Meet the Liberty Aviation Museum's TBM-3E Avenger, arriving back from an airshow at Marion. She took me by surprise when I was waiting to fly on the C-47, the plane returning after being held over by bad weather the day before. The museum let me get up close and photograph her as she taxied and folded her wings before being stored in her hangar.

The Grumman Avenger was one of the largest single engine planes of WWII, a torpedo bomber that won its fame by hunting the Japanese across the Pacific after its introduction in 1942. The TBM designation covers Avengers built by General Motors during the war. Grumman had phased off TBF production to focus on the Hellcat, passing the construction over to Eastern Aircraft (GM).

This particular aircraft was a former fire bomber that was restored back to her wartime condition.