Brewster Buffalo in Belgian Service
Just before the start of the war, Belgium sought more modern aircraft to expand and modernize its air force. Belgium ordered 40 Brewster B-339 aircraft, a de-navalized F2A-2, fitted with the Wright R-1820-G-105 engine approved for export use. The G-105 engine had a power output of 1,000 hp (745.7 kW) (peak) on take off, some 200 hp (149 kW) less than the engine fitted to the U.S. Navy F2A-2. The arrestor hook and life raft container were removed, and the aircraft was modified with a slightly longer tail.
Only one aircraft reached France by the time Germany launched its Blitzkrieg in the West on 10 May 1940. The Buffalo was later captured intact by the Germans, and it was partially rediscovered near Darmstadt in 1945.
Six more Belgian Brewsters were offloaded at the French Caribbean island of Martinique and languished on a coastal hillside, never to be flown. The rest of the order went to the RAF.
