Warbird Information Exchange

I purchased these photos from the Canadian Navy Photo Unit at Rockcliffe back in 1969.
The one coming out of the hangar in U.S.N. blue is 53558 which became CF-IMQ with Wheeler.
Not all the former Canadian Navy TBMs ended up on the civil scene. One is shown here being burnt to train the airport crash crew at Shearwater. The aircraft carrier is HMCS Magnificent leaving Halifax Harbor. 389 is pretty well the final version with ECM cans nose & tail and a MAD boom.

What's the boom on the second one?

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Magister Aviation
It's all in my book

The tube on the port side of Avenger 389 in the second photo is holding the ASQ-8 MAD boom.
MAD = Magnetic Anomaly Detector.
The boom comes out the end of the tube and extends behind the airplane.
It is one way to pinpoint a submarine.

Hi Barrie,

I think you find that the aircraft being burnt is actually a Fairey Firefly. I have recently seen that picture somewhere else. It was identified as a Seafire, which it isn't either.
Canadian Warplane Heritage are planning on painting their restoration in the late two tone grey scheme.
The Shearwater museum restored their aircraft in this scheme.

Mark

You may be right that the aircraft on the fire pit is a Firefly. I purchased the photo because I was led to believe that it was an Avenger. The RCN negative number is DNS-11031 which puts it in the middle of the Avenger active era so you would think it must be a retired Firefly but several Avengers crashed or were canabalized for parts.
I am old so I have watched them burn Seafires on McNab's Island, Avengers on the lower base and Banshees on the lower base and at the satellite field of Debert. Mostly I was sailing past but I also played in the stored aircraft. I shot these Banshees patiently waiting to be burnt on the lower base down by the harbor in 1964. As did the Avengers, the Banshees all served in the U.S.N. before coming to Canada. 144 is 126337 422 is 126422 X is 126392 444 is 126444