The Brewster Aeronautical Company was the ONLY US aircraft company to go out of business during WWII. Problems with crooked management, union strikes and sabotage, and an outdated design led the Navy to take it over in 1944 when it became the Naval Air Modification Unit.
The Buffalo was “a sweet ship and could turn inside a phone booth” according to Pappy Boyington. He said they ruined it when they loaded it up with armor and heavy radios and weighed it down.
It was also the first Navy monoplane carrier fighter.
It was one of those planes that was just a little early.