Buccaneer was a single-engined mid-wing monoplane scout bomber aircraft built for the RAF and United States Navy between 1942 and 1944. It was also used by USAAF and UMSC.
U.S. Navy had issued a requirement for a more effective scout-bomber with greater armament and an increased bomb load in early 1939, and Brewster responded with its Model 340. Ordered by the Navy in April of that year, the prototype XSB2A-1 flew in June 1941. By then Brewster had received a contract to build 140 for the Navy, as well as export orders from the Netherlands (162) and from the RAF (750). Although well armed, the SB2A was heavy and underpowered. Nevertheless, the Navy received an additional 80 SB2A-2s and 60 SB2A-3s in 1943-44, the latter intended for carrier operations with an arrestor hook and folding wings. The 162 ordered by the Netherlands were also taken over by the Navy, and these were issued as SB2A-4 to the Marine Corps. A total of 771 Buccaneers were eventually built, and these were used for target-towing and other secondline duties.
Mid-wing all-metal monoplane fitted with a 1,700 hp Wright R-2600-8 Cyclone which drives a three-bladed Curtiss Electric fully-reversible, constant-speed propeller.
Serials
XSB2A-l: 1632 and 01005
SB2A-2: 00803-00882
SB2A-3: 00883-00942
SB2A-4: 29214-29375
RAF: FF419-FF99, FG100-FG268