F2A BuffaloBrewster F2A Buffalo airplane model. The Brewster F2A Buffalo, the U. S. Navy's first monoplane shipboard fighter, saw brief combat service during the first half year of the Pacific War. Built in 1936 38, Brewster's XF2A 1 prototype bested the Grumman XF4F 2 in a competition to replace the Grumman F3F biplane fighter. A production contract for F2A 1 production aircraft followed in June 1938. Production difficulties, a continuing problem throughout the