I have a French Magazine with a list of all involved American aircraft, this is what it came up with.
If this list is reliable you should be fine with the number 4! I do not speak French, but as far as I could gather, the first column indicates the aircraft number, the second aircraft type, third is the bureau number, fourth fifth and sixth is the crew. I googled Abattu, which means shot-down.
Thanks! Thatâs great that I can put crew to the designation. Also good for anyone else building a TBF-1.
Gary
I know that aircraft!! Sheâs a -5 from the âDixie Wingâ of the Commerative Air Force and she lives outside of Atlanta in Peach Tree City, at a small airfield called Falcon Field.
They usually pose her with the flaps open on the ground for display purposes. Sheâs a beautiful restoration and a she flies too.
Just look at photographs of these birds from the war. Most of what I have seen, the flaps are closed. That does not mean that is the ultimate answer to that question because you will always find pictures to the contrary. Use your own ideas based on what you have found and run with itâŚand have fun doing it! 
I agree, open/closed? up to you and what you have in you mind or picture you have seen .
That list is spot on. The only survivor was Ens. Earnest and his radioman Ferrier; both wounded. The turret gunner, Manning was KIA. the rest of the Midway detachment were all shot down. So, VT-8, suffered the most casualties of any carrier based, or land based Navy squadron.
VT-8, launched fifteen TBD-1âs against the Japanese and all fifteen aircraft were shot down, with Ens. Gay being the only survivor. Twenty-Nine men lost their lives. VT-8 also launched six TBF-1âs from Midway. These were some of the TBDâs replacement aircraft, and five of the six also were shot down. The TBF carried a crew of three,so fifteen more dead, PLUS the gunner from T-8-1. Forty-Five VT-8 aircrew were Killed in Action within the space of two hours. And thatâs not including those who perished from VT-3, and VT-6. Those were the other two carrier based Torpedo Squadrons who were pretty much destroyed at Midway.
The list provided by ancoron109 is spot on with the numbers of the aircraft that flew from Midway and the aircrews who manned them.
Hereâs another interesting tidbit. TBD-1âs aboard Hornet had parts of their aircraft numbers painted out. âT-3â was crewed by Ens. William R. Evans and Ross E. Bibb Arm3C, VT-8 at Midway.
This is a picture of the Great Wall kit I built several years back. Up until April 1942, the national markings would have been smaller and had a red dot in the center. The rudder also would have carried red and white stripes. The fuselage marking would have been farther aft and the side code would have read, â8-T-3â, in black. When the orders came through to remove all red from our aircraft, for obvious reasons, they also reapplied the national marking much larger, painted out center of the star, the rudder stripes and removed the â8â squadron identifier from the side number. This left only the âTâ for the planeâs mission and â3â the plane in squadron number, which was moved further aft to accommodate the enlarged star. This was done on carrier based VT-8 aircraft. Also, VT-8 and VT-6 TBDâs had up gunned the rear MG position to having two .30 MGâs. I am not sure if VT-3 had done the same yet. Iâll poke through a couple of my references books and try to get the answer for that
Now look at pictures of the Midway based TBFâs. They did have all the red removed from their aircraft and they also had the enlarged national insignia, but, they also carried their full side numbers, ""8-T-1, 8-T-4, etc
Both the overall Squadron Cdr of VT-8, CDR. John Waldron, and the Midway detachment Cdr, Lt. Langdon Fieberling, both flew aircraft number 16 from their respective bases. Waldron, T-16 off Hornet and Fieberling, 8-T-16 from Midway. Both were KIA. Anyone building a TBF needs to have the side number read; â8-T- xxâ.
I hope I didnât confuse you guys, it took me a few minutes to re read and make sure the info is correct.
Iâve used clear acrylic rod for that. a piece that is 5/16th or 3/8th should work well. I also found it was easy to heat up and bend. I used one of the brideâs cookie sheets lined with foil, preheated the oven to about 400 and then put the whole thing in for about five minutes. Iâd check and then if it wasnât ready, five minutes more until it was easy to bend, but not floppy sloppy melting. Then it goes under the tap to cool off once you get the bend youâre looking for. Oh and make sure the bride is out somewhere when you use her cookie sheet. Some women have no sense of humor when it comes to using their stuff for our hobby. Donât ask how I know thisâŚ
For those wishing to build a B-26 short winged version, it seems that the Monogram B-26 âSnap-Titeâ kit is a short-wing version. I checked and there are a couple on E-Bay for reasonable prices. I donât know about any other changes that may have to be made, but it looks okay. Aside from finding the modification kit, this would be your best bet.
Gary
Iâm thinking open because the look really cool!
I actually hesitated to hit the heart button on this one because the story is so terribly sad.
My dad served in the Pacific during WWII, and he wanted to be a pilot, but his eyesight kept him from it. When I read stories like this, I canât help thinking that could just as easily have been him.
And then I think about all those families who lost someone, and all the generations that never happened because those young men never came home. The children and grandchildren who were never born. Itâs almost impossible to wrap your head around.
Thatâs the part of history that really gets to me. The human side of it. Thanks for sharing this.
Isnât it funny that, all the âSeriousâ model kit manufacturers have never released an early B-26? And the one that does, Monogram, releases it as a kit for beginners who wouldnât know the difference anyway? Except nerds like us. WE would have known even back thenâŚ
that is a 1/72 scale kit? yes/no?
wouldnât is be nice if they just had the extra wings in a kit to give the option tho build an early or lateâŚ
I had two major tests today for my Airframe , I am so excited!!!
I passed both tests with a 94 so if you ever fly on a plane I service at least youâll know you are in good knowledable hands.
I passed my airframe with an overall grade (theory 91.2/lab 96.36) 93.78 (A).
I am super stoked and apologize, I just had to let it outâŚ
Today is a great day
I get tomorrow off from school , guess what gets some attention?
it will be raining soooooooooooooo, some SBD-3 time>>>>>>>>
my other fav hobby is .22lr target (ARA,ABRA,IRL50/50) but since it will be raining it will be a model day working on my SBD-3.
Congratulations, PJ! Thatâs quite an accomplishment, and you have every reason to be excited! No apologies necessary for sharing good news like that.
Iâll bet some of those skills youâve developed building scale models translated pretty well to working on the 1:1 scale versions! Or maybe itâs the other way around! 
I think maybe that with or coupled with my fabrication experience in my mid 20âs had a bit to do with it and also believe that that may be a two way street in this case âŚ
I am also mechanically inclined and experienced in building/working on classic cars most of my life.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program..
Congratulations, PJ!! Way to go my man!! Keep us informed buddy, thatâs fantastic news!!
Recommend watching âTour of the only SBD-1 in the Worldâ posted on YouTube yesterday by the Kalamazoo lively arts. Great restoration project with tons of interior shots. 
LOL
I just got up and turned on my tv (defaults to youtub) and the airzoo video was first up and watching as I type this.
I came here to post the same message..so I will post the link to the video for everyoneâs watching pleasure.
Iâm posting this mainly because its relative to this group build.
yesterday I picked up two packs of multi size flat sheets of styrene from Hobby lobby and other building tools , I ended up spending $50 and only went in for a $4 package of plastic sheet. 
