Out of the entire second World War, when you think of planes and aviation you might think about the famous Japanese Mitsubishi Zero A6M which gave the Americans a very rude surprise when they encountered them. Or perhaps you think of the first operational jet fighters, advanced for their time (but not without their faults), such as the German Messerschmitt Me262 or the British Gloster Meteor. Finland and the American F2 Buffalo may not be at the top of your list when thinking of aviation greatness and cutting edge technology...but perhaps it should. Much like China, Finlands air force during the Second World War period was a mismatched random collection of any planes they could get their hands on. Depending on the year, they had German BF109 fighters, American Buffalos, Italian G.50 fighters, British Bristol Blenheim bombers and tons of other different models of aircraft from many different countries. Even with having so many different types of planes and virtually no spare parts for fixing and repairing, they managed extremely well in the case of the Model 239 (the export version of the F2A-1) Buffalo. At one point in the war, the Finnish pilots of these planes had a kill ratio of 67.5 to 1. This was when having a 19-20 kill ratio was nearly unheard of. So how did this happen? A few reasons. Beginning in April 1939, the Finns contacted the US government searching for a modern fighter aircraft for their air force which was probably in no small part due to the threat Russia posed at the time. By December that same year, an agreement was made in which Finland would receive modified F2A Buffalos along with 10 replacement engines and other spare parts in exchange for 3.4 million dollars. Nokia (Yes, the company with the unbreakable cellphones) also donated enough money for the FAF to purchase 1 Buffalo. These planes were given the export model name Model B-239. Upon reaching Finland, these planes were further modified to fit Finnish pilots and tactics better. Unfortunately for the Finns, the Winter war was in effect by the time the first batch of 6 Buffalos arrived and none saw combat by the time the Winter War ended in 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty. By June 1941, the Finns had more Buffalos and were again, locked in another war with Russia known as the Continuation War. Most of the Finnish pilots piloting the Brewsters, or Taivaan helmi (sky pearl) as they were sometimes called, were veterans of the Winter War and had experience. This proved to help drastically, as many Finnish pilots could rack up huge kill numbers by only using the most basic tactics against Russian pilots. By the end of the Continuation War, Finnish Buffalos racked up nearly 500 kills for only taking 19 losses themselves. This makes the plane one of the top scoring in the entire war, even though the Americans who originally designed it said the plane was mediocre and wasnt modern enough for them. Thankfully, the Finns had excellent pilots and maintenance crews. Thanks in no small part to them, they could fix and keep planes flying longer. They also fixed some minor issues with the plane itself, such as modified a piston ring so the engine has better reliability. They also had an excellent commander, the Brewsters being commanded by Major General Gustaf Magnusson. Within the ranks of the Buffalo pilots were a few of Finlands best pilots of the war as well. All of this combined made the odds very favorable towards the Finnish pilots of these planes, and it definitely showed in combat by having some of the best kill ratios, if not the single best combined, of the entire war. During the tail end of the Continuation War and the eventual Lapland War beginning in late 1944 in which Finland expelled its former ally, Germany, out of the country, the Buffalo was becoming outclassed but by then they had a few better planes in service and Germany was getting closer to the inevitable end in late 1944/early 1945. All in all, the Brewster Model B-239 preformed excellently due to superior tactics, along with maintenance and the plane itself. The Finnish pilots who used them are fondly remembered and Hetalia itself did a strip with a small bit about the Buffalo, shown in the pictures. Its quite a fascinating story and hopefully more people are aware of it. For more information: warbirdforum/faf.htm chuckhawks/brewster_buffalo.htm - Alex
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 01:54:39 +0000
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