COBI Grumman TBF Avenger Set 5752

COBI's Grumman TBF Avenger is a 1:48 model built from 392 blocks, 25 cm long with a 33.5 cm wingspan, produced under licence. The propeller turns, the landing gear has rotating wheels, and the cockpit opens for the pilot figure. All markings are printed; the underside uses the light blue brick.

A catastrophic debut

The Avenger's first combat was at Midway on 4 June 1942. Six of them, detached from the carrier Hornet and flying from the island itself, attacked the Japanese fleet without fighter escort.

Five were shot down. The sixth came back shot to pieces with one gunner dead and the other wounded, and landed with its hydraulics gone. No torpedoes hit anything.

It was not the aircraft's fault. American torpedo doctrine required a long, low, straight approach at around 200 km/h, which against defending fighters and massed anti-aircraft fire was close to suicidal — every torpedo squadron at Midway was effectively destroyed. What their sacrifice did was pull the Japanese fighters down to sea level, leaving the sky above empty when the dive bombers arrived minutes later.

The Avenger went on to become the best torpedo bomber of the war, tough enough to come home badly damaged and adaptable enough to serve into the 1960s. One of its pilots was shot down over Chichi Jima in September 1944 and picked up by a submarine: Lieutenant George H. W. Bush, later the 41st President of the United States.

In the COBI range

At 1:48 the Avenger matches the large COBI bombers and works alongside the 1:300 carriers as a size reference.

Specifications

Pieces: 392 · Figures: 1 pilot · Scale: 1:48
Model dimensions: 25 × 33.5 × 11 cm (9.8 × 13.2 × 4.3 in)