tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977310098529084891.post3259398140360054068..comments2024-02-27T02:19:19.667-08:00Comments on rethinking history: Historians trapped by their Preconceptions.Nigel Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13176570029569275055noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977310098529084891.post-48153565208757069722017-07-24T17:55:21.051-07:002017-07-24T17:55:21.051-07:00Brewster Buffalo was only used by Americans in com...Brewster Buffalo was only used by Americans in combat at Midway. There were no US Navy fighters in the Philippines. The Brewster was at best a second rate aircraft but New Zealander Geoff Fisken became an ace flying Brewsters at Singapore, then became an ace again flying another second rate fighter, the Curtiss Kittyhawk, in the Solomons. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977310098529084891.post-61752726995464248712013-09-09T04:02:59.483-07:002013-09-09T04:02:59.483-07:00Dear Baska,
I agree with most of your points. Cer...Dear Baska,<br /><br />I agree with most of your points. Certainly the results the RAF Hurricane's and American Flying Tigers P40's (both outdated by European standards) got when directed by radar from Rangoon, compared to the results they stopped getting once that was not available, make it clear that there is more going on than just quality of aircraft.<br /><br />But I do note that aircraft like the Buffalo (or the later Fairey Barracuda Torpedo/Dive Bomber) which performed very well in Scandinavia, were unable to cope with the hot and humid conditions in Asia, and performed very badly there (both needing to be replaced.) <br /><br />Using the right plane for the right conditions is actually fairly significant. One of the reasons the ancient Fairey Swordfish (the Stringbag) was still being used at the end of the war, was that it could still fly on and off escort carriers in Arctic conditions, whereas more modern aircraft like the Barracuda or the Avenger were incapable of doing so. Removing the Swordfish from the inventory because of obsolescence would have been pretty stupid at a time when there was no other aircraft that could do the same job.Nigel Davieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13176570029569275055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1977310098529084891.post-6689906388787116992013-09-01T09:01:24.550-07:002013-09-01T09:01:24.550-07:00One of the most interesting examples of teh relati...One of the most interesting examples of teh relativity of military equipment is the Brewster Buffalo fighter. Ridiculed by most aviation historians as the worlds worst fighter of WW2, it was shot down in great numbers by the Japanese pilots in early 1942. On the other hand, it was the best fighter in the world in the capable hands of Finish fighter pilots on the Eastern Front in 1941 - 1942 and even later in the war with a kill ratio of 67 - 1! <br />That leads to the question, was the Buffalo a good or bad fighter? The answer lies in the conditions: against a badly led, badly equipped and barely trained opponent as the Red Airforce the Brewster (and being of a different configuration than the ones used by the RAF and the Dutch East Indian Airforce in 1941), the Buffalo could achieve great results. Had the Brits and Dutch had good radar fighter control, even against the excellent Japanese pilots of early 1942, they would have scored better results.Baskanoreply@blogger.com