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HOBBY MASTER
Brewster Model 239 flown by Ilmari Juutilainen, 3/LeLv 24, Suulajarvi DEC 1942 ''ORANGE 4''
MODEL NO. HA7009
SCALE 1:72
In 1939 the US diverted some Brewster Buffaloes to Finland that had USN equipment
removed such as self-sealing fuel tanks and pilot armor plus This lighter aircraft also
receive a different engine. These aircraft were designated Brewster Model B-239. The
Finns added an armored pilot backrest and metric instruments. They also added their
own gun-sights and four .50 inch (12.7mm) machine guns. In Finland the aircraft was
referred to as the Brewster, never the Buffalo. A few nicknames were given to the
Brewster such as Taivaan helmi ("Sky Pearl") or Pohjoisten taivaiden helmi ("Pearl of the
Northern Skies") also Pylly-Valtteri ("Butt-Walter"), Amerikanrauta ("American hardware"
or "American car") and Lentävä kaljapullo ("flying beer-bottle").
The most famous Finnish pilot of WWII was lentomestari (flight champion) Eino Ilmari
"Illu" Juutilainen of 3rd Flight "Knight Flight" LeLv 24 (Fighter Squadron 24). Between
June 1941 and February 1943 Juutilainen shot down 28 aircraft while flying his “Orange
4” (BW-364) Brewster B239 before changing to a Messerschmitt Bf-109G. By the end of
WWII he had accumulated a total 94 victories and twice won the Mannerheim Cross, the
highest award in the Finnish Air Force. LeLv 24 was the most successful with 460 kills
flying the Brewsters. The last flight of the Model B-239 in Finland was in September of
1948
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