Author Topic: Warplane No. 04--The Brewster Buffalo  (Read 3756 times)

Offline Second Air Force

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Warplane No. 04--The Brewster Buffalo
« on: April 05, 2013, 01:30:21 AM »
Our own Nico Braas has authored the fourth book in the Warplane series, this being a history of the Brewster fighter that became known as the Buffalo in RAF service. I confess that this book was highly anticipated by me as the F2A series of fighters has always been a favorite of mine.

Upon receiving this edition you will find action artwork by Srecko Bradic on the front cover depicting the F2A in combat at the Battle of Midway. The book follows the evolution not only of the fighter itself, but also the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation. After this brief introduction into the other aircraft produced by Brewster the reader is next introduced to the U.S. Navy version, the F2A. The history of the F2A in U.S. service is well-covered, from first development, through early use, wartime combat service, and use as a trainer aircraft after being retired from front-line operations. An added bonus is the actual combat report of Captain W.C. Humbard from his combat at the Midway battle where he shot down a Zero (the combat on the cover, in fact).

The next segment describes the unfulfilled order issed by the Belgian military for the Brewster fighter, including two interesting photos of Belgian machines.

Now comes the real "meat" of this book, in my humble opinion--the successful combat use of export versions. First we have a study of the Brewster 239 in Finnish service. So interesting to see the highly successful operation of this somewhat outmoded fighter when used to its best advantage by the Finns! Nico gives much good content of the 239 along with aces, records, and many great photos. At the end of this chapter one page is devoted to the locally-designed V.L. Humu which used the Brewster basic design and carried it forward to a possible production machine of Finnish origin.

The second chapter of success and bravery with the Brewster fighter focuses on the Netherlands East Indies and service with the ML-KNIL. Again, the author includes much historical information and combat history of the Brewster fighter in the struggle to protect the Dutch colonies from Japanese expansion.

Third export user of the little fighter was the Royal Air Force, and it was the RAF who gave the Buffalo name to this machine. Once again, good text and photos of the combat use of the Buffalo in both the Mediterranean area and South East Asia. Nico also summarizes the use of the Brewster in Australia by the RAAF and USAAF, primarily in a training role.

To top off this excellent book, a separate section is devoted to surviving Buffalo artifacts and replica display airplanes. A photo of the recovered Finnish combat veteran BW-372 and short description of this machine is included. Also are several photos of the replica in the Dutch Armed Forces Museum collection. To close out the story are two tables with technical data of the various models.

All in all, I find this a wonderful reference resource for anyone interested in the Brewster Buffalo family. Great text, excellent (and plentiful) photos, and profiles by our own No. 1 all come together to produce a satisfying book that I highly recommend!

Thanks to Nico Braas for the book offered to me for review.
Scott

Offline No.1

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Re: Warplane No. 04--The Brewster Buffalo
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2013, 07:21:38 AM »
Great text, thank you :)