Hans Henrik "Hasse" Wind (30 July 1919, Ekenäs – 24 July 1995,

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

) was a Finnish fighter pilot and flying ace in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with 75 confirmed air combat victories. He is one of the four double recipients of the Mannerheim Cross 2nd Class.

Biography

Wind started his pilot career in 1938 by volunteering to join a pilot training course. He was a reserve officer in 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 ...

(1939-1940), but did not fly due to a lack of available planes. Wind had now decided to embark on a military career, and he finished training as a lieutenant on 17 June 1941. Transferring to LeLv24 in August 1941, he fought in 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 ...

. He flew a Brewster B239 (the export version of the Brewster Buffalo) from 1941–1943, claiming 39 of his victories in the type. On 22 September 1941, Wind was credited his first kill, an I-15. In August 1942, the squadron was transferred to Römpötti to operate over the eastern Gulf of Finland. On 14 August 1942, Wind shot down two

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

s, and four days later a Hurricane and two I-16s. At the end of 1942, his score stood at 14.5 claims. On 5 April 1943, Wind shot down three

Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' ( Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term ...

s. On 14 April, Wind claimed two

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

s, and on 21 April two

Yak-1 The Yakovlev Yak-1 (russian: Яковлев Як-1) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. The Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings; production began in early 1940.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, ...

s and shared one with fellow ace Sgt Kinnunen. In August 1943, the unit converted to the

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

G. Wind was awarded his first

Mannerheim Cross The Mannerheim Cross ( fi, Mannerheim-risti, sv, Mannerheimkorset), officially Mannerheim Cross of the Cross of Liberty ( fi, Vapaudenristin Mannerheim-risti, link=no, sv, Frihetskorsets Mannerheimkors, link=no) is the most distinguished Finnis ...

on 31 July 1943 and his second on 28 June 1944. He was promoted to captain on 19 October 1943 when he was 24 years old and was removed from front-line duty in order to instruct new fighter pilots. Wind was considered one of the most skillful aerial tacticians in the

Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; fi, Ilmavoimat, , Air forces; sv, Flygvapnet, , Air weapon) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnis ...

, and Wind's 'Lectures on Fighter Tactics' were written in 1943 and used in the training of new pilots for decades to come. Wind returned to the front in February 1944. On 27 May 1944, he scored his first victory with the Bf 109, shooting down two La-5s. A Soviet offensive in the Karelian Isthmus started on 9 June 1944. On 13 June 1944, Capt. Wind led six 109s against a formation of

Pe-2 The Petlyakov Pe-2 (russian: Петляков Пе-2) was a Soviet twin-engine dive bomber used during World War II. One of the outstanding tactical attack aircraft of the war,Ethell 1996, p. 152. it also proved successful as a heavy fighter, as ...

bombers, shooting down four of them. Wind's streak continued in the days that followed; with a

P-39 The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

and an IL-2M on 15 June, two Pe-2s and a La-5 the next day, and on 19 June two P-39s (both of the 196 IAP; one flown by

Hero of Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

and eventual 29-kill ace Major A. V. Chirkov, who bailed out) and a La-5. On 20 June 1944, Wind added two La-5s, two

Yak-9 The Yakovlev Yak-9 (russian: Яковлев Як-9) is a single-engine, single-seat multipurpose fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union and its allies during World War II and the early Cold War. It was a development of the robust and succ ...

s and a Pe-2. On 22 June, he claimed two Spitfires and a La-5, with two La-5s and two

DB-3 The Ilyushin DB-3, where "DB" stands for ''Dalniy Bombardirovschik'' (Russian: Дальний бомбардировщик) meaning "long-range bomber", was a Soviet bomber aircraft of World War II. It was a twin-engined, low-wing monoplane that f ...

Fs the next day. On 25 June, he downed three Yak-9s and two

Yak-7 The Yakovlev Yak-7 (russian: Яковлев Як-7) was developed from the earlier Yak-1 fighter, initially as a trainer but converted into a fighter. As both a fighter and later reverting to its original training role, the Yak-7 proved to be a ...

s. He was seriously wounded in an aerial battle against some thirty Yak-9s and P-39s on 28 July 1944. Wind shot down one Yak-9 before a 37 mm shell fired by a P-39 exploded against his seat armour. Another shell pierced the armour glass behind his left shoulder, exploding on the instrument panel. Wind was badly wounded in his left arm. He still managed to fly and land at an airfield, even though his plane had been seriously damaged during the attack. Wind recovered from his wounds, but never flew a combat mission again. He finished the war with a total of 302 combat sorties, scoring 75 kills, and is ranked second on the Finnish aces list. He was married on 26 August 1945, then began his studies at the Helsinki School of Business, having resigned from the Air Force on 10 May 1945. Wind died on 24 July 1995 and was survived by his wife and five children.

Victories

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Keskinen, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari and Niska, Klaus. ''Hävittäjä-ässät (Finnish Fighter Aces)'' (in Finnish). Espoo, Finland: Tietoteas, 1978. . * Stenman, Kari and Keskinen, Kalevi. ''Finnish Aces of World War 2 (Aircraft of the Aces 23)''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 1998. .

External links

Webpage about Hasse Wind

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