Kari Stenman Libros

Always outnumbered by their Soviet counterparts, the small band of Finnish fighter pilots who defended their Scandinavian homeland from the 'communist hordes' in three separate wars between 1939 and 1945 amassed scores only bettered by the Luftwaffe's Jagdflieger. Initially equipped with a motley collection of biplane and monoplane fighters garnered from sources across the globe, the Finnish Air Force was thrust into combat in November 1939. Given little chance against the massive Soviet force, the Finnish fighter pilots confounded the sceptics and decimated the attacking fighter and bomber formations, prompting the Russians to call a halt in March 1940. This scenario was repeated in 1941, and by 1943 the Finns had become uneasy allies with the Germans. Complete with first-hand accounts and detailed colour illustrations, this book profiles aces like Juutilainen and Wind, who proved unbeatable in the final months of conflict.

Finland's premier fighter squadron during World War 2, Lentolaivue 24 (Flying Squadron 24) first saw action during the bloody Winter War of 1939-40, when the Soviet Red Army launched a surprise attack on the small Scandinavian country - the squadron enjoyed great success against numerically superior opposition. LLv 24 was once again in the thick of the action following the outbreak of the Continuation War in June 1941. Easily the air force's most successful fighter unit, LLv 24 claimed 877 kills, and its pilots won five direct and two indirect Mannerheim Crosses (Finland¹s highest military award) out of a total of 19 presented to all Finnish soldiers. Most top aces also scored the bulk of their kills flying with this unit.

Bi-lingual Finnish/English text. This first volume (of three) handles about fighter aircraft.

Book covers Finnish trainer aircraft used during WWII. Camouflage and markings of the fighters obtained from France, USA, Germany, UK and the USSR are described in unparalleled detail by the well-known Finnish author Kari Stenman. Many unpublished photos,

The Curtiss P-36 began its life in the US where it was considered a revolution in performance design in comparison to other US fighters. Its pilots achieved some of the first American victories of the war and many went on to become aces. One P-36 pilot, Frances Gabreski, became the leading US ace in the European Theater. Yet by the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the P-40 was increasingly supplanting the P-36, which the US then exported to France under the guise of the Hawk 75. Flown by the French, captured by the Germans, sold to the Finns, transferred to India and Africa, and even incorporated into the RAF, the Hawk 75 saw service in every theater of operations and in a variety of combat environments. This book depicts the fascinating life of an aircraft that fought on both sides in the war, including the oft-overlooked Vichy French Air Force, with color artwork and photographs illustrating just how many national P-36 variants there were. First hand accounts recreate many of the conflicts that gave rise to over 60 pilots from several nations who became aces flying P-36 variants. This volume completes the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces coverage of the Curtiss Hawk family.

Finsko se dostalo do konfliktu se Sovětským svazem v tzv. zimní válce v letech 1939 až 1940 a následně po napadení Sovětského svazu Německem v letech 1941 až v 1944 v tzv. pokračovací válce. V zimní válce získávalo finské letectvo leteckou techniku převážně z Británie, Francie a USA, protože Německo v tomto období nemělo zájem zhoršovat jinak velmi dobré vztahy se Sovětským svazem. Po napadení SSSR Německem se situace pochopitelně změnila. Německo začalo s dodávkami letecké techniky svému spojenci. Zpočátku se jednalo o kořistní letadla, zejména z poražené Francie. Později, když se situace pro Němce na sovětské frontě začala zhoršovat, přistoupili Němci k dohodě o dodávkách moderní letecké techniky. Obrazová publikace finského autora dokumentuje všechna používaná německá letadla a popisuje jejich nasazení, včetně nasazení proti Německu v závěru války, kdy se Finsko stalo spojencem SSSR.