BREWSTER BUFFALO

The 'Brewster Buffalo', or 'Brewster F2A', was an American fighter plane which saw limited service with both Allied and Finnish air forces during World War II. The F2A was the first monoplane fighter aircraft used by the United States Navy. It was derided by some American servicemen as "flying coffins"^[1] due to a reputation for poor construction and marginal performance. Despite this, with the Finnish Air Force, the F2A proved a potent weapon versus the Red Air Force.

Contents

Design and development

Operational history

Belgium

British Commonwealth

Netherlands East Indies

US Marine Corps

Finland

Survivors

Variants

Operators

Specifications (F2A-1)

References

External links

Design and development

In 1935, the US Navy issued a requirement for a carrier-based fighter intended to replace the Grumman F3F biplane. Two aircraft designs were considered: the Brewster 'Model 139' and the Grumman XF4F-1 which was still a "classic" biplane. The Model 139 incorporated sophisticated features for the time: a monoplane configuration, wing flaps, arresting gear, retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit.
The US Navy competition was opened up to allow another competitor, the Seversky XNF-1, a navalized P-35 that was eliminated early on when the prototype could not reach more than 267 mph.^[2]

The Navy awarded Brewster the contract; the Model 139 was redesignated as 'XF2A-1'. The prototype first flew on 2 December 1937 and early test results showed that it was far in advance of the Grumman entry. While the XF4F-1 would not enter production, it would later re-emerge as a monoplane, the Grumman Wildcat. The Brewster fighter looked "pugnacious" with a stubby fuselage, mid-set wings and a host of advanced features. It was all-metal, with flush-riveted, stressed aluminum construction, although flying surfaces were still fabric-covered. Split flaps, a hydraulically-operated retractable main undercarriage (and partially retractable tail wheel) and a streamlined framed canopy gave the XF2A-1 a modern look. Powered by a Wright R-1820-22 Cyclone producing 850 hp gave it a top speed of 277.5 mph (later boosted to 304 mph at 16,000 ft after improvements were made to the cowling streamlining and carburetor/oil cooler intakes).^[3]
Service testing of the Brewster prototype began in January 1938 and, in June, the Navy ordered 54 of the 'F2A-1' production model. The initial armament mix of two machine guns, a .30 caliber and .50 caliber Browning machine gun mounted in engine cowling firing through the propeller arc, would later be augmented by the provision of an additional two .50 caliber machine guns, one in each wing outboard of the landing gear.
A later variant, the 'F2A-2', of which 43 were ordered, included a more powerful engine, a better propeller, and integral flotation gear, and was followed by the 'F2A-3'. Unfortunately, the improvements added weight that adversely affected the fighter's performance and caused perennial problems with its landing gear (collapse issues), especially in shipboard service.

Operational history

Of the first deliveries, beginning in June 1939, nine went to Squadron VF-3 on the USS ''Saratoga''. The balance of 44 were declared surplus and sold to Finland (see below). Although it was becoming clear that the F2A was inferior to the latest German fighters, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands East Indies purchased several hundred of the land-based versions. In early World War II, any type of modern monoplane fighter was considered better than nothing, and the Brewster planes were available.

Belgium

Just before the start of World War II, Belgium sought more modern aircraft to expand and modernize its air force. Belgium ordered 40 F2A-2s (which had a factory designation of B-339), with a different engine, the Wright R-1820-G105, with a power output of 1,000 hp. The arrestor hook was removed and the plane got a slightly longer tail. Unfortunately, only two aircraft reached France during the collapse of Belgium and they were later captured by the Germans. Six planes ended up in Martinique with the French Air Force, where they were eventually destroyed. The rest of the order was passed to the UK, where they were considered unfit for duty in western Europe and they were supplied to British Commonwealth air forces in Asia.

British Commonwealth

Because Buffalos were outclassed by Messerschmitt Bf 109s, they were sent to Royal Australian Air Force, RAF and Royal New Zealand Air Force fighter squadrons in Singapore, Malaya and Burma, shortly before the outbreak of war with Japan. However, the British Commonwealth forces seriously underestimated the capability of Japanese aircraft.
The RAF stipulated numerous upgrades to their order, including replacement of the standard ring and bead gun sight with a British Mk. III reflector gun sight, and improving armor by adding reinforced armor plating and installing armored glass behind the canopy windshield.^[4]

The five British Commonwealth squadrons — two RAAF, two RAF and two RNZAF — that flew Buffalos in the Malayan campaign were beset with numerous problems, including: poorly-built and ill-equipped planes;^[5] inadequate supplies of spare parts;^[6] inadequate numbers of support staff;^[7] airfields that were difficult to defend against air attack;^[8] lack of a clear and coherent command structure;^[8] antagonism between RAF and RAAF squadrons and personnel,^[7] and; inexperienced pilots lacking appropriate training.^[8]
Buffalo squadrons in Malaya suffered severe losses on the ground and in the air, especially during the first week of the campaign, resulting in the ongoing merger of squadrons and their gradual evacuation to the Dutch East Indies. Nevertheless, they had many successes against Japanese fighters in air combat, and claimed a 2:1 kill ratio against the Japanese.
Three British Commonwealth pilots became aces on the Buffalo. The highest scoring of them, Geoff Fisken (who later flew P-40s) became the highest-scoring Commonwealth pilot in the Pacific theatre.

Netherlands East Indies

The ML-KNIL (Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger: Military Aviation of the Royal Netherlands-Indies Army) had ordered 144 Brewster B-339C and 339D models, the former with used engines supplied by the Dutch and the latter with new and more powerful engines that Brewster purchased from Wright. By the time war began, only 71 had arrived in the Netherlands East Indies, and not all were in service. A small number served briefly at Singapore before being withdrawn for the defense of Java.
As the Dutch Buffalos were lighter than the F2A-3 used by the US, they were able to successfully dogfight the Japanese Nakajima "Oscar" fighter, although it was still out-turned by the Zero. Apart from their role as fighters, they were also used as dive bombers against Japanese troopships. Though reinforced by the Commonwealth Buffalos retreating from Malaya, the Dutch squadrons were unable to stem the superiority of Japanese forces at ground level, and they flew their last mission on 7 March. Altogether 17 Dutch pilots were killed, 30 Buffalos were shot down, 15 were destroyed on the ground, and several were lost to misadventure. In return, Dutch pilots claimed 55 enemy aircraft destroyed. In a major engagement on 19 February 1942, eight Dutch Brewsters intercepted a formation of about 35 Japanese bombers, which had an escort of about 20 Zeroes. The Dutch pilots destroyed 11 Japanese planes and lost four Buffalos.

US Marine Corps

The US Marine Corps flew F2As at the Battle of Midway, and suffered 15 losses out of 25 aircraft. The grim outcome was the primary source for the reputation of the Brewster being one of the worst fighters flown in combat. However, the main reasons for the losses included the obsolescence of F2A-3, inexperience of USMC pilots, who attempted to enter into a World War I-style dogfight with experienced Japanese Mitsubishi Zero fighters, and the fact that the Buffalos were outnumbered and caught at a tactical disadvantage.
The poor performance of the USMC in the aerial battle sparked Finnish Ace Hans Wind to write his combat manual on Brewster; he analyzed the air combat, the tactical errors the Americans made and proposed tactics which the Finnish Brewster pilots were to use when encountering different types of enemy fighters. They were later used with remarkable success in 1942-43. Meanwhile, the Battle of Midway marked the end of F2A-3's American combat career. The surviving airframes were transported to mainland US as advanced trainers.

Finland

In Finland, the Brewsters enjoyed their greatest success. The aircraft did not arrive in time for the Winter War, but their impact in the Continuation War (1941-44) was remarkable. The fighter was never referred to as the Buffalo in Finland; it was known simply as the Brewster, or sometimes by the nickname ''Taivaan helmi'' ("Sky Pearl") or ''Pohjoisten taivaiden helmi'' ("Pearl of the Northern Skies"). The 44 Brewsters used by the FAF received the serial numbers BW-351 to BW-394. Other nicknames were ''Pylly-Valtteri'' ("Butt-Walter"), ''Amerikanrauta'' ("American hardware" or "American car") and ''Lentävä kaljapullo'' ("flying beer-bottle"). It appears the workmanship of the Finnish airframes was also better than those produced later; this was a common phenomenon as the aircraft factories were manned by a less-skilled workforce after the start of World War II.

The Brewster was regarded as being very easy to fly and many Finnish pilots commented that it was a "gentleman's plane" while the Messerschmitt Bf 109 (also used by the FAF) was "a killing machine." Brewsters were also popular within the FAF because of their long range and endurance, and their good maintenance record. This was due in part to FAF mechanics, who solved a problem plaguing the Wright Cyclone engine by inverting one of the piston rings in each cylinder, thus enhancing engine reliability. Note that the Finnish aircraft dispensed with most of the US Navy gear such as a life raft, resulting in a considerably lighter aircraft.
In the end, the Brewster gained a reputation as one of the most successful combat aircraft ever flown by the Finnish Air Force. In service during 1941-1945, the Brewsters were credited with 496 Soviet and German aircraft destroyed, against the loss of 19 Brewsters: a victory ratio of 26:1. However, the substantiation of this claim on German and Soviet records is so far incomplete, and all claims have not been managed to be connected on actual losses (as of 2007).
During the Continuation War, ''Lentolaivue 24'' (Fighter Squadron 24) was equipped with the B-239s until May 1944, when the Brewsters were transferred to ''Hävittäjälentolaivue 26'' (Fighter Squadron 26). Most of the pilots of ''Lentolaivue 24'' were Winter War combat veterans and the squadron achieved total of 459 kills with B-239s, while losing 15 Brewsters in combat. For example, between 25 June 1941 and 31 December 1941, LeLv 24 scored 135 kills with Brewsters at a cost of two pilots and two Brewster Buffalos.
The top-scoring Buffalo pilot was Hans Wind, with 39 kills in B-239s. Wind scored 26 of his kills while flying BW-393 and Eino Luukkanen scored seven more kills with the same aircraft. BW-393 is credited with 41 kills in total, possibly making it the fighter aircraft with the greatest number of victories in the history of air warfare.
The top scoring Finnish ace, Ilmari Juutilainen, scored 34 of his 94 and one-half kills while flying B-239s, including 28 kills with BW-364.
Although the Buffalo was clearly obsolete in 1944, barely holding its own against Soviet fighters, with most airframes worn out, LeLv 26 pilots still scored some 35 victories against the Soviets in the summer of 1944. The last aerial victory by a Brewster against the Soviet Union was scored over the Karelian Isthmus on 17 June 1944. After Finland agreed to a truce, it was obliged to turn against its former ally, Germany, and a Brewster pilot, Lt Erik Teromaa (11 kills), claimed a ''Luftwaffe'' Stuka on October 3, 1944, during the Lapland War.
There were many other modifications to the B-239 that were made locally in Finland during its career. Some of these were the installation of pilot seat armor and replacing the single 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun with a 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun. By 1943, all except one Finnish B-239 had four 0.50" machine guns. The wing guns had 400 rounds and fuselage guns 200 rounds each. The 0.30 in (7.62 mm) had 600 rounds. In spring 1941, before reflector sights — the Finnish Väisälä T.h.m.40 sights, which were based on the Revi 3c — were installed; metric instruments were also installed.
During the war, Finnish designers devised a new aircraft, the ''Humu'' based on the Brewster Buffalo, but domestically produced from cheaper materials such as plywood. Only a single prototype was built, as the plane was clearly obsolete in 1943 and deliveries of Messerschmitt Bf 109s filled the needs of fighter squadrons.
The last flight made by a Buffalo in Finnish service was on 14 September 1948. Besides the Humu prototype, the hood and fin (with 41 kills) of ''BW-393'' survive in a museum. The ''BW-372'' is displayed today in NAS Pensacola's aviation museum, restored in Finnish colours.

Survivors

Surviving Brewster aircraft are extremely rare, as their construction quality was generally poor, and most were quickly dispatched to foreign military service. It was long thought that no intact Buffalo remained, but during the summer 1998, a Finnish B-239 (serial no. ''BW-372'') was discovered in a Russian lake, Big Kolejärvi, about 50 kilometers from the town of Segezha, Russia. This aircraft was identified as one of 44 model 239s sold to Finland during the Winter War.
On 25 June 1942, ''BW-372'' piloted by Lieutenant Lauri Pekuri was in a formation of eight Brewsters that encountered a mixed squadron of Soviet Hurricanes and MiG-3s. In the clash, seven Soviet aircraft were damaged. Lieutenant Pekuri shot down two Hurricane fighters (he had to his credit 18 kills, including seven Hurricanes) but his fighter was hit by heavy cannon fire from a MiG-3 and he was forced to ditch the burning Brewster in Big Kolejärvi lake. Lieutenant Pekuri survived the crash with minor injuries and managed to walk 20 km to the Finnish lines.
The aircraft was recovered from the lake in 1998, and after extensive negotiations with Russian officials, it was finally transported to the United States. The Brewster fighter finally reached the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida on 18 August 2004. After discovering the historic nature of the aircraft, original plans to restore and display it as an F2A from the Battle of Midway were quickly dispensed with. The museum plans to reassemble the Brewster and display it exactly as it came from the lake in Russia. Damage caused by enemy fire and subsequent crash landing will not be disturbed. As near as possible, it will be fully authentic and original and instantly recognizable as a Finnish Air Force B-239 at a point in time when it made its last flight in hostile skies and settled to the bottom of the lake.

Variants

;XF2A-1: Prototype (Model B-139)
;F2A-1: Model B-239 (with R1830-34 engine and two guns) for the United States Navy, 11 built.
;F2A-2: Model B-339 (with R-1820-40 engine and four guns) for the United States Navy and Marines, 43 built.
;F2A-3: Improved F2A-2 for the United States Navy with longer range and provision to carry two underwing 100 lb bombs, 108 built.
;B-239: Export version for Finland (with R-1820-G5 engines and four guns), 44 built.
;B-339: Export version for Belgium, 40 built (only 2 delivered to Belgium, rest to United Kingdom Fleet Air Arm)
;B-339C: Export version for the Netherlands East Indies, 24 built.
;B-339D: Export version for the Netherlands East Indies, 48 built.
;B-339E: Export version for the British Royal Air Force as the Buffalo 1, 170 built (also used by the RAAF and RNZAF)
;B-439D: Export version for the Netherlands East Indies with 1200 hp GR-1820-G205A engine, 20 built, (17 later to the RAAF, some used by the USAAF)
;Buffalo I: United Kingdom designation of the Model B339E

Operators

;: Royal Australian Air Force
::No. 21 Squadron RAAF
::No. 24 Squadron RAAF
::No. 25 Squadron RAAF (ex-Dutch)
::No. 43 Squadron RAAF
::No. 85 Squadron RAAF (ex-25 Sqn.)
::No. 453 Squadron RAAF
::No. 452 Squadron RAAF
::No. 1 PRU RAAF (ex-Dutch, Photo Reconnaissance Unit)
;: Finnish Air Force
::No. 24 Squadron (1941-1944)
::No. 26 Squadron (1944-1945)
;: Captured Buffalos were repaired and test flown, both in Japanese markings, and - starring in recreated combat footage - in incorrect RAF markings.
;: Militaire Luchtvaart KNIL
::Vliegtuiggroep IV, 3e Afdeling (3-VlG IV: 3rd Squadron, IV Group)
::Vliegtuiggroep V, 1e Afdeling (1-VlG V)
::Vliegtuiggroep V, 2e Afdeling (2-VlG V, helped defend Singapore)
::Vliegtuiggroep V, 3e Afdeling (3-VlG V)
;: Royal New Zealand Air Force
::No. 14 Squadron RNZAF
::No. 488 Squadron RNZAF
;: Royal Air Force
::No. 60 Squadron RAF
::No. 67 Squadron RAF (ex-60 Sqn., most pilots were RNZAF)
::No. 71 Squadron RAF
::No. 146 Squadron RAF (ex-67 Sqn.)
::No. 243 Squadron RAF (most pilots were RNZAF)
:Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm
::No. 711 Squadron FAA
::No. 759 Squadron FAA
::No. 760 Squadron FAA
::No. 804 Squadron FAA
::No. 805 Squadron FAA
::No. 813 Squadron FAA
::No. 885 Squadron FAA
;: United States Army Air Force
::5th Air Force, Australia (ex-Dutch)
:United States Marine Corps
::VMF-221, used in Battle of Midway
::VS-201, used in Battle of Midway
:United States Navy
::VF-2
::VF-3
::Trainers at Pensacola

Specifications (F2A-1)

References

1. Theodore, Taylor. ''The Battle Off Midway Island''. New York: Avon, 1982. ISBN 0-38078-790-3.
2. Shores 1971, p. 133.
3. Maas 1987, p. 5.
4. ''Tamiya''
5. Squadron Leader W.J. Harper, 1946, "REPORT ON NO. 21 AND NO. 453 RAAF SQUADRONS" (UK Air Ministry), p.1 (Source: UK Public Records Office, ref. AIR 20/5578; transcribed by Dan Ford for ''Warbird's Forum''.) Access date: September 8, 2007; ''Ibid'', p.2
6. ''Ibid'', p.2
7. ''Ibid'', p.1-2
8. ''Ibid'', p.1
9. ''Ibid'', p.1
10. ''Ibid'', p.1-2
11. ''Ibid'', p.1


★ Keskinen, Kalevi and Stenman, Kari. ''Brewster Model 239: Suomen Ilmavoimien Historia 1A''. Espoo, Finland: Kari Stenman Publishing, 2005. ISBN 952-99432-3-7.

★ Keskinen, Kalevi and Stenman, Kari. ''Brewster Model 239: Suomen Ilmavoimien Historia 1B''. Espoo, Finland: Kari Stenman Publishing, 2005. ISBN 952-99432-4-5.

★ Maas, Jim. ''F2A Buffalo in action''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal publications, 1988. ISBN 0-89747-196-2.

★ Raunio, Jukka. ''Lentäjän näkökulma 2 = Pilot's viewpoint 2''. Self published, 1993. ISBN 951-96866-0-6.

★ Shores, Christopher. ''The Brewster Buffalo (Aircraft in Profile 217)''. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1971.

★ Taylor, John W.R. "Brewster F2A Buffalo." ''Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.

★ Winchester, Jim. ''The World's Worst Aircraft: From Pioneering Failures to Multimillion Dollar Disasters''. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-34-2.

★ Zbiegniewski, Andre R. ''Brewster F2A Buffalo''. Lublin, Poland: Kagero, 2003. ISBN 83-89088-14-2. (bilangual Polish/English)

External links

★ Navy photos of Brewster F2A in flight

★ Navy photos of Brewster F2A on the ground

★ J. Baugher's Brewster F2A article

★ "Annals of the Brewster Buffalo" by Daniel Ford

★ "The Sorry Saga of the Brewster Buffalo" by Daniel Ford

★ BW372

★ http://www.virtualpilots.fi/feature/photoreports/bw-372_photos/BW372 photos]