Brewster F2A-1 Buffalo (B-239) FAF (ILV=Ilma Voimat,Finish air Force)

When the war broke between Finland and the Soviet Union in late 1939, the Finnish Air Force had only 41 fighter aircraft. Obviously, there was an urgent need to acquire more modern aircraft to counter the Russian offensive and to survive the war. 
The negotiations between the US and Finland had been broken off, because of the prevailing laws in the US, which prohibited the sales of arms and military equipment to foreign countries. 
However, the sales of old equipment was allowed, and that enabled Finland to purchase surplus equipment by auction: 44 Brewster F2A-1 aircraft. 
The planes were transported through Norway to Sweden where they were assembled at the Saab factories in Trollhttan and later flown to Finland. 
When the hostilities between Finland and the Soviet Union began again in the summer of 1941, the Brewsters were superior to the enemy aircraft it had to face. 
This can partly be explained by the fact that the particular batch of Brewsters (model 239) delivered to Finland was much more nimble that the subsequent models of the plane, which suffered heavy losses in the Pacific. 
The Brewster was probably the best aircraft the FAF had in 1941-42 and the highest scoring Finnish ace ever,W/O Juutilainen , achieved 28 victories with the Brewster aircraftuntil replaced by bf109's.
From 1943 onward the best Finnish squadrons started swapping the Brewster to the Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 and Bf109G-6 models, but the plane was still used in quieter spots on the front and was finally discarded by the FAF(ILV) in 1952. 

Stefan Wikstrom
Lulea SWEDEN
2000-08-03

