BW-372 back home

[Max Boost]

The Brewster F2A Buffalo BW-372 of Finnish Air Forces has finally found it´s way back home. BW-372, piloted by Ltn. Lauri Pekuri, crashlanded to a lake behind the lines after being damaged by russian fighter on June 25th 1942. It was salvaged in 1988 and after a series of owners, it ended up to the National Museum of Naval Aviation (NMNA) in Pensacola, USA. As FAF is having it´s 90th anniversary this year, NMNA kindly borrowed the BW for display at the Keski-Suomen Ilmailumuseo, Tikkakoski Finland.

Brewster was the most succesfull fighter of FAF during 1941-43 untill Me´s arrived, and was in service all the way to 1945 when germans withdrew from Lappland. BW´s arrived to Finland in as early as March 1940, too late for operational use in Winter War, but as war broke on again in 1941 it was next to superior to it´s opponents of that era. FAF´s Brewsters achieved a kill ratio of 39 to 1, which makes it one the most effective fighters of all times.

For more info about BW-372 current status, check out http://www.k-silmailumuseo.fi/?action=a ... HMA=79&ID=


Yours, Max

PS. Yeah, I know, nothing to do with Luftwaffe but anyway...you know me..

[Andy_F]

The achievements of the fighter pilots of the Soumen Ilmavoimat were truly remarkable. When you consider that for the most part they where flying aircraft regarded as obsolete (H-75A, MS.406, G.50 etc) by most other Air Forces the record is all the more impressive.

Best Regards

Andy_F

[sniper1shot]

Excellant post. Anywhere else we can read on the plane?
Looks like the guns have been removed too???

[phylo_roadking]

Sadly, the story, like all stories....is not black and white...

http://www.warbirdforum.com/bw372.htm