Our latest veteran interview was almost an unusual one. Each WW2 veteran interview is unique, special happening but this time it was such a successful and awesome, that I am still smiling when thinking about it.
Our guest was 90 years old dr., professor Erkki Palosuo, ice researcher, retired head of National Finnish Ice Research Center, researcher and lecturer. Also, bomber pilot. And the definite Finnish Air Force submarine hunting expert. Mr. Palosuo flew captured Soviet SB-2 bombers over the Gulf of Finland in the Continuation War and sunk two and half confirmed Soviet submarines - and that in addition to his combat flights in the slow, antique two wing Ripon seaplanes during Winter War and bombing missions flying Blenheim bombers in 1944 and 1945, first against Soviet summer offensive of summer 1944 and then continuing the war against the Germans in Lappland.
Here's a few snippets I remember without going into the tapes.
Professor Palosuo joined the Air Force already in 1935, transferring from anti aircraft artillery. After getting his wings and flying for several years the Winter War started in November 1939 and mr. Palosuo's squadron was thrown into action. And some action it was - the squadron was flying the antique, slow and almost useless Ripon seaplanes. His first war sortie was already quite telling what the combat with Ripons would be. He was ordered to make a reconnaisscance flight towards Estonia to recon the Soviet naval base. Flying directly against the wind the slow two winger advanced like a snail, slooowly. A Soviet warship was patrolling outside the harbour, saw the plane slowly approaching - and actually started steaming towards the seaplane, instead trying to evade. The pilot yelled that the ship is trying to approach to anti aircraft gun range to shoot them down. Palosuo yelled back "that's our smallest problem, we have enemy I-15s on our wing" - and there was a vic of enemy fighters approaching them. The slow plane neverthless managed to escape using cloud cover. And that was the first and last time the Ripon's were used in daylight over Gulf of Finland.
During the early Continuation War Soviets evacuated the Hanko base, which had been leased to Soviet Union after Winter War. The evacuation was noticed in the squadron but it was decided to not attack the evacuation fleet. "We're still a small country - and they're gigantic. And they won't forget if we sink ships each containing ten thousand soldiers." Mr. Palosuo still wanted to see the evacuation though, so he took the Focke Wulf Stieglitz two winged trainer and flew to Hanko to watch the fleet. Soviet AA fire lightened the sky and gave him quite a show, so it wasn't very healthy place and he decided to return home.
Afterwards mr. Palosuo transferred into LeLv 6, squadron specializing into anti-submarine patrolling. Squadron's primary equipment was Soviet SB-2 bomber equipped into anti sub role with two depth charges. The Finnish bombers patrolled Gulf of Finland effectively, actually raising vocal discussion in British parlament and speeding up the Allied anti-sub operations, after Finnish Air Force had effectively demonstrated that submarines can be killed from air. Year 1942 was to prove most successful year, with mr. Palosuo being credited - and after war confirmed - with two and half sunk SOviet submarines. The half kill is from combined attack of three SB-2s hunting a Soviet sub.
Mr. Palosuo's career includes many interesting and amazing moments. Maybe the strangest was his visit into Germany to Herman Göring's birthday! The Finnish aviation attache brought him to RLM and asked from Palosuo whether it would be ok to introduce him to some Luftwaffe officers. "Ok". The Finnish Air Force captain was introduced to bunch of seemingly high ranking Luftwaffe officers as a "Finnish pilot". "So how many victories you have" they inquired. "None." "None?" "I have just sunk Soviet submarines." And the German faces lighted up, "but now THAT is interesting" they said, grabbed more Luftwaffe staff around the Finnish pilot and started asking about his experiences and tactics - at those times the German submarines were experiencing more and more troubles from increasing Allied submarine hunting aircraft.
"What a interesting trip it was", mr. Palosuo commented. "But that Hermann, how fat he was. Wearing light beige uniform, red shoes and red polished fingernails."
And those German officers? The Finnish Air Force attache afterwards commented "did you know who you was talking with?" "No." "They were Luftwaffe generals, general majors and such, none lower ranks. You seemed to do really well with them." Even the commander of the Finnish Air Force in the same meeting didn't meet as many and as high Luftwaffe brass.
After the submarine hunting dried up, when the Soviet fleet and subs were trapped into eastern Gulf of Finland with the submarine net reaching from Finnish coast to Estonia, mr. Palosuo transferred to FAF HQ, spent there some time and after getting bored of desk jobs write himself transfer papers to PLeLv 42, Bomber Squadron 42. Mr. Palosuo then simply appeared to the squadron and announced "I came here to take the command."
While the squadron was commanded by a certain, very famous Finnish pilot Kalle Kepsu, it was mr. Palosuo who led the squadron in the combat missions. Always flying in the lead of the squadron he fought over all the battlefields of summer 1944, helping to stem the Soviet tide, then turning north to fight against the Germans during the last battles of Finland. "The boys, 21 years old rascals of my squadron, their takeoffs and landings were so and so, but how they flew, they flew like angels" the old officer remembers.
With amazing luck this old gentleman survived all six years of war, even making it unscratched through the Lappland War. As the other pilots of his squadron commented, "the AA fire always seemed to dance around the lead plane", yet he came through time after time. Unlike many others. "After releasing the bombs in low level attack against German positions around the bridge I looked behind, and one of the Blenheims had been it, going down in flames." Mr. Palosuo was still saddened. The attack had to be made in very low altitude, just couple hundred meters and the pilot of the downed Blenheim was in his first combat mission. And last.
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You'll actually find many of mr. Palosuo's works fully or their names from Internet in Finnish and English with simple Google search, like:
THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE MAXIMUM ANNUAL EXTENT OF ICE COVER IN THE BALTIC SEA 1720-1995
http://ice.fmi.fi/CLASSIFICATION_1720_1995.htmlA treatise on severe ice conditions in the central Baltic
http://www.cisi.unito.it/progetti/geo/glaci.htmThe full interview will be initially published in Finnish Virtual Pilots Association aviation history web site in Finnish language and eventually translated to English. Meanwhile, check the other articles we've published lately.
Including:
Torsten Sannamo and the FuG-radios
The machine gunner / wireless operator Torsten Sannamo, who operated in Blenheim bombers in the ranks of Bomber Squadron 42, described his wireless / gunner course shortly to the Virtual Pilots - and his condidential special mission - training with the new German FuG-wireless systems.
Messerchmitt training after the wars
Messerchmitt 109 pilot Torsti Tallgren described shortly the Me 109 pilot training program of Finnish Air Force after the World War II to Virtual Pilots Association.
Viljo Lehtinen, the Blenheim gunner
During the war years Viljo Lehtinen served in the Bomber Squadron 42 as machine gunner / radio operator. Mr. Lehtinen goes back to the war years filled with bombing and reconnaissance flights in interview conducted at Lappland Air Command Guild's annual meeting.
These and more:
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/hist/AND
Finnish Virtual Pilots Association and three World War II fighter pilots in Finnish Television. Video interviews fully translated to English language.
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/feature/photoreports/overdose2002/Virtuaalilentäjät ry - Virtual Pilots Finland Association is an association, which purpose is to promote World War II multiplayer flight simulators and aviation hobby among people interested in aviation. Our plan of action also includes active research and preservation of Finnish aviation history.
More information about the association is available from
http://www.virtualpilots.fi . Information about the history project:
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/en/info/hist/ .
