No. 24 Squadron (Finland)

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No. 24 Squadron Finnish Air Force

Lynx emblem of No. 24 Squadron
Active 15 July 1933 - 4 September 1944
Country Finland
Branch Finnish Air Force
Role fighter
Engagements Winter War, Continuation War

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 World War II. The squadron was part of Flying Regiment 2.

No. 24 Squadron was one of the most successful fighter squadrons of the Finnish Air Force during World War II, claiming 877 aerial victories for a loss of 55 aircraft. The unit produced several Mannerheim Cross winners, including Ilmari Juutilainen and Hans Wind, the two top-scoring aces.

After the re-organization of Finnish Air Force after WWII, HLeLv 24 got new nomination as HLeLv 31. Today it is part of the F-18 Hornet equipped Karjalan Lennosto (Karelia Air Wing), sporting the "Supersonic Lynx" as its emblem.

Contents

[edit] Organization

[edit] Winter War

  • 1st Flight (1. Lentue)
  • 2nd Flight (2. Lentue)
    • Detachment Vuorela (Osasto Vuorela)
  • 3rd Flight (3. Lentue)
    • Detachment Luukkanen (Osasto Luukkanen)
  • 4th Flight (4. Lentue)
  • 5th Flight (5. Lentue)
    • Detachment Ahola (Osasto Ahola)
    • Detachment Siiräinen (Osasto Siiräinen, 1./LLv.26)
    • Detachment Kivinen (Osasto Kivinen, 2./LLv.26)

The equipment consisted of 36 Fokker D.XXIs.

[edit] Continuation War

  • 1st Flight (1. Lentue)
    • Detachment Luukkanen (Osasto Luukkanen)
  • 2nd Flight (2. Lentue)
    • Detachment Ahola (Osasto Ahola)
  • 3rd Flight "Knight Flight" (3. Lentue)
  • 4th Flight (4. Lentue)
  • 1st Flight of No. 34 Squadron (1./Le.Lv.34)

The equipment consisted of 34 Brewster Buffaloes. Later during the war the unit was equipped with 29 Messerschmitt Bf 109Gs.

[edit] Top 10 aces of No. 24 Squadron

  • Ilmari Juutilainen: 94 victories, double Mannerheim Cross knight
  • Hans Wind: 75 victories, double Mannerheim Cross knight
  • Eino Luukkanen: 56 victories. Mannerheim cross winner.
  • Olavi Puro: 36 victories.
  • Nils Katajainen: 35.5 victories. Mannerheim cross winner.
  • Lauri Nissinen: 32.5 victories. Mannerheim cross winner. Killed in action
  • Kyösti Karhila: 32 victories
  • Jorma Karhunen: 31 victories. Mannerheim cross winner.
  • Emil Vesa: 29.5 victories.
  • Tapio Järvi: 28.5 victories.

[edit] References

Notes
Bibliography
  • Keskinen, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari and Niska, Klaus. Hävittäjä-Ässät-Finnish Fighter Aces (Suomen Ilmavoimien Historia 11) (in Finnish with English summary). Espoo, Finland: Tietoteos, 1978. ISBN 951-9035-37-0.
  • Stenman, Kari and Keskinen, Kalevi. Finnish Aces of World War 2. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1-85532-783-X.
  • Stenman, Kari and Weal, John. Lentolaivue 24. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84176-262-8.

[edit] External links

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