Hawker Hart Fv714 is kept at the Swedish Air Force Museum at Linkoping in colours used by the volunteer F19, complete with Finnish national markings as ‘Black M’. The Swedes had 46 Pegasus-powered Harts, four built by Hawker, the remainder under licence by the state Aircraft Factory at Trollhottan.
Gladiator II Fv2 78 is also displayed at Linkoping at ‘ White F’ of F19. The Swedes operated 37 Mk Is as the J8 and 18 Mk IIs as the J8A, 1937-41. Both of the ‘F19 ’ aircraft at Linkoping are not painted authentically, but do resemble the originals.
GL-270 of 1/LeLv 16 seen at Solomanni near Petrozavodsk in the summer of 1942. Gladiators were extensively used for reconnaissance over the front line and immediately' behind.
GL-272 of 1/LeLv 16 at a shore landing strip near Joensuu on July 1, 1941. The camouflage is a typical British factory pattern of late 1939.
Two ‘Lentolaivue’ 14 Gladiators in flight above Utti in August 1940.
GL-271 at the Kuorevesi depot in February 1944 and fitted with a locally-designed dust filter under the cowling.
Gloster Gladiator Mk.II ВВС Финляндии. Март 1942г.
GL-278 of 1/LeLv 16 about to take off at Viiksjarvi on March 31, 1942. The wing undersides have received a coat of light grey paint. These sort of skis were typical on the Gladiators.
Personnel of 2/LeLv 16 removing camouflage trees and protective cloths from GL-276 at Hirvas on October 23, 1942. This Flight’s spinners were painted in red, black and yellow.
GL-274 flew with 1/LeLv 14 and is seen here before take-off at Utti on June 25, 1941, the first day of the Continuation War. The lower surfaces were black and white on the late 1939 model from Britain, with the serial in larger numbers and contrasting colours.
Typical winter camouflage on a Gladiator GL-275, warming up at Solomanni in March 1943. It was then on loan to LeLv 28 flying Morane Saulnier MS.406s.
Gladiators of 1/LeLv 16 at Vitska, Karhumaki airfield at the northern tip of Lake Onega in May 1942. GL-264 has an alligator on the rudder, while GL-265 in the background has a winged skull.
Restored from virtual scrap in the period 1976 to 1981, Gauntlet II GT-400 caught in her element during the summer of 1984. Built for the RAF in mid-1936 as K5271 it was used for trials at Boscombe Down and by Glosters until being transferred to Finland on December 22, 1939, along with K5270. Colours are as authentic as possible - the Author supplying the colour pattern and chips. The test series civil registration OH-XGT is carried for legal purposes in yellow on the rudder. A Mercury VI radial eluded the restoration team and in its place an Alvis Leonides 127 was installed which involved some changes in length and shape to the cowling. The aircraft is kept at the ‘Hallinportti Ilmailumuseo' at Haiti.
Gloster Gauntlet GT-400 (OH-XGT) aloft in the summer of 1984.
View of the surviving Finnish Gauntlet, GT-400/OH-XGT.
Gauntlet GT-408 of ‘Lentolaivue’ 30 based at Pori during winter 1940-41. In typical British colours of early 1940, having black and white undersurfaces and dark green over dark earth upper surfaces.
GT-399 was the first Gauntlet to he painted in the Finnish war camouflage of olive green and black over light blue-grey. It is being serviced at Utti in late July 1942 attached to T-LLv 35.
GT-414 logged record 521 hours in Finland, seen here at Kauhava on March 3, 1943, issued to the ‘Lentosotakoulu ’, wearing the standard late war camouflage with full yellow Eastern Front markings.
Eight Gauntlets in a line-up at the Tampere depot in October 1941, many going for a thorough overhaul at the aircraft factory. The machines are: GT-408 (code ‘3’), 414, 411, 418, 396, 402, 416 (‘2’) and 398.
IVL D.26 Haukka I (Hawk) was the Finnish competitor to equip the small fighter force, the sole D.26 (HA-39) illustrated after the trials at Utti in March 1928. The flying characteristics left a lot to be desired and the poor visibility made it unsuitable for a fighter role. The only modern element was the wooden monocoque fuselage structure.
The sample Gamecock GA-38 fitted with locally-designed skis, at the aircraft factory in Suomenlinna on March 9, 1928. Note the short fuselage of Mk I and later Mk II wings.
GA-46 of ‘Lentosotakoulu ’ (Air Fighting School) at Kauhava in early 1943. This machine performed the last Gamecock flight in Finland on July 22, 1944, when it ended up on its back after a landing accident.
GA-43 of ‘Lentolaivue’ 24 under light camouflage netting at Utti during the November 1934 exercises held at ‘Lentoasema’ 1. The aircraft had an experimental splinter camouflage.
In late 1938 the Air Fighting School began to receive the Gamecocks. GA-58 at the Kauhava base on November 21, 1938. The aircraft is wearing standard colours and markings for the late 1930s.
