Canadian Warplanes 4: Brewster SB2A Bermuda

Brewster SB2A-1 Bermuda

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I.

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I (3), (Serial Nos. FF568, FF718, FF732).  The RCAF acquired three, which were used for special trials at Suffield, Alberta, by the Test & Development Establishment.

The Bermuda was the British designation for the American-built Brewster SB2A Buccaneer. Deliveries of Brewster Bermudas to the RAF began in July 1942. The RAF judged that the type was unsuitable for combat, and most of the Bermudas delivered to the service were converted to target tugs. Five of the aircraft were transferred to the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy for assessment – four as dive bombers and one as a target towing tug. The USAAF received 108 Bermudas, which it designated the A-34 Buccaneer. The type was considered unsuitable even for training purposes, and was withdrawn from service in 1944. A single Buccaneer, ex-RAF (Serial No. FF860), is preserved with the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola NAS, Florida.

Detailed records of all known RCAF and Allied aircraft flown by Canadians may be viewed on line in the Canadian Aircraft Serials Personnel Information Resource (CASPIR). The CASPIR website is researched, coded, maintained entirely by Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (CWHM) volunteers with only one staff assisting periodically. This work has taken several years, and is unlikely to be finished as continuing research leads to “new finds” and rediscovered Canadian aviation heritage and history.  The CWHM volunteer team looks forward to continuing to update and correct the record as additional information and photos are received. For the Bermuda, check here.

(RCAF Photo via Gary Cook)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I (Serial No. FF568). Used for special trials at Suffield, Alberta, by the Test & Development Establishment.

(USAAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I (Serial No. FF741).  Built as a Brewster A-34, Model B-340E Buccaneer.

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I.

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I.

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I.

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I.

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I.

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I.

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I.

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I.

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I (Serial No. FF775).

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I (Serial No. FF892 ).

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I.

(RAF Photo)

Brewster Bermuda Mk. I.

(NMNA Photo)

Brewster SB2A Bermuda, RN (Serial No. FF860), painted to represent a USN Brewster SB2A Buccaneer, on display in the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola NAS, Florida.  The museum's SB2A is also reported to have been originally produced as an A-34 (Serial No. 462-860) of the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF), and operated from William Northern Field near Tullahoma, Tennessee.   The Buccaneer was acquired by the NMNA in 2004.  Restoration was completed in 2007 and it was placed on indoor static display.

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