''Valtion lentokonetehdas'' (State aircraft factory) 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 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 1921. The company was transferred from being subordinate to 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 ...

to being subordinate to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. The company, and its products were named with the prefix VL.

Island factory

The company began its production at

Suomenlinna Suomenlinna (; until 1918 Viapori, ), or Sveaborg (), is an inhabited sea fortress the Suomenlinna district is on eight islands of which six have been fortified; it is about 4 km southeast of the city center of Helsinki, the capital of Finla ...

and

Santahamina Santahamina ( sv, Sandhamn) is an island and neighbourhood of Eastern Helsinki, Finland. At present it is a military base housing the Guard Jaeger Regiment, making access restricted. The Finnish National Defence University (NDU) is also located ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. The factory did not have an airport, only the sea and sea ice could be used for take-off and landing. Most of the aircraft built in

were

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

s. In Helsinki the aircraft built were small compared to the

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

bombers built under

licence A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

in the late 1930s. Much of the final assembly was done outdoors. The company was looking for a new production facility further away from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Helsinki was seen as a bad location for an armaments factory from a strategic viewpoint.

Expansion to Tampere

In 1936 the factory was moved to Härmälä, near

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 ...

, which was also a potential bombing target since it was the biggest industrial city in Finland. The build up of the factory and the airport around it gave work to hundreds of people in the depression of the 1930s. Politically Tampere was in the left which almost led to the factory being located to

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

. During the

Second World War 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 ...

, the VL serviced and assembled German (

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

) and British (

) bomber aircraft. The Tampere factory employed 665 persons in 1936 and 1,697 persons by 1941. A major part of the work of the factory was overhaul and repair of military aircraft, building new aircraft was a secondary function and the design of indigenous aircraft a tertiary function. During the wars, the production was dispersed all over Finland to avoid destruction of the whole factory at once; the engine factory was moved to

Kokkola Kokkola (; sv, Karleby, ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. The town is located in the Central Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of ...

, the woodworking factory to

Kylmäkoski Kylmäkoski (; literally meaning "cold rapids") is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Akaa on 1 January 2011. It was located in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality had a population of 2,610 (31 October 2010) ...

, stores to

Viiala Viiala is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2007, it was consolidated with Toijala to form the town of Akaa. Viiala is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality had a populat ...

and

Pirkkala Pirkkala (; sv, Birkala) is a municipality of Finland. It is located some south-west from Tampere in the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , which makes ...

. Other facilities were located at Pori and Kolho. The

Karhumäki brothers Niilo and Valto Karhumäki, also known as the Karhumäki brothers ( fi, Veljekset Karhumäki), were Finnish aviation pioneers, aircraft manufacturers and airline founders. Born in Multia, Niilo and Valto Karhumäki moved to Jyväskylä, where th ...

' factory was entirely transferred under VL's supervision at the end of the war.

Part of Valmet after WWII

After World War II, the Finnish state consolidated its industrial assets, and VL was integrated as part of ''Valtion Metallitehtaat'' (VMT, State Metal Works), later '

Valmet Valmet Oyj is a Finnish company and a developer and supplier of technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp (paper), pulp, paper and energy industry, energy industries. Valmet has over 200 years of history as an industrial oper ...

'. The ownership of the factory was moved to the ministry of trade and industry. With the ending of

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 ...

in 1945, the ''Valtion Lentokonetehdas'' and other state owned factories were merged into the company Valtion Metallitehtaat Lentokonetehdas (State Metal Factories, often abbreviated to V.M.T. or VMT). This company did not only focus on aircraft but on anything from general household machinery to engines. The Finnish aircraft design declined for several years and it was not until 1951 when a new design was flown. That same year ''Valtion Metallitehtaat Lentokonetehdas'' was renamed

OY Lentokonetehdas (Valmet Aircraft Factory) with its subsidiaries named ''Valmet Oy Tampereen tehdas ja Kuoreveden tehdas'' (Valmet Oy Tampere works and Kuorevesi works). The company has been renamed many times since the 1960s. In 1963 Karhumäki works at Kuorevesi became part of Valmet. Its main business was maintenance work for the Ilmavoimat (Finnish AF). In 1967 Valmet moved all its aviation activities to Kuorevesi. In 1974 ''Valmet OY Lentokonetehdas'' was renamed Valmet Lentokonetehtaat (Valmet Aviation Industries), and in 1989 ''Valmet Lentokonetehdas'' was renamed into Valmet Lentokoneteollisuus (Valmet Aircraft Industries). On September 5, 1996, ''Valmet'' became Patria Finavitec Oy.

Aircraft

Ilmailuvoimien Lentokonetehdas

* IVL A.22 Hansa (Hansa-Brandenburg W.33) * IVL C.24 * IVL C.25 *

Caudron C.60 The Caudron C.60 was a French two-seat biplane of the 1920s and 1930s with a single Piston engine, engine and a canvas-covered fuselage. The French aircraft manufacturer Caudron developed this aircraft from the Caudron C.59. It was mainly used as ...

* IVL D.26 Haukka I *

IVL K.1 Kurki IVL K.1 Kurki was a prototype for a four-seated, high-wing trainer aircraft, which was designed in 1927 by Ilmailuvoimien Lentokonetehdas, IVL. The designer was Asser Järvinen and the prototype was manufactured at the IVL plant at Suomenlinna. Th ...

Valtion Lentokonetehdas

* VL D.27 Haukka II *

VL Sääski VL Sääski II (English: mosquito) was the first series-produced aircraft designed in Finland. The aircraft was built by the State Aircraft Factory (''Valtion lentokonetehdas'') (abbreviated either V.L. or VL) and was a two-seat, biplane, single ...

(Mosquito) * Koolhoven FK.31 * VL E.30 Kotka * VL F.30 Paarma * Letov Š-218 Smolik * VL Tuisku *

VL Viima VL Viima, constructed by the State Aircraft Factory ( fi, Valtion lentokonetehdas or ''VL'') is a Finnish two-seat, biplane trainer used by the Finnish Air Force from the late 1930s to the early 1960s. After military service, several were released ...

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 1962 ...

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 Wegelius ...

VL Humu The VL Humu (Whirlwind) is a Finnish fighter aircraft, designed by Valtion lentokonetehdas in 1944, and based on the American Brewster F2A Buffalo. Design and development The Finnish Air Force had acquired 40+ surplus B-239 naval variants of ...

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 ...

;licence built *

Blackburn Ripon The Blackburn T.5 Ripon was a carrier-based torpedo bomber and reconnaissance biplane designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft. It was the basis for both the license-produced Mitsubishi B2M and the improved ...

de Havilland Moth The de Havilland Moths were a series of light aircraft, sports planes, and military trainers designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. In the late 1920s and 1930s, they were the most common civilian aircraft flying in Britain, and during that time ever ...

Fokker C.X The Fokker C.X was a Dutch biplane scout and light bomber designed in 1933. It had a crew of two (a pilot and an observer). Design and development The Fokker C.X was originally designed for the Royal Dutch East Indies Army, in order to replace ...

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 ...

Gloster Gamecock The Gloster Gamecock was a biplane fighter designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Gloster. The Gamecock was a development of the earlier Grebe Mk III, an early interwar fighter procured by the Royal Air Force (RAF). Wor ...

Valmet

Valmet Vihuri Valmet Vihuri (Finnish for ''Gale'') was a Finnish advanced two-seat fighter trainer aircraft, serving in the Finnish Air Force between 1953 and 1959. Only a few airframes have survived, as in the Central Finland Aviation Museum in Finland. Hist ...

Valmet Tuuli The Valmet Tuuli was a trainer aircraft, developed for the Finnish Air Force by the State Aircraft Factory (''Valtion lentokonetehdas'', VL). The aircraft was to be produced in 3 different versions. The last version, Tuuli III was redesigned from ...

* Fouga CM 170R Magister * Valmet L-70 Miltrainer Vinka *

BAE Hawk The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. It was first flown at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produced by its successor companies, British Aerospace and B ...

* Valmet L-80 Turbo-Vinha *

Valmet PIK-23 Towmaster The Valmet PIK-23 Towmaster or Suhinu is a Finnish two-seater glider-towing/primary trainer aircraft built entirely out of composite materials in the early 1980s. Design and development The Finnish technology students aviation club (PIK) sugges ...

Valmet L-90TP Redigo The Valmet L-90 Redigo is a turboprop-powered military basic trainer aircraft and liaison aircraft, a development of Valmet's earlier training aircraft for the Finnish Air Force. The L-90 was the last military aircraft designed and produced in ...

;licence built *

Saab 35 Draken The Saab 35 Draken (; 'The Kite' or 'The Dragon') is a Swedish fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of the Saab 35 Draken started in 1948 as the Swedish air fo ...

* F-18C Hornet

References

{{Valtion lentokonetehdas aircraft Valmet Aircraft manufacturers of Finland Manufacturing companies established in 1928 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1951 1928 establishments in Finland 1951 disestablishments in Finland