Eino Luukkanen (4 June 1909 – 9 April 1964) 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 ...

fighter 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 opposing ...

. He scored 56 confirmed victories, becoming Finland's third highest ranking ace. He flew the Fokker D-21, Brewster B-239 Buffalo, and Bf 109G.Keskinen 1978, p. 12-15. Luukkanen was born in Jaakkima, Finnish Karelia, on 4 June 1909. His father was a railway employee. Eino grew up in Sortavala on Lake Ladoga.

Education and flight training

Having completed compulsory military training, Luukkanen became a pilot officer in a cadet school course in 1931. He graduated in 1933 and received a commission. Luukkanen was posted as an ensign to the 1st Maritime Squadron in Viipuri. He flew both as a pilot and as an observer. In 1935 Luukkanen was transferred to fighter squadron LeLv 26, equipped with the

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 ...

Mk.IV, a biplane fighter. In 1939 he completed a course of studies in the military academy and was promoted to captain. He was then posted as the commander of the 3rd flight of Fighter Squadron 24 (LeLv24), having been recently equipped with 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 ...

fighter.

Fighter pilot

Winter War

On 30 November 1939, 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 ...

started against the Soviet Union. The next day Luukkanen scored his first victory, a SB-2 bomber. On 18 December Luukkanen's Fokker was damaged by friendly fire; and he was forced to land on a rough field, damaging his plane. On Christmas Eve he shared credit with another pilot for shooting down an R-5 over Summa. Also that day, the 3rd flight was ordered to Värtsilä to provide air cover. During the six weeks at Värtsilä Luukkanen shot down one SB-2 on the 6 January 1940, his last victory in the Winter War. On 4 March, Luukkanen led his flight in a ground strafing attack against Red Army columns on the ice of the Gulf of Finland. The attack was a success, and such ground attacks against enemy columns were the main activity for Squadron 24 up to the end of the war on 13 March 1940. After the Winter War, Luukkanen had the task of ferrying the newly arrived Brewster 239 fighters from Trollhättan, Sweden to Finland. Squadron 24 was re-equipped with this fighter, and training started immediately.

Continuation War

The air war started again on 25 June 1941. Luukkanen saw combat again on 8 July. Four BWs under Luukkanen's command had taken off from Rantasalmi and were at 1500 meters over Parikkala when they attacked six I-153s flying at low altitude over the front line. They claimed a total of five victories, but Luukkanen could only confirm one. During 1941 Luukkanen scored five and a half victories and during 1942 claimed nine more. On 11 January 1942, Luukkanen was promoted to the rank of major and posted as the commanding officer of Reconnaissance Squadron 30, flying a mix of Fokker D.XXIs and captured I-153s. The task of the unit was to monitor enemy shipping movements in the eastern Gulf of Finland and the enemy aircraft on the islands of Seiskari and Lavansaari. On 27 March 1943 Luukkanen was posted as the commander of the recently created Fighter Squadron 34 and equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 fighters. By the end of the war, he had logged 441 missions. Luukkanen scored his last victory on 5 August 1944 as he and his wingman each shot down a Yak-9. Altogether Major Luukkanen's unit claimed 345 victories from 29 March 1943 to 4 September 1944 against 30 Messerschmitts lost, 18 of which were in combat. Twelve Finnish pilots were killed, and one taken prisoner of war.

Victories

After the war

Luukkanen wrote his memoirs (published in 1956). These proved a success, with three print runs. His book was translated to English and published in Britain in 1961 and reprinted in the US in 1992 entitled "Fighter over Finland". After the war, Luukkanen was convicted of spying for Sweden. He retired in November 1951 after he was found guilty of espionage for having handed over some aerial photographs to a man who worked for the Swedish intelligence service. Luukkanen was one of Finnish leader

Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as comma ...

's pallbearers when the Marshal died in 1951. Luukkanen died on 4 September 1964, survived by his widow and his son Risto Heikki, who also had a military career. With his long-time mistress Aino Aunala, Luukkanen also had another son in 1950, future city court Judge Markku Eino Aunala. Luukkanen is still well known in many Western countries.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Keskinen, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari and Niska, Klaus. ''Hävittäjä-ässät (Finnish Fighter Aces)'' (in Finnish). Espoo, Finland: Tietoteas, 1978. . * Luukkanen, Eino. ''Fighter Over Finland: the Memoirs of a Fighter Pilot''. London: Macdonald & Company Ltd.., 1963. (Reprinted 1980 by Arno Press, NY as . and in 1989 by Time-Life, NY as .) * Stenman, Kari and Keskinen, Kalevi. ''Finnish Aces of World War 2 (Aircraft of the Aces 23)''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 1998. . * Jukka Piipponen. "Hyökkäys auringosta, Koala Kustannus EU 2010 .

External links

Detailed Biography
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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 ...