CVEG-24 TBM

[Greebo]

Thanks to Lyric1 for finding me the info for this skin, which was a request from Volron.

This TBM Avenger formed part of the CVEG-24, the air group of the escort carrier U.S.S. Santee in 1945. It was painted in the ID scheme of white blocks and either yellow or white stripes that was mandated for all escort carrier air groups in the Pacific from June 1945 until the end of the war. The Santee had an eventful war; supporting Operation Torch off North Africa in 1942 and hunting U boats in the Atlantic in 1943 before moving to the Pacific in 1944. Here she escorted convoys and took part in operations in the Solomons and New Guinea. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf she survived being struck by both a Kamikaze and a torpedo. Once repaired she participated in the USN's operations against Okinawa and mainland Japan.

[lyric1]

 

[Devil 505]

Very nice

[Vraciu]

That's awesome and you got it done fast, too.

[Greebo]

Too fast it seems, Lyric1 just pointed out an error I'll need to correct. The white blocks on the wingtips should only extend from the leading edge back to the main spar, not all the way to the trailing edge like I have done them.

[whiteman]

Looks great!! I noticed that on the main wing but wasn’t sure since I haven’t seen pics of the TBM’s from the Santee.

[Vraciu]

Too fast it seems, Lyric1 just pointed out an error I'll need to correct. The white blocks on the wingtips should only extend from the leading edge back to the main spar, not all the way to the trailing edge like I have done them.

Easy fix!

[turt21]

Im wondering how it got struck with a torpedo?

[Greebo]

OK, fixing the issue didn't take long.

The Santee was hit by a Kamikaze on the 25th October and torpedoed by a Japanese submarine 15 minutes after that. There was damage to the flight deck and hangar and several compartments were flooded causing a list but she was able to make her way to harbour and make temporary repairs.  She was lucky, the Kamikaze struck a few minutes after the ship had launched a 13 plane strike on enemy ships. If it had hit with all those loaded planes on deck the ship may well have been lost. CVEs like the Santee were darkly referred to as "Combustible, Vulnerable, Expendable" by their crews due to the very poor protection given to their aviation fuel tank and ordnance storage compared to fleet carriers.

[lyric1]

 

[Vraciu]

Excellent.

[Devil 505]

I like it. More interesting looking with only the forward part being white.

[Volron]

Now that's what I'm talkin about!