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Finnish Air Force
The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; Finnish: Ilmavoimat, lit. 'Air forces' [ˈilmɑˌʋoi̯mɑt]; Swedish: Flygvapnet, lit. 'Air arm') is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions. The Finnish Air Force was founded on 6 March 1918.
The Finnish Air Force, the oldest air force in the world, pre-dates the British RAF (founded as an independent entity on 1 April 1918) and the Swedish Flygvapnet (founded on 1 July 1926). The first steps in the history of Finnish aviation involved Russian aircraft. The Russian military had a number of early designs stationed in the Grand Duchy of Finland, which until the Russian Revolution of 1917 formed an autonomous grand duchy under the Russian Empire. Soon after the Finnish declaration of independence of 6 December 1917, the Finnish Civil War of January to May 1918 broke out, in which the Soviets sided with the Reds – the socialist rebels with ties to Lenin's Bolshevik Party. Finland's White Guard, the Whites, managed to seize a few aircraft from the Soviets, but were forced to rely on foreign pilots and aircraft. Sweden refused to send men and materiel, but individual Swedish citizens came to the aid of the Whites. The editor of the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Valdemar Langlet, bought a N.A.B. Albatros aircraft from the Nordiska Aviatik A.B. factory with funds gathered by the Finlands vänner (Swedish for 'Friends of Finland') organization. This aircraft, the first to arrive from Sweden, was flown via Haparanda on 25 February 1918 by Swedish pilot John-Allan Hygerth (who on 10 March became the first commander of the Finnish Air Force) and Per Svanbäck. The aircraft made a stop at Kokkola and had to make a forced landing in Jakobstad when its engine broke down. It was later given the Finnish Air Force designation F.2 ("F" coming from the Swedish word "Flygmaskin", meaning "aircraft").
Swedish count Eric von Rosen gave the Finnish White government its second aircraft, a Thulin Typ D. Von Rosen, later one of the founding members of the Nationalsocialistiska Blocket ("National Socialist Bloc"), a Swedish National Socialist political party, and brother-in-law to Hermann Goering, had painted his personal good-luck charm on the Thulin Type D aircraft. This logo—a blue swastika, the ancient symbol of the sun and of good luck, which was back then still used with non-political connotations—gave rise to the insignia of the Finnish Air Force. The white circular background originated when the Finns painted over the advertisement from the Thulin air academy. The swastika was officially taken into use after an order by Commander-in-Chief C. G. E. Mannerheim on 18 March 1918. The FAF changed its aircraft insignia, which resembled the swastika of the Third Reich, after 1944 due to an Allied Control Commission decree, which prohibited fascist organizations. It nevertheless continues to feature in some unit emblems, unit flags and decorations, including on uniforms. In 2020, the BBC reported that the FAF had "quietly stopped" using the symbol in the emblem of the Air Force Command.
The von Rosen aircraft received the designation F.1. Its pilot, Lieutenant Nils Kindberg, flew the aircraft to Vaasa on 6 March 1918, carrying von Rosen as a passenger. As this gift ran counter to the policy of the Swedish government, and no flight permit had been granted, Sweden fined Kindberg 100 Swedish crowns for leaving the country without permission. The F.1 aircraft is considered by some[who?] to be the first aircraft of the Finnish Air Force, which did not exist during the Civil War, while the Red side flew a few aircraft with the help of some Russian pilots. The F.1 aircraft was destroyed in an accident which killed its crew, not long after it had been handed over to the Finns. On 7 September 1920, two newly purchased Savoia flying boats crashed in the Swiss Alps en route to Finland, killing all on-board (three Finns and one Italian). This day has since become the memorial day for fallen pilots.[citation needed]
The Finnish Air Force assigns the matriculation numbers to its aircraft by assigning each type a two-letter code following by dash and an individual aircraft number. The two-letter code usually refers to the aircraft manufacturer or model, such as HN for F/A-18 Hornet, DK for Saab 35 Draken, VN for Valmet Vinka etc.
The Whites occupied most of the airbases that the Russians left in Finland after the Russian pilots had returned to Russia.
The Reds possessed a few airbases and a few Russian aircraft, mainly amphibious aircraft – they had 12 aircraft in all. The Reds did not have any pilots themselves, so they hired some of the Russian pilots who had stayed behind. On 24 February 1918 five aircraft arrived at Viipuri, and were quickly transferred to Riihimäki.[citation needed]
The Reds established air units in Helsinki, Tampere, Kouvola, and Viipuri. There were no overall headquarters, but the individual units served under the commanders of the individual front lines. A flight school was set up in Helsinki, but no students were trained there before the fall of Helsinki.[citation needed]
Finnish Air Force
The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; Finnish: Ilmavoimat, lit. 'Air forces' [ˈilmɑˌʋoi̯mɑt]; Swedish: Flygvapnet, lit. 'Air arm') is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions. The Finnish Air Force was founded on 6 March 1918.
The Finnish Air Force, the oldest air force in the world, pre-dates the British RAF (founded as an independent entity on 1 April 1918) and the Swedish Flygvapnet (founded on 1 July 1926). The first steps in the history of Finnish aviation involved Russian aircraft. The Russian military had a number of early designs stationed in the Grand Duchy of Finland, which until the Russian Revolution of 1917 formed an autonomous grand duchy under the Russian Empire. Soon after the Finnish declaration of independence of 6 December 1917, the Finnish Civil War of January to May 1918 broke out, in which the Soviets sided with the Reds – the socialist rebels with ties to Lenin's Bolshevik Party. Finland's White Guard, the Whites, managed to seize a few aircraft from the Soviets, but were forced to rely on foreign pilots and aircraft. Sweden refused to send men and materiel, but individual Swedish citizens came to the aid of the Whites. The editor of the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Valdemar Langlet, bought a N.A.B. Albatros aircraft from the Nordiska Aviatik A.B. factory with funds gathered by the Finlands vänner (Swedish for 'Friends of Finland') organization. This aircraft, the first to arrive from Sweden, was flown via Haparanda on 25 February 1918 by Swedish pilot John-Allan Hygerth (who on 10 March became the first commander of the Finnish Air Force) and Per Svanbäck. The aircraft made a stop at Kokkola and had to make a forced landing in Jakobstad when its engine broke down. It was later given the Finnish Air Force designation F.2 ("F" coming from the Swedish word "Flygmaskin", meaning "aircraft").
Swedish count Eric von Rosen gave the Finnish White government its second aircraft, a Thulin Typ D. Von Rosen, later one of the founding members of the Nationalsocialistiska Blocket ("National Socialist Bloc"), a Swedish National Socialist political party, and brother-in-law to Hermann Goering, had painted his personal good-luck charm on the Thulin Type D aircraft. This logo—a blue swastika, the ancient symbol of the sun and of good luck, which was back then still used with non-political connotations—gave rise to the insignia of the Finnish Air Force. The white circular background originated when the Finns painted over the advertisement from the Thulin air academy. The swastika was officially taken into use after an order by Commander-in-Chief C. G. E. Mannerheim on 18 March 1918. The FAF changed its aircraft insignia, which resembled the swastika of the Third Reich, after 1944 due to an Allied Control Commission decree, which prohibited fascist organizations. It nevertheless continues to feature in some unit emblems, unit flags and decorations, including on uniforms. In 2020, the BBC reported that the FAF had "quietly stopped" using the symbol in the emblem of the Air Force Command.
The von Rosen aircraft received the designation F.1. Its pilot, Lieutenant Nils Kindberg, flew the aircraft to Vaasa on 6 March 1918, carrying von Rosen as a passenger. As this gift ran counter to the policy of the Swedish government, and no flight permit had been granted, Sweden fined Kindberg 100 Swedish crowns for leaving the country without permission. The F.1 aircraft is considered by some[who?] to be the first aircraft of the Finnish Air Force, which did not exist during the Civil War, while the Red side flew a few aircraft with the help of some Russian pilots. The F.1 aircraft was destroyed in an accident which killed its crew, not long after it had been handed over to the Finns. On 7 September 1920, two newly purchased Savoia flying boats crashed in the Swiss Alps en route to Finland, killing all on-board (three Finns and one Italian). This day has since become the memorial day for fallen pilots.[citation needed]
The Finnish Air Force assigns the matriculation numbers to its aircraft by assigning each type a two-letter code following by dash and an individual aircraft number. The two-letter code usually refers to the aircraft manufacturer or model, such as HN for F/A-18 Hornet, DK for Saab 35 Draken, VN for Valmet Vinka etc.
The Whites occupied most of the airbases that the Russians left in Finland after the Russian pilots had returned to Russia.
The Reds possessed a few airbases and a few Russian aircraft, mainly amphibious aircraft – they had 12 aircraft in all. The Reds did not have any pilots themselves, so they hired some of the Russian pilots who had stayed behind. On 24 February 1918 five aircraft arrived at Viipuri, and were quickly transferred to Riihimäki.[citation needed]
The Reds established air units in Helsinki, Tampere, Kouvola, and Viipuri. There were no overall headquarters, but the individual units served under the commanders of the individual front lines. A flight school was set up in Helsinki, but no students were trained there before the fall of Helsinki.[citation needed]
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