Urho Sakari Lehtovaara (27 October 1917,

Pyhäjärvi Pyhäjärvi (1993–1995 ''Pyhäsalmi'') is a town and municipality in the south of Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland. Pyhäjärvi also borders the Northern Savonia and Central Finland regions. The town belongs to the subregion of Nivala–Ha ...

, northern Finland – 15 January 1949) was one of the top scoring Finnish Air Force aces. He 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 Finnis ...

on 9 July 1944.

Biography

Resident in Salo by 1934, Lehtovaara became a member of the local aero club. Lehtovaara volunteered for military service with the Air Force in 1937. He remained in service as a non-commissioned officer (NCO) with LeLv 26, flying

Bristol Bulldog The Bristol Bulldog is a British Royal Air Force single-seat biplane fighter designed during the 1920s by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. More than 400 Bulldogs were produced for the RAF and overseas customers, and it was one of the most fam ...

biplanes. LeLv 26 re-equipped with the Morane-Saulnier MS-406 fighter in late January 1940 and a new squadron, LeLv 28 was created. Sgt. Lehtovaara transferred to the new unit, based on Lake Pyhäjärvi near Turku. On 2 March 1940, Lehtovaara intercepted and shot down an SB-2 bomber, his first victory and his only claim 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 ...

. He was promoted to sergeant on 23 March. During 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 intercepted three DB-3's on 3 July 1941 near Ilomantsi, and shot down two and damaged the third. On 9 July, he shot down two more SB-2's and a MiG-1. LeLv 28 was transferred to Eastern Karelia in late 1941. During 1942, there were few encounters with Soviet aircraft, and Lehtovaara claimed one victory during the year (a DB-3). He flew numerous "train-busting" attacks on the Soviet supply trains using the Murmansk railway. Sergeant Major Lehtovaara was transferred to the newly formed LeLv 34 in April 1943, flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2. On 26 April 1944 he was promoted to the rank of air master sergeant -the highest NCO rank. He was awarded the

on 9 July 1944. Lehtovaara would eventually fly over 400 missions, scoring 44½ victories.Keskinen 1978, p. 16-19. He retired from the

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

in 1946 and started to run his own cinema at Suomusjärvi near Salo. Lehtovaara died in very sinister conditions. He had been arrested by Valpo and interrogated about the

Weapons Cache Case The Weapons Cache Case ( fi, Asekätkentä, sv, Vapengömmoaffären) was a Finnish military plan to continue battle after the ceasefire in 1944, if needed. It concerned a secret and officially unsanctioned military operation following the end of ...

. He attacked one of his interrogators, grabbed his pistol and committed suicide so that his interrogators would get no information of him.

Victories

References

Notes

Bibliography

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

External links

Urho Lehtovaara - Little Giant
* List of World War II aces from Finland {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehtovaara, Urho 1917 births 1949 deaths People from Pyhäjärvi Finnish Air Force personnel Finnish World War II flying aces Winter War pilots Knights of the Mannerheim Cross 1949 suicides