Lentolaivue 24

130 Pages·2001·47.683 MB·English

by  Kari Stenman & Kalevi Keskinen

OSPREY AVIATION ELITE • 4
Kari Stenman and Kalevi Keskinen
r=:osPREY AVIATION ELITE. 4
Le,ntolaivue 24

SERIES EDITOR: TONY HOLMES
OSPREY AVIATION ELITE• 4
Lentolaivue
24
Ka{ Stenman & Kalevi Keskinen
Front cover hr 1 pubfohc<l in Greac Britain in 2001 by 0 prey Publishing
On 24 January 1943 at 1440 hrs, Capt
~lms ~ourt, hapd Way, Barley, Oxford, OX.2 9LP
Jorma Sarvanto took o,ff from
-m ii: info@ospreypubli, hing. om
Suulajarvi with five other Brewster
Model 239s from 1/LeLv 24 and
headed east for a 'free hunt' over the © 2001 Osprey Publi hi11g LimiceJ
Gulf of Fln1and. The Soviets had a
huge naval and air base on the island
of Kronstadt, just east of Leningrad, ll righcs reserved. Ap;m from any fair dealing for chc purpose of privar rudy,
and the Finnish pilots knew their earch, criticism or revi w, as permitted under rhc Copyrighr, Design and
sortie would be opposed. As the Par1:nLs t, 1988. no pan orr his publicacion may be reprodu ed. rored in a
aircraft approached Kronstadt, 1Lt
retrieval sysrem, or rran miuc<l in any form or by any means. ele rroni ,
Hans Wind (leading the second pair
of Brewsters) observed six 11-2s. dcccrical, ch mical, mechanical, opcical, phomcopying, recording o oth rwi~t',
escorted by two -16 'Ratas' and withour prior wrinen permi ion. All enquirie hould be add re sed to tl1e
seven 'Spitfires' (actually LaG:G-3s) publisher.
below the Finnish fighters. Moments
later he spotted five Pe-2s and a
further 13 l-16s. All these aircraH I B r 1 84176 262 8
were heading in an easterly
direction, slowly descending
Edited by Tony Holmes
towards the Soviet airfields at
Page design by Mark Hoh
Kronstadt and Oranienbaum. With
the sun behind them, Wind (in BW- Cover Artwork hy Jin1 Lauder
393) and his wingman attacked the Aircraft Profiles by John WcaJ
two 'Ratas' closest to them, the
Origination by Grasmer DigicaJ Imaging, Leecl~. K
former jumping his foe at an altitude
Primed rhrough Bookbuildt:rs, Hong Kong
of less than 100 metres above the
ground. The 1·16 was mortally
damaged by a short burst of fire 0 I 02 03 0 l 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
from Wind's Brewster, and it crashed
into a forest just west of the runway
at Kronstedt. Its demise (Wind's 15th CKNO\X'LEDGFJv1 FNT<;
kill of the war) was witnessed both The Authors wish co rhank arl-Frcdrik Grnst for providing det<1il of ovier
by his wingman, WO Viktor Pyiitsia, uni cs and operations on rh Finni h Front, rhis informarion having been ourced
and the Finnish ground post at
from original documencacion und in Russian archive kepc near Moscow and
Seivasto. Both pilots then climbed
back up to altitude and joined the c Petersburg
battle raging overhead with the
1-16·escorted Pe-2 formation. Wind For a cacalogue of' II o~pr :y Publishing dde pleas co111,1ct llS .1t;
duly fired at two other 'Ratas' and'
two Pe-2s before his guns jammed Ospre Dire r K P.O. Bo 1 0, Wellingborough, orthants NS ZA, UK
and he was forced to head for home. E-mail: info o ·prcydire t.oo.uk
The Finnish pilots reported that their
Russian opponents were flying 0 pre Die-eel SA, do Motorbool Totem tionaJ, 729 JProspecr A enue,
aircraft painted in green summer
PO Bo. I, Osceola, Wascoo in WI 54020
camouflage. despite it being the
E-mail: [email protected]
middle of winterl
(Cover Painting by Jim Laurier'/
r \'J it our w bsice: www.osprcypublishing.com
Back cover Previous pages MT-476/'Yellow 7', which was
On 1 June 1943 Lentolaivue 24's 3rd A pair of Bf 109G-6s from 3/Hlelv 24 assigned to MSgt Nils Katajainen for
Flight leader, Capt Joppe Karhunen, are seen between sorties at a mere48 hours! On 5 July 1944 he
was ppointed commander of the Lappeenrant:a on 3 July 1944. used it to down a Vak-9. but was in
whole unit. Marking, this occasion, MT-441/'Yellow 1' (left) was flown turn wounded and forced to crash
he poses on the tailplane of his by 1Lt Ahti Laitinen until he was land at 500 km/h - miraculously, he
Brewster Model 239 ~BW-366) at captured on 29 June 1944 after survived this incident. Nils
Suulajarvi. The fighter's fin shows bailing out of battle-damaged Katajainen scored 35.5 kills during
the Mannerheim Cross-winner's full Bf 109G-6 MT-439. Laitinen had, up the course of 196 sorties. and
tally of 31 aerial victories, the last of to that point, flown just 75 sorties received the Mannerheim Cross
which was scored on 4 May 1943 and claimed ten kills - six of them in (Finland's highest military medall on
ISA-kuva) MT-441. The second Gustav is 21 December 1944 ISA-kuva)
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS 6
CHAPTER TWO
WINTERWAR 9
CHAPTER THREE
FINNISH 28
OFFENS~VE
CHAPTER FOUR
STATIONARY WAR 45
CHAPTER FIVE
SOVIET OFFENSIVE 93
APPENDICES 118
COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY 12.2
INDEX 128
w HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
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LI tei air base in outh- <stern Finland has long been recognised as rhc
'cradl ofd1efighcerpilor followingirsescablishmentinJune 1918
- six month after the Finnish declarati n of independence from
chen lmperial Ru sia. A~ the only irfield for land-based ajrcrafc in rhe
country Utti wa home to all flying rrainingand fromlin fighter units for
over a decade. fndced, it was not unril 1929 char a second milicary airfield
was builr close ro Viipuri at uur-Mcrijoki. By this rime the Finnish Air
Force had e rab1i hed an effective maririm flying arm chanks ro c:he
instrucrion of a Bricish military learn headed by Maj ,en Walter Kirkc.
Flying boacs and Hoarplancs conrinued w dominace Finnish military
aviacion until chc mid-1930s, and chis was one of c:he primary reasons why
che air force boa ccd such a small fighter arm ar the scarr of World War 2.
Another prin ipal cause was that mu h of the meagr' pre-war Finnish
militarybudgec had been invested in rwo 900-mnlightcruisers purchased
cob osl the image of the navy! These war hips subsequently saw very litcle
u eduring World War 2, for c:heywer' alwaysvulnerab] ro imack from the
air when at sea due r rhe ense archipelago of {he .ulf of Finl nd.
The modernisation of lhe air force rnally commenced on 15 July 1933
when a eries of new afr rations were crear d, and each one allocared one
or rwo previously-e·cablished squadron . Uni wa designated Lmtomema
1, and its squ drons were also numb ·red - the army co-operacion unit
becarne Lentol11ivue (LLv) 10 and th fighter outfit Lentolaivue 24.
LLv 24 w rhen equipped with licen e-builr Gloster G mecock llls,
which ic had received chrce years earlier. These had replac'd French
Gourdou-L seurre L-21 (20 of whi h were purchased in 192 ) and
British Martinsyde F.4 Buz1.ard (15 acquin:d).
FIGHTER TACTICS
The Garn ocks gave grea service, and in 193 LLv 24's comm nding
officer. Maj Richard lore11t:z, used them to exp rimenc wim new fighter
caccics which saw che uaJicional lead aircraft and vo wingmen formacion
reduced co jusc a 'fighting pair'. This proved co be bod1 more flexible and
better uited to most ta de: I conditions, and could be easily increased rn a
four-aircraft 'swarm' (dubbed a 'finger-four') when the need arose.
Furrher tactical improvemcncs widiin LLv 24 were 1mplcincmed
followingCapc uscafMagm1sson'sa.rdvalas on l Novemb r 1938.
Prior to his appointment, he had visited ocher air arms in Europe.
including ac:hrec-month spell wirh chc Lufrwaffe's JG 132 'Richthofen'. A
number of ic pilots had recently seen action in the pani h Civil War, and
Magnus on r ceived valuable informacion on how bes m destroy ovi
Tupolev B bombers and Polikarpov I-l 5bis and J-16 fighcers. The
Germans had also abandoned che rhree-aeroplane -ormacion in favour al
the 'finger-four', and rhi convinced enior officers in c:he Finnish ir
force of the soundness ofLLv 24's fighting formation and basic tactics.
Yet poor funding conrjnued ro restrict pre-war fighter pilots rnm
6 receiving anything bm elementary Aying training prior m reaching he
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SOVIET
UNION
AIRFIELDS
1. Turku 11. Selanpaa 21. Onttola 31. Uomaa 41. Hirvas
2. Pori 12. Kuorevesi 22. Jo nsuu 32. Mantsi 42. Tiiksjarvi
3. Nummela 13. Luonetjarvi 23. Suur-Merijoki 33. Lunkula 43. Kauhava
4.Malmi 14. Naarajiirvi 24. Rompotti 34. Karkunranta 44. Paltamo
5. Hyvinkaa 15. Lappeenranta 25. Heinjoki 35. Nurmoila 45. Vaala
6. Siikakangas 16. Taipalsaari 26. Suulajarvi 36. Latva 46. Kemi
7. Hollola 17. lmmola 27. Kilpasilta 37. Derevjannoje 47. Rovanierni
8. Vesivehmaa 18. Rantasalmi 28. Mensuvaara 38. Solomanni 48. Vuotso
9. Kymi 19. Joroinen 29. Vartsila 39. Viitana 49. Petsamo
10. Utti 20. Rissala 30. Suisramo 40. Kontupohja 7
w rromline. An<l even once chey had arrived ac Ltv 24, pilors found chat
z
0 advanced uaining rar ly explored moc chan three type.!> [ acca k, for ic
a:
w h d been discovered tha( uch a numb r w ufficienr co down a bomber
la. .. - rhe Finnish fighter pilor's principal targ r. The rrio of arta ks (and
c(
:::c: a sociared aerial gunnery) adopced by LL 24 were thoroughly rehearsed,
u
and chis sryle of training uired both the <tir force and die Finnish creasury.
When praccising aerial auack gun w re c co on verge ac 150 metre ,
-o
buc pilots were trained ( hold their fir· unril just metre!> away from the
target. .'uch do eness broughc with it cenain risks, but these were deemed
to be ourweighed by two major advancage : 1) you were too Jo c for any
dcfi nsive fire co be ai mt:d wi (h any accuracy. and 2) you could norm iss!
When war broke out Magnusson ordered rhac fighter dudlirrg was co be
avoided, for LLv 24' Fokker D.XXJs ould nor turn with Ru ·ian l-lSs
and 1-1G s. How vcr che Dmch design wa capable imercepcor, possess
ing a good race of limb and the abilily to dive away from 1he enemy.
On l January 19 8 (he air stations w re replaced by flying regiments,
and new] -deliver ·cl' D.X:Xrs were issued co boch of Lentorykmenrti 2's
fighter units LLv 2 and 6. An intensive rraining period t:nsucd, and
b (h FR-79 and R-88 (and cheir pilot ) were lo r in accidents.
FOKKER D.XXI
The Finni h Air •orcc initially became involved (series I) indu iv" chc Dutch ajr r<:llr arrived in
with Fokker de ign when i c purchased a number of Am. rerdam on 12 cc ber l 7 and were hipped
C.V army co-opera ion air raft in the early 19 0. on to tinl nd in race . Each D.XXI o-c 1.1 million
The.se were in cu rn replaced in the spring of 1936 by Finn marks apiece without an ngi nc.
the C.X. Lhe beinv bought as part of the new n 7 Jl l ne l 9 7 an order was placed with th
f'ive-year plan whi h also called for the acqui ition oF Vaftion Lentokonetehdas for 14 crie U aircrafr
27 'interceprors' co equip three quadrons. (serialled FR-83 ro FR-96). omplet ·d between 11
Fokker had offered rhe Finn its new low-wing November 1938 and J8 March 1939, Lhese D.X.Xh
monoplane O.X:Xl lighter for exporc, and they duly cost ju r hal ch price of che Dutch example .
bec.arne the aircraft' first customer on 18 Novt:mber An open li encc had al o been obtained on 15
193 . even aircrafc wer ·ordered, and a licence w. s June J 937, whi hallowed I ~ries IlT aircraft co be
also acquired to produce double chi. amount at the built between l.6 March and 27 July 1939 - just in
Vaftion lentokonetehdas (Stace Aircraft actory). time for rhe Winr r War. Tht~e fighrcrs were
Bearing Finni h serial numl er. FR-76 to FR-82 erialled FR-97 to FR-117 inclusive.
The first O.XXI issued to Llv 24
was FR-76, which is seen here in
front of LA 1 hangar No .2. on 16
December 1937. Its unique 20 mm
Oerlikon cannon are clearly visible
under the fighter's wings. On 29
January 1940 2Lt Olli Puhakka
downed a DB-JM from 43.DBAP
(long-range bomber aviation
regiment) with just 18 rounds
fired from a distance of over 500
metres lsee chapter two). Within a
week machine guns had replaced
the cannon, allowing the fighter
to comply with the rest of the
unit's machines (Finnish Air Force)
8
WINTER WAR
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:0
errnany launch ·d its long-awai Led attack on Poland in rhe arly
hours of I ptember 1939, and eized rhe c tern areas of che
countrywirhin three weeks. According ro rhe Ribb ntrop-Molotov
non-aggression pacl signed berween chc azi regime and the ovier
governmem jusc week prior to che invasion, Poland was carved up
between r.he rwo countries. A ecret dau e appended ro the pacr lcrt the
Baltic counrri~s. and Finland, ro the oviec Union, which now al o
occupied chc easrern provin cs of Poland. Ac tht: same ti c the
communist d manded air and naval bas s rom then indep ndent
-: tonia, La ia an<l Lithuania, which had co comply dll co r.he weak tate
of their armed for c.:s. The oviecs then turned their attention to Finland.
Having enjoyed uccess wit:h rhe Balli tate.-.. through rhc applicarion of
massive diplomat:ic pressure, t:he communists inirially cried to acguin.:
military ha, s fr m Finland [hrough identical means. Realising that r.h
errnans would eventually affempr r invade ar som point in rhe n ar
Neatly lined up at an airshow held at
future, the o iet wished to hifc their border urr.her wesr from
Lentoasema (Alir Station) 5 -
Leningrad. In rcrurn for giving up rhis land, Finland would get rwicc he previously 'known as Suur-Merijoki -
area of wildernc s further norr.h in ict K.:<relia. All ornmunisro enure on 3 August 1935, these Gloster
were disgui cd undt:r the 'safery of Leningrad' banner, which rhe Finns Gamecock Ills of Llv 24 provided the
bulk of Finland's frontline fighter
orre rly su pecrt:d was a cover for the total conque t of rheircounrry. The defence for much of the 1930s. The
Vinni, h gov1.:rnment flatly refu s ·d r.hls insulr co ics sovereignty. unit was based at Utti - home of
Following the receipr of chis answer, the ovi t Union annulled the Lentoasema 1 - at the time. On
1 January 1938 aviation regiments
non-aggression pac[ signed wich Finland in 1932 and launched an
were formed to replace the air
invasion on 30 ovember 19 9. o started t:he 'David and ollath'
stations, and Utti became the home
truggle thar was die Wimer \'liar. of Lentorykmentti 2. Some 17
Gamecocks saw exactly a decade of
RE-EQUIPMENT
service with the Finnish Air Force
from 1929 through to early 1939,
In 19 7 che Finni1>h Air force bad is ued a five-year de elopment plan
when they were replaced by Fokker
which called primarily for die acqui irion of 'inccrceptors'. It had b·en D.XXls (Finnish Air Force)
9