[Graham Boak]

But the Finns were the only nation, apart from one NZ pilot, to actually prefer the Brewster. To anything, almost. The aircraft was a near-complete failure in every other theatre. It was rejected by the RAF in Western Europe, including American pilots in the RAF Eagle squadrons, in favour of the Hurricane. It was rejected by the FAA in the Middle East in favour of the Martlet and the Hurricane. It was disliked by RAF/RNZAF/RAAF pilots in the Far East who preferred the Hurricane, with, as I said, one pilot's comment as an exception. It was rejected by the USN and USMC in favour of the Wildcat. I don't recall ever seeing any comment from any of the few Dutch pilots how actually flew both types, if briefly.

Clearly the matter was more complex than simple Brewster good: Hurricane bad. Part of it was a matter of the different variants of the Brewster fighter, the Finns having lighter aircraft and the Dutch more powerful ones, the RAF having heavier aircraft than the Finns but less power than the Dutch. It is also arguable that the Finns faced weaker opposition, with generally better trained pilots. Their Hurricanes didn't have 100 octane fuel either.