Brewster Buffalos in the German and Finnish AF

[B-17engineer]

There is a great book called "FLying aces of WWII" it said that Brewster Buffalos flew in the German and FInnish airforce. It said a Finnish ace shot down 32 fighters in the Buffalos.

I know it was a terrible airplane but if anyone knew how it got there i am dying to know

 

[Micdrow]

There is a great book called "FLying aces of WWII" it said that Brewster Buffalos flew in the German and FInnish airforce. It said a Finnish ace shot down 32 fighters in the Buffalos.

I know it was a terrible airplane but if anyone knew how it got there i am dying to know

If what Im reading is correct the Finnish goverment bought them before the war happened or at least before Finland entered the war. They where refered to as the B-239. Will see if I can find more info.

 

[B-17engineer]

THanks a whole lot!

 

[Nikademus]

The Finns purchased the remainder of the Brewster F2A-1's contracted for the USN so that the USN could proceed to procure F2A-2's while keeping costs down to a reasonable level.

These F2A-1's were modified with Wright R-1820-G5 engines of 950hp under the company designation: B-239. They were crated and shipped to Sweden where they were assembled and flown to Finland (reportedly by Norwegian volunteers!)

 

[B-17engineer]

THanks

 

[Marcel]

The Finns purchased the remainder of the Brewster F2A-1's contracted for the USN so that the USN could proceed to procure F2A-2's while keeping costs down to a reasonable level.

These F2A-1's were modified with Wright R-1820-G5 engines of 950hp under the company designation: B-239. They were crated and shipped to Sweden where they were assembled and flown to Finland (reportedly by Norwegian volunteers!)

The gun sights were replaced, de-navalised (Life raft and arresting hook removed) and doubled the firepower by installing 2 extra MG's in the wings (F2A's had only 2 MG's in the nose) before shipping the planes to Finnland. The finns also modified their B234 (armor plating, gun sights etc) and they modified the engines slightly. The B234 acted brilliantly against the Soviets, so it was not a bad plane at all. A Finnish squadron scored for instance 135 kills against 2 losses in 6 months of fighting.

 

[B-17engineer]

THats interesting! thanks marcel

 

[Micdrow]

Here is a nice little web sight on the B-239 along with a picture of a B-239 on ski's that they talkd about.

Brewster B-239 to Finland

 

[Njaco]

"Although the "Winter War" was not part of the wider conflict, many pilots who had been involved fought on in the so-called "Continuation War" after Germany invaded Russia and Finland fought on the side of Germany on the northern sector of the Eastern Front. Many became aces and foremost among them was Ilmari Juutilainen, who scored 94 victories in action against the Russians, flying Fokker D.XXIs, Brewster Buffaloes and Bf 109s.

In April 1940, Juutilainen, who was now commissioned, converted to the Brewster Buffalo fighter, with which he shot down 36 Soviet aircraft....In April 1942 he was awarded the Mannerheim Cross and in 1943 he was assigned to LeLv 34, flying Bf 109G-2s. His total of 94 kills was amassed in the course of 437 sorties; the 94th was an Li2, the Russian version of the Douglas C-47, shot down on 3 September 1944 over the Karelian Isthmus.

Ilmari Juutilainen died on 21 February 1999. The astonshing thing about his career is that never once was his aircraft hit by enemy fire."

Vital Guide: Air Aces of WWII by Robert Jackson pg 47

 

[Marcel]

Nice info on the Buffalo and it's compagny Brewester is written here, don't know how accurate it is:
The Sorry Saga of the Brewster Buffalo

 

[B-17engineer]

THanks guys.......

 

[Mangrove]

virtualpilots.fi: War History

 

[Marcel]

Did you notice how amazingly complete this Buffalo looked when it came out of the water? What a great find!
virtualpilots.fi: bw372lecture

 

[Micdrow]

Did you notice how amazingly complete this Buffalo looked when it came out of the water? What a great find!
virtualpilots.fi: bw372lecture

Does look in great shape. Hopfully they will restore it to flying condition.

 

[Mangrove]

Hopefully they will restore it to flying condition.

Not a change. The Brewster is the only one and way too valuable. No restoration is going to be made and it shall be displayed "as is".

 

[ToughOmbre]

I think most folks on this forum are for seeing warbirds where they belong, in the air, but the Buffalo is obviously too rare an aircraft.

I'd like to see it fully restored to airworthy condition, then never flown.

TO

 

[evangilder]

Displayed "as is"? Do you have a source for that info? I can't believe they wouldn't do any restoration at all, even for static display. They would certainly at least want to stop corrosion from continuing.

The Naval museum in Pensacola currently has it in storage. What ends up happening by the time it hits the display area is anyone's guess.

 

[evangilder]

I think most folks on this forum are for seeing warbirds where they belong, in the air, but the Buffalo is obviously too rare an aircraft.

I'd like to see it fully restored to airworthy condition, then never flown.

TO

If you never plan on flying it, then there isn't any reason to spend the money to restore it to flyable condition. They can do a static restoration that looks great and spend less money doing so.

 

[ToughOmbre]

If you never plan on flying it, then there isn't any reason to spend the money to restore it to flyable condition. They can do a static restoration that looks great and spend less money doing so.

You're absolutely correct. My thinking is strictly "wishful" in a potential "money is no object" situation.

TO

 

[evangilder]

Ah, ok, the "if I won the lotto" scenario.