Path: utzoo!attcan!telly!lethe!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool2.mu.edu!news.cs.indiana.edu!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Brewster Buffalo Keywords: fighters Message-ID: <1990Dec21.024801.8979@cbnews.att.com> Date: 21 Dec 90 02:48:01 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Indian Hill - Naperville, Illinois Lines: 165 Approved: military@att.att.com From: jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher) I have always been intrigued by the Brewster Buffalo. The recent discussion of this fighter piqued my interest once again, and I went back through my references. Here is what I came up with. It seems that the Brewster has undesevedly gotten a bad rap. In British, Dutch, and American service it was a real dog, but, judged by its service with Finland it must be considered one of the most outstanding fighters of the Second World War! The Brewster Buffalo originated in a 1935 US Navy requirement for a carrier fighter intended to replace the Grumman F3F biplane. This Navy requirement called for a plane capable of 300 mph, and three companies entered the competition--Grumman, Seversky, and Brewster. Grumman proposed yet another biplane fighter, designated XF4F-1, which was basically an uprated F3F. Seversky proposed a navalized version of its P-35 Army fighter, designated XFN-1. The Brewster Aeronautical Corporation of Queens, New York (located just across the East River from Manhattan) submitted a proposal for an original mid-wing monoplane which was given the company designation of Model B-139. The Model B-139 was a cantilever, mid wing monoplane with a stubby, all-metal fuselage and a riveted metal skin for the fuselage and the wings. Only the ailerons, rudder, and flaps were fabric covered. The cockpit was fully enclosed, and the landing gear was fully retractable. The gear leg, when retracted, fitted flush into a bay on the underside of the wing, while the shock absorber, axle and tire retracted into a wheel well in the fuselage underside. The original design features a simple open ring cowling around the engine, which was to be either a Wright XR-1690-02 or Pratt and Whitney XR-1535-92 driving a variable pitch propellor. Armament was specified as one 0.30 cal and one 0.50 cal machine gun mounted in the top of the engine cowling, synchronized to fire through the propellor arc. However, provisions were made for an additional 0.50 cal machine gun in each of the wings. A fully-retractable tail hook was installed at the extreme rear of the fuselage. An unusual feature was a ventral window in the fuselage belly, providing the pilot with some degree of a downward view. In February 1936, the Navy ordered a prototype of the XF4F-1 from Grumman, and in June of that year ordered one prototype from Brewster. It was given the designation XF2A-1 and assigned the BuNo of 0451. During development, Brewster engineers concluded that the original design would be underpowered, and decided to switch engines to the 950 hp Wright R-1820-22 Cyclone. The XF2A flew for the first time in December 2, 1937, and was turned over to the Navy in January of 1938. The Navy found the performance to be disappointing and suggested some changes; an improvement in streamlining, a redesign of the engine cowling, and a reconfiguration of the carburetor and oil cooler air intakes. The prototype was duly modified, and performance improved significantly; 304 mph at 16,000 feet, an initial climb rate of 2750 feet per minute, and a range of 1000 miles. In June of 1938, the US Navy ordered a first production run of 54 aircraft, under the designation F2A-1 (BuNos 1386-1439). Early in 1939, the XF2A-1 was returned to Brewster for installation of a more powerful 1200 hp Wright R-1820-40 Cyclone engine. In addition, the cowling was completely redesigned and the fuselage was shortened by 5 inches forward of the wing. Redesignated XF2A-2, the prototype demonstrated a marked increase in performance--maximum speed was now 340 mph and maximum range was 1600 miles. Somewhat later in the year, a revised fin with greater area replaced the original elliptical fin. Production F2A-1s were powered by a 940 hp Wright R-1830-34 engine, and incorporated several improvements. A revised windscreen and canopy were installed, offering improved vision and head room. A telescopic gun sight was fitted. The radio mast was moved from the port side of the fuselage to the starboard side, and the wingtips were slightly reconfigured. The ventral window was enlarged. The first two F2A-1s were completed with the elliptical tailfin of the prototype, but all subsequent aircraft switched to a redesigned triangular fin with a straight leading edge which faired into the fuselage just behind the canopy. The Brewster company had the habit of promising more than it could deliver, and the delivery dates for the F2A-1 to the Navy began to slip. The Navy expected first delivery during May of 1939, but only one was ready by June of 1939. It was put on display at the World's Fair in New York, along with some other American military aircraft. Delays continued, and by November 1939 only 5 had been delivered. In the meantime, the Navy had found a problem with excessive carbon monoxide levels in the cockpit, which required further modifications at the factory. By the end of 1939, 11 F2A-1s had reached the Navy, and 9 were assigned to Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3 aboard the USS Saratoga. Navy plans to acquire more were interrupted when it was decided to divert the remaining F2A-1 production lot to Finland. The F2A-1 had a maximum speed of 311 mph at 18,000 feet, and a maximum speed of 271 mph down on the deck. Initial climb rate was 3060 ft/min, and service ceiling was 32,500 feet. Maximum range was 1550 miles, but normal range was about 1000 miles. Empty weight was 3785 pounds, and maximum takeoff weight was 5370 lbs. During 1940, the Navy decided to install the optional 0.50 cal guns in the wings of its F2A-1s, and immediately started to encounter landing gear failures because of the additional weight. Later that year, VF-3 traded in its F2A-1s for more powerful F2A-2s, and the F2A-1s were returned to Brewster for modifications. Eight of them were remanufactured to F2A-2 standards, and were reissued to VS-201 for service aboard the escort carrier USS Long Island. By mid 1941, only one of these was left (BuAer 1393), and it remained with a training squadron until 1944. The F2A-1s diverted to Finland were given the company designation B-239. The naval equipment (tailhook, life raft, catapult harness) was removed, and the telescopic sight was replaced by a simple bead and sight arrangement. Armament consisted of one 0.30 cal and one 0.50 cal machine gun in the cowling, plus two 0.50 cal machine guns in the wings. The engine was replaced by an export-approved 950 hp Wright R-1820-G5 radial Maximum speed was 297 mph at 15,580 feet and service ceiling was 32,500 feet. Empty weight was 3900 pounds, and maximum weight was 5820 pounds. The B-239s were transferred to Finland via Sweden. Only six examples had reached Finland by the time that the Russo-Finnish "Winter War" ended on March 3, 1940. During the uneasy peace that followed, Finnish personnel made a number of modifications, including an armored headrest and seat back, plus a reflector gunsight in place of the original bead and ring. Experiments were made with ski landing gear for operations from snow-covered fields. However, the skis severly degraded performance and were rarely used operationally. A total of 44 B-239s reached Finland, and they were assigned the Finnish serial numbers BW-351 through BW-394. The B-239s were assigned to LeLv 24, 32 being used and the rest held in reserve. Finland went to war against Russia again on June 25, 1941, this time allied with Germany. During the first few months, the Brewsters were able to maintain air superiority over the northern front. The Finns found the Brewster to be very maneuverable at low level. B-239s encountered LaGG-3s, Yak-1s, and Yak-7s, as well as Lend-Lease Hurricanes, P-40s and P-39s. The highest-scoring B-239 ace was Hans Wind, who got 39 of his 75 kills flying the B-239. Eino Luukainen scored 34 of his 94 kills with the Brewster. As the war with Russia wore on, maintenance of the Finnish B-239s became an increasing problem, since Finland was now allied with Germany and no longer had access to American spare parts. In an attempt to overcome these problems, at least six B-239s were fitted with captured Russian M-63 radials (these were license-built versions of the Wright Cyclone). The Finnish state aircraft factory also began the development of a homebuilt version of the B-239, this with plywood wings. However, only one prototype was built. In 1944, LeLv 24 traded in its surviving B-239s for Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2s. These B-239s were transferred to HLeLv 26. Kills continued to be scored, but by this time the Soviets had deployed large numbers of high-performance fighters and losses of B-239s began to mount. HLeLv 26 continued to operate its B-239s until the end, when an armistice was signed with the Soviets on September 4, 1944. Finland then switched sides and began to drive German forces out of Finnish territory. The Brewsters were flown against retreating German forces in Lapland, scoring several kills against Ju-87 Stukas. The B-239 is credited with 496 kills, against 19 losses, for a victory ratio of 26 to 1. Finnish air force records credit 41 kills to a SINGLE B-239 before it was shot down. Is there any other fighter aircraft in history which has a record as good as this? [more to follow in later installments] References: The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1985. F2A Buffalo in action, Jim Maas, Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc, 1987. Joe Baugher *************************************** AT&T Bell Laboratories * "Moriarty is alive, and in this * 200 Park Plaza * very city! I'll stake my * Naperville, Illinois 60566-7050 * reptuation on it, Watson!" * (708) 713 4548 *************************************** jfb200@cbnewsd.att.com ihlpm!jfb Who, me? Speak for AT&T? Surely you jest!