F 19, the Swedish unit in Finland during the Winter War

Brief time line of F 19 victories and losses

Jan 12:th
One I-15 shot down by Iacobi during an attack against an airbase by four Gladiators and four Harts, three more destroyed on the ground together with other targets.
One Hart lost due to three I-16 fighters during the return from the same attack, as it had to take a short cut due to lack of fuel. The crew Färnström and Hansson reach a Finnish post in Räisälä, 30 km south east of Kemijärvi.
Two Harts collided with each other after the attack, the one piloted by Sterner hitting the other from below, Zachau remains with the aircraft and is found dead in it in 1942. As well as Sterner, the pilot of the other aircraft, Jung, is saved by parachute. Both are taken prisoner and not released until May. The other crewman in Jung's Hart, Sundsten, remains with the aircraft which crashlands relatively gently, so he escapes by skiing for four days.
Jan 17:th
Two I-15s damaged and forced down out of a group of four which encounter a group of four Gladiators on armed reconniassance in the Märkäjärvi - Salla region by Salwén and Martin.
Jan 23:rd
During air combat with I-15s and I-16s, one Gladiator was shot down, the pilot Sjöqvist was killed.
Feb 1:st
One SB-2 damaged and forced down 78 km north east of Rovanieme by Salwén.
Feb 20:th
One SB-2 seriously damaged east of Vaala by Salwén. One Gladiator crashed near Uleåborg.
Feb 21:st
One DB-3 shot down 40 km south east of Rovaniemi by Steninger.
Mar 7:th
Two SB-2s damaged and forced down 65 km south east of Uleåborg by Theler.
Mar 8:th
One DB-3 damaged east of Vaala, not confirmed, by Salwén.
Mar 10:th
One TB-3 damaged and forced down 5 km east of Kemijärvi by Karlsson. One Gladiator crashed during check flight near Veitsiluoto, the pilot Hildinger did not survive.

In October 1939, Finland asked the Swedish government for military aid in the form of equipment and volunteers. On Dec 8:th two J 7 Bristol Bulldog, three J 6A and J 6B Jaktfalken and three S 6B CVM (Fokker) C.VE were handed over to the Finnish air force. They were never part of the Swedish volunteer unit.

On Dec 19:th, the Swedish Volunteer Corps formed an aviation unit, initially designated F101, consisting of a staff unit, fighter squadron, light bomber group, transport group and ground support unit. Total staff was about 250 men and two women. A Finnish air order of Jan 4:th mentioned the unit as Lento R 5, but on Jan 8:th, it was given the name "19. flygflottiljen" (19:th wing, numbered in sequence with the wings in Sweden), F 19.

To the air wing was on Dec 30:th assigned four B 4 Hawker Harts and twelve J 8A Gloster Gladiators.

The Gladiators were the most modern fighter in Swedish service, and twelve were no less than a third of the total operational fighter force. (More modern fighters were ordered, but not yet delivered.) They were camouflaged with aluminum dope partially over the olive green top surfaces and given Finnish insigninas.

On Jan 7:th 1940 the first airbase was operational at Kemi. Later on, five forward bases were constructed.

The wing's first operational orders were received from the Swedish Volunteer Corps on Jan 9:th:

Reconnaissance and attack against a Soviet air base on the lake Salmijärvi as well as enemy troops east by northeast of KemiJärvi, and, as far as possible fighter defence of the towns Oulu, Kemi and Tornio;.

The first attack was performed on Jan 12:th by a mixed unit of fighters and bombers against both enemy troops on the move northeast of Kemijärvi and an airbase at Märkijärvi.

During the attack, a Polikarpov I-15 was shot down by a Gladiator just as it attained a position behind another Swedish aircraft. Apart from the designated targets, a Soviet staff unit was also attacked.

Unfortunately, two of the Hawker Harts collided when they manoeuvred to escape anti-aircraft fire from the ground. Of the four air crew, one was found dead in 1942, three made successful parachute jumps. Two of them managed to evade capture for two days and weren't returned to Sweden until May. The third managed to get back to his unit.

Another Hart was damaged by three I-16s and had to make an emergency landing. The two crew managed with the help of the skis always strapped to the fuselage get back to their unit after a few days.

The light bomber group was supplied with one more Hawker Hart, and both of them survived until the end of hostilities on March 12:th, when they were returned to Swedish air force duty. This was the only conflict in which Hawker Harts were used in combat.

During intense combat near Kemijärvi on Jan 23:rd, two Gladiators were lost and one of the pilots were killed. Another Gladiator crashed during a check flight on March 10:th and killed both aboard. The remaining nine Gladiators returned to Swedish service.

Soviet losses in the air to F 19 were six fighters and six bombers.

The lost Swedish aircraft were officially transferred to the Finnish government on Dec 16:th 1940 (at no cost).

Sources: Gösta Norrbom: Att flyga är att leva; Kontakt #70, #79; Greger Falk: F 19 - En krönika

Further information: Håkan's Aviation Page: F 19 calendar and F 19 in the Winter War.

Main text last updated 1995 Apr 09, the brief time line 1998 Aug 12.
More on Swedish military aviation
Document last modified 1999 Feb 22 by Urban Fredriksson

griffon@canit.se