Avenger Bu. 53914 to a new home - By Mike Rawson (64 Pics)

[sandiego89]

Thanks for posting!

My eye tends to creep towards other things in the photos....

- Is that the Evergreen 747 painted as "Air Force One" way in the background? Movie set?
- Is that an early radar pod under the starboard wing of the Avenger in the first photo?

[C VEICH]

Can the new owner be revealed? I look forward to seeing this bird at some point in the future.

The CAF Arizona Wing

Note to self, pay more attention to the pictures before asking dumb questions! Thanks for the info guys and very happy to see the Arizona Wing has a new project. The B-17 and B-25 are both stellar examples of their types so I imagine the Avenger will be no less so when it is completed.

[Scott Rose]

And 53914 arrives in it's new home at the CAF in Mesa, AZ

[phil65]

[Lon Moer]

I'm a little curious why they would unwrap the 'cocoon' - other than needed for preparation - before transporting instead of leaving it on until delivery?

[lucky52]

Correct me if I am wrong, but is that TBF completely military?

[marine air]

That is such an awesome acquisition. 'It's all there" and hasn't been crashed. It doesn't have a civilian paint job and has it's turret and doors. What's not to like about it? Great move by the Arizona CAF.

[lucky52]

Perfect time capsule.I'm a purist at heart.

[Scott Rose]

You can see the profile on the Warbird Registry at:

But here's the bulk of it:

Bureau #: 53914
Construction #: 3976
Civil Registration(s):
N7029C
CF-BQS
Model(s):
TBM-3E Avenger
Name: None
Status: Restoration
Last info: 2017

History:
John E. Orahood, Rocky Ford, CO, 1963.
- Registered as N7029C.
Aerial Applicators, Salt Lake City, UT, 1966-1972.
- Flew as tanker #D16.
Hicks & Lawrence Ltd, St. Thomas, Ontario, 1972.
- Registered as CF-BQS.
- Force landing in forest, northern Maine (near St. Pamphile, Quebec), May 19, 1972.
-- Abandoned at site.
Quonset Air Museum/Rhode Island Aviation Heritage Association, RI, 1990-2017.
- Recovered to NAS Quonset Point, RI by CH-54, November 1991.
- Under restoration.
C/N also reported as 6961.

[Triplane102]

Well, according to the TV add, all they have to do next, is wash it off, Grind some metal behind the tail, & it's all set to fly !! JUST KIDDING !! Sorry Folks ! couldn't help it ! GREAT Post !! Thanks for all the Pic.s !!

[marine air]

I will gladly buy a Dodge truck if you will find me one of those Hellcats in the desert to be claimed and dragged home.

[phil65]

I will gladly buy a Dodge truck if you will find me one of those Hellcats in the desert to be claimed and dragged home.

They're parked right next to the 747's....

Phil

[rcaf_100]

I was told a story about one of the Hicks & Lawrence Avengers by a friend who used to work there, and I think this TBM's history fits the story.

Apparently this Avenger was written off during the forced landing in 1972, and Merv Hicks decided to simply leave the airframe out in the wilderness. When a museum was looking to recover her years later, they phoned up Merv and asked him if he wanted to sell it. As he had no intention of recovering it, he simply gave them the title to the TBM.

A little while later, they called Merv back and asked "Did you guys recover the engine after the crash?"
"Umm...no..."
"Well, the engine is missing."

It turns out that a few years after the crash, two brothers went out in their canoe in order to find the mystery 'Avenger in the Forest'. They were successful in locating it, and for some reason decided that they wanted the engine. So for the rest of that summer, they disassembled the R-2600 piece by piece and brought it home via canoe, as that was their only means of getting to the crash site. At the end of the summer they had a complete engine in their garage.

Now fast forward a number of years when the museum is trying to recover the rest of the TBM airframe. Word spreads and the brothers eventually come forward a little while later and offer the engine to the museum, as they really have no use for it and figure it should go with the TBM. They assumed that the airframe would never be recovered but were glad to be proved wrong.

Not sure how you could verify if it's true or not, or even if it was indeed this TBM, but it makes for a great story!