[Finland 1940] Brewster B-239

NeuralDream · **NeuralDream**

By the early months of 1939 it was already obvious that a new war was imminent in Europe. So, several European countries turned among others to the United States for additional combat aircraft. The Finns bought 44 Brewster F2A-1 "Buffalos" from the US Navy (including the prototype!), but to their surprise all US Navy "property" had been removed (guns, sights, instruments, carrier equipment etc.) before delivery. The Finnish modified version of the F2A-1 was designated B-239 and had several changes and improvements, including different engine (refurbished 950HP Wright R-1820 G-5 engines taken from DC-3 airliners), pilot seat armour and a conventional gunsight instead of the telescopic sight of the original F2A-1. Thanks to these changes, the B-239 was a whole new plane and delightful to fly according to the Finnish pilots. While for the Americans it was "Flying Coffin", the Finnish called it "Pearl of the Sky". The B-239s came too late to participate in the Winter War of 1939, but they thrived during the Continuation War of 1941-44. One specific B-239, the BW-393 is considered to be the aircraft with the most air victories in the history of air warfare, with 41 (28 of which by Finnish ace Hans Wind).

In Forumini Dogfights, the B-239 is an excellent overall early-war aircraft. Unlike its natural opponents, it does not suffer from a carburettor engine. Try to take full advantage of Finnish bravery by moving as close to the enemy as possible.
Some of its natural opponents include Soviet I-16s, MiG-3s and Yak1s.

Digital miniature for online matches (scale 1/20 pixels/m):

Miniature providers:
Raiden Miniatures (1/285, unpainted) (as Brewster F2A-2 Buffalo)

Mine in 1/285 and without decals yet:

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My new blog, specialised in the military equipment of Greece (1821-today).

drittal · **drittal**

go Finland!
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