Fighter Squadron 21 history, Page 8

8. Lapland War 1944 - 1945

The flying units started to retreat behind the Moscow Peace border a couple of days after the Temporary Peace was signed on the 19th of September 1944. There was 1,5 days for the retreat. The only exception to this was Reconnaissance Squadron 14, which was given time until the 29th of September to empty the Tiiksjärvi base.

Transfer to peace resulted in a substantial reorganization within the Air Force. Former reconnaissance squadrons 12 and 16 and also Fighter Squadron 32 formed the new Flight Regiment 1 stationed at Pori. The numbering of the squadrons was changed during the reorganization so that the regiment consisted of Fighter Squadron 11 based on the former FSqn.12 and FSqn.13 also Fighter Squadron 13 was formed on the basis of the former Reconnaissance Squadron 16. Fighter Squadron 32 was decommissioned and the personnel and aircraft were divided between Fighter Squadrons 11 and 13.

The peace treaty between the Soviet Union and Finland called for the removal of German forces in the northern parts of Finland by force, if needed. Of the reconnaissance squadrons Recce Squadron 14 and a six-plane Myrsky flight from Recce Squadron 12 took part in the Lapland War. Reconnaissance Squadron 14 was the first, and from October the only, unit that was transferred up north in preparations for possible war over there.

When air operations began on the 2nd of October the squadron was at Paltamo. During the next two weeks the unit flew 30 missions of which almost half had to be aborted because of the poor weather. During the recce missions the aircraft attacked ground targets.

The aircraft situation got better on the 11th of October when the FSqn.28 MSv flight was attached to the squadron. By mid-October the squadron moved to Pudasjärvi and transferred the FRw aircraft to Flight Regiment 2. The transfer to Pudasjärvi made the flight operations easier for a while, but when the front kept moving north also the new base was left too far behind.

Reconnaissance Squadron 14 flew the last war missions on the 18th of October. In the beginning of November the squadron moved to Kemi, where it kept quiet until decommissioning at the end of November.

The Fighter Squadron 12 Myrsky aircraft detached to Fighter Squadron 26 were moved to Kemi on the 23rd of October 1944. Three days later a two-ship MY section flew the first war mission for the aircraft type in the Lapland War when they flew a recce mission to the Muonio-Enontekiö area. The Myrskys flew a few missions in November, when one aircraft was lost in a forced landing after takeoff. The Myrskys returned to their peace time base in early 1945.

Go to Pori Air Base 1945 - 1980 page

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