Kyösti Karhila (May 2, 1921 – September 16, 2009) was a
Finnish World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
fighter ace with 32¼ victories. He was born in
Rauma,
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
. He began flying in
Lentolaivue 32 and flew later in
LeLv 30,
LeLv 32,
LeLv 34 and
LeLv 24. He scored 13¼ of his victories with
P-36 Hawk
The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation ...
s and 19 with
Bf 109s.
Biography
After the war broke out on the 30 November 1939, Karhila was drafted and posted to Kauhava Air Base for training.
On completion of training he was then posted to
LeLv 24 at
Siikakangas, equipped with the Fokker D.XXI. He was then posted to LeLv 30 on 20 June 1941. In mid-July the unit was re-equipped with the Curtiss P-36 Hawk. Karhila's first air combat was on 31 July 1941, against two Soviet Air Force I-153's.
Karhila transferred to
LeLv 34 based at
Utti in March 1943, flying the Bf 109G-2. In March 1944 his flight was posted piecemeal into LeLv 30 at Malmi to defend Helsinki, although after the Soviet ground offensive commenced in June 1944 the flight returned to LeLv 34.
After his air force career he flew airliners for
Finnair
Finnair Plc (, ) is the flag carrier and largest full-service legacy airline of Finland, with headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its airline hub, hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international ...
,
Aero O/Y and
Spearair. He gathered 556 flying hours during the war (in 304 combat sorties) and 24,000 after the war. He died in
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
at the age of 88 as the last of the Finnish fighter aces.
F18 Hornet of the Finnish Air Force performed a
flypast
''FlyPast'' is an aircraft magazine, published monthly, edited by Tom Allett, Steve Beebee and Jamie Ewan.
History and profile
The magazine started as a bi-monthly edition in May/June 1981 and its first editor was the late Mike Twite. It is ow ...
over the city during the ceremony.
Aerial victories
References
External links
Interview with Kyösti KarhilaObituary, Helsingin Sanomat
* List of World War II aces from Finland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karhila, Kyosti
1921 births
2009 deaths
People from Rauma, Finland
Finnish World War II flying aces
Finnish Air Force personnel