Intelligencer from late February, 1942 attests. Nerves were frayed by reports of merchant sinkings and sub sightings. Enemy periscopes were even said to have been seen in Puget Sound:
Fortunately, the right aircraft appeared at just the right time to blunt the threat: the Grumman XTBF-Y Revenger.
Perhaps the best part of this story is that the XTBF-Y should've never been built at all. The 150 on hand in early 1942 existed only due to a clerical error at the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics.
By 1939, the Navy realized their sleek, modern TBD Devastators were fast becoming obsolete. A requirement for a new torpedo bomber was announced and Grumman submitted their XTBF-Y proposal. The Navy liked what it saw and ordered a service test squadron.
Unfortunately, the new prototype's weaknesses were revealed during the service test phase. A slow climb rate and limited field of fire for the tail gunner due to the unique rear fold-down "turtle deck" spelled doom for the Grumman XTBF-Y and the project was meant to be cancelled. However, instead of submitting a completed form BA267054-c, a Navy clerk typist's mate 2nd class sent form BA267054-p in by mistake to BuAer and the XTBF-Y was put into limited production.
This would be lucky indeed for the brave people of Seattle and for Salmon lovers world-wide.
The Navy realized it had 150 almost worthless torpedo bombers on hand and engaged in a modification program to reconfigure the XTBF-Y for anti-submarine warfare. The top-secret QRSTUV-26 airborne radar was added in a wingtip pod and a MAD stinger was grafted onto the tail. The rear gunner was replaced by a radar/MAD operator.
The new ASW platform was dubbed the Revenger upon entering service just after December 7, 1941. It was indeed formidable, armed with two Mark 17x depth bombs and an experimental Westinghouse Mark W aerial torpedo. These secret weapons were smaller than usual as TNT had been replaced with Explodium 235 which offered more bang for the buck. As a last resort, the aircraft's four wing-mounted .50 cal. machine guns could deliver a withering strafing attack.
On the late afternoon of February 29th, 1942 a periscope was sighted off Mercer Island. The aircraft of the 107th Patrol Squadron (ASW) were sent up to find and destroy the enemy. Aircraft 71, named Jonah by its pilot, spotted what it thought was the enemy and dove to engage. Its two Mark 17x depth bombs found their target which promptly exploded.
Unluckily, no enemy sub was hit, but a couple of fishing boats were and incredibly finely-chopped salmon rained down upon the area. Thus the lucrative juggernaut known as the salmon pate` industry was born.
The Grumman Revenger went on to serve without distinction until finally replaced by newer types in 1943. The 107th Patrol Squadron's "Jonah" is obscure, but often modeled by pedantic rivet-counters with limited social skills due to the colorful Fight or Buy Bonds! poster on the aircraft's nose. Tedious "discussions" about the true colors of that War Bond poster can be followed on various internet forums for those who have lost their will to live.
While no complete Grumman Revengers exist today, an XTBF-Y pilot relief tube assembly was found just off Whidbey Island in 1986. Sadly, a 1/72 scale plastic model kit ("for ages 7 and up only!") is as close as one can get to this classic warbird.
Brian da Basher
