Brewster Buccaneer: Info needed

[Markus]

Anybody knowing how good or bad she was? A book of mine calls her “unsuitable for combat”. Why?On paper she looks fine: a 1,700hp engine, an internally carried 1,000lb bomb and a top speed of 274mph@12,000ft.The contemporary SBD-3 made app. 250mph@14,000ft, had a 1,000hp engine and carried the 1,000lb bomb externally, which adds a lot of drag.



Ok, initially she did not have armour and self sealing tanks but neither had the SBD. The TBF probably had it right away, but her design was begun in April 1940 and by that time armour and protected tanks were already a “must have”.

[vikingBerserker]

Apparently when the British evaluated her, they found her to be too heavy, underpowered and lacked maneuverability. The Brewster company's (at this time) quality had gone down hill, so it's possible that this came into play as well.

[Markus]

The british assesment makes no sense to me. The SB2A had the same engine as the TBF and the TBF was heavier. 300 kilos empty, 1,8 metric tons fully loaded and as far as I can tell the Brits liked the TBF. ???