Brewster Buffaloes for the
Militaire Luchtvaart KNIL
By Gerard J. Casius
Translated for the Annals of the Brewster Buffalo by Jos Heyman The original article appeared in Mars et Historica, Vol. 37. Some marginal notes have been added in [] brackets. To avoid potential confusion with the translation of ‘Indisch’ into ‘Indian’, the term NEI has been used.
After
the Netherlands had neglected the defense of the Dutch East Indies for years –
NEI aviation writer C. C. Küpfer wrote: “it seemed as if the millionaire had
his property protected by a small boy with a slingshot” – the end of the 1930s
finally saw an expansion of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) and
in particularly the military aviation (ML-KNIL). The famous Glenn Martin
bombers could still be easily purchased for hard cash (in 1937 the NEI were the
USA’s biggest export customer with Japan (!!) as a second), but after that the
US aircraft industry was swamped with orders principally from Britain and
France. Whilst Britain and France were at war with Germany from September 1939,
the Netherlands remained neutral. President Roosevelt decided that the best way
for the USA to keep the Germans at bay, was to help the British as much as
possible with weapon supplies. Moreover, the British made significant
investments in factory space and machinery to help the American manufacturers
to fulfill the orders quickly, something that was also advantageous for the
American air force and navy. In this scenario, the Netherlands was a distant
third in the race to buy military aircraft against the threat of the Second
World War. When the Germans occupied the Netherlands in May 1940, it was
already too late for the NEI to catch up.
The
ML-KNIL was, as far as equipment was concerned, totally oriented towards the
USA but had been forced by the interests of the Dutch industries to waste much
time on negotiations and testing of Fokker designs such as the T-IX bomber and
the G-2 air-cruiser. Both types would have required another three to four years
before they could have been delivered in large quantities whilst in 1939 it was
already easy to predict that the engines and all accessories (which the Netherlands
could not manufacture but had to buy on an overheated market) would not have
been available in time. But the colony had to serve the mother-country and not
the other way around.
Ordering the Buffaloes
The
surrender of the Netherlands [in May 1940] changed the situation in one blow.
It was no longer necessary to muddle along with the Netherlands’ domestic
industry. Already at that time a number of Dutch army and navy purchasing
missions were operating in the USA, including an agency that was headed by
Major-pilot-observer Max van Haselen. In January 1941 he was succeeded by
Major-pilot-observer E.J.G. (Eddy) Te Roller, who, along with Captain Paul
Valk, had been in the USA for some time to take delivery of twenty Curtiss 75
Hawk fighters for the ML-KNIL. All these missions and agencies were combined in
1940 under the title Netherlands Purchasing Commission (NPC), established in
New York, and managed by some well experienced businessmen. It was soon clear
that it would require a lot of inventiveness, connections and especially hard
cash, to get anything. The NPC did not hesitate and hardly recovered from the
shock of the surrender of the Netherlands, a shopping list was submitted to the
US authorities on 22 May 1940, who, along with the British, determined the
priorities and who was to receive their permission to negotiate with manufacturers.
There have been several such authorities but for ease we will refer to the most
important of them: the Joint Aircraft Committee (JAC).
The
shopping list included 72 Brewster Buffalo fighters. The Buffalo was not an
obvious choice. This type, which dated from 1936, was no longer “state of the
art”, but Te Roller knew his business and knew that the Belgians had placed an
order of which the first were about to be delivered. Belgium had also been invaded
by the Germans and perhaps there was an opportunity to get hold of these
aircraft. As such, Te Roller explained in his request that the delivery of 72
Brewsters to the NEI would not require any concessions from the USA as “it was
to be expected that Belgium would cancel its order for 39 aircraft and that
engines for the other 33 aircraft were available.”
Here
we encounter a significant bottleneck in the aircraft market: the lack of engines
that runs as a red thread through all transactions. Whilst the JAC could find space
for the production of airframes, it could not readily do so for the necessary
engines, propellers, instruments, radio or armament. Separate purchase
approvals were required for all these. The ’33 available engines’ Te Roller
referred to, were Cyclones ordered by Aviolanda and De Schelde for the Dornier
flying boats they were building and which, of course, could no longer be
delivered. As it was, the Belgian Buffalos did not become available but were
quickly acquired by the French and on 16 June [1940] the first six were shipped
on an aircraft carrier to France. The remainder went to the British. The NEI
request was refused by the JAC.
The
NPC continued its search and was tipped off (perhaps by a nervous manufacturer)
that there were 28 Curtiss 75A-4 Hawk fighters which had not yet been delivered
against a French order as France had, meanwhile, surrendered to the Germans. A
request to acquire these aircraft was rejected because the necessary engines
were not available. With no other alternative than continuously trying, a new
request was submitted but now for 28 Buffalo’s, type 339-16, for which engines would
be purchased on the second hand market. This request was approved but Te Roller
had to withdraw it as he could not find the engines. At the same time a new
request was submitted (number N-114; in the meantime a numbering system had
been introduced for all supply requests, N for the Netherlands, B for Britain
etc.) for 72 Buffaloes complete with engines and propellers. This one was also
rejected but with the notification that a delivery in 1942 would be permitted.
Problems at the Brewster Plant
It must be noted that the circumstances was forcing the NPC to do business with the marginal aviation industries in the USA, of which Brewster Aeronautical Corporation was considered one. The corporation did not have a great reputation, little experience (before the Buffalo project it had manufactured aircraft components as a sub-contractor, including wing floats for Catalinas), and was operating from totally unsuited premises. It was an old furniture factory in Queens, a suburb of New York, where production was distributed over several floors with little room for movement due to concrete pillars. The assembly and test flying of completed aircraft took place from a hangar at Roosevelt Field on Long Island [Note 1]. This resulted in inefficiencies and, moreover, labor relations at Brewster were deplorable. Strikes were common and the trade unions within the plant were not particularly inspired by patriotic ideals. In the long run, and after its relationship with the NEI had ended, this would result in the US Navy taking control of Brewster. Brewster had given the export trade, including that to the NEI, to the Miranda Brothers, a team of arms traders which were not squeaky clean in their dealings and had to explain their manner of business in courtroom on several occasions.
Whilst
this may give a negative impression of the Brewster corporation, the Buffalo
was a reasonable success. It was the first monoplane carrier fighter of the US
Navy and 54 were ordered as F2A-1. Of these 44 were delivered to Finland when
the Russian ‘bear’ began its attack. The Finnish made exceptional use of the
Buffalo. As a replacement, the US Navy bought 43 F2A-2s which were supplied
between August and November 1940. Apart from the already mentioned order of 40
Buffaloes for Belgium, of which, after the French surrender, one went to
Finland and 33 to Britain, there was an order for 170 from the Royal Air Force.
The latter order was especially intended for squadrons that operated in the Far
East, in particular Singapore.
See the Warbird's Bookshelf