Torpedo bombers in Gander

(by Robert G Pelley 2020-05-12) bobsganderhistory.com

Thereweremanykindsofmilitaryairplanes inGanderduring theSecondWorldWar,everythingfromheavybombersgoingtoEurope,toHurricanefightersforlocaldefence,nottomentionanti-subCansoflyingboatsandLiberators,amongmanyothers.Torpedo bombers were NOT among the lot. They came about 25 years later and,thoughmywebsitenormallycoversroughlyfrom!935to1959,itistoogoodastorytobeputaside.ManypeoplewholiveinpresentdayGandermightrememberthem.Backinthelate1960s,muchofNewfoundlandwashitbyanuglylittlebeastcalledthe"hemlocklooper".Itgotthename"looper"apparentlyfromthewayit"loopsalong"asiteatseverythinginitspath.

Thenameofwhatitattacks,a"hemlock,"canmeantwoquitedifferentthings.Thefirstis a low-lying poisonous bush, the type used to do awaywith the Greek philosopherSocrates.Thatwasalongtimeagoandnotreallythehemlockthatinterestsus.Thesecondmeaning,"HemlockTree",isfromtheevergreenconiferclassification.Thereareuptotenspeciesofthetree,themostcommonbeingtheEasternHemlockandtheWesternHemlock.ItwasgiventhegenusnametsuganbyStephenL.EndlicherwhowasabotanistfromAustria-whichsomewhatstrangebecause"tsuga"istheJapanesewordforhemlock.Anotherstrangefact:inCanada,itispresentinOntarioandallprovincestotheeastexceptNewfoundlandandLabrador.Sowhyallthefuss?The hemlock looper is a bit like the Newfoundland seagull, which eats anything. Thelooper'ssecondchoiceafterhemlockisbalsamfir,followedbylarch/tamarack,spruceandtremblingaspen.Whentimesarebad,itwilleatdeciduoustreesandevenresorttocannibalism.

This1969mapisrevealing(the1968mapbeingroughlysimilar):

Withisolatedtreesinurbansituations,thestandardwayofsavingatreewastosprayitwithcoldwaterunderpressure.Whenthetreesareoutinthecountryside,thechoiceof weapon and delivery must be different. The weapon was an insecticide, mostlikely Bacillus thuringiensis, variation kurstak (BtK). The delivery system was anairplane,whichhadtoruggedandfairlyinexpensivetoprocureandtomaintain.An ideal plane to do the job was the TBM Avenger, a nimbleWorldWar ll torpedobomber.Atotalof9839hadbeenbuilt.SomewereusedbytheRoyalCanadianNavy,which obtained 125 formerUSNavy TBM-3EAvengers from 1950 to 1952 to replacetheirvenerableFaireyFireflies.TheysoonrealisedtheAvenger'sshortcomingsforAnti-SubmarineWarfareandin1954GrummanS-2Trackerstartedtoreplacethem.Manyoftheseaircraft,withtheir1920hpengines,wereboughtbycivilianenterprisesas crop sprayers, insecticide sprayers and fire bombers. One of the best-knowncompanies was "Fire Protection Ltd (FPL)" with started with 12 ex-RCN Avengers in1958.AnexcellentsummaryofsprayingoperationsineasternCanadacanbefoundatthefollowingwebsitewhichwasamainsourceforthephotosused:

TBMAvengers&ForestProtectionLimited–NewBrunswick,CanadaInformationArchive

https://nbavengers.com/history-of-the-spray-program-in-new-brunswick-2/tbm-teams-and-pilots-in-the-aerial-spray-program-1958-to-1993/

In1969afleetof19AvengersworkedoutofGanderandDeerLake,withaboutonethirdofthemgenerallyinGander.Thisphotoshowssixofthenlineduponthenorthernendoftheoldrunway18-36,July1969.

Locationontoday'smap

ThisnextphotoshowsanAvengerbeing"bombedup"forthenextmission.Insecticideisbeingpumpedintothetank.TwoEasternProvincialAirwaysplanescanbeseeninthebackground.

HereisashotofthreeAvengerswaitingforthenextoperation.ThiswasidentifiedbyonesourceasbeingGander,thoughitcouldbeelsewhere.

Therewasa reasonwhy thesephotos show threeor sixaircraft, as they sprayed inaformationofthree,asshownbelow:

TBM Avengers did fly outside of this formation when used as water bombers. TwoAvengerwerestationedonstandbyinGanderinthisroleinJuly1969.This Avenger torpedo bombers are probably best known for their action against theJapanesefleetduringthebattleofMidway,flyingoffAmericanaircraftcarriers. IntheRoyalCanadianNavy,itflewoffthevenerableHMCSMagnificent.Thefollowingphotoshowsapainting Idid someyearsago, showing theAvengerAB*P flyingoveradawnpatroloverthe"Maggie".

This particular aircraft, AB*P, becameapart of theNavy's 881 squadron in 1950 andwasmodifiedforRCNoperationsbytheFaireyAviationCompanyinNovaScotia. Thisplanewassoldin1958andstartedinsecticidesprayingin1963.In1989,aftera4-yearrestoration,itwasmadeoperationalagain,thistimewiththemarkingsofanoriginalUStorpedobomber.ItisfoundactuallywiththeAmerican"CommemorativeAirForce"inGrandJunction,Colorado..EasternCanada ingeneralandGander inparticular,werevery lucky tobeable tocalltheservicesoftheseoldcraftbeforetheywererestoredtotheiroldmarkings,crashed-orwereingloriouslysoldforscrape!

---------------------------Otherimportantsourcesofinformation:

ºShearwaterAviationMuseumºWarbirddépôt:http://www.warbirddepot.com/aircraft_attack_tbm-cafrm.asp#ºCanadianGovernment,NaturalResources:https://tidcf.nrcan.gc.ca/en/insects/factsheet/8846ºWikipedia-Tsugacanadensis:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuga_canadensisºREPORT OF MEETING OF THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE ON FOREST SPRAYING OPERATIONS West Memorial Building, Wellington St., Ottawa October 29, 19 70.