Friday, January 31, 2014

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 MT-201 and air victory maps





Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Fokker D.XXI color photo II


The Fokker D.XXI performed better and for much longer in the Finnish Air Force, which had acquired a number of licence-built fighters prior to the start of the Winter War. Against the aircraft of the Soviet Air Force, the Fokker was more evenly matched, and its rugged design with a radial engine and fixed undercarriage made it very suitable for Finnish conditions. Later in the war, as newer models of Soviet fighters appeared, the Fokker D.XXI was underpowered and too lightly armed (with only four 7.92 mm/.312 in machine guns) to compete. Plans to arm the Fokkers with 20 mm cannons were dropped and only one fighter was armed as such (two 20 mm cannons and two 7.92 mm/.312 in machine guns). Another fighter was equipped with retractable landing gear, but due to less than anticipated performance improvement, wasn't continued in the series. During the Continuation War (1941–44) the Finnish State Aircraft Factory (Valtion Lentokonetehdas, VL) also built some 50 D.XXIs with the Swedish-built Pratt & Whitney R-1535 Twin Wasp Junior as the Bristol Mercury was in short supply. These can be identified by their longer cockpit glazing, smooth cowl, and large ventral air intake under the cowl. The fixed undercarriage lent itself to both unimproved runways and conversion to skis for winter use, both of which were advantages in the Finnish theater.
Several Finnish Air Force pilots became fighter aces with the Fokker D.XXI. The top scoring Fokker ace was Jorma Sarvanto who obtained 12 5/6 victories with the type. Many other future aces scored at least one victory with the Fokker. The highest scoring airframe was FK-110, with 10 victories. This aircraft survived the war and is on display at the Central Finland Aviation Museum.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Larry Thorne in BA-20

Lauri Alan Törni (28 May 1919 – 18 October 1965), later known as Larry Thorne, was a Finnish Army captain who led an infantry company in the Finnish Winter and Continuation Wars and moved to the United States after World War II. He is known as the soldier who fought under three flags: Finnish, German (when he fought the Soviets in World War II), and American (where he was known as Larry Thorne) when he served in U.S. Army Special Forces in the Vietnam War.

More wikipedia

Summer 1941

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Battle of Raate Road

The Battle of Raate Road was fought during the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland in January 1940, as a part of the Battle of Suomussalmi.
On December 7, 1939, the Soviet 163rd Division captured Suomussalmi, but found itself trapped deep inside Finnish territory, and the Soviet 44th Rifle (Ukrainian) Division was sent to aid the 163rd. Over the next week, Colonel Hjalmar Siilasvuo's outnumbered 9th Division stopped and decisively defeated the Soviet forces on the Raate-Suomussalmi road. This battle proved the effectiveness of Finnish motti tactics.

@SA-photo

Monday, January 20, 2014

Finnish T-26

The T-26 tank was a Soviet light infantry tank used during many conflicts of the 1930s and in World War II.
@SA-kuva

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Continuation War : roads camouflage

 Road camouflage

Near Raate's is Soviet Union viewing tower. Finnish soldier are make camouflage from spruce

Suomussalmi, Kuivajärvi 1941.06.27 


@SA-kuva

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Rare photo T-50 tank

The T-50 light infantry tank ...

was built by the Soviet Union at the beginning of World War II. The design for this vehicle had some advanced features, but was complicated and expensive, and only a short production run of 69 tanks was completed. Furthermore, even before it was ready for mass-production wartime experience invalidated the underlying concept of light tanks.

Kolatselkä-Aunus 1941.08.19
@SA-kuva

Haeating tank

Tank heating in very cold weather
Karhumäki 1941.12.12
@SA-kuva

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Motti

Motti

Motti is Finnish military slang for a totally encircled enemy unit. The tactic of encircling it is called motitus.

@SA-KUVA

Friday, January 10, 2014

ISU-152

ISU-152 

ISU-152  was a Soviet multirole fully enclosed and armored assault gun or armored self-propelled gun, also capable of serving as a heavy tank destroyer developed and used during World War II, with a subsequent use, mainly in the Soviet military, until the 1970s.
@SA-kuva

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Junkers Ju 88 Summer 1944

Junkers Ju 88

The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company in the mid-1930s to be a so-called Schnellbomber which would be too fast for any of the fighters of its era to intercept, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early operational roles, but became one of the most versatile combat aircraft of the war. Affectionately known as "The Maid of all Work" (Mädchen für Alles), the Ju 88 proved to be suited to almost any role. Like a number of other Luftwaffe bombers, it was used successfully as a bomber, dive bomber, night fighter, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter, and even as a flying bomb during the closing stages of conflict.
Summer 1944 Onttola:  @SA-photo

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Finnish KV 1 - 76


The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks were a series of Soviet heavy tanks, named after the Soviet defense commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov and used by the Red Army during World War II. The KV series were known for their extremely heavy armour protection during the early part of the war, especially during the first year of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
SA-photo

Armored ship Ilmarinen

Ilmarinen was a Finnish Navy Panssarilaiva ("Armored ship"; a coastal defence ship by British classification). The unit was constructed at the Crichton-Vulcan shipyard in Turku, Finland, and named after the mythological hero Ilmarinen from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. Ilmarinen was the flagship of the Navy from 1 May 1933 until her demise on 13 September 1941. More wikipedia
SA-photo

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Funny ww photos


The Terror of Morocco

SA-photo

Aarne Edward Juutilainen (18 October 1904 – 28 October 1976), nicknamed "The Terror of Morocco", was a Finnish army captain who served in the French Foreign Legion in Morocco between 1930 and 1935. After returning to Finland, he served in the Finnish army and became a national hero in the Battle of Kollaa during the Winter War with Russia. He was wounded three times during World War II.