The TBM takes a bucket load of any IJN aircrafts ammo load to kill it, where the devastator was by all accounts I've read much easier to toast. That makes a difference when you are miles from your carrier/resupply. Those cannon rounds are worth gold.
You know there's nothing else available to practically sub for a USN torpedo bomber, right?
I'm thinking both of you may ought to read the logs of this event before hyperventilating
over the TBMs subbing for TBDs and the extreme unfairness of it all.
Check with Fester for A6M lessons:
Frame 1
Fester
23:59:41 Departed from Field #34 in a A6M2
00:21:55 Awarded kill as SIRB crashes.
00:22:19 Helps kappa shoot down FiLtH.
00:30:34 Shot down a TBM-3 flown by mbailey.
00:31:09 Shot down a TBM-3 flown by Triton28.
00:31:53 Shot down a TBM-3 flown by cobra89.
00:35:21 Helps kappa shoot down Trap78.
00:40:42 Shot down a TBM-3 flown by cactus.
00:48:24 Shot down a SBD-5 flown by Wulf149.