Warbird Information Exchange

Looking for some help identifying what these plates came off of and the History on the Brewster Buffalo.

Thanks in advance for the power of the Wix Braintrust.

Flotation Tag

floatation tag by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr

Curtiss Front

curtiss tag (1) by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr

Curtiss Back

curtiss tag by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr

Brewster Plate

brewster tag by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr

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Andrew King
Air Museum Director with no Museum to Direct
Open to Suggestions

I'm sorry I cant help with they go to but I'd love to know where I can get one of the curtiss plates. Personal connection and all, i grew up buffalo, my aunt and one of my grandfathers worked for curtiss during the war on the P-40 lines.

This page has this picture of Buffalo 1410.

If I am reading it right, this listing shows it as being delivered to the Finish Air Force in New York on 4 Jan, 1940.

Completed with c/n 25
Intended for US Navy as F2A-1 probably with serial BuA 1410; not delivered Ref: 5
Delivered as type 239 to Finnish AF in New York on 4 January 1940 Ref: 4, 37
Shipped on SS Mormacktide, departing New York on 13 January 1940 Ref: 4
Assembled by Saab at Trollhattan, Sweden and given serial BW-357; first flight on 2
March 1940 Ref: 4, 45
Operated by LeLv 22 Ref: 1
Operated by LeLv 24 Ref: 1
Operated by LeLv 26 Ref: 1
W/o 18 October 1944 Ref: 38

However there are references to this F2A-2 being BuNo 01410 and to it serving aboard Lexington. I think your tag was originally mounted to the Finish one, the F2A-1. And then the F2A-2 was given it's BuNo but a different tag. They might have removed the tag at the turnover and someone kept it. Just one possible explanation, I am not much of an expert on these things.

Rob thanks for the information! Now all I need are some landing gear and a few patterns

_________________
Andrew King
Air Museum Director with no Museum to Direct
Open to Suggestions

Bumping this back up, Anyone have any other ideas on the flotation plate or the Curtiss plate? What they might be off of?

_________________
Andrew King
Air Museum Director with no Museum to Direct
Open to Suggestions

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-Bill
B-17E 41-2595 "Desert Rat" Restoration Team

"According to a friend of mine who has accumulated a collection of Data plates, the Curtiss plate (note the two S-es) came from a P-36"

Hmm.......I have the same Curtiss plate for a P-40 being 39-196.

How can you tell its from a P-36? has it got something to do with the manufacturers details on the back?

very interested to know as I have a few of these plates as well.


Peter

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Peter
ESAD (E-Science and Digitalisation)

The Curtiss Plate, shows an early plate attached to P-36 and P-40 models (and maybe other types but not my area of expertise).

This plate is one of two used on P-40's/P-36's and is considered as the Curtiss Manufacturers plate, there is also a USAAC/F plate that goes with it to make the pair.

Buz

Drew, it's from a later variant, the F2A-2, of which 43 were ordered by the U.S. Navy, included a more powerful R-1820-40 engine of Wright R-1820, a better propeller, and integral flotation gear. The plate you have was mounted in the cockpit

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" I am a nobody in aviation, but somebody to my family."

The Brewster plate may very well have been pulled and not used. The original F2A-1 order was for 54 aircraft. Except for the first 11, the bulk of the order was diverted to Finland (as noted above) as export Model 239's. Brewster replaced the 'missing' 43 Navy aircraft with F2A-2, to which the 'missing' Bureau Numbers were reassigned. Since (a) this plate is for an F2A-1 that was never delivered, and (b) there's no delivery date, and (c) it looks totally unused, my bet would be that it was pulled from the F2A-1 that was converted to a Model 239 (which would have its own mfr's plate) and somebody stashed it in a drawer.

My question is - what is "Model 5"? That doesn't match any of the several bizarre Brewster identification systems.
[Added later] Found Model 5. An 11/41 Brewster Engineering Manual section (page 2.0363 if you are making notes) has dash numbers for Brewster aircraft. I had thought this was a 1941 document that was required by the US Government and early aircraft had the dash numbers applied retroactively. But I guess not. The dash numbers are:
1 XSBA-1 Scout Bomber
2 XSBA-2 Scout Bomber [never built]
3 XF2A-1 Navy Fighter
4 XT3D-2 Douglas Torpedo [subcontract work?]
5 F2A-1 Navy Fighter
6 XF2A-2 Navy Fighter
7 XSB2A-1 Scout Bomber
8 XNR-1 Target Plane
9 Fleet B-1 Fleet Trainer
10 339-10 Belgian Fighter
11 239-11 Finnish Fighter
12 F2A-2 Navy Fighter
13 339-13 English Fighter (339E)
14 340-14 English Dive Bomber
15 no entry this line
16 339-16 Dutch Fighter (339D)
17 340-17 Dutch Dive Bomber
18 339-18 Dutch Fighter (339C)
19 no entry this line
20 SB2A-1 Navy Dive Bomber
21 339-21 English Fighter
22 F2A-3 Navy Fighter
23 339-23 Dutch Fighter
24 RESERVED FOR NEW DESIGN
25 XA-32 Army Bomber

39-196 is from an early P-40.If it had a letter designation it would have been called an A model.Curtiss didn't use that denoting early p-40s.That bird may have served at Hamilton field California in 1940 and early 41.IIRC

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Hang The Expense

HTE, thanks for that.

The Curtiss plate has the number 41 hand written on the reverse side, this corresponds with 39-196 records I have.

The USAAC plate that came with it states 42-14265 and this is recorded as a G model.


cheers


Peter

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Peter
ESAD (E-Science and Digitalisation)

A number of the G models were refurbished at curtiss and then sent to the Russians.You probably know that already but just in case.I have the dataplate from AK301 that was sent to Russia BTW.

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Hang The Expense