N7076C / Reeder FS #56 / Bu# 53726

Warbird Registry
Aerial Visuals

Early History

United States Navy. 1957 Eastern (GM) Grumman TBM-3E. Construction #: 3788.
Marsh Aviation Co, Litchfield, AZ. 1963-1964. Registered as N7076C. Flew as tanker #24.

From Jean Barbaud, fb
N7076C #24, Marsh Aviation, Litchfield AZ. Posted to Facebook by Jean Barbaud.

Reeder Flying Service, Twin Falls, ID
#56 N7076C 1966-1984

Note the large distinctive tank and the blue triangle on the nose; its sister aircraft (#55, N7075C) had a similar tank but no blue triangle.

Aerial Spray Program – NB, Newfoundland
1969 – Flew in Newfoundland and NB. 1970 – Pilot Archer. 1971 – Pilot Duncan.

1972 – Pilot O’Brien. Crashed: Damaged at Dunphy Airstrip on 6 June 1972 after pilot O’Brien selected gear up in loading pits. The aircraft was damaged seriously enough so that it was written off the project. A Department of Transport accident card was not included in the set that I received.

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Reeder #56 N7076C at Deer Lake, NF, 1969. [S.E. Holmes]
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TBM fleet (12 of 19) at Deer Lake NF, 1969. Reeder TBMs #56 N7076C and #55 N7075C are in the third row from the front, left to right. [S.E. Holmes]
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Reeder TBM N7076C at Dunphy NB in 1971. Reeder TBM N7076C at Dunphy NB in 1971. Note the large distinctive tank and the blue triangle on the nose; its sister (#55, N7075C) had a similar tank but no blue triangle. [Merrill McBride Collection]

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Reeder TBM ##56 N7076C at Dunphy NB, 1972.
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Reeder TBM #56 N7076C at Dunphy NB, 6 June 1972, after suffering damage while loading.
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Reeder TBM #56 N7076C stored after the accident at Dunphy NB, 1972.
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Jay Sherlock posted this image of N7076C at Scalefirebombers.

Post-spray History

Gary Wolverton, Twin Falls, ID, 1984.
Northwest Warbirds Inc, Twin Falls, ID, 1987-1988.
USMC Museum, MCAS, El Toro, CA, 1988-1998. Displayed as Marines/53726/726.
USMC Museum, MCAS Miramar, CA, 1999-2002.
Flying Leatherneck Museum, MCAS Miramar, CA, ????-2007.

See Aerial Visuals for more information.

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