I recently read that the wreckage of a W.W.II Brewster Buffalo had been found in Western Australia in 1998. There was a proposal to re-build her for museum display. Anybody down South know the status of this proposal??
Bill Shuey
Bill, I take you mean Aus... ;) Oz is that mythical country that no-one knows about, no-one cares about... hang on, maybe your spelling is correct. :)
Seriously, nothing comes to mind re the Buffalo, but I'll check some aviation mags and let you know. Do you recollect who was doing the resto?
RobG (the Aussie one)
I have no info on who was doing the restoration. What information I have was found on page 71 of the new Kagero monograph on the Brewster Buffalo, (ISBN 83-89088-14-2). It states that about 10 former Dutch Buffaloes were taken over by the R.A.A.F. and were used by 25 Squadron at a base in the West of Australia (Pearce?). Serial number A51-5 disappeared without trace during a patrol on September 24, 1942 and was found near Derby in the late 90's. This would be the only complete Buffalo in existence since the one the Finns have in their museum is actually only a fuselage with a set of locally built wooden wings on it.
Bill Shuey
The Finnish one is technically not a Buffalo, but a derivative called the Humu--the wooden wings were functional (not a museum restoration) and different aerodynamically from the original. It certainly retains original Buffalo structure, but I don't believe the engine is typical either.
Mark Schynert
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