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Brewster Buffalo sightings around the world

This was passed along by Scott Brener, from a posting to the newsgroup rec.aviation.restoration: "The Cradle of Aviation on Long Island has nearly completed its full scale replica of the Grumman F3F and has actually started on a full scale replica of a Brewster Buffalo. If anyone has Buffalo parts no matter how small, we could use the donation. Thanks" Following are earlier communications on this subject, which is now better handled on the forum message board. -- Dan Ford

From: "Troy Westrum"
Subject: Brewster Buffalo
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 12:36:48 -0500

Enjoyed your articles on Buffalo survivers,wrecks,etc. Back in about 1991 or 92 I was attending the King School of Aeronautics in Nashville, TN. in prep. for obtaining my Inspection Authorization. During a break several of us were discussing warbird aircraft when one fellow mentioned that he had heard of a Brewster Buffalo that had been recovered and was in Oklahoma someplace. It was going to be rebuilt but at the time it was in storage. If I remember correctly, I was told it was buried and was not in very good shape. I have often wondered if this was a true story or if someone had more information on this? Somewhere in Tennessee in the 1970's someone did find some Brewster Bermuda's abandoned on an old airport and recovered them. I saw an article in a magazine recently that showed one of these aircraft up on it's gear and making progress towards display condition. Perhaps for the Navy Museum in Fla.

From: "Bill Warren" Subject: have loc. of Brewster off California Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 00:33:18 -0700 Have possible location (at sea) of a Brewster Buffalo. If Navy shows great interest and is fair, are you and your associates interested in a joint venture to recover the plane? We are a shipwreck salvage co. We also have loc. of possbily six P-66's (DF: Bill also sent me a brochure, which unfortunately my software couldn't read. I've asked for plain text. Some of the members also got mail from him, and forwarded it as follows:)

Sirs, we have located a P-38 here in the sea just off San Diego. We are negotiating with the State of Calif. for permission to recover and restore it. We also have information about a Brewster which fell off a ship in the war off our coast. An associate has the exact long. & lat. If we can secure funding, the position will be given us and a joint venture will commence. We desire funding. Not much. Spread out between many of you, it will not be much of a sacrifice. $20,000 or less should get the Brewster located and up (with the Navy's approval and we are working on it with them right now). Another $10,000 or so for the P-38 recovery. Time is of the essence. Spread the word. Our phone is 619 445 6418. We have a brochure on our recovery company if desired. A team effort is needed -- Bill Warren

From: Mouseysf
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 18:56:26 EDT
Subject: Current Brewster Buffalo Restoration in USA

Vintage Aircraft Corp. of Sonoma, California has recovered major components of three Brewster F-2A Buffalo aircraft. The aircraft are currently under restoration in California for distribution to museums throughout the world.

A Finnish Buff in Russia

Jerry wrote us on January 7, 1997: "We have had several inquiries from some historians living near St. Petersburg [the former Leningrad, near which the Finnish Air Force operated in the Continuation War] if we would have any interest in acquiring Brewster Buffalo wreckage." Tidewater Tech has already acquired the wrecks of a Curtiss P-40E that its students are restoring, and a small-jawed Curtiss Tomahawk that is too far gone for any meaningful restoration. The two P-40 types were Lend-Lease aircraft lost on combat missions by the Red Air Force--possibly to Brewster Buffaloes serving with the Finnish Air Force. The Buffaloes, if there are any, would have been B-239s of the sort sold to Finland in 1940.

Tidewater Tech is an aircraft maintenance school. Some of its students are experienced Navy mechanics looking for a civilian career, and it is mostly these individuals who do the restoration work. For information, go to Jerry's website or send him email by clicking on the highlighted words.

The Reinert Buffalo

In 1993 I bought some P-40 Tomahawk parts from Earl Rhinert and we of course discussed our mutual interest in aviation. Earl was a surplus dealer who located and sold surplus P-47 parts to the US Air Force during the Korean War. Years later Earl opened an air museum. One of the exhibits was a Brewster Buffalo. After the museum closed, the Buffalo was stored in a hangar near the air field. Some thing caused a fire and the plane was completely destroyed. Earl did however have some Buffalo parts for sale. Minor guages and lights for the cockpit. I have the list he sent to me. I am sure his brother still has some of the parts if you would like to buy them.

Kevin Granthan had this to say about the late Mr. Reinert:

Earl Reinert made a living out of buying and selling vintage aircraft and parts for almost 50 years.... He also had a knack for buying aircraft that he never intended to move. His objective was to save these airplanes from destruction.... Later in his life he opened a museum near his home of Arlington Heights, Illinois. To some people Earl was a crazy old junk man, but the ones who really got to know him found Earl to be a factual spokesman of warbird history.

I met Earl during the late 1980's while I was researching the history of the surviving Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. During one of our many conversations he told me he had a Brewster Buffalo. When I inquired about its location he would say "I'll tell you about that another time," and continue with his P-38 recollections. I tried to get him to tell me about his F2A on other occasions but had no success in learning its location. Sadly, Earl passed into a better world in November 1992 and apparently the knowledge of where he stored his Brewster Buffalo went along for the ride. Or did it? Dick Phillips recently told me that he too had heard of the Reinert Buffalo. Dick also mentioned that Earl told him that the remains of an F2A was located in a field amongst several Brewster Bermudas....

Early last year another clue surfaced in the March 1995 issue of Air Classics magazine when Mr. O'Leary reported that a well known aircraft collector had purchased the remains of a Brewster Buffalo. Unfortunately, the small article contained no additional details and none have come to light since the article first appeared.

And here's a citation from John Dupre:

And a note from Bob Clarke:

A Buffalo in Chesapeake Bay?

A Buffalo ghost in Germany

I was driving down the Autobahn one sunny day in May 1946, maybe June, and spotted the tail of a familiar looking aircraft over a ridge just north of Darmstadt. So naturally I drove right up the ridge, to land on a cement airstrip. There was a NA B-25b MITCHELL in red-dot-and-white-star insignia (North Africa?) with graffiti scratched in the drab finish (toilet stuff, in German) , a wingless long-nosed FW.190D with a Superman badge next to the cockpit (Superman! I've never seen it elsewhere, or ever in print) , and the fuselage of a Brewster BUFFALO in Belgian insignia. A Brewster BUFFALO in 1946? It was a German test site for captured aircraft, and that's what was left.

Yes, I took photos. I had 6 shots left on the spool and no more film, so I took one shot of the Brewster, and 3 or 4 or more of the Focke Wulf. I've got them somewhere, so I'll look. It's a great side view with all the markings. No wings, tail or motor. But the whole fuselage. What did I stumble across? I've always wondered. -- Dick

[As Jim Maas told the story in his Squadron-Signal book about the Buffalo: "Painted in Belgian camouflage of Dark Earth and Dark Green over Silver lacquer and carrying Belgian roundels, the initial example of the Model 339B rolled off the assembly line during April 1940 and was immediately shipped to Belgium. Unfortunately, the German Blitzkrieg during May of 1940 overran the Low Countries and the ship carrying the crated Brewster was diverted to France, arriving at Bordeaux on 28 May 1940. The aircraft was subsequently captured by the Germans and is believed to have been assembled and test flown by the Luftwaffe." Don't you just love it when facts come together after half a century? - Dan]

More recently, Dick wrote the following to a Belgian collector:

The Brewster BUFFALO was fuselage only, stripped of engine, wings and tail surfaces. It was camouflaged, in Belgian roundals, well weathered, and had German graffiti scratched all over it, suggesting its days of usefulness were long over and it hung around in the open field for years. It was at an airfield at Darmstadt (that was not picked up by the occupation forces) so was three abandoned hangers, lots of litter, Fw.190 BMW, American B-25 MITCHELL in old red dot/star insignia (North Africa?), a wrecked DFS glider, and a bunch of other stuff. There was one active aircraft at the field, a German Buchman primary trainer in roughly painted USAF insignia, so I think some American pilots used it for joyrides on captured German light aircraft as a sort of "secret" unofficial base. I saw the hangers from the Autobahn, so stopped and went up over a hill to find this junk. It was summer, maybe July,1946. I was a model builder and model aircraft kit designer for two companies during the war, and a subscriber to The Aeroplane and The Aeroplane Spotter, wartime British publications, so I knew exactly what I was looking at. It was like the best wartime aviation spotters magazine come true.

Is there a Buff in India?

Greetings! This member visited the Indian Air Force Museum at Palam Air Force Station on 12 April [1996] in an attempt to gain further information regarding the inestimable Jim Maas' reference to at least one Buffalo Mk.1 being transferred to the Royal Indian Air Force.

The IAF museum has some unusual aircraft in fine condition, including the only Wapiti this member has ever actually seen, but no Buffalo.

The Buffalo was not included in the "hall of aircraft heritage", a gallery of hand-painted pictures purporting to show every aircraft ever operated by the IAF, even though a Fairey Battle and a Boulton-Paul Defiant were pictured.

In a most amiable and extended conversation with the curator, it transpired that he had never seen a Buffalo, had heard only in the most general terms of the existence of such an aircraft, and was not aware that any had ever been operated by the IAF. When this member suggested that Imphal was a likely location for any surviving aircraft, the curator spoke with regret but with authority: He has personally scoured the IAF depots around Imphal, and never seen the elusive Buffalo.

In parting, this member urged further efforts, explaining that the Buffalo would be, effectively, unique in world aviation museums if locatable. The curator seemed most interested, and promised a comprehensive search.

With regret at the failure of this venture, but with regards, I remain, Sir, your Most Obd't Sv't, Alexander P. Brown, Member, BBA