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Lauri Nissinen (31 July 1918 in
Joensuu
Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. Th ...
– 17 June 1944 in
Kaukjärvi) was a
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 ...
flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
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 ...
.
on 31 July 1918 and for his compulsory military service joined the Air Force, during which time he decided on flying as a career, applying for NCO pilot training in 1938. Due to his performance during training he joined HLeLv 24, flying the
Fokker D.XXI
The Fokker D.XXI fighter was designed in 1935 by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker in response to requirements laid out by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (''Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger'', ML ...
in May 1939. In summer 1939 he was promoted to Sergeant.
As the Winter War broke out, Sgt. Nissinen first claimed an air victory on 1 December 1939, claiming a SB-2 shot down and damaging two others over
Viipuri. By the end of the Winter War he had claimed four victories in total and was a Sergeant Major.
HLeLv 24 then equipped with the US- built
Brewster Buffalo
The Brewster F2A Buffalo is an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II. Designed and built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was one of the first U.S. monoplanes with an arrestor hook and other modifications ...
. As hostilities broke out again on 25 June 1941 Nissinen again flew operationally. On 7 July 1941 over
Käkisalmi
Priozersk (russian: Приозе́рск; fi, Käkisalmi; sv, Kexholm) is a town and the administrative center of Priozersky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the northwestern shore of Lake Ladoga, at the estuary of the northern ...
two enemy fighters attacked head-on, Nissinen shooting down both. On 21 July 1941 he again shot down a I-153 in a head-on battle, although his aircraft was damaged and he returned to base. His ground crew found four hits in the engine, one in the prop and several more in the wings.
On 1 August 1941 at
Rautjärvi
Rautjärvi () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of
() and ...
six Buffalos engaged eight Soviet I-16 fighters, Nissinen's target exploding and its debris damaged Nissinen's right wing. Three I-16s attacked from behind and his fighter took several hits, shattering the windscreen.
At the end of 1941 Nissinen was the second highest scoring FAF ace with 15.5 kills. Early in 1942 Nissinen attended Officer Cadet School, from where he then graduated in June 1943 as a lieutenant.
Nissinen was awarded the
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 Finnish ...
on 5 July 1942, his number being 69. He held the rank of ''
vänrikki
''Vänrikki'' () (Second lieutenant, Swedish: ''Fänrik''), from the German ''fähnrich'', is a Finnish commissioned officer rank (OF1). A typical assignment for a professional ''vänrikki'' is as junior instructor of recruits.
Finland
The ra ...
'' at the time.
Returning to HLeLv 24 Nissinen was made a flight commander and resumed flying missions. His score increased to 26 by the end of 1943. The squadron gradually re-equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters in spring 1944.
In May 1944 HLeLv 32, flying the Curtiss P-36, was temporarily strengthened with a Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 flight commanded by Lt. Nissinen.
On 16 May Nissinen scrambled against a single
Lavochkin La-5
The Lavochkin La-5 (Лавочкин Ла-5) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a development and refinement of the LaGG-3, replacing the earlier model's inline engine with the much more powerful Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engine. ...
approaching
Nurmoila. The La-5 circled at 1500 m and allowed Nissinen climb to the same altitude before turning to attack from above, shooting down the La-5 after a series of exhausting attacks.
With the renewed Soviet offensive on 9 June 1944 Lt. Nissinen scored two more victories on 17 June 1944 as two flights intercepted Soviet Il-2 ground attack aircraft attacking Finnish positions at
Kaukjärvi. Nissinen's wingman, Sgt. Heimo Lampi saw the crippled Messerschmitt of Lt. Sarjamo dive through the cloud and collide with Nissinen's plane. Both planes exploded on impact and the pilots were killed.
Nissinen flew some 300 missions and scored 32 victories in total.
His grave is in
Valkeala
Valkeala is a former municipality of Finland.
It is located in the province of Southern Finland, and is a neighborhood of city of Kouvola, and it was a part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality had a population of 11,238 (2003) and cove ...
.
See also
*
List of World War II flying aces
Fighter aces in World War II had tremendously varying kill scores, affected as they were by many factors: the pilot's skill level, the performance of the airplane the pilot flew and the planes they flew against, how long they served, their opport ...
*
List of World War II aces from Finland
This list includes of all the 96 fighter aces of World War II from Finland. For other countries see List of World War II aces by country
Finnish fighter aces
With specific aircraft types
Fokker D.XXI
Below are all the Finnish aces who have ...
References
External links
Lauri Nissinenat ''Sci.fi''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nissinen, Lauri
1918 births
1944 deaths
Finnish aviators
Winter War pilots
Finnish World War II flying aces
Finnish military personnel killed in World War II
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents
People from Joensuu
Knights of the Mannerheim Cross