The Finnish Air Force (FAF, FiAF) (Ilmavoimat, "Air Forces"), is the air force of Finland. It was founded in 1918 and known as Ilmailuvoimat until 1938.
History[]
World War I and interwar era[]
The Finnish Air Force was founded during the Finnish Civil War in early 1918 as the flying branch of the White Guards, although the opposing Red Guards also had their own flying corps. It bought its first aircraft, a N.A.B. Albatros on 20 February 1918, but a Thulin Typ D donated by Swedish count Eric von Rosen entered service before it. The Thulin was painted with von Rosen's personal symbols of luck, blue swastikas, which became the FAF's first insignia. Initially the FAF relied mainly on captured Russian aircraft and then on German aircraft, until Germany was defeated in World War I. Later the FAF began to briefly favour French aircraft until ceasing to prefer any particular country in the mid-1920s. Attempts to become self-reliant by developing indigenous aircraft like the IVL Haukka in the FAF's own aircraft factory Ilmailuvoimien lentokonetehdas (Aircraft Factory of the Air Force, IVL, later Valtion lentokonetehdas, State Aircraft Factory, VL) were not successful.
As the threat of a new World War grew in the late 1930s, the FAF high command argued over whether they should build a strictly defensive air force that relies almost entirely on fighters, or buy Bristol Blenheim bombers that could provide the FAF tactical offensive capabilities. The latter suggestion won, and the FAF ordered 18 Blenheim Mk Is while the Valtion lentokonetehdas built 15 more under licence. This decision limited the amount of fighters the FAF could buy, and has been retrospectively viewed as a mistake.
The FAF insignia from 1918-1945.
FAF roundel.
World War II[]
On 30 November 1939 the Soviet Union attacked Finland in what became known as the Winter War. The Soviet AF had the advantage in both the number and performance of its aircraft, but the FAF pilot training was considered to be superior. The FAF's only decent fighters were 40 Fokker D.XXIs, although even they were obsolescent. Still, the FAF managed to hold back the Soviet aerial offensives quite well, claiming 218 kills for the loss of 62 aircraft to all causes.
In June 1941 the FAF was much better equipped, as Finland invaded Soviet Union together with Germany. New Brewster B-239 fighters secured air superiority, claiming to achieve a kill ratio of 32 to 1. In 1941 the FAF bought captured Soviet bombers from Germany, received Dornier Do 17s in 1942 and bought Junkers Ju 88 bombers and new Messerschmitt Bf 109Gs in 1943. However, from 1943 the Soviet AF again achieved an advantage in aircraft quality, as new aircraft deliveries from Germany had stalled. In summer 1944 the Soviets launched a major offensive and smashed through the Finnish lines. The FAF fought with at a disadvantage, but helped to prevent the Finnish Army from collapsing completely. The war ended in September 1944, when Finland was forced to accept peace.
The blue swatika insignia was replaced with a roundel in 1945 due to political reasons, even though the FAF swastika had nothing to do with the Nazi swastika. The 1947 Paris Peace Treaty (now expired) limited the FAF's size to 60 combat aircraft and 3,000 men, and prohibited it from owning bombers with an internal bomb bay, stripping the FAF of its offensive capabilities.
Cold War[]
During the late 1940s and early 1950s the FAF was stuck with its old Bf 109s that couldn't realistically fight jet fighters like the F-86 Sabre or the MiG-15. Finland declared political neutrality, which made both NATO and the Soviet Union reluctant to sell advanced combat aircraft to it. Furthermore, Finland was still relatively poor, and recovering from World War II, so the FAF could only buy cheap, obsolescent aircraft like the de Havilland Vampire. Over time Finland was more and more often viewed as a Soviet satellite state in the West. In the 1960s the Soviet Union wished Finland to act as a buffer against a possible NATO attack, and agreed to sell new MiG-21F fighters in 1963. They became the FAF's first potent combat aircraft since the Bf 109Gs in 1943. They were supplanted by second-hand Saab J35 Drakens from early 1970s onwards.
The 1980s were a decade of liberal spending, as the FAF bought 50 BAe Hawk Mk51s from UK and 30 Valmet Vinkas. However, the end of the Cold War in early 1990s and a great depression limited the spending, but the FAF nevertheless ordered 64 McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornets to replace the MiG-21Bis and Saab Draken.
Current inventory[]
Fixed-wing aircraft[]
| Aircraft | Role | Number | In service | Country of origin | Code letters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet | Fighter | 62 | 1995- | USA | HN |
| BAe Hawk | Fighter trainer | 75 | 1980- | UK | HW |
| Valmet L-70 Vinka | Basic trainer | 1980- | Finland | VN | |
| Grob G115E | Basic trainer | 28 | 2016- | Germany | GO |
| Pilatus PC-12 | Light transport | 6 | 2010- | Switzerland | PI |
| CASA C-295M | Medium transport | 3 | 2008- | Spain | CC |
| Gates Learjet 35 | Transport | 3 | 1982- | USA | LJ |
Helicopters[]
The helicopters officially belong to the Ground Forces.
| Aircraft | Role | Number | In service | Country of origin | Code letters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHIndustries NH90 | Transport | 20 | 2008- | EU | NH |
| Hughes MD500 | Multi-purpose | 7 | 1975- | USA | HH |
Retired aircraft[]
The FAF has operated a wide range of aircraft from various countries.
Fixed-wing aircraft[]
| Aircraft | Role | Number | In service | Country of origin | Code letters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adaridi AD 3 | Experimental | 1 | 1924-1931 | Finland | ||
| Aero A-11 | Reconnaissance | 8 | 1927-1939 | Czechoslovakia | AE | |
| Aero A-32 | Bomber | 16 | 1929-1944 | Czechoslovakia | AEj | |
| Airspeed Envoy | Transport | 1 | 1942-1943 | UK | EV | |
| Albatros C.III | Multi-purpose | 2 | 1919-1921 | Germany | ||
| Avro 504K | Trainer | 1 | 1926-1930 | UK | AV | |
| Avro Anson | Bomber trainer | 3 | 1936-1947 | UK | AN | |
| Beechcraft Model 17 | Liaison | 2 | 1940-1958 | USA | BC | |
| Beriev MBR-2 | Maritime Patrol | 5 | 1941-1942 | Soviet Union | VV | Captured |
| Blackburn Ripon | Maritime patrol | 27 | 1927-1944 | UK | RI | |
| Brequet 14A.2 | Reconnaissance | 30 | 1919-1927 | France | BR | |
| Bristol Blenheim | Bomber | 98 | 1937-1958 | UK | BL | |
| Brewster B-239 | Fighter | 44 | 1940-1948 | USA | BW | |
| Bristol Bulldog | Fighter | 19 | 1935-1944 | UK | BU | |
| Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander | Transport | 1 | 1974-1975 | UK | BN | |
| Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann | Trainer | 1 | 1939-1940 | Germany | ||
| Caudron C.59 | Multi-purpose | 3 | 1923-1931 | France | CA | |
| Caudron C.60 | Basic trainer | 64 | 1923-1936 | France | CA | |
| Caudron C.714 | Light fighter | 6 | 1940 | France | CA | |
| Caudron G.3 | Reconnaissance | 19 | 1920-1924 | France | ||
| Caudron G.4 | Air ambulance | 1 | 1923 | France | ||
| Cessna 402B Businessliner | Transport | 2 | 1975-1984 | USA | CB | |
| Cessna C-37 | Trainer | 1 | 1939-1944 | USA | CE | |
| Curtiss Hawk 75 | Fighter | 44 | 1941-1948 | USA | CU | |
| Curtiss P-40M | Fighter | 1 | 1944-1945 | USA | KH | |
| de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver | Light transport | 3 | 1958-1971 | Canada | BV | |
| de Havilland DH.60 Moth | Trainer | 23 | 1929-1944 | UK | MO | |
| de Havilland Dragon Rapide | Trainer | 2 | 1939-1940 | UK | ||
| de Havilland Express | Air ambulance | 1 | 1940 | UK | Owned by the Red Cross | |
| de Havilland Tiger Moth | Liaison | 1 | 1940-1944 | UK | MO | Interned |
| de Havilland Vampire | Fighter | 6 | 1954-1965 | UK | VA | |
| de Havilland Vampire Trainer | Fighter trainer | 9 | 1955-1965 | UK | VT | |
| Desoutter II | Liaison | 1 | 1941-1944 | UK | DS | |
| DFW C.V | Reconnaissance | 2 | 1918-1921 | Germany | ||
| Dornier Do 17Z | Bomber | 15 | 1942-1948 | Germany | DN | |
| Dornier Do 22 | Anti-submarine | 4 | 1941-1945 | Germany | DR | |
| Douglas C-47 | Transport | 9 | 1960-1984 | USA | DO | |
| Douglas DC-2 | Transport | 3 | 1940-1956 | USA | DC, later DO | |
| Fairchild 24 | Liaison | 1 | 1939-1941 | USA | FD | |
| Fiat G.50 | Fighter | 35 | 1940-1946 | Italy | FA | |
| Fieseler Fi 156 Storch | Liaison | 2 | 1939-1960 | Germany | ST | |
| Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz | Basic trainer | 35 | 1940-1960 | Germany | SZ | |
| Focke-Wulf Fw 58 Weihe | Liaison | 1 | 1943-1944 | Germany | FH | |
| Fokker C.V | Reconnaissance | 19 | 1927-1945 | Netherlands | FO | |
| Fokker C.X | Reconnaissance bomber | 39 | 1936-1958 | Netherlands | FK | |
| Fokker D.VII | Fighter | 3 | 1919-1924 | Germany | ||
| Fokker D.X | Fighter | 1 | 1923-1926 | Netherlands | ||
| Fokker D.XXI | Fighter | 97 | 1937-1948 | Netherlands | FR | |
| Fokker F.27 | Transport | 3 | 1980-2015 | Netherlands | FF | |
| Fokker F.VII | Transport | 1 | 1941-1943 | Netherlands | FE | |
| Fokker F.VIII | Transport | 1 | 1940-1941 | Netherlands | ||
| Folland Gnat | Light fighter | 13 | 1958-1974 | UK | GN | |
| Fouga CM.170 Magister | Fighter trainer | 80 | 1958-1988 | France | FM | |
| Friedrichshafen FF 33 | Reconnaissance | 3 | 1918-1923 | Germany | ||
| Friedrichshafen FF 41 | Reconnaissance | 1 | 1918-1923 | Germany | ||
| Friedrichshafen FF 49 | Reconnaissance | 5 | 1918-1922 | Germany | ||
| Georges Levy G.L. 40 | Maritime patrol | 12 | 1919-1922 | France | ||
| Gloster Gamecock | Fighter | 17 | 1927-1944 | UK | GA | |
| Gloster Gauntlet | Fighter trainer | 24 | 1940-1945 | UK | GT | |
| Gloster Gladiator | Fighter | 30 | 1940-1945 | UK | GL | |
| Gourdou-Leseurre GL-21/22 | Fighter | 20 | 1923-1931 | France | ||
| Hanriot H.232 | Trainer | 3 | 1941-1945 | France | HT | |
| Hawker Hurricane | Fighter | 13 | 1940-1944 | UK | HU, later HC | One captured |
| Heinkel He 115 | Maritime patrol | 3 | 1940-1944 | Germany | HE | |
| Høver M.F. 11 | Maritime reconnaissance | 3 | 1940-1944 | Norway | NK | |
| Ilyushin DB-3 | Bomber | 11 | 1940-1946 | Soviet Union | VP, later DB | 4 captured |
| Ilyushin Il-4 | Bomber | 4 | 1943-1945 | Soviet Union | DF | |
| Ilyushin Il-28 | Target tug | 4 | 1960-1981 | Soviet Union | NH | |
| IVL A.22 Hansa | Maritime patrol | 120 | 1922-1936 | Finland/Germany | IL | |
| IVL C.24 | Fighter | 1 | 1924 | Finland | ||
| IVL C.25 | Fighter | 1 | 1925 | Finland | ||
| IVL Haukka | Fighter | 3 | 1927-1930 | Finland | HA | |
| IVL K.1 Kurki | Trainer | 1 | 1927 | Finland | ||
| Junkers A.35 | Transport | 1 | 1928 | Germany | S | |
| Junkers A50 Junior | Liaison | 2 | 1936-1940 | Germany | SK | |
| Junkers F 13 | Multi-purpose | 3 | 1939-1947 | Germany | JU | |
| Junkers Ju 88 | Bomber | 24 | 1943-1948 | Germany | JK | |
| Junkers K 43 | Bomber | 6 | 1931-1952 | Germany | JU | |
| Junkers W 34 | Trainer | 6 | 1930-1944 | Germany | JU | |
| Klemm Kl 25 | Trainer | 2 | 1939-1941 | Germany | ||
| Koolhoven F.K. 31 | Reconnaissance | 12 | 1926-1932 | Netherlands | KO | |
| Koolhoven F.K.52 | Multi-purpose | 2 | 1940-1943 | Netherlands | KO | |
| Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 | Fighter | 3 | 1942-1945 | Soviet Union | LG | Captured |
| Letov Š-218 | Basic trainer | 39 | 1930-1945 | Czechoslovakia | SM | |
| LVG C.VI | Reconnaissance | 2 | 1922-1923 | Germany | ||
| Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard | Fighter | 15 | 1923-1939 | UK | MA | |
| Messerschmitt Bf 109G | Fighter | 159 | 1943-1954 | Germany | MT | |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI | Fighter trainer | 4 | 1962-1977 | Soviet Union | MU | |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21Bis | Fighter | 20 | 1978-1998 | Soviet Union | MB, later MG | |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21F | Fighter | 22 | 1963-1986 | Soviet Union | MG | |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21U, US, UM | Fighter trainer | 6 | 1965-1998 | Soviet Union | MK | |
| Morane-Saulnier MS.50 | Trainer | 6 | 1925-1932 | France | MS | |
| Morane-Saulnier MS 406 | Fighter | 87 | 1940-1948 | France | MS | |
| N.A.B. Albatros typ 9 / typ 17 | Reconnaissance | 3 | 1918-1923 | Sweden/Germany | ||
| Nieuport 10 | Reconnaissance | 3 | 1918-1919 | France/Russia | Captured | |
| Nieuport 11 | Fighter | 1 | 1918-1923 | France/Russia | Captured | |
| Nieuport 23 | Fighter | 2 | 1918-1920 | France | Captured | |
| Pervical Pembroke | Aerial photography | 2 | 1965-1968 | UK | PR | |
| Petlyakov Pe-2 | Reconnaissance | 7 | 1941-1946 | Soviet Union | PE | |
| Petlyakov Pe-3 | Reconnaissance | 1 | 1943-1944 | Soviet Union | PE | Captured |
| Piper PA-28R Cherokee Arrow | Liaison | 10 | 1974-2004 | USA | PA | |
| Piper PA-31 Navajo | Transport | 1 | 1974-1975 | USA | PN | |
| Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain | Transport | 6 | 1983-2011 | USA | PC | |
| Polikarpov I-15bis | Reconnaissance | 5 | 1940-1945 | Soviet Union | VH, later IH | Captured |
| Polikarpov I-16 | Fighter | 2 | 1940-1943 | Soviet Union | VH, later IR | Captured |
| Polikarpov I-16UTI | Fighter trainer | 1 | 1941-1943 | Soviet Union | VH, later UT | |
| Polikarpov I-153 | Reconnaissance | 11 | 1940-1945 | Soviet Union | VH, later IT | Captured |
| Polikarpov U-2 | Liaison | 4 | 1942-1950 | Soviet Union | VU | Captured |
| Potez 25 A.2 | Observation | 1 | 1927-1936 | France | ||
| Rumpler 6B | Fighter | 2 | 1918-1926 | Germany | ||
| Rumpler C.VIII | Trainer | 1 | 1918-1924 | Germany | ||
| Saab 17 | Target tug | 2 | 1959-1961 | Sweden | SH | |
| Saab 35 Draken | Fighter | 36 | 1972-2000 | Sweden | DK | |
| Saab 91 Safir | Basic trainer | 36 | 1958-1982 | Sweden | SF | |
| Shavrov Sh-2 | Liaison | 2 | 1942-1944 | Soviet Union | VV | Captured |
| SIAI S.9 | Reconnaissance | 2 | 1919-1920 | Italy | ||
| SPAD S.34 | Trainer | 2 | 1921-1925 | France | ||
| SPAD S.VII | Fighter | 1 | 1919-1923 | France | ||
| Stetinin M-5 | Reconnaissance | 1 | 1918-1920 | Russia | Captured | |
| Stetinin M-9 | Reconnaissance | 9 | 1918-1922 | Russia | Captured | |
| Stetinin M-15 | Reconnaissance | 2 | 1918-1919 | Russia | Captured | |
| Stetinin M-16 | Reconnaissance | 6 | 1918-1923 | Russia | Captured | |
| Svenska Aero Jaktfalken | Trainer | 3 | 1940-1945 | Sweden | JF | |
| Taylorcraft BC-12 | Liaison | 2 | 1939-1940 | USA | ||
| Taylor J-2 Cub | Trainer | 2 | 1939-1940 | USA | ||
| Thulin Typ D | Multi-purpose | 2 | 1918 | Sweden | ||
| Thulin LA | Trainer | 1 | 1918-1919 | Sweden | ||
| Tupolev SB-2 | Anti-submarine | 24 | 1940-1950 | Soviet Union | VP, later SB | 8 captured |
| Valmet L-90 TP Redigo | Liaison | 10 | 1992-2013 | Finland | RG | |
| Valmet Tuuli II | Trainer | 1 | 1951 | Finland | TL | |
| Valmet Tuuli III | Trainer | 1 | 1957-1959 | Finland | TL | |
| Valmet Vihuri | Fighter trainer | 51 | 1951-1959 | Finland | VH | |
| VL Humu | Fighter | 1 | 1944-1945 | Finland | HM | |
| VL Kotka | Maritime patrol | 6 | 1931-1944 | Finland | KA | |
| VL Myrsky | Fighter / Reconnaissance | 51 | 1944-1947 | Finland | MY | |
| VL Paarma | Basic trainer | 1 | 1931-1933 | Finland | PA | |
| VL Pyry | Fighter trainer | 41 | 1939-1962 | Finland | PY | |
| VL Pyörremyrsky | Fighter | 1 | 1945-1947 | Finland | PM | |
| VL Sääski | Multi-purpose | 33 | 1928-1943 | Finland | SÄ | |
| VL Tuisku | Multi-purpose | 31 | 1935-1950 | Finland | TU | |
| VL Viima | Trainer | 24 | 1936-1962 | Finland | VI | |
| Waco YKS-7 | Liaison | 1 | 1939-1940 | USA | ||
| Westland Lysander | Liaison | 12 | 1940-1946 | UK | LY |
Helicopters[]
| Aircraft | Role | Number | In service | Country of origin | Code letters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agusta-Bell 206 | Transport | 1 | 1968-1979 | USA | HB |
| Mil Mi-4 | Transport | 3 | 1962-1979 | Soviet Union | HR |
| Mil Mi-8 | Transport | 9 | 1973-2010 | Soviet Union | HS |
| SM-1 | Multi-purpose | 4 | 1961-1967 | Poland/Soviet Union | HK |
| Sud-Aviation Alouette | Multi-purpose | 2 | 1965-1975 | France | HA |