The 'Wildcat' was one of the company insignia used by the 44th Armored Huntsman Regiment.
"This Jerry was painted for service in Northern Europe, summer 2885. 8 were sent to the 44th Armored Huntsman Regiment but one was lost and only 7 arrived. These went into battle immediately and, thanks to the heavy armor, even when hit didn't suffer any damage and managed their first kills on just the 2nd day after they were received. Unit emlem was the Wildcat and number was placed on the rear of the body instead of on the side as were the kill tallies."
The emblem is actually the 'Supersonic Lynx' of Finland's Lentolaivue 24 ...
Finland's premier fighter squadron during World War 2, Lentolaivue 24 (Flying Squadron 24) first saw action during the bloody Winter War of 1939-40, when the Soviet Red Army launched a surprise attack on the small Scandinavian country - the squadron enjoyed great success against numerically superior opposition. LLv 24 was once again in the thick of the action following the outbreak of the Continuation War in June 1941. Easily the air force's most successful fighter unit, LLv 24 claimed 877 kills, and its pilots won five direct and two indirect Mannerheim Crosses (Finland1s highest military award) out of a total of 19 presented to all Finnish soldiers. Most top aces also scored the bulk of their kills flying with this unit.
"No. 24 Squadron (Finnish: Lentolaivue 24 or LLv.24, from 3 May, 1942 Le. Lv.24), renamed No. 24 Fighter Squadron (Finnish: Hävittäjälentolaivue 24 or HLe.Lv.24 on 14 February 1944) was a fighter squadron of the Finnish Air Force during WWII. The squadron was part of Flying Regiment 2.
During the Winter War, all Fokker D.XXIs - Finland's only modern fighter - were concentrated into the No. 24 Sqn, making it the only frontline fighter force.
No. 24 Squadron was the most successful fighter squadron of the Finnish Air Force during World War II, claiming 877 aerial victories for a loss of 55 aircraft. The unit produced seven Mannerheim Cross winners, including Ilmari Juutilainen and Hans Wind, the two top-scoring aces.
After the re-organization of the Finnish Air Force after WWII, HLeLv 24 was renamed into HLeLv 31. Today it is part of the Karelian Wing, flying F-18 Hornets and still sporting the "Supersonic Lynx" as its emblem."
A picture of the only surviving Brewster Buffalo fighter aircraft. The Finnish Air Force Brewster model 239 fighter BW-372 crashed in a lake in Sekee, Karelia (now part of Russia) during WW2 and was found and recovered in 1998. The former US Navy plane is now in the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, US.
"A Finnish Air Force Brewster BW-239 piloted by lieutenant Lauri Pekuri on a reconnaissance task behind enemy lines. Pekuri soon confronted enemy planes, four Hurricane fighters. In the ensuing dogfight he shot down one Hurricane, but was himself hit in the engine which started to burn. Trailing black smoke he turned west towards his home base. Pekuri soon realised he had to find a place to make an emergency landing. The only open spot in the forest-covered landscape was a lake, toward which he steered.
A roaring engine and a shadow above Pekuri's plane. One of the enemy Hurricanes zoomed past with surplus speed from its dive. The underside of the enemy plane suddenly fills the Brewster's sights. Pekuri fires a series against the Hurricane which folds and crashes in the forest. The Brewster pilot steers toward the lake for a belly landing. The plane flips on its back, becomes filled with water and sinks. Pekuri extricates himself from the wreckage, having reached the surface he kicks off his boots and swims to shore. Then he penetrates 15 miles on foot through the wilderness to the Finnish lines."
Above is the 'Farting Moose' emblem of 2/Le. Lv.24, almost destroyed after being submerged in a Russian lake for more than half a century.
No comments:
Post a Comment