Redeem the Brewster Buffalo

I had read about the US Catalina before, but not the 'training mission' part. Thanks for the details.
Wonder how many similar 'training missions' were flown over convoy routes during the Neutrality Patrol era?
 
I'd suggest that one option is to send the Belgian aircraft to the RN-FAA instead of the RAF in mid 1940 and get them onto carrier decks by the end of 1940. That way these aircraft could see action throughout 1941 against the Italians, a far more appropriate opponent and time period for the buffalo. With a year's combat under its belt it will be seen (correctly ) as approaching obsolescence when the far more formidable Japanese give it the inevitable arse kicking in 1942.
 
Fixes were easy.

Just because you have a huge amount of fuel tankage, doesn't mean you have to top off the tanks for all missions. Same for ammo load.

2nd, rather than the Wright Radial that had reliability issues in that installation, go for the Pratt&Whitney with the R-1830-76, with a two stage supercharger that ended up in the F4F
 
Fixes were easy.

Just because you have a huge amount of fuel tankage, doesn't mean you have to top off the tanks for all missions. Same for ammo load.

2nd, rather than the Wright Radial that had reliability issues in that installation, go for the Pratt&Whitney with the R-1830-76, with a two stage supercharger that ended up in the F4F

That's what the Dutch did...
 

Driftless

Donor
Fixes were easy.

Just because you have a huge amount of fuel tankage, doesn't mean you have to top off the tanks for all missions. Same for ammo load.

2nd, rather than the Wright Radial that had reliability issues in that installation, go for the Pratt&Whitney with the R-1830-76, with a two stage supercharger that ended up in the F4F

Different diameter engines (54" vs 48" +/-). Would you change any of the sheet metal up front?
 
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I would profoundly disagree with the statement that USN fighter tactics were notably inferior to those of the Finns. The Finns fought an opponent who played in the F2A's wheelhouse and did it in an ideal weather environment. As you note, the Finns were able to pull several hundred pounds of equipment off their Buffaloes, something that made a considerable difference.

I would note here, that there were clear tactical differences between the Red Air Force and the FAA. Most notably, Finns were already using the WW2 air tactics during the Winter War while the Soviets were still more or less stuck in the thinking of Inter-War Era. When the war started, Finns had already independently developed similar tactics and training techniques which many other countries took only into usage after they had had their first lessons of WW2. Not to disagree with your post, just to note that there were many contributing factors in play here.
 
I had read about the US Catalina before, but not the 'training mission' part. Thanks for the details.
Wonder how many similar 'training missions' were flown over convoy routes during the Neutrality Patrol era?


I don't know, but I'd think quite a few. The plane was from a base on Lough Erne (about five miles from where I live) and flying (by agreement) almost directly over a main Irish Army base at Finner in County Donegal. The was a lot of American involvement in building that base and the nearby airfield at Saint Angelo, from early in 1941.
 
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I would note here, that there were clear tactical differences between the Red Air Force and the FAA. Most notably, Finns were already using the WW2 air tactics during the Winter War while the Soviets were still more or less stuck in the thinking of Inter-War Era. When the war started, Finns had already independently developed similar tactics and training techniques which many other countries took only into usage after they had had their first lessons of WW2. Not to disagree with your post, just to note that there were many contributing factors in play here.

This was something I was about to comment on as well. I think there is a tendency among people from major WWII powers to belittle the achievements of the smaller nations as being due to particular circumstances, certain arguable weaknesses of their enemies, or just happenstance, even if they were objectively-speaking better at something at some point of the war. I agree with you, as I believe many actual experts on the issue do, that the Finnish air force started out WWII with more modern and effective fighter tactics (and more suited to the conditions at hand) than most of the combatant nations, the major powers included. The major powers soon caught up, but in the early part of the war (and for the US, 41-42 was still an early part of the war) the Finns still had a comparative edge due to the efforts of Richard Lorentz and his collaborators.
 
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