Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>F2A>HA7003

General Background

The Brewster F2A Buffalo was USN's first mono-wing fighter. The status of the “Buffalo” is somewhat controversial in the history of aviation. It was designed by US but saw its real success only in Finland, a co-belligerent of Germany during WWII. It was designed as a carrier based fighter but only saw combat from land bases.

The most distinctive feature of the Buffalo was the retractable landing gear. With the right pilot the plane was quite capable in combat. Some historians believe that some units of the Commonwealth squadrons may have achieved a 2 to 1 kill ratio in the Far East.

The Aircraft

USS Long Island was a converted cargo ship commissioned June 1941. She was the first USN ship to be designated an Auxiliary Carrier and was considerably slower and smaller than the fleet ships. The USS Long Island and her F2A-2's were both less capable of doing the job of the bigger and faster equipment. The 8 Brewsters of Scouting Squadron VS-201 were testing the feasibility of this class of carrier. Soon after Pearl Harbor VS-201 was land-based with the ship being converted back to cargo at war's end.

Specifications :

Power plant:	One Wright R-1820-40 Cyclone nine-cylinder single row air-cooled radial, rated at 1200 hp
Performance:	Maximum speed - 285 mph at sea level
	323 mph at 16,500 ft.
	344 mph at 26,500 ft.
	cruising speed 157mph
	landing speed 73 mph
	initial climb rate 2500 ft/min.
	Service ceiling 34,000 ft.
Weight:	4576 lbs. Empty
	5942 lbs. Gross
	6890 lbs. Maximum take-off
Dimensions:	Wingspan – 35 ft.
	Length – 26 ft.
	Height – 11 ft. 8 ins.
	Wing area – 209 sq. ft
Armament	Four Browning 0.50 in. machine guns, two in the upper engine cowling, one in each wing.
	Under each wing bomb racks that could carry one 100-lb. bomb just outboard of the main landing gear.