Wrought with fraud, mismanagement and inefficient production, the United States Navy eventually stepped in to take direct control for a period, and the company folded at the end of World War II.

Originally a carriage builder, Brewster & Co.'s involvement in aviation began in the aftermath of World War I, when it started manufacturing hulls for Loening amphibians.

Brewster started out making seaplane floats and wing panels, but with the hire of chief engineer Dayton Brown it embarked on its own designs.

It operated three aircraft plants, at the Brewster Building in Long Island City, New York, Newark, New Jersey, and, in 1941, in Warminster Township, Pennsylvania, which was then known as NAS Johnsville.

A design in 1936 for a carrier-capable monoplane fighter resulted in the Brewster F2A (named Buffalo by the British), which was chosen over an early version of the Grumman F4F Wildcat.

They had been involved in frauds, spending two years in prison for selling illicit arms to Bolivia, and had over-promised Brewster production capabilities to customers.