THE FINNISH FIGHTER TACTICS AND TRAINING BEFORE AND DURING THE WW II By Heikki Nikunen Fighter History The Winter War The Temporary Peace The Continuation War Conclusions Sources THE DEVELOPMENT OF FIGHTER TACTICS The numerical growth of the Soviet Air Force in the 1930s was an essential factor in the operation plans of the Finnish Air Force, the FAF. The Soviet bomber force was a remarkable threat to the Finnish defence. It was obvious that the FAF had not forces enough for an offensive air war and therefore fighter defence was considered as a better line of operations (1). The international trend was favouring the Douhet philosophy of bomber dominance, but the Finnish fighter leaders warned that there was no universal air doctrine because of the big differences in the various nations` resources. The Douhet theory demanded that the opponent country`s economic, social and industrial structure should be destroyed by bombers, and that was not possible for Finland in case of the Soviet Union. So, it was better not to listen to the superpowers` specialists, but to plan for the air defence and aim for the local and temporal air superiority. The systematic fighter operations were started in the FAF in the beginning of the 1930s with the Gloster Gamecock fighters. Next came the Bristol Bulldogs and then, after the middle of the 1930s, the Fokker D XXIs. Fokker DXXI (Note the blue swastika, which was Swedish count Eric von Rosen's lucky sign from 1918 when he donated the first aircraft (Morane Thulin Parasol) for the Finnish Air Force) The development of the fighter tactics was started in the fighter courses in the Suur-Merijoki and Utti Air Bases. The international practice in the fighter formation tactics in that time was to use big and tight formations, and the basic section was made of three fighters in the tight vic formation. The Finnish fighter pilots concluded that they would never have such big numbers of fighters from which they could build up those great squadron formations which were used abroad to concentrate fighter power to certain areas. They also concluded that big and tight fighter formations were tactically inefficient. The most important element in the fighter combat was surprise, and that was the goal which always had to be tried to reach for. A big and tight formation could very seldom achieve the surprise because it was easily seen from far away and the pilots couldn`t keep good lookout while working to maintain their positions in the formation. On the other hand, a section with the two fighters about 100 - 150 yards away from each other, or the division with 300 - 400 yards between the two sections, were found to be very effective in the search exercises. This kind of formation tactics was adopted by the FAF during 1934 and 1935 and it became the standard method in the Finnish fighter units since then. Every pilot was free to keep a good lookout to every direction and also all the time to check the six of the other pilots. In addition to that this kind of small and loose formation was seen much later because all of its aircraft were not always at the same time in the view of the opponent. The search phase was heavily emphasized in the training and the ability in that was an important factor in the evaluation of the fighter pilot`s skill (2). When the aerial engagement began every pilot was free to maneuver in the most effective way, so, both the attacks and the evasive maneuvers could be done without any delays. The flying in the small formations meant continuous fighting against bigger numbers but this could be compensated by always attacking regardless of numbers. The fighter combat generally spread quite quickly into section fights and duels where there was no immediate benefit of the bigger numbers. In these separate combats the better pilots always won. However, this philosophy demanded that every pilot was a skillful air combatant. This skill was trained for both in the fighter courses and in the squadrons. One of the corner stones in the skill of the fighter pilot was the complete control of his aircraft. This was trained by aerobatics and combat maneuvers, and also by intentional mismaneuvering. In the classic one versus one and two versus two exercises and in the practice attacks on bomber targets the combat maneuvers were trained as instinctive actions. In practical exercises the simple maneuvers were found to be the best ones. It was also found in training that one of the most important skills of the fighter pilot was the shooting accuracy; the ability to judge the right deflection during maneuvering, to estimate the right shooting distance and to concentrate the fire on the point target, for example on some vulnerable part of the target airplane. The shooting training became an essential, and in times dominating, part of the fighter training. The Käkisalmi air gunnery camp on the coast of Lake Ladoga was a big contributor to the shooting accuracy of the Finnish fighter pilots (3). When the typical bomber formations were studied, they were found to be rather similar in their rear parts regardless of the size of the formation, so, 2 - 3 attack patterns were enough for various target formations. One typical exercise for the fighter sections was to approach the target formation from ahead about 1500 - 3000 feet higher, to make the simultaneous split-s and to end up in the shooting position behind the rearmost bombers. The camera-"fire" was first concentrated on the rear gunner and then on the vulnerable parts like engines and fuel tanks (2). For the fighter combats as simple as possible maneuvers were developed. The most effective maneuvers were first planned and calculated on the paper and then tested in the air. It was noticed in the practice that the simple maneuvers were best in the duels and a couple of evasive movements were enough in all defensive situations (2). To improve the training effectiveness the section, flight and squadron notebooks were used to analyze every exercise To improve the training effectiveness the section, flight and squadron notebooks were used to analyze every exercise. This helped every pilot`s concentration on the training issue. One effective and cheap additional method to improve the shooting accuracy was the use of the paper parachutes as the aiming targets before air gunnery training (3). In 1937 a new Air Warfare Manual was published and in that the experiences of the fighter courses and squadron training was utilized. The manual was, of course, much more general than the squadron and aircraft type specified directions, but it unified the fighter tactical principles. The following are some of the main points of the fighter operations given properly just before the Winter War (4): "The fighter squadrons are used to limit the enemy air operations and to improve the functions of own flying units. The cover operations demand usually a big number of fighters. However, even a smaller, but qualitatively better, fighter force can accomplish a local and temporal air superiority. Also the mere existence of a fighter force makes the enemy air operations more difficult, because it complicates the enemy`s operation planning and aircraft type selection. To achieve the temporal and local air superiority the fighter wings must be properly deployed, in high readiness and they must operate in a good cooperation with other flying units and the anti aircraft artillery. The commander of the fighter unit must be an experienced air combatant, who is respected for his skill and authority. He is responsible for the unit`s good fighting spirit which is an absolute demand for the success. Only a brave, disciplined, sacrificing, decisive and gutsy flyer is a good fighter pilot. The personnel of the fighter flights, divisions and sections must be chosen so that the pilots are used to cooperate with each other. The fighter unit can be in rest, in readiness or in the immediate alert. In readiness the pilots get the additional information about the enemy and the weather. All the directions which can be given in this phase are told to the personnel. In alert the commander makes sure that everybody knows his tasks in the various phases of the air combat and also that all the signals are known. The transition times from one status to another are: from rest to readiness 30 minutes from readiness to alert 20 minutes from alert to take off 2 minutes The main missions of the fighters are: to deny the enemy`s air operations over the certain area to cover own operations To deny the enemy`s air operations the fighters fly combat air patrols over certain areas either continuously or during preset times, or the fighters are in the alert in their bases. The cover of own operations can be direct or indirect. In the offensive the mission of the fighters is first to deny the enemy`s air operations and then to cover the own surveillance and artillery fire control flights. In the defensive the main mission is to deny the enemy`s air operations. To achieve the surprise the dead angles of the enemy must be used during the approach and the air combat. All aircraft which are not identified are taken at first as enemies. The air combat is rather brief, so, mistakes which are made in the beginning of it are difficult to correct. Therefore the surprise is a decisive factor in the air combat. It is possible to plan ahead the combat methods and they are the better the more unknown they are to the enemy. The planning of the combat methods demands the detailed knowledge of the enemy`s weaponry and own training level. The enemy aircraft can be tied into the air combat only if it is slower than the own fighter. The success of the attack depends on the weapon effect of the attacker compared to that of the defender. The weapon effectiveness and the vulnerability of the target are more important than the number of the weapons. The weapon effectiveness depends essentially on the skill and accuracy of the shooter. Therefore the squadron and flight commanders must thoroughly know their pilots` shooting accuracy. About the enemy aircraft must be known: max and min speed in the level flight climb rate at various altitudes the min radius and time of the 180 degrees turn the min radius of 360 degrees turn the time of the 180 degrees hammerhead turn the radius and time of the pull up to the vertical attitude the additional height after the pull up the radius of the recovery at the various speeds the increase of the speed in the vertical and 45 degrees dive the time of deceleration from the max speed to cruising speed the time of acceleration from the cruise to the max speed dead angles The attack method is based on the opponent`s defence capabilities and vulnerability. The opponent`s lines of fire must be known as follows: the lines of fire and those directions which limit or eliminate the opponent`s shooting possibilities the hitting probabilities of the opponent at various ranges and directions the rates of fire and the number and the location of weapons of the opponent the size of the magazines of the weapons and the time required for the change of the magazines the possibilities to concentrate the fire to different directions the possibilities of the opponent to hit back during the attack Usually the simplest attack method is also the best one. The attack method depends very much on the approach possibilities. The best way is to start the combat from a direction which permits to watch the opponent all the time also after the break. The best way is to start the combat from a direction which permits to watch the opponent all the time also after the break When the targets are fighters, the surprise is very important. The look out during the search must be arranged to achieve the surprise. During the search the own fighters fly in divisions with 1 000 - 2 000 yards distance while communicating via radio. When the enemies have been found, it is best to approach from ahead or from behind, because the approach from the side is more easily observed. The enemy has the worst evasive possibilities when the attack is done with a very small height difference from behind and below. If the surprise is not achieved and the enemy attacks when the own division is still climbing, the climb must be continued with evasive maneuvers as long as there are enemy aircraft overhead. The air combats between fighter formations usually spread into a vast area. The best vantage points are achieved by flying at the edge of the combat area and higher than the others. The attack from above is usually successful only if the surprise is achieved. If the surprise is not probable it is better not to attack with all fighters simultaneously. By attacking one by one the own fighters can protect each other during the dive. Also, the fighters further back in line can get good firing opportunities when the targets have made evasive breaks and lost some of their speed. In the fighter combats the climb rate is more important than the level speed. Also, the formation with altitude advantage can convert the altitude to speed if the enemy tries to escape. The best way to attack the bomber targets is to approach from ahead and above and then to make a dive attack via split-s." Although the field manual didn`t give any fighter type oriented directions, it contained rather detailed tactics and methods. The goal was to standardize and systematize the training in the fighter squadrons and courses. Go to Flight Training System 1   Go back to Fighter History page

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