Air War Over Finland 1939 - 1945

Air War Over Finland 1939 - 1945 title screen.

Documentary (2000)

Work done by :
Kalevi Keskinen (Historian)
Väino Rajamäki (Former Lapland Air Commander)
Eero Sinikannel (Editor ?)
Peter Martin (Speaker)

A documentary about the Air War over Finland from 1939 until 1945. A chance to have a look on some quite rare aircraft types.
(Please, note that Finns don't use roman numeral).

Fokker D.XXI

Fokker D.21 as Finns write it but the manufacturer uses D.XXI as type naming.
The first seen is coded FR-79 (c/n 5441) and is powered by a Mercury engine. It was destroyed in an accident on June 1939 after 120 hours of flight.

Bristol 142 Blenheim Mk.I

Fokker C.10

The manufacturer's type name (Fokker C.X) was replaced in Finland by Fokker C.10

Blackburn Ripon IIF

Wheels / floats were replaced by skis during the winter.

Junkers K 43

K 43 are the military types of the W 34 family, itself very close to the W 33 family.

VL E.30 Kotka

VL stands for Valtion Lentokonetehdas which means (Finnish) State Aircraft Factory. One prototype and five production aircraft built in the beginning of the thirties.

Bristol 142 Blenheim Mk.IV

Polikarpov I-16

Tail of a Polikarpov I-16.

Unidentified Aircraft

Accident ? Shotdown ? Probably a twin engine aircraft.

Ilyushin DB-3

Ilyushin DB-3 shot down on 5th February 1940 at Keräsyrjä.

Tupolev SB 2M-100A

SB Bombers over Helsinki on 30th November 1939... with some pigeons flying away !

Morane-Saulnier MS.406

Gloster Gladiator

Finnish Gloster Gladiator GL-263.

Swedish Gloster Gladiator, type J-8 as the volunteers named it.

Tupolev SB M-103

Fiat G.50

Fiat G.50 FA-1 of 3/LeLv 26, 1941.

Polikarpov I-153

Junkers Ju 87B Stuka

Dornier Do 17 Z

Supermarine Spitfire Mk I/II

Hawker Hurricane I

One of the twelve received by Finland in 1940.

Høver M.F.11

One of the 29 M.F. 11 built by Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk (The [Norwegian] Navy's Flying Boat Factory), usually known as Høver M.F.11. Three of these three-seat, single-engined biplane flew to Finland at the fall of Norway on 8th June 1940. They were pressed into service by Finland when USSR created a state of war. They served until winter 1944.

Brewster B-239

With a 5 on the rudder, it's probably BW-365 of LeLv 24.

Fokker D.XXI

FR-116 ?

FR-109 ?

Curtiss H-75 A Hawk

Tupolev SB bis

Finnish Tupolev SB powered by M-103 engines. Six were refurbished by Finns and seventeen purchased from Germany.

Polikarpov I-153

Perhaps VH-101 (later VT-11 then IT-11). This Polikarpov I-153 was sized by Finns.

Heinkel He 111H

Same aircraft in other movies at IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft.

Morane-Saulnier MS.406

Morane-Saulnier MS.406 c/n 715 coded MS-608 will be shot down on 7th November 1941. Former L-744 in France until June 1940 when it was sized by German troops.

Ilyushin DB-3

Junkers Ju 88 A-4

Fokker C.10

Gloster Gladiator

Blackburn Ripon IIF

This one on floats.

Bristol 142 Blenheim

Shots used again in Tali-Ihantala 1944.

Curtiss H-75 A Hawk

Curtiss CU-556 of LeLv 32.

Brewster B-239

Brewster B-239 BW-378 of 4/LeLv 24.

Brewster B-239 BW-384 of 2/LeLv 24.

Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz

On the foreground. Behind, a Brewster B-239 is landing.

Fokker D.XXI

Fokker D.21 FR-91 was shot down on 7th October 1941.

Douglas DC-2

Only one coded DC-1 was committed to operations.

Unidentified Aircraft

Junkers K 43

Finns usually called their aircrafts of the W33 / W34 / K 43 family just by : Junkers.

Fiat G.50

Two mechanics servicing the Fiat A.74 RC38 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine of a Fiat G.50 on 13 March 1940.

Fiat G-50 FA-29, winter 1942.

Tupolev SB bis

Tupolev SB M-103 of the Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force).

Polikarpov I-153

Two Polikarpov I-153 worn a "2" on their rudder but the yellow band at some distance of the blue Count von Rosen's swastika indicates the VH-12 (later IT-12). Shot taken before July 1942 because this aircraft sank following an angine fire on the 9th of July.

de Havilland DH60 Moth

VL E.30 Kotka

Dornier Do 17 Z

Morane-Saulnier MS.406

Morane-Saulnier MS.406 coded MS-325. It was lost on 7th August 1942.

Please note the retractable radiator, here in extended position.

Morane-Saulnier MS.410

Note the fixed radiator, the most visible difference with the 406.

Petlyakov Pe-2

First a Petlyakov Pe-2 manned by the Finns.

Then one used by the Luftwaffe.

A flight of the VVS (Soviet Union).

Dornier Do 22 Kl

Four export version for Latvia. Not delivered, but eventually transferred to Finland.

Høver M.F.11

With a Dornier Do 22 Kl in the background.

VL Myrsky

Finnish indigenous fighter. The prototype flew on 23 December 1941 and led to a serie of 47 Myrsky II. Their delivery to front units occurred a few weeks before of the cease fire and few operational missions were flown. In service until 1950.