Imagine coming homing from 53 days of continuous combat to be told you’re going to be one of the first to fly the Navy’s latest and greatest bomber. It is the next generation, the plane you will be piloting when you return to war after this short interlude in the States.
You’ve been flying a dive-bomber whose forward-firing guns rarely worked, that couldn’t make more than 220 mph fully loaded, could only carry a thousand pounds of bombs, and was easy meat for Japanese fighters.
Despite the deficiencies in your aircraft, you and your half-trained squadron played a key role in stopping a critical Japanese counter-offensive. Your bombs destroyed numerous ships and barges. You’re a national hero, though the cost was high. Most of your pilots are dead. Those left are in Stateside hospitals recovering from wounds and trauma.
A revolutionary new bomber, faster, with more firepower and more ordnance, is exactly what you wanted while leading your men against the Japanese Navy.
With great fanfare, you’re brought to the most modern aircraft factory in America, one the Navy invested millions in to construct, then leased back to the aircraft company for a dollar a year.
You give a rousing speech to the employees who are building this revolutionary weapon of war.
There in Hatbro, Pennsylvania, in front of thousands of workers, you’re given the keys to the new plane to take it on a test flight and see what the future holds.
That plane was the Brewster SB2A Buccaneer.
And it was a complete dud. The worst aircraft produced by the U.S. defense industry during WWII.
Welcome home, Marine.
The American Warrior 