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Buffaloes Over Singapore: RAF, RAAF, RNZAF and Dutch Brewster Fighters in Action Over Malaya and the East Indies 1941-1942
The Brewster B-339 Buffalo received much criticism during its brief service with the RAF, some justified, some not. Some of the pilots who eventually flew it in combat were happy with their mounts, others hated it as an operational fighter.
Rightly considered below par for service in the UK, the vast majority of the 170 aircraft acquired by the RAF Purchasing Commission from the United States was diverted for use in the Far East, where it was believed they would be superior to any Japanese aircraft encountered should hostilities break out there.
This assessment was to prove tragically very incorrect. When war did erupt, the Japanese Army Air Force - with its highly maneuverable Ki-27 and Ki-43 fighters - and the Japanese Navy Air Force equipped with the mighty A6M Zero, proved vastly superior in just about all aspects, and many of the Japanese fighter pilots were veterans of the war against China.
By contrast, the majority of the young British, New Zealand, and Australian pilots who flew the Buffalo on operations in Malaya and at Singapore were little more than trainees, and many flew into battle with only the basic training of their trade.
Nonetheless, these fledgling fighter pilots achieved much greater success than could have been anticipated, although many paid with their lives.
This is their story, complete with appendices and previously unpublished source material and photographs.
Rightly considered below par for service in the UK, the vast majority of the 170 aircraft acquired by the RAF Purchasing Commission from the United States was diverted for use in the Far East, where it was believed they would be superior to any Japanese aircraft encountered should hostilities break out there.
This assessment was to prove tragically very incorrect. When war did erupt, the Japanese Army Air Force - with its highly maneuverable Ki-27 and Ki-43 fighters - and the Japanese Navy Air Force equipped with the mighty A6M Zero, proved vastly superior in just about all aspects, and many of the Japanese fighter pilots were veterans of the war against China.
By contrast, the majority of the young British, New Zealand, and Australian pilots who flew the Buffalo on operations in Malaya and at Singapore were little more than trainees, and many flew into battle with only the basic training of their trade.
Nonetheless, these fledgling fighter pilots achieved much greater success than could have been anticipated, although many paid with their lives.
This is their story, complete with appendices and previously unpublished source material and photographs.
- GenresHistory
254 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 9, 2021
Cull's book is very much for the specialist audience, i.e. the reader who has a specific interest in World War Two aviation, the history of the Malayan and Singapore campaign, and those with a keen focus on the failures of the Brewster Buffalo. In light of this it would be irrelevant to try and develop a review or recommendation for anyone who does not fall into one or more of these categories of potential readers. Instead this review will discuss the merits and failures of the book for those who, like me, are already predisposed towards the book's subjects.
'Buffaloes Over Singapore' is a highly detailed and informative history that will please anyone with a penchant for the history and aircraft covered in the text. There is no doubt that Cull has undertaken and written an exhaustive study, and without any conflicting evidence I would suggest that this book is probably the definitive title for the subject. His extensive and highly detailed discussion of virtually all flying activities undertaken by Commonwealth Brewster Buffalo squadrons in the years before and during the disaster of Singapore is almost pedantic in its minutiae. It might be argued that the depth of his study becomes monotonous, however that is a stylistic complaint, not a problem related to the accuracy of Cull's book.
Complimenting the extensive knowledge of the Buffaloes' mechanical and military operation Cull provides a wealth of personal narratives derived from the flight logs and diaries of pilots who flew the aircraft. Somewhere in the region of twenty or more RAF, RNZAF, RAAF and other pilots provide personal evidence on their experiences with the Buffalo, as well as more general aspects of their time in Malaya and Singapore. Frequently Cull provides multiple accounts of a single sortie or event, and he is also able and willing to include the Japanese perspective. There is no doubt that Cull's history does its best to combine factual data and personal narratives, hence ensuring that the book is utterly comprehensive.
The only potential flaw one could cite in Cull's book is that he doesn't do anything to try and resolve the differences in experiences between the Commonwealth and Dutch pilots who flew the Buffalo in 1941-1942, and those Finnish pilots who flew the Brewster fighter against the Soviets during the so-called 'Continuation War'. It would have been most useful to consider how a fighter that was so badly outclassed and outfought against the Japanese had such success when flown against the Soviets. However, to be fair to Cull he is not really concerned with such a contrasting study.
In summary 'Buffaloes Over Singapore' will please anyone who wants to learn more about the aircraft type, its operational use, the pilots who flew it and the overall arc of the worst Commonwealth miliutary disaster of WW2. It will not appeal to anyone without the passion for the subject.
'Buffaloes Over Singapore' is a highly detailed and informative history that will please anyone with a penchant for the history and aircraft covered in the text. There is no doubt that Cull has undertaken and written an exhaustive study, and without any conflicting evidence I would suggest that this book is probably the definitive title for the subject. His extensive and highly detailed discussion of virtually all flying activities undertaken by Commonwealth Brewster Buffalo squadrons in the years before and during the disaster of Singapore is almost pedantic in its minutiae. It might be argued that the depth of his study becomes monotonous, however that is a stylistic complaint, not a problem related to the accuracy of Cull's book.
Complimenting the extensive knowledge of the Buffaloes' mechanical and military operation Cull provides a wealth of personal narratives derived from the flight logs and diaries of pilots who flew the aircraft. Somewhere in the region of twenty or more RAF, RNZAF, RAAF and other pilots provide personal evidence on their experiences with the Buffalo, as well as more general aspects of their time in Malaya and Singapore. Frequently Cull provides multiple accounts of a single sortie or event, and he is also able and willing to include the Japanese perspective. There is no doubt that Cull's history does its best to combine factual data and personal narratives, hence ensuring that the book is utterly comprehensive.
The only potential flaw one could cite in Cull's book is that he doesn't do anything to try and resolve the differences in experiences between the Commonwealth and Dutch pilots who flew the Buffalo in 1941-1942, and those Finnish pilots who flew the Brewster fighter against the Soviets during the so-called 'Continuation War'. It would have been most useful to consider how a fighter that was so badly outclassed and outfought against the Japanese had such success when flown against the Soviets. However, to be fair to Cull he is not really concerned with such a contrasting study.
In summary 'Buffaloes Over Singapore' will please anyone who wants to learn more about the aircraft type, its operational use, the pilots who flew it and the overall arc of the worst Commonwealth miliutary disaster of WW2. It will not appeal to anyone without the passion for the subject.
April 2, 2021
Superior Historical Research
This book presents an exhaustive and definitive history of the Brewster Buffalo in the Malaya region, and the brave men that flew them and kept them flying. From these pages emerges a story of raw courage, frustration, the horrors of war and gross ineptitude of some British senior command staff. This book is extremely well researched and a must read for historians and students of the war in the Pacific.
This book presents an exhaustive and definitive history of the Brewster Buffalo in the Malaya region, and the brave men that flew them and kept them flying. From these pages emerges a story of raw courage, frustration, the horrors of war and gross ineptitude of some British senior command staff. This book is extremely well researched and a must read for historians and students of the war in the Pacific.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews