Brewster BW-372, the story of a Brewster
Finnish Virtual Pilots Association (Virtuaalilentäjät ry) organized a presentation event in which the story of the Finnish World War II Brewster fighter aircraft and its journey to the United States was described in detail. This article contains information from the lecturers and will be updated with new information. Brewster BW-372: The Story of a Brewster
"The aircraft had to be cleaned in the bottom of the lake as it was covered by mud and debris. Mud had also acted as preservant so the aircraft had been preserved well. Actual lifting was performed with extreme caution. Prytkov said that "the group treated the aircaft like a child, no one wanted it to be damaged in any way". The aircraft was lifted on the shore without any damage.
The situation changed after lifting the aircraft. Prytkov was arrested and the ownership relations of the aircraft became mixed. Prytkov was charged with "attempt to steal a historic monument", worth 8-15 years of imprisonment. Intriguing, all charges were dropped immediately after Prytkov had dismantled the Brewster at Moscow and given the parts final preservation treatment. "
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/feature/articles/bw372lecture/Wing Commander Bob Foster in Finland
Aviation Museum Society, Finland invited the British RAF warpilot Wing Commander Robert W. Foster, DFC, AE, to Finland in June 2004. Mr. Foster, a true British gentleman, blessed us with two most interesting lectures, the first one at Finnish Air Force Museum at Tikkakoski, the second at Finnish Aviation Museum at Vantaa.
"And I must have been about 30 miles out to the North Sea thinking "Oh well, there we are, lovely day above the clouds, time for breakfast" and not thinking about anything. And suddenly, God knows why, I sense to this 'they know why', I looked around and there, sitting about 'there' was a Heinkel 111 below me, it had come up through the cloud. "
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/hist/WW2History-BobFoster.htmlContinuation war aviation in review, what has been written and what left out
The achievements of Finnish Air Force during the Continuation War has been reviewed in press, memoirs, history books and other media. A lot of it is good, however I have spotted some considerable omissions and outright errors.
"The Air Force and aerial photography had decisive effect in the Ihantala battles and the resolution of the war. In retrospect, if the photography had been unsuccessful or the communication had been as bad as at Valkeasaari, the enemy would have had a chance for breakthrough towards Lappeenranta and our defensive fight would have been fatally troubled. " ...
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/hist/WW2History-AirWarofContinuationWar.htmlMore publications and news from Finnish Virtual Pilots Association:
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/en/news/http://www.virtualpilots.fi/en/hist/http://www.virtualpilots.fi/en/feature/And news in Finnish:
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/news/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. More information about the association is available from
http://www.virtualpilots.fi . Our plan of action also includes active research and preservation of Finnish aviation history - more about that from
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/en/info/hist/ and
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/hist/ .
Virtual Pilots is member of "The Association for Military History in Finland" and is dedicated to the Association's mission of studying and preserving the Finnish military history.
Jukka "Grendel" Kauppinen
PR and Press Officer,
History Team, Chairman
Finnish Virtual Pilots Association
