U.S. Navy Carrier Fighters of WWII: F2A Buffalo; F4F Wildcat; F6F Hellcat; F4U Corsair; F8F Bearcat
U.S. Navy Carrier Fighters of WWII: F2A Buffalo; F4F Wildcat; F6F Hellcat; F4U Corsair; F8F Bearcat (Squadron 6204) By Aerodata International
Publisher: Squadron/Signal Publications 1987 | 120 Pages | ISBN: 0897471946 | PDF | 18 MB
Publisher: Squadron/Signal Publications 1987 | 120 Pages | ISBN: 0897471946 | PDF | 18 MB
The one and only time that Brewster Buffaloes in US markings entered combat with enemy aircraft, they suffered appalling casualties. Nineteen F2A-3s of VMF-221 led by Major Floyd Parks, along with six F4F-3 Wildcats, intercepted a strike force of 108 Japanese aircraft as they approached Midway Island on the morning of 3 June 1942. Unfortunately for the young Marines, the Japanese force included 36 A6M2s which tore into the Buffaloes. The result was a disaster. Thirteen Buffaloes, including that flown by Maj Parks, were downed, and only two of the six that landed back on Sand Island were in fit condition to fly again. These results did not differ much from the outcome of other air combats between the Buffalo and the Japanese. The British, Australians and Dutch had each flown Brewsters against Zeros (and Claudes, as well as Army Oscars and Nates), in the defence of Malaya and the East Indies, and each had suffered similar losses.