A Grumman TBF Avenger launches a torpedo against Japanese warships during WWII. It is attached by two defending Nakijima Ki43 fighters. The Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval services around the world. The Avenger entered U.S. service in 1942, and first saw action during the Battle of Midway. Despite the loss of five of the six Avengers on its combat debut, it survived in service to become one of the outstanding torpedo bombers of World War II. Greatly modified after the war, it remained in use until the 1960s. In June 1943, future-President George H.W. Bush became the youngest naval aviator at the time.[8] While flying a TBM with VT-51 (from the USS San Jacinto (CVL-30)), his TBM was shot down on 2 September 1944 over the Pacific island of Chichi Jima.[9] Both of his crewmates died. However, he released his payload and hit the target before being forced to bail out; he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Another famous Avenger aviator was Paul Newman, who flew as a rear gunner. He had hoped to be accepted for pilot training, but did not qualify because of being color blind. Newman was on board the escort carrier Hollandia roughly 500 mi (800 km) from Japan when the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa ("Peregrine Falcon") was a single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in World War II. The Army designation was "Army Type 1 Fighter" ; the Allied reporting name was "Oscar", but it was often called the "Army Zero" by American pilots for its side-view resemblance to the Mitsubishi A6M Zero that was flown by the Japanese Navy. The Ki-43 shot down more Allied aircraft than any other Japanese fighter and almost all the JAAF'S aces achieved most of their kills in it. Credits: TBF Avenger by Neiwil free from Share CG Ki 43 by Briney also free from Share CG Pilots from Neiwil's Bf 109 package at Share CG Models first loaded, textured and saved in Poser 10 Image posed and created in Vue 2014 Studio.