We have had discussions about the Buffalo a number of times. I think I posted the weights and engines of the different models some years ago. One should realise that though the Dutch aircraft were much lighter than the British, this came at a cost. The pilots had no protection whatsoever. Also the Dutch had to find engines where they could. This meant the repaired old KLM ones as mentioned and put them in fighters. The advantage was having 1200 hp instead of 1100. But the engines threw oil and had all kinds of other deficiencies, not least of all being vulnerable to overheating. It was not an aircraft meant to be in tropical conditions. I guess in Finland they had a lot less trouble in the cold weather.
But although not an exeptional one, I stil think the Buffalo B339D was a decent fighter for it's day. But if you have to defend a stretch of islands as big as europe with little over 80 fighters without early warning, you quite often find yourself at a disadvantage.
But although not an exeptional one, I stil think the Buffalo B339D was a decent fighter for it's day. But if you have to defend a stretch of islands as big as europe with little over 80 fighters without early warning, you quite often find yourself at a disadvantage.
