Now find the pressurized Buffalo
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VMF-221 encountered a Japanese flying boat reconnoitering Midway on March 10, 1942, shooting it down.
About 40 years ago I made a sales call at a company in Pennsylvania (I think). There was a big mural of a Buffalo on the wall.I had the worst interview of my life at Dayton T. Brown, the company formed by the designer of the Buffalo and I remember there being a large Brewster Buffalo painting in the lobby.
The Finnish Buffalos flew against very poorly trained and poorly led Soviet pilots in flying coffins at low levels where the Buffalo performed best. As soon as the Soviets got decent fighters and some training, the Finns had to switch to Bf109Gs to avoid being massacred.Here is an aircraft that demonstrates that its not the aircraft, but the pilot flying the aircraft. Highly trained and aggressive Finnish Air Force pilots racked up enormous kill claims flying against poorly trained Soviet pilots from 41-43, and was the most successful aircraft in the Finnish Air Force until the arrival of Bf 109s in mid '43.
In American and Commonwealth hands, poorly trained pilots hampered by bad leadership were completely outclassed by highly trained and aggressive Japanese pilots flying aircraft that were in many ways inferior to the Buffalo.
The Finnish Buffalos flew against very poorly trained and poorly led Soviet pilots in flying coffins at low levels where the Buffalo performed best. As soon as the Soviets got decent fighters and some training, the Finns had to switch to Bf109Gs to avoid being massacred.
The Commonwealth and American pilots had to try intercepting Japanese bombers and fighters at medium- and high-altitudes, where they had to use one hand to pump fuel continuously, otherwise the engine stopped! In no way at all did the Buffalo have any performance advantage over any Japanese opponent at the altitudes the Allies fought with Buffalos, not even the Nakajima Ki-27, and definitely not compared to their most common opponents, the Ki-43 and the Zero. The only good tactic the RAF Buffalo pilots had was to try and get a height advantage of 3000-odd feet and make a diving attack out of the sun, but because the Buffalo climbed so badly and the RAF had no early warning, the situation of diving on the Japanese rarely presented itself. By comparison, the Finns flew the majority of their combats below 10,000ft against fighters the Buffalo had a 30-50mph advantage over. Your comparison is simply ill-informed.
You bring up a good point of the disadvantages faced by the Allied pilots flying Brewsters in the early Pacific War. The RAF machines were not well maintained, suffering all sorts of mechanical issues, from engine failure to gun failures. This I lay at the feet of the leadership. SEA was for the British a colonial backwater and suffered from all manner of shortages. This was made worse by the sad fact that it became the dumping ground for officers that were not up to snuff for the "real" war in Europe. When the Japanese attacked they simply could not shake off their peacetime mentality and respond effectively. Here I am talking about the high command as the squadrons were more than willing to fight, often being held back by staff officers who lacked initiative. This resulted in opportunities missed and aircraft lost on the ground due to failure to react in a timely fashion. Much of air fighting was at low to medium altitude. The lack of early warning certainly was a significant disadvantage for the RAF. But again, this is not the fault of the machine, but of the circumstances of its employment.The Finnish Buffalos flew against very poorly trained and poorly led Soviet pilots in flying coffins at low levels where the Buffalo performed best. As soon as the Soviets got decent fighters and some training, the Finns had to switch to Bf109Gs to avoid being massacred.
The Commonwealth and American pilots had to try intercepting Japanese bombers and fighters at medium- and high-altitudes, where they had to use one hand to pump fuel continuously, otherwise the engine stopped! In no way at all did the Buffalo have any performance advantage over any Japanese opponent at the altitudes the Allies fought with Buffalos, not even the Nakajima Ki-27, and definitely not compared to their most common opponents, the Ki-43 and the Zero. The only good tactic the RAF Buffalo pilots had was to try and get a height advantage of 3000-odd feet and make a diving attack out of the sun, but because the Buffalo climbed so badly and the RAF had no early warning, the situation of diving on the Japanese rarely presented itself. By comparison, the Finns flew the majority of their combats below 10,000ft against fighters the Buffalo had a 30-50mph advantage over. Your comparison is simply ill-informed.