The Brewster F2A Buffalo is a fighter aircraft from the United States that was utilised in the early stages of World War II.
Engineered and manufactured by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was among the initial U.S. monoplanes equipped with an arrestor hook and various modifications suitable for aircraft carriers.
In 1939, the Buffalo triumphed in a competition against the Grumman F4F Wildcat, securing its position as the U.S. Navy’s inaugural monoplane fighter aircraft.
Despite being an improvement over the Grumman F3F biplane it succeeded, as well as the early F4Fs, the Buffalo was predominantly outdated by the time the United States entered the conflict, exhibiting instability and excessive weight, particularly in contrast to the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
Multiple countries, such as Finland, Belgium, Britain, and the Netherlands, procured the Buffalo.
Among these, Finland achieved the greatest success with their Buffalo’s, utilising them effectively in combat against early Soviet fighters.
Throughout the Continuation War from 1941 to 1944, the B-239s (de-navalised F2A-1s) employed by the Finnish Air Force demonstrated their ability to engage and eliminate most varieties of Soviet fighter aircraft that were active against Finland during that period.
In the initial phase of this conflict, they claimed to have shot down 32 Soviet aircraft for every B-239 that was lost, resulting in the emergence of 36 Buffalo ‘aces’.
In December 1941, Buffalo’s operated by both the British Commonwealth (B-339E) and the Dutch (B-339C/D) air forces in South East Asia experienced significant losses in confrontations with the Japanese Navy’s A6M Zero and the Japanese Army’s Nakajima Ki-43 “Oscar”.
The British made efforts to reduce the weight of their Buffalo’s by removing ammunition and fuel, as well as installing lighter guns to enhance performance; however, these modifications yielded minimal improvement.
Following the initial engagements, the Dutch reduced the fuel and ammunition load in the wings by half, which enabled their Buffalo’s (along with their Hurricanes) to maintain pace with the Oscars during turns.
The Buffalo was developed in three versions for the U.S. Navy: the F2A-1, F2A-2, and F2A-3.
(In international service, these models were referred to as B-239, B-339, and B-339-23, respectively, due to their lower horsepower engines.)
The F2A-3 variant participated in combat with United States Marine Corps (USMC) squadrons during the Battle of Midway.
The experience at Midway demonstrated that it was no match for the Zero, leading USMC pilots to label the F2A-3 as a “flying coffin.”
In fact, the performance of the F2A-3 was significantly inferior to that of the F2A-2 variant that the Navy had utilised prior to the war’s onset, despite various detailed enhancements.
Variants
XF2A-1
Prototype
F2A-1
(with Wright R-1820-34 Cyclone engine and two guns above engine cowling, plus two optional guns in the wings)
for the United States Navy, 11 built
F2A-2
(with Wright R-1820-40 Cyclone engine and four guns)
for the United States Navy and Marines, 43 built
F2A-3
Improved F2A-2 for the United States Navy with larger fuel tank,
heavier armour, and provision to carry two underwing 100 lb (45 kg) bombs, 108 built
XF2A-4
One converted from an F2A-3
B-239
Export version of the F2A-1 for Finland (with Wright R-1820-G5 Cyclone engines and four guns), 44 built
B-339B
Export version for Belgium, 40 built
(only two delivered to Belgium, the rest to the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm)
B-339C
Export version for the Netherlands East Indies with Wright GR-1820-G105 Cyclone engines
24 built
B-339D Export version for the Netherlands East Indies with 1,200 hp (890 kW) Wright R-1820-40 Cyclone engines
48 built (47 delivered to Dutch East Indies)
B-339E
Export version of the F2A-2 for the Royal Air Force with Wright GR-1820-G105 Cyclone engines as the Buffalo Mk I
170 built (also used by the RAAF and RNZAF)
B-339-23 a.k.a. B-439
Export version of the F2A-3 for the Netherlands East Indies with 1,200 hp (890 kW) Wright GR-1820-G205A engines
20 built (17 later to the RAAF, some used by the USAAF)
