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Brewster F2A (Buffalo)

1939 BATTLE OF MIDWAY PEARL HARBOR WORLD WAR 2

Brewster F2A (Buffalo) History

Brewster Air has developed some notable designs in the history of US military aviation, mostly during World War II (1939-1945). There were the SBN and SB2A Corsair reconnaissance bombers in 1941 and the failed XA-32 ground attack in 1943 - Brewster's last operation in the field.

The company also licensed the classic U.S. Navy fighter F4U "Corsair" under the designation F3A-1. The company was dissolved in April 1946 after the war.

Perhaps Brewster's greatest internal achievement was his pre-war F2A, which was developed to United States Navy (USN) specifications and called for a carrier-based fighter in a monoplane configuration. The aircraft became the service's first monoplane and was one of the first to combine several features to allow it to operate effectively on the deck of an aircraft carriernamely, including an arresting hook for landing operations.

The design of the aircraft stems from work done in 1936 by Dayton T. Brown and R. D. McCarter of Brewster. The base model, known internally as the "B-139", was a single-seat, single-engine, monoplane configuration of all-metal construction -- certainly a very modern quality for its time. The U.S.

Navy authorities liked what they saw and ordered a prototype - the "XF2A-1" - on June 22, 1936. The aircraft took off for the first time on December 2, 1937, and was powered by a Wright XR-1820-22 "Cyclone" 950 hp air-cooled radial piston engine.

The aircraft claimed to be the Navy's first true combat monoplane by competing with the Grumman-supplied F4F "Wildcat" in 1939 (the Wildcat would go on to become its own famous career course). The F2A was selected for Grumman's aging and outdated line of F3F fighter jets, which significantly outperformed Grumman's competition at the time.

The Brewster design included a large radial engine located in the nose, driving a three-bladed propeller unit. The size of the engines forced the plane to have a deep fuselage, and the fuselage was short - giving the fighter a sturdy look.

The pilot's cockpit is covered with a framed sliding (rear) canopy, and the landing gear is fully retractable - although in flight the legs are exposed on either side of the front and lower fuselage. The wing main aircraft is centered on the sides of the fuselage and has an overall straight appearance with truncated tips.

The empennage relies on a single vertical fin and low mounted horizontal plane.

The US Navy ordered 54 models based on the XF2A-1 prototype but with the 940 hp Wright R-1820-34 engine. Initial armament consisted of 1 x .30 caliber machine gun and 1 x .50 caliber machine gun firing in the nose, and 2 x .50 caliber machine guns in the wings (one per wing).

The F2A-1 entered the hands of the U.S. Navy in June 1939 as the first production model.

However, of the 50+ aircraft ordered, only 11 made it into the US Navy's inventory, as 43 of those considered "surplus" product lines were sold to Finland, where their .30 caliber machine guns were Deprecated in favor of the 0.50 caliber quarter gun for a more powerful frontal "punch".

At the request of the US Navy in March 1939, Brewster installed a 1,200 hp Wright R-1820-40 radial engine in his prototype, as well as a new electric propeller unit (originally hydraulically driven ) and an improved fuel system. These changes were enough to justify renaming the prototype "XF2A-2", which began testing in July 1939.

Forty-three aircraft meeting this standard were subsequently ordered, called "F2A-2" (with original hybrid machine gun armament). Make up for USN loss of F2A-1 inventory to Finland.

The F2A-2 model entered service in September 1940, and from the 30th, the aircraft's armament was modified to carry a 4 x .50 caliber system like the Finnish model, with armor protection and self-sealing fuel tanks as standard.

Although World War II was in full swing, the United States was not yet an official participant. However, Finland's F2A aircraft found themselves in combat with Soviet troops, with excellent results on the battlefield with good enemy pilots - some 36 Finnish ace pilots became F2A pilots.

It was the series' greatest success in its entire wartime career, although different owners used the platform in multiple theaters.

In 1939, Brewster was commissioned to provide a land-based version of his promising carrier-based fighter, hence the internal product designation "B-339". As a land-based fighter, the aircraft can now be simplified as it no longer requires naval-grade features such as snap hooks, as it can operate on prepared full-length runways. The aircraft is equipped with a 1,100 hp Wright GR-1820-G104A radial engine and larger fuel tanks for improved range. After the visit of the Belgian team, 40 of this aircraft were ordered (as B-339B) and another 170 were contracted by the United Kingdom (B-339E) as "Buffalo Mk. I".

The British demanded "British oriented" equipment, armor protection and the local lighter 7.7mm Browning machine gun. The Dutch then ordered 72 machines (B-339C and B-339D) in 1940.

Due to the speed at which the Netherlands (including Belgium) collapsed, the Belgian machines were transferred to the UK and the first prototypes arrived in July 1940. It was the British who gave the F2A the "Buffalo" moniker, and the planes went on to serve in the RAF and the Australian and New Zealand Air Services. The Dutch received their first prototype in March 1941 for service with the Royal Netherlands Indian Army and ordered 20 (B-339-23) with Wright GR-1820-G205A 1,200 hp Meridian, But these were sold to the US Army Air Force and transferred (US Air Force) to Japan after the fall of the Dutch East Indies.

In mid-1942, 17 of these stocks were sent to the Australians to strengthen their local defenses.

The US Navy's interest in the F2A continued when the "F2A-3" was brought to life in an initiative in January 1941. The order for 108 of the brand is designed to keep the Brewster line busy amid the growing war overseas -- a point the U.S. has been on the sidelines, but not blind to the deteriorating situation in its allies. The F2A-3 incorporates many of the changes from the export F2A model, bringing an elongated fuselage to accommodate the Wright R-1820-40 radial engine.

The new engine affected the plane's center of gravity and had to be slightly further forward than the previous model. Like its predecessors, the F2A-3 retains its armor protection and a range of 4x.50 caliber heavy machine guns.

The last F2A aircraft was completed in March 1942, with a total of 509 completed.

F3A-3 brand deliveries to USN spanned July to December 1941. It soon became apparent that the changes introduced in the new model had a detrimental effect on performance and maneuverability, severely impacting an otherwise rather competent design.

As a result, Navy pilots did not like the latest camouflage of the fat little fighter, whose combat performance suffered during its brief stint in the hands of the Americans.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor and drew the United States into the war. The F2A aircraft still exists but has been described as obsolete due to its general instability as a firing platform and its reduced performance due to excess weight.

This was all too clear when F2A was forced to fight the nimble Japanese Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" in the early stages. Likewise, the British and Dutch armies operating Buffalo in Southeast Asia saw similar results with outdated machines - they forced action on the ground, enabling fighter jets to be useful in Japanese-type combat.

Steering was improved by reducing weight, which meant that the fuel and ammunition carried on board was limited.

For the Americans, with the more mature Grumman F4F form coming online and the Grumman F6F Hellcat and Vought F4U Corsair carrier-based fighters making progress, the F2A was quickly added to the USN inventory replace. During the Battle of Midway, June 4-7, 1942, U.S.

Marine Corps pilots stationed at Midway flew F2A-3 fighter jets to the best of their ability. Although the battle was a key victory for the United States, it was a clear sign that the era of fighting for the F2A series was over. Pilots began to refer to their small machines as "flying coffins."

The completed F2A-3 has a top speed of 321 mph, a cruising speed of 161 mph, a range of up to 965 miles, and a service ceiling of 33,200 feet. The rate of climb reaches 2,440 feet per minute.

Several buffaloes were captured by the Japanese, tested and used in propaganda materials. The Finns attempted to develop the Brewster locally as the VL "Humu" - although only one was completed and flew for the first time on 8 August 1944.