Gustaf Erik Magnusson (8 December 1902, in

Ylitornio Ylitornio ( sv, Övertorneå; sme, Badje-Duortnus; smn, Pajetuárnus) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland along the Tornio River, opposite the Swedish town of Övertorneå about by road to its northwest. T ...

– 27 December 1993, in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

) was a Finnish

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

and Mannerheim Cross Knight. He was the commander of the No. 24 Squadron and Flying Regiment 3 during World War II. He also flew 158 sorties as a fighter pilot and shot down 5 1/2 enemy aircraft.Keskinen; Stenman 2003 p. 67

Life and career

Magnusson was born in Ylitornio,

Lapland Province The Province of Lapland ( fi, Lapin lääni, sv, Lapplands län) was a Provinces of Finland, province of Finland from 1938 to 2009. It was established in 1938, when it was separated from the Province of Oulu. After the Second World War, the Pe ...

to superintendent Leopold and Maria Magnusson (née Hälli). He matriculated in 1923 in Kuopio. After completing his compulsory military service in the Northern Savo regiment, Magnusson tried to get into the Military Academy. He was admitted to course number 6 on 1 December 1923. After completing the course, he was assigned to Naval Flight Squadron 30 on 30 September 1925. Magnusson was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 14 May 1927. Magnusson served in several military assignments in the 1930s, including the Air Force Headquarters. He was promoted to the rank of captain on 30 November 1932. Between 1936 and 1937, Magnusson was twice ordered to the Netherlands, where he tested aircraft that had been offered to the

Finnish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = 159 , equipment_label ...

and evaluated their air combat qualifications and flight characteristics. In 1938, Magnusson spent three months in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and learned German fighter tactics. Brewster 239 formation

Magnusson was appointed squadron commander for No. 24 Squadron on 21 November 1938. During the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

, Magnusson, newly promoted to the rank of major, flew several combat flights with the squadron, achieving four victories. In the beginning of the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

, on 10 November 1941, Magnusson was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and at the same time he was barred from flying combat missions. He worked as the commander of No. 24 Squadron until May 1943, when he was appointed command of Flight Regiment 3, a position he held until the end of the Continuation War. Magnusson was proposed the Mannerheim Cross for the first time in August 1941, but the proposal did not go through. By recommendation of the Air Force Commander, JF Lundqvist, he was given the Mannerheim Cross on 23 June 1944 (Number 129).Hurmerinta; Viitanen, 1994 p. 223 Magnusson resigned from the Air Force on 17 March 1946. After his military career, he worked for the Nordic Union Bank as a bank manager in Varkau, Lahti and Helsinki until 1959. After his military career, he served as the director of a bank in Helsinki. He was promoted to the rank of major-general on 4 June 1993. Gustaf Magnusson died on 27 December 1993. He is buried at the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.

Sources

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnusson, Gustaf 1902 births 1993 deaths Finnish Air Force personnel Finnish major generals Finnish World War II flying aces Winter War pilots Knights of the Mannerheim Cross