Brewster Fighters in Battle of Midway

choi

Erik Eckholm. 10 Feet Below Watwers off Midway Atoll, a Famous Flying Dud.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/us/02fighter.html

first seven paragraphs:

"In the generally upbeat annals of American military aviation, the plump, snub-nosed little fighter called the Brewster Buffalo stands out as a turkey.

"The plane had its day of ignominy in the epic Battle of Midway in June 1942, when 19 Marine pilots valiantly engaged Japanese Zeroes in dogfights above Midway Atoll, a strategic speck some 1,300 miles northwest of Honolulu. Only five of the pilots and planes returned.

"In his action report, one of the survivors complained that 'the Japanese Zero fighter can run circles around the F2A-3,' the Brewster Buffalo model that had been handed down to the Marines by the Navy because its wheel struts broke during the hard landings on carriers.

“'It is my belief that any commander that orders pilots out for combat in a F2A-3 should consider the pilot as lost before leaving the ground,' wrote Capt P R White of the Marines.

"Intercepting the Japanese fleet farther out to sea, the American carriers with more advanced aircraft fared better. In a victory that historians call the turning point in the Pacific War, American forces sank four Japanese aircraft carriers while losing only one.

"But among the Marines, the Buffalo won a reputation as a flying coffin. It was soon replaced by more agile fighters and the aircraft, along with the heroism of its hapless pilots, became a largely forgotten footnote.

"Now, the discovery of the rare wreckage of a Brewster Buffalo in the Midway lagoon, in only 10 feet of water, has rekindled interest in the aircraft and a record that, with the passage of time, seems as colorful as tragic.


My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest of the report, unless you are a buff on airplanes or World War II. I was mainly surprised to see the barrel-shaped airplane, which aroused interest now, because 10 feet below water, an engine and propeller of a Brewster Buffalo was found in the Midway Atoll lagoon.
(b) turkey (n):
"2: FAILURE, FLOP; especially : a theatrical production that has failed
* * *
4: a stupid, foolish, or inept person"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turkey
(c) For F2A-3, see Brewster F2A Buffalo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster_F2A_Buffalo
(US Navy's first monoplane fighter aircraft; Role  Single seat carrier-based fighter; National origin  United States;
Manufacturer  Brewster Aeronautical Corporation; 1939-1948)
(d) snub-nosed (adj; First Known Use 1725):
"1: having a stubby and usually slightly turned-up nose
2: having a very short barrel <a snub–nosed revolver>"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snub-nosed

* snub (adj): "or snubbed : BLUNT. STUBBY <a snub nose>"