Description

Always outnumbered by their Soviet counterparts, the small band of Finnish fighter pilots who defended their Scandinavian homeland from the 'communist hordes' in three separate wars between 1939 and 1945 amassed scores only bettered by the Luftwaffe's Jagdflieger. Initially equipped with a motley collection of biplane and monoplane fighters garnered from sources across the globe, the Finnish Air Force was thrust into combat in November 1939. Given little chance against the massive Soviet force, the Finnish fighter pilots confounded the sceptics and decimated the attacking fighter and bomber formations, prompting the Russians to call a halt in March 1940. This scenario was repeated in 1941, and by 1943 the Finns had become uneasy allies with the Germans. Complete with first-hand accounts and detailed colour illustrations, this book profiles aces like Juutilainen and Wind, who proved unbeatable in the final months of conflict.

Table of Contents

Winter War/Finnish Offensive of 1941/Fighting Lend-Lease/Gulf of Finland/Soviet Offensive of 1944/Top Aces/Appendices

Product details

Published Oct 30 1998
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 100
ISBN 9781855327832
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 100 b/w; 40 col
Dimensions 248 x 184 mm
Series Aircraft of the Aces
Short code ACE 23
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Kari Stenman

Born in 1945, Kari Stenman studied economics and w…

Author

Kalevi Keskinnen

Kalevi Keskinnen is an expert on Finnish aviation…

Illustrator

Iain Wyllie

Illustrator

Mike Chappell

MIKE CHAPPELL comes from an Aldershot family with…

Illustrator

Mark Styling

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