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The Sorry Saga of the Brewster Buffalo: A Flying Coffin to the U.S. Marines, but a Pearl to the Finns Kindle Edition

by Daniel Ford (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 48 ratings
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A group of Internet aviation fans once debated the subject of the worst fighter of World War II. Their hands-down favorite: the Brewster Buffalo.

Two books are titled 'The World’s Worst Aircraft'. The Buffalo is the only fighter from any era to have a chapter in both of them.

The Royal Air Force fobbed the Brewster fighter onto the Fleet Air Arm and colonial squadrons; the U.S. Navy gave it to the Marines. Pilots thought it was a sweet plane to fly, but noticed that the wheel struts sometimes broke, the engine leaked oil, and the guns sometimes didn’t fire. And when they flew it against the nimble fighters of Japan, too often they didn’t come back.

Yet all the while, the Finns tore great holes through the Russian air force with essentially the same plane.

In this short book, Daniel Ford tells the story of the bumbling Brewster Aeronautical company of Queens, New York, which struggled to produce a few hundred copies of its roly-poly warplane before it was finally seized by the government and used to build a competing fighter. About 8000 words. Photographs.
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  1. Print length
    32 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    July 28, 2013
  5. File size
    2764 KB
  6. Page Flip
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  7. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Daniel Ford has spent a lifetime studying the wars of the past hundred years, from the Irish rebellion of 1916 to the counter-guerrilla operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is best known for his history of the American Volunteer Group--the 'Flying Tigers' of the Second World War--and his Vietnam novel that was filmed as Go Tell the Spartans, starring Burt Lancaster. Most recently, he has turned to the invasion of Poland in 1939 by Germany and Soviet Russia. Most of his books and many shorter pieces are available for Amazon's Kindle ebook reader. He lives and works in New Hampshire.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0017KT5L2
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Warbird Books; Revised 2014 edition (July 28, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 28, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2764 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 32 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 48 ratings

About the author

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Daniel Ford

Daniel Ford

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Daniel Ford has spent a lifetime studying and writing about the wars of the past hundred years, from Ireland's war of liberation to America's invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. A U.S. Army veteran and a reporter in Vietnam, he wrote the novel that was filmed as 'Go Tell the Spartans', starring Burt Lancaster. As a historian, he is best known for his prize-winning study of the American Volunteer Group--the gallant 'Flying Tigers' of the Second World War. Most recently, he has written a memoir of his life so far: "Looking Back From Ninety: The Depression, the War, and the Good Life that Followed." Visit www.DanFordBooks.com and sign up for a monthly newsletter about war, flying, and less important subjects.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
48 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

G. Bruce Greer
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb story and update
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2010
Verified Purchase
I first read Dan Ford's article when it was printed in Air and Space, and enjoyed his strong compare and constrast history of the Buffalo. Much maligned in aviation histories, often cited as the worst aircraft of WW2 and yet a superb success in the hands of the Finns, compiling several records, including a kill rate of 135-0 in its first six months of operations in their hands, and an overall kill rate of 30.6 to one in action against increasingly improved planes in the hands of the Russians, all the while cut of from their sources of parts and supplies for the plane. In this e-book edition, Mr Ford has updated and enhanced his original work. He also maintains a superb website for those interested in learning more about the plane and its history with the RAF, the USN, USMC, Dutch, RAAF, RNZAF and of course, the Finns.
Like Mr. Ford, I have found this mixed result interesting, especially when you consider the Navy picked the Buffalo (F2A) over its replacement, the F4F.
For those interested in other related fields, he has written, and updated a magnificent history of the Flying Tigers, which is well worth reading!
17 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars I like it,
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2013
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it was about some aircraft that where in the starting of WWII it was interesting to see and hear what the pilots had to say about them, how they handled shot etc.
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Rick Cook
3.0 out of 5 stars The plane that came too early.
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2012
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The Brewster Buffalo became one of the most maligned aircraft of World War II. The stubby little airplane flew for everyone from the US Navy and Marines to the Finns and everyone -- except the Finns -- hated it. It was cranky, slow, unmaneuverable and vulnerable. Brewsters that went up against Japanese aircraft in the Pacific were slaughtered wholesale. Only the Finns, flying against the Soviets in the Winter War had good things to say about it, and they racked up an impressive record in the craft.

The big problem with the Buffalo is that it was obsolescent by the time the war broke out and it wasn't susceptible to upgrading. It was the first monoplane carrier fighter adopted by the US Navy and it was much less advanced than the Grumman Wildcat. The Wildcat was no great shakes, but with competent pilots it was at least able to hold its own against the Japanese.

The secondary problem was that Brewster Aircraft itself was a mess. It was so bad that the Navy finally took the firm over later in the war. The combination of a not-very-good design, obsolescence and a deeply troubled manufacturer added up to a failure.

The exception, of course, was Finland. The Finnish pilots employed skilful tactics against the almost-as-obsolescent Soviet air force racked up an impressive score. The Finnish pilots loved it, mostly because it was what they had.

This is essentially a magazine article rather than an in-depth study, but it throws light on one of the lesser-known fighters for WWII>
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Brian Wormsbacher
5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks Daniel
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2020
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Nice read , this aircraft's contribution history needs to be told, good information ,great stories, and a few pictures, nice work Daniel
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Macahuna
5.0 out of 5 stars I was really glad to learn so much more about the plane
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2014
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There aren't too many of us Buffalo lovers out here. I was really glad to learn so much more about the plane. Mr. Ford did a super job detailing all the ins and outs of getting the plane to fly, and into combat. Really a super book about the F2A Brewster Buffalo!
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Alberto R.C.
4.0 out of 5 stars Brief and well written
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2012
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This is monography about the Brewster Buffalo. It is quite brief so it can be a little expensive but nevertheless it makes a good reading for an afternoon.
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creedmore1000
2.0 out of 5 stars A short not particularly interesting book
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2013
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Yes indeed this is a short, not particularly interesting book. Okay, I remember the Brewster Buffalo from my youth. While not nearly old enough to participate in WWII, living on the Southern Flyway we boys were able to see nearly every type of military aircraft in use by our forces. Buffalos no doubt flew over our family home though well before my interest had been aroused in aircraft spotting. Thus it was already considered obsolete by Pearl Harbor. Many had been turned over to GB for the defense of Singapore and . Thus little in this book was news to me though I did enjoy it as a review.
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brian vaccher
3.0 out of 5 stars A interesting quick read
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2013
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A poor title the poor buffalo did better than the author would let you know. it's biggest failure was it's manufacter and the poor support it recieved from them. A deeper look will tell you that the Brits and Aussies did much better than what is told over Burma
and Malayasia. As for the Marine use at Midway it was inexpierenced pilots and poor tactics that led to the poor outcome.
In many ways the Buffalo performed as well as the F4F Wildcat. At this time Marine pilots were expected to be able to fly all type of aircraft and were rotated thru bombing and scouting squadrons The real cadre of fighter pilots were very small. Compared to the Finns use with highly expeienced pilots and the astounding kill ratio they achieved with a not very differnt airframe. It's really about pilot skill and tactics that can carry the day.
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Top reviews from other countries

John Bennett
5.0 out of 5 stars A very extensive monograph on this little know WWII ship bourne fighter
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2023
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There is plenty of detailed information on the conception, production and service life of this aircraft. It includes detailed service history for the US Navy, Finnish Air Force and the Netherlands East Indies Air Force, including some detailed pilots stories when in battle.
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Tobias
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice little story about a looser-airplane that seemed to be less worse than is said.
Reviewed in Germany on December 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
Ford gives some nice information about the Brewster Buffalo one of the less known WWII-Aircraft although it must have been quite notorious amongst the own pilots - except the Fins. He gibes some reason that it was more the circumstances than the plane itself that brought him the doubtful title "worst fighter of wwii". Although a scientific subject, Ford gibes some funny anecdotes. I really enjoyed reading it.
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