Grumman's outstanding design and engineering staff, under W. T. (Bill) Schwendler, designed and developed this big and extremely useful torpedo bomber very quickly and it became one of the key aircraft in the Pacific war. Two prototypes were ordered on 8 April 1940 and large numbers were in action at the Battle of Midway just over two years later. From the start the TBF was robust and well equipped and one could not help comparing it with the British Barracuda which lacked power, self-defence and a weapon bay. Fortunately a proportion of deliveries went to the Fleet Air Arm, which originally considered the name Tarpon before adopting the US Navy name. Of 2,293 Grumman-built aircraft delivered by December 1943, 402 went to the RN and 63 to the RNZAF. Eastern Aircraft, the second source, delivered 2,882 of the TBM-1 and -1C type, before switching to the slightly modified -3 in April 1944. Many -3s had no turret, all had strengthened wings for rockets or a radar pod, and no fewer than 4,664 were delivered by Eastern in 14 months.
After 1945 development suddenly blossomed out into new versions, produced as conversions. The TBM-3E was packed with ASW search and attack equipment, the TBM-3W and -3W2 were grotesque "guppy" type early-warners with huge belly radar, the -3U was a tug and the -3R a COD (carrier on-board delivery) transport with seven passenger seats. The Fleet Air Arm put 100 TBM-3E anti-submarine versions into use as the Avenger AS.4 in 1953 and about 500 more post-war variants served with the USN, RCN, Aeronavale, Japan and Netherlands.