hw97karbine
Airman 1st Class
- 215
- Mar 23, 2025
View: https://rumble.com/v6rd9pc-original-color-footage-of-a-similarly-colorful-selection-of-wwii-finnish-ai.html
0:00 Soviet-made Polikarpov I-153 "Chaika" biplane fighter of which the Finnish Air Force operated around 20 captured examples, half of which had been captured by Germany.
0:19 Bristol Blenheim Mk I bomber for which in 1936, the Finnish Air Force became the first export customer, ordering 18 examples, which were delivered from Britain between June 1937 and July 1938. Two years later, Finland obtained a manufacturing licence for the Blenheim. Before any aircraft could be manufactured at the Valtion lentokonetehdas (State Aeroplane Factory) in Finland, the Winter War broke out, forcing the Finns to order more aircraft from the UK. A further 24 British-manufactured Blenheims were ordered during the Winter War and were delivered from the RAF's own stocks.
In the aftermath of the Winter War, 55 Blenheims were constructed in Finland, the final aircraft being completed in September 1944; this brought the total number of Blenheims in Finnish service to 97 (75 Mk Is and 22 Mk IVs). The Finns also received 20 half-completed ex-Yugoslavian Mk IV Blenheims captured by Germany, together with manufacturing tools, production equipment, and a huge variety of spare parts, although some of these had been damaged or otherwise destroyed through sabotage. Yugoslavia had ceased production of the Mk I and commenced a production run of Mk IVs just prior to the April 1941 invasion.
0:41 Italian-made Fiat G.50 Freccia fighter of which the Finnish Air Force received 33 examples that flew with Lentolaivue 26. The aircraft arrived too late to have much of an effect during the Winter War and LLv.26 scored just 11 kills, against one loss in combat and one pilot killed in an accident.
During the Continuation War, the G.50s were most successful during the Finnish offensive of 1941, after which they became ever less impressive. In 1941, LLv.26 claimed 52 victories for the loss of only two fighters. The Soviets brought better, newer types of fighter to the front line in 1942 and 1943, while the Fiats were becoming old and run-down and the lack of spare parts meant that pilots were restricted to a minimal number of sorties. Nevertheless, between 30 November 1939 and 4 September 1944, the G.50s shot down 99 enemy aircraft, including aircraft more modern than they, such as the British fighters sent to the USSR. In the same period, Finnish squadrons lost 41 aircraft of several types, but Fiat lost in combat amounted to just three.
