Brewster F2A Buffalo
Technical Information

Background
Designed and built by Brewster Aeronautical Corporation as a fighter.

During the early Pacific War, used by the U.S. Navy (USN), U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). On June 4, 1942 during the Battle of Midway the Buffalo was used by U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Marine Fighting Squadron 221 (VMF-221) lost thirteen of twenty F2A-3 Buffalos. Soon afterwards, the Buffalo was removed from combat units and assigned to advanced training duty only. Afterwards, the obsolete F2A-2s and F2A-3s remained in use as training aircraft until 1943 with a few were still in service later in 1944-45.

Foreign Service
Buffalos were sold overseas to foreign countries including Finland and the Netherlands East Indies Air Force (NEIAF). During World War II, sold or provided as part of defense aid to the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). On Singapore, two RAF squadrons, No. 21 Squadron and No. 453 Squadron equipped with Buffalos. These were RAF aircraft flown by RAAF pilots, but also suffered heavily in air combat with Japanese fighters.

Production
A total of 509 were built by Brewster Aeronautical Corporation between 1938–1941.

References
ADF Serials - RAAF A51 Brewster Buffalo

Technical Details F2A-3 Buffalo
Crew  One (Pilot)
Engine  1 x Wright R-1820-40 9-cyl air-cooled radial engine driving a three bladed propeller
Span  35' 0" / 10.67m
Length  25' 7" / 8.03m
Height  12' 0" / 3.66m
Maximum Speed   321 mph
Range  965 miles / 1,553 km / 838 nmi
Armament  (nose) 2 x .50 cal machine guns (wings) 4 x .50 cal machine guns
External  2 x bombs on underwing racks