ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 220166
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| Date: | Saturday 23 December 1939 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Fokker D.XXI |
| Owner/operator: | LLv 24 Suomen ilmavoimat |
| Registration: | FR-111 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Lyykylänjärvi -
 Finland
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
During the Winter War Flight Master Yrjö Olavi Turkka was a pilot of the 1st flight of LeLv24 and Lt. Karhunen’s trusted wingman until Karhunen was transferred to lead another flight. Turkka scored his first confirmed victory on the 23rd December 1939.
In mid-December 1939 the first serious Red Army offensive to break the Finnish Main Defence Line in the Carelian Isthmus (known also as the Mannerheim Line) had petered out after heavy battles as the artillery shells and troops assigned to the task had been spent without expected result. The Finnish high command decided to launch a counter-attack on the morning of 23 December in the Isthmus front and to cover it LLv24 was ordered to patrol over the front line.
The 1st Flight comprising 5 aircraft led by Luutn Jorma Karhunen was patrolling the area between Muolaanjärvi and Kaukjärvi in the morning hours at about 3000 m. At 10.45 hrs three SB-2 bombers were spotted north of Muolaanjärvi coming toward the Fokkers. The flight attacked at Karhunen’s signal, but Ensign Linkola and Kers Tauno Kaarma stayed 200m above and 500 m behind as top cover.
Karhunen engaged the left wing SB, firing a brief burst at its left engine but his guns jammed. He disengaged and climbed above the battle. While trying to remove the jam he saw that all bombers were being attacked and the left wing bomber was already in flames.
Ltm Yrjö Turkka, Karhunen’s wingman, engaged the right wing bomber with his FR-83 after Vääp Lasse Heikinaro. At a short range he fired at the engines of his target, which caught fire. Immediately he approached the left wing bomber, the left engine of which was already in flames after Karhunen’s bullets. Turkka shot the SB’s right engine into flames, then he turned at the leader. After a brief chase he was within range and again aimed at the engines of the bomber. When the bomber was in flames, the Finnish pilot fired another burst at the fuselage and watched how the SB went into a turning dive and soon exploded on the ground.
Heikinaro had as first fired at the right wing bomber but only his right wing gun was working. He fired about 350 bullets at the enemy then climbed above the battle to remove the jam. At this moment he spotted 3 I-16 fighters (of 25 IAP) diving at him at 11 o’clock direction while he was reloading his guns. Having standing orders to avoid dogfights with the faster, nimbler and better armoured enemies the Fokker pilots scattered and tried to disengage by the only means available to them, steep dive. Heikinaro evaded by turning below the oncoming enemy and then diving. He returned to base with four bullet holes in his fighter.
Linkola and Kaarma as the top cover could not escape at once and had to take on the enemy fighters.
Linkola fired at a I-16 passing his nose but at the same time another enemy fired at his Fokker, a piece of plywood was ripped off from his right wing and the aileron was damaged. The Finnish pilot pushed his fighter into a shallow dive to pick up speed but he found he was being fired at all the time. He dived "to the deck" from 2000m but could not shake the enemy off. He was now flying toward the base at treetops at a speed of 330 kmh. An I-16 was following the Fokker, 30 m behind and a few meters higher, firing occasionally. The chase went on for a few minutes. Then Linkola pulled the stick, climbing to 400 m whereby the enemy abandoned chase. The Finnish pilot landed at Immola at 11.10 hrs. About 100 bullet holes were found in his Fokker.
Kaarma, Linkola’s wingman, was less lucky. Too late he saw an I-16 behind his FR-111, and immediately motor oil was splashed on his windscreen - his engine had taken hits. He opened the canopy sliding window to see out, and there was another I-16 right in front of him. But his oil pressure was zero and oil temp was going up, so he decided to make a forced landing as soon as possible. Kaarma dived 3000m and saw a frozen lake suitable for landing - the Fokkers were equipped with ski undercarriage. He heard machine guns shooting behind, he sideslipped, turned right and left, finally the FR went into a spin. The pilot managed to recover the fighter at 200m, and he had lost the lake from his view. He tried to land on the nearest field, but due to too much speed he overshot the field, taking hits from the enemy fighters all the time. FR-111 crashed against the trees on the edge of the field and was overturned and smashed. Witnesses on the ground had seen the FR tracing black smoke and pursued by two I-16.
Kaarma got out of the wreck, confused, and headed for the nearest farmhouse to find a telephone. He found one and called the base, asking for a mechanic and some motor oil; he could fly to the base after repairs. The mechanic arrived some hours later - and found a burned out wreck. Kaarma was diagnosed with a brain concussion, but he recovered in a week. he had crashed at Lyykylänjärvi.
As Turkka saw Linkola’s damaged aircraft he commented: "It is not a Fokker but a sieve."
Sources:
http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/turkka/turkka.htm
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=151577&start=30
http://www.airwar.ru/history/locwar/finland/fokd21/fokd21.html
http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luettelo_Lentolaivue_24:n_ilmavoitoista_ja_sotatoimitappioista
http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyykyl%C3%A4nj%C3%A4rvi
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?box=yes&bbox=28.95029%2C60.74484%2C28.98928%2C60.76779
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Dec-2018 21:01 | Laurent Rizzotti | Added |
| 16-Feb-2021 18:07 | Lelek | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator] |
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