When an obsolete American Fighter saved Finland from the Soviets

[@carbonara2144]

Finnish mechanics found an easy fix to engine problems by switching piston rings. Carrier equipment was removed. Instruments were changed to metric system and new radio was installed. MGs in top of the engine were fixed so that they would not blind the pilot. Overheating was not an issue in the northern skies. Finnish pilots liked the plane very much.

[@S1motus]

And very importantly Finns used modern reflector sights on their Buffalos instead of the antiquated telescopic sights Americans were still using on theirs.

[@cat-im4vv]

Most successful fighter in Finnish air force was Fiat G50 with World record KD ratio of 44:1...

[@karihamalainen9622]

One funny thing - I have heard that Brewester have heat problem. We finns do not have heat up here north so there are no problemos at all.

[@Businessgoose123]

Ei talvella ainakaan

[@joeschenk8400]

Thanks for the video on the much maligned Buffalo. The factory where they were built is still there in Long Island City, Queens, NYC and is currently the headquarters of Jet Blue airlines. The Cradle of Aviation Museum on New York's Long Island has a Buffalo reproduction. Thanks again for the post.

[@Archive86]

Thats cool, I didn't know that there was a replacement around.

[@PSPaaskynen]

The Finnish Brewster B-239E was powered by a Wright R-1820-G5, producing 950 hp (NOT 1200 hp)! The main reason the US Navy was willing to part with their F2A1 was that these early Brewsters did not have folding wings, which is a major drawback aboard aircraft carriers. The decision to sell to Finland came in late 1939 more than half a year before the A6M Zero even reached operational status.

[@charlesreynolds8795]

They developed more power after upgrades

[@PSPaaskynen]

@@charlesreynolds8795 No they did not. The Finns made the engines run better, but the Finnish Air force museum (which has an actual BW model 239 in its collection) gives its power as 940 hp.

[@alancranford3398]

Another obsolete American aircraft used by Finland was the Curtiss P-36. What can you tell us about those airplanes? Thanks for an enjoyable presentation.

[@Archive86]

Okay, that is a cool story. They were caputred by the Germans during the fall of Frace then sold to Finland. Would make a good video!

[@ArchitectB]

A lot of shipments for military air planes were ordered from the very first days of war, but they never arrived. Finland actually had 3 Brewsters from the collectors. But most of the planes were slow bi-planes. Finnish pilots had to figure out how they can attack their enemy fast with slow planes, so they started to ”dive bomb” themselves in to the middle of the enemy fleet, and buzzing around, dropping enemies, one by one. In one book, there is a pilots description of the story, when he was patrolling alone in the sky, nearby karelia border. He saw this enemy fleet of two bombers and three fighters escorting them. He knew he would be alone against all of them. Enemy were on much lower altiitude. He was thinking that if he don’t attack now, enemy would drop those bombs on innocent civilians. Even it was more like a suicide to attack against 3 fighters, he did it anyway. With his supprise attack dropping down suddenly in to middle of the enemies, he managed to drop down both bombers and one of the fighters. Two of those fighters managed to run away back to Russia, and with a slow plane he couldn’t catch them anymore.

[@CZ350tuner]

The Fins installed Finnish made Kolt 12.7mm. machine guns, into their Brewster Buffaloes and Curtis H-75 Hawks.

[@TheApilas]

The VKT 12.70 LKk/42 was a heavy machine gun was developed in Finland during World War II for use on fighter aircraft. The weapon was based on FN Herstal's 13.2 mm FN Browning M.1939 which was originally based on the 12.7 mm M2 Browning. Finland received the drawings for the 13.2 mm FN Browning M.1939 from the Swedish LM Ericsson who were to produce the weapon in Sweden, but the drawings were not complete and they had to buy a couple of original weapons from Sweden. The Finnish variant had a couple of hundred changes made to it in order to be produced in Finland. The biggest change was the caliber which was changed to 12.7 mm. The weapon was intended to be used to upgrade older fighters in the Finnish Air Force but it was also used on Finland's own fighter aircraft Myrsky and was planned to be used on a number of future aircraft.

[@stevenkoehler6018]

I knew a Russian pilot, who told me that the Buffalo could dive out of the clouds at an incredible speed. He said that the Buffalo came out of the clouds so fast, that the Russian ground troops couldn't get away from them in time, and tons of Russian soldiers got killed as they were strafed by Buffalo's that you couldn't see or hear until they were already on top of you, and you were out in the open, and you were totally screwed. He said that the Buffalo was terrifying as employed by the Finns.

[@UliMuliko]

Pearl of the skies and flying beer barrel, some of the nicknames they gave to buffalo

[@jkarra2334]

Also "pyllyvaltteri" aka ASS walther

[@jagsdomain203]

All most 500 shot down. Thats amazing. Maybe it was not as bad as we think ot was

[@ladoga]

It had a good dive speed and high speed maneuverability including the roll rate. Decent climb rate also. Perfect qualities for energy fighting tactics that Finns used. Diving attacks at lower Soviet fighters, then climbing back to the safety using the momentum gained during the dive. If caught in a disadvantageous position it could usually disengage with a steep dive.

[@MakerBoyOldBoy]

This s glorious aviation story yhat well deserves this fine video and a quality movo.

[@Russell-re8te]

The Soviet air force may have been larger and better equipt than the Finnish, but, so was their Army. The Finn's slaughtered the Soviet Army. A Russian general was said to have remarked, after the peace agreement, with Finland, " we got just enough territory to bury our dead".

[@JamesLindroos-nj6cn]

Me a kiwi and quarter Finn quarter Scots and half Welsh 😊 no court russ

[@LuxLux-k3o]

Pekerjaan rumah.

[@kallesimola7137]

Flying Barrell ❤

[@johnwilliamson2276]

I had a question but at the end you answered it. Thanks for a great video. 😊

[@ericbrammer2245]

33/1 Kill ratio! , Pretty much sums it up. The US Navy didn't ever exploit it's strengths, but instead piled-upon-it More Kit, weighing it down. The other thing to note, was the Swedish Bofors guns the Finns used in the 4 mounts upon the airframe. Two in the Upper Cowl, one-each in the wing, but the 'convergence' cone was altered to 'reach-out' further, letting Finnish Pilots 'Roll-through' a gun-sweep. That, the Buffy could do well.

[@azander1958]

Heard that the only remaining buffalo is in Finland

[@AnyHistory]

Yes, at the end of the video, there is one that was pulled out of a lake in Finland.

[@TomcatE303]

@@AnyHistory It was pulled out of a lake in Russia.

[@AnyHistory]

@@TomcatE303 You are correct!

[@jarikinnunen1718]

One BW-387, was years in Tampere child playground. Ironically it was feared war killing machine.

Hasse Wind!

[@mikkoolavijarvinen3653]

Unfortunately despite the legendary status all remaining Brewsters were scrapped and the crashed one found in the lake is the only one in existence. One the planes, sold as scrap, was bought by city of Tampere and ended up as as a children's plaything in a playground in the Saukonpuisto park, although without (obviously) weapons, engine or instruments. It seems that initially it had the wartime markings (swastikas overpainted) but later it was just painted yellow, and in the end it survived playground use for a decade or so. The Air Force also designed a partly wooden clone with a captured Soviet engine, called VL Humu, this didn't go to production but the sole prototype has been preserved.

[@lotharvonrichthofen4474]

SUOMI!!! 🇫🇮

[@RacerX1971]

When you mess with Finland, you're Finnish 😂😂

[@sakukullberg2697]

These things are op in warthunder. x_x

[@CindyTeague-x6p]

Who chose the name Buffalo for an airplane?

[@ukulelemikeleii]

I dunno,, but the Buffalo is a pretty badass beast!

[@XtreeM_FaiL]

You have never saw a flying buffalo?

[@karihamalainen9622]

Finish gave name to this plane -RYYSTERI. Name not far from justeeri which is saw of special type made to cut big trees.

[@Pikachugamer-2007]

The War Thunder in the vackground is making me laugh

[@Colin-Fenix]

AM6 Zero? There was no such thing. Do some proofreading!

[@jounibalk3457]

Role: Fighter Origin: United States Introduction: 1939 Length: 8 m KILL/LOSS RATIO: 26:1 7

[@viktorreznov2386]

Finland was only given 30 f2a3s through a lend-lease from England not the us navy, they also never made it in time to see combat in the actual winter war and instead saw combat in the continuation war. And pilots had mixed opinions on the aircraft, it was slower and less maneuverable than most Soviet aircraft, it was particularly bad at high altitudes which resulted in most pilots preferring to use the bf-109. However the finns did manage to make a variant that was both able to be maintained locally and more reliable after taking the engine from a captured soviet p-40, this resulted in the birth of the b-239 which was drastically different but saw no combat and was retired in 1950. As for the most successful? The 109 was rated the best by most pilots more particularly the G variant.

[@AnyHistory]

From militaryhistorynow.com/2022/08/22/nordic-buffalos-how-an-obsolete-u-s-navy-warbird-found-a-new-lease-on-life-in-finlands-war-with-the-u-s-s-r/ "The decision was finally made for the Finns when the U.S. Navy decided to sell 44 Brewster Buffalo F2A-1s it no longer wanted. The price for the Buffalos designated B239Es was $54,000 each. Before they left the U.S., the guns, gunsights, self-sealing tanks, armour and tailhooks were removed" "What evolved is unique in the annals of air-to-air warfare. Between June 25, 1941, and May 1944, Finnish Air Force Buffalos shot down 477 Soviet aircraft for a loss of only 19 B-239s. About a third of the Finnish air-to-air kills were bombers, the rest were fighters - mostly I-16s and then Lavochkin LaGG-3s, MiG-3s, Yak-3s that were just coming into service along with some Lend-Lease Hurricane IIs."

[@AnyHistory]

www.clubhyper.com/reference/brewsterf2a1jm_1.htm "When hostilities with the Soviets resumed in June 1941 (the ‘Continuation War’), LeLv 24’s pilots demonstrated a nearly complete ascendancy over Russian opponents. During the three years LeLv 24 flew Brewsters, the Finns enjoyed a 30-1 victory ratio, including Yaks and LaGGs. Part of this stemmed from poor Soviet tactics. Russian pilots would assume a two-dimensional defensive circle, which had worked during the Spanish Civil War. The Brewsters could dive and climb through these defensive circles, using three-dimensional tactics to their advantage. Many Finnish pilots scored heavily with Brewsters (Capt. Hans Wind had 39 victories, Sgt. Juttilainen 34.)" "When HLeLv 24 began receiving Bf-109G’s in mid 1944, the remaining 18 Brewsters were reassigned to HLeLv 26, which, even against newer Soviet aircraft, managed better than a 4-1 victory ratio. After Finland dropped out of the war in September 1944, the Brewsters reportedly were used against German forces in the north, although claims of Ju-87s shot down may be inaccurate. A handful of 239’s remained in service until 1948 when they were scrapped. "

[@viktorreznov2386]

@@AnyHistory ah, my apologies, my source turned out to be outdated, the rest of the info is to my knowledge correct but i see it did indeed see combat

[@AnyHistory]

no worries, I am always worried about mistakes. Thank you for the comment!@@viktorreznov2386

[@viktorreznov2386]

@@AnyHistory no problem, btw i noticed the thumbnail looks like it's fropm warthunder, do you perchance play warthunder?

[@LuxLux-k3o]

Bukit gupadae

[@MarkS.Holland]

My understanding is that Russian pilots were very poorly trained.

[@falsekings-p9z]

No it was Finnish pilots that was better trained and our pilots knew better tactic for this plane. Back protection was made here in Finland.

[@esajuhanirintamaki965]

Very good workman makes miracles, when working with tools, whose are abandoned by others. Get over it.

[@stevepelham9010]

Well it was not obselete but as unliked by the americans. US pilots and FAF pilots where of different culture and tactics, them finns flew more like japanese pilots and there are an story to it.

[@teemukustila]

I am not sure how similar tactics between FiAF and Japanese Air Force/Navy. The FiAF was all about energy tactics. Only engaging in fights with altitude advantage. For one, the FiAF couldn’t afford to loose any planes or pilots. And since they knew the tactics worked, because the Buffalo had very good high speed manoeuvrability (unlike the Zero which had very stiff controls at high speeds). So I’d say more akin to the tactics used by the US Navy especially with Wildcat vs Zero engagements.

[@ZeSpektrum]

Highest rate of aces of any country in ww2

[@stevepelham9010]

@@teemukustila Them finns new about war coming so before WWII them studyied others as to get the best formula. Them where in Japan, France, Italy also of cource as keeping an close eye on the Spanish Civil War. I would say that FAF pilots where free as to use them tactics that suited best for the moment.

[@OpHyvärinen]

4x50 Cal.....

[@LuxLux-k3o]

Neangan kerjaan ngke lamun nges sehat.

[@marcusaetius9309]

Ummm….. I guess you didn’t notice the swaztikas under the wings?😬

[@raneman6146]

Blue swatsika was Finnish airforce marking since 1918, sivil war. Some Austrian born german immigrant spoilet that old good luck mark.

[@marcusaetius9309]

@ really? I didn’t know that. Thanks 👍🏻

[@mikkojaatinen4120]

In 1918 a Swedish count Eric von Rosen donated one of his planes to the Finnish Air Force. Eric used the swaztika as his lucky symbol. Finnish Air Force adapted that from Eric. Later in WWII Finnish Air Force had to abandon the symbol as it had been contaminated by the nazis. The symbol had been a symbol of luck for thousands of years. Today unfortunately majority of people only known it as a symbol of evil.

[@marcusaetius9309]

@ well considering that Finland was basically allied with Germany up until 1944 we have to assume that it was used up to that point in time.

[@omatjalisvideot9734]

@@marcusaetius9309 Finland was not allied with Germany before 1940-41. Actually Germany and Soviet Union had a packt that gave Finland to Soviet Union, so basically during Finlands winter war Germany and Soviet Union where allied. After the occupation of Norway and the end of the winter war, the relations between Finland and Germany got better. Finland did not get help from UK or France so there was no-one else to turn on to deter the Soviet Unions further advances. Brewsters where bought in 1939 and after better relations with Germany, Finland bought some other western planes from them, like Morane-Saulniers and P-36's. There where few Mourane -Saulniers bought from France before the capitulation of France and some Fiat G50's from Italy before winter war. In the continuation war Finland was flying with 10 different fighter models, the only German one was BF-109G and it was only available in 1943-44 for Finland. Germany did not give or sell to Finland their own planes, that is the amount of support in air they gave. In the bomber side they gave some Do-17's and sold some Ju-88's to Finland.

[@brianhotaling5849]

……and the swastikas???

[@mikauusitalo7421]

You must know its history by know. Almost on every video it is explained.

[@ygma1460]

Let's explain it for 100th time. Was used by Finnish airforces since 1918. Has nothing to do with the nazi one, as it pre-dates nazis by almost 20 years.

[@benwinter2420]

Synchrotron radiation seen behind Mars closer before , had various aspects as in the cross four & eight & Lamat/Maltese cross of a four petal flower with rings within arms . . old polar configuration times old system of the three in line close old north sky , Sun swap times . . electrons expelled at right angles from a very high current

[@XtreeM_FaiL]

Thousands of years old symbol of luck, sun, life... know different cultures all over the world, found on every continent except Antartica.

[@brianhotaling5849]

@ Thanks!

[@truthray2885]

Swastikas on the underside of the wings!

[@KristianKumpula]

Which was part of the Finnish Air Force symbol since the foundation in 1918. Swastikas in general are a religious symbol that date back thousands of years

[@romaboo6218]

Yet another guy that doesnt know history

[@truthray2885]

@romaboo6218 I know it now, fckr.