TBM-3W AEW Aircraft | 2:1 Scale

The General Motors TBM-3W Avenger was a U.S. Navy airborne early warning aircraft developed from the TBM Avenger torpedo bomber near the end of World War II. Modified with a large AN/APS-20 radar housed in a ventral radome beneath the fuselage, the aircraft was designed to detect incoming enemy aircraft at long range and provide early warning to naval fleets, especially against kamikaze attacks. To accommodate its radar mission, the TBM-3W had its weapons and turret removed and carried a crew consisting of a pilot and radar operators. It became one of the first operational airborne early warning aircraft and helped lay the foundation for later radar surveillance planes such as the E-2 Hawkeye and modern AWACS systems.