Torsti Rafael Verkkola (May 22, 1909

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

– June 11, 1977) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

aircraft designer, researcher and professor. Born to train driver Karl Wennström and Matilda Vilen in Lahti, he changed his surname from the Swedish ''Wennström'' to the Finnish ''Verkkola'' in 1935. He married Impi Inkeri Niinivaara in 1939 and together they had two children, Matti and Marja. He graduated from college in 1928, and received his

diplomi-insinööri Diplomi-insinööri (DI) ( sv, diplomingenjör) is a Finnish Master's level academic degree with a nominal length of 300 ECTS credits. The official English translation of the degree is Master of Science (Technology). The Finnish name derives from ...

(MSc) degree in 1935. He studied at ''

Technische Hochschule Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

'' between 1935–1937 and did several study trips to Europe and North America. He worked for

Valtion lentokonetehdas ''Valtion lentokonetehdas'' (State aircraft factory) was a Finnish aircraft manufacturing company that was founded on 23 February 1928 from the IVL or I.V.L. factory (Ilmailuvoimien lentokonetehdas, Finnish Air Force Aircraft Factory), founded in ...

(VL) from 1935 to 1945. He was chief designer from 1937–1941, later serving in administrative roles until 1944. During his time at VL, he participated in the design of

VL Myrsky The VL Myrsky ("Storm") is a Finnish World War II fighter aircraft originally developed by Valtion lentokonetehdas for the Finnish Air Force. The models of the aircraft were Myrsky I, Myrsky II, and Myrsky III. It was designed by Edward Wegeliu ...

VL Pyörremyrsky The VL Pyörremyrsky ("Hurricane") was a Finnish fighter, designed by DI Torsti Verkkola at the State Aircraft Factory ('' Valtion lentokonetehdas'') for service with the Finnish Air Force in World War II. The war ended before the type's first fli ...

, and

VL Pyry VL Pyry (Finnish language for ''blizzard'') was a Finnish low-winged, two-seated fighter trainer aircraft, built by the State Aircraft Factory ('' Valtion lentokonetehdas'') for use with the Finnish Air Force. The Pyry was in use from 1939 to 19 ...

. He held the military grade of Captain of Engineering. In 1945, he was appointed a professorship in mechanical engineering at the

Helsinki Polytechnics Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; fi, Teknillinen korkeakoulu; sv, Tekniska högskolan) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the metropolitan area of Greater Helsinki. The university was founded in ...

Helsinki Polytechnic and served in that position until 1948, he was dean of the University between 1968–1970. Between 1946 and 1951, he served as a visiting professor at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. From 1954 until 1972, he was Professor of combustion motor engineering. He retired in 1972.Deans of TKK
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verkkola, Torsti Aircraft designers 20th-century Finnish engineers 1977 deaths 1909 births Academic staff of the Helsinki University of Technology