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VVS Airacobra in Finnish musuem, some historical notes...
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Author Topic: VVS Airacobra in Finnish musuem, some historical notes...  (Read 2773 times)
Troy Smith
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« on: November 04, 2012, 02:07:49 AM »

Well, this evening  I remembered to have a look on the wayback machine for a bit of the Finnish Airforce Musuem website that is no longer on the site.... I presume as it somebody decided that sarcastic humour at the expense of the Russians was no longer a good idea.. but that was the bit I wanted to see I could find... it still makes me smile Wink
but the rest I though warranted posting here as it's some useful background information on this fascinating relic...and be thankful no-one repainted it!

Quote

 Answers to the "Frequently Asked Questions", by museum staff

We have been asked whether the paint of our Airacobra, currently under restoration, has been changed since the artistic brush marks of its Russian painter.


We have been asked whether the paint of our Airacobra, currently under restoration, has been changed since the artistic brush marks of its Russian painter. The paint of the P-39Q under restoration has not been touched.
But... Soviet paint is not characterized by utmost permanence. This is a common feature in quite a few Soviet phenomena, and after all, the whole state collapsed. So is there so much to wonder about if something falls off the surface of an airplane in a forced landing and in the ensuing shock? In addition, the slippery capitalists have used such a paint that the standard eastern paint has not quite stuck to it in the planned manner.

The museum's aim is to preserve as much original as possible, in other words, we try to maintain the guise in which the aircraft made its forced landing at P?tsinsuo in Yl?-Uuksu on 16th June, 1944. To be more precise, the fuselage made. The wings were attached to one of the two aircraft which landed at Pikkusuo in Inkeroinen, quite close to the famous FAF BF 109 base, Kymi.

There is also a story about this incident: The Finnish Air Force Radio Intelligence Battalion was formed in early 1944 by enlarging it from a company. The additional personnel was delivered by the General Headquarters Radio Intelligence Battalion. In a situation like this, a military organization usually tries to get rid off its less desirable personnel - thus the Air Force got its own "raisins". Finally the Battallion's personnel (at least a part of it) had to be disarmed because of their reckless behaviour. On 16th June, 1944, the operator on duty in the direction finding station at Pikkusuo watched in surprise how two Airacobras made a formation belly landing on the bog. Soon he was shocked to see how two Russian pilots walked with pistols in their hands towards his hut. The unarmed Finn quickly telegraphed to the central station: "What do I do? Two Russians approaching with guns." The station answered rapidly: "Get out through the opposite window!" The operator did as he was told and when the Russians saw the Finn escaping on the bog, they were frightened - this easily happens if one sees a public servant struggling hard - and turned to the opposite direction. Thus the incident was settled "happily".

Relatively little is known about these aircraft today. They have belonged to the 2nd Leningrad Guards Fighter Group (2.gv. IAK) and most obviously they have lost their bearings and run out of fuel. Two landed at Inkeroinen (Nos. 20 and 25) and one (No. 26) at P?tsinsuo and the fourth by the river Syv?ri. The last mentioned was blown up before the retreat of the Finnish troops. It is possible that also a fifth aircraft belonged to this formation, but its fate is not certain at the moment.


hope of interest
T
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