#finnishairforce

[destinationsjourney]

Finnish Air Force Morane-Saulnier MS.406 MS325

Finnish Air Force Morane-Saulnier MS.406 MS325 at Viitana on 17th Mar 1942

[trondkj]

[destinationsjourney]

Finnish Mörkö-Morane Fighter Aircraft

The Mörkö-Morane was a Finnish-engineered upgrade of the French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighter during WWII. Faced with rising losses in 1942, Finnish commanders decided to re-engine their obsolete Moranes with captured Soviet Klimov M-105P V-12 engines (1,100 hp) and aerodynamic refinements. Testing in 1943 showed it performed far above the original. It’s top speed reached 525 km/h and climb 25 m/s. Only 3 examples saw combat by the September 1944 end of the Continuation War. After the war, Finland completed all remaining conversions (totalling 41 aircraft) for training use by 1948. The last Finnish Moranes were scrapped by 1952.

[destinationsjourney]

VL Humu

The VL Humu was a Finnish attempt to produce a domestically built fighter during the later stages of the Second World War. Developed by the State Aircraft Factory,(Valtion Lentokonetehdas), the design of the Humu was based on the Brewster F2A Buffalo, a type that had achieved notable success in Finnish service despite its poor reputation elsewhere. The Humu was a near-copy of the Buffalo, with only minor modifications to accommodate locally available materials and manufacturing processes.

Work on the prototype began in 1942, at a time when Finland faced increasing difficulty importing aircraft and spare parts due to the shifting dynamics of the war. The intention was to create a fighter that could be produced domestically using largely non-strategic materials. As a result, the Humu incorporated a significant amount of wood in its construction, particularly in the wings and rear fuselage. While this approach conserved scarce metals such as aluminium, it also introduced structural and performance limitations that would prove difficult to overcome.

It was powered by a licence-built version of the Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial engine, which had also powered the original Buffalo.

The prototype Humu first flew in 1944. By this stage of the war, however, the design was already obsolete. Fighter aircraft development had advanced rapidly, and the Humu’s performance was markedly inferior to that of modern Soviet and German fighters then in service. Flight testing revealed that the aircraft suffered from poor handling characteristics, excessive weight, and disappointing speed and climb performance. The substitution of wood for metal had increased the airframe weight beyond acceptable limits, negating any aerodynamic advantages inherited from the Buffalo design.

Only a single prototype was completed, and no production order followed. The Humu project was effectively abandoned soon after its initial evaluation.

[destinationsjourney]

Finnish Air Force Morane-Saulnier MS.406 Landing Accident

The recovery of a Finnish Air Force Morane-Saulnier MS.406 after a landing accident 14th May 1942

[sagesolar]

Hornet On The Wing

[michael-xiii]

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[kuvamme]

Finnish Air Force Douglas C-47A D0-6 A Finnish Air Force Douglas C-47A D0-6 at an unidentified airfield. http://ift.tt/2nLNi8f NOTE: This archive image has been scanned from an original print/negative/transparency and may require further correction or restoration. Please get in touch if you notice any quality issues with this image that can be corrected, especially if you are considering licensing or using this image. Archival images undergo a basic restoration upon import rather than a detailed restoration. Some information may be estimated. http://ift.tt/2m8Xhbn (Image can be licensed/printed without a watermark via Kuvamme.fi)