Finnish Airforce during WW2

[Captured Joe]

As if Agovic could only post nationalistic bull****...

 

[Untitled.]

It's hard-coded.

 

[Úlfheðinn]

As if Agovic could only post nationalistic bull****...

I am sure one day he will learn to post in a more neutral manner, but that day is not today.

Still, you bring up an excellent point, there is still hope he might learn. 

 

[Skot the Sanguine]

Yes, a small country that was unjustly invaded by a superpower becomes the bad guy. Logic is a funny thing, isn't it?

Winners write the history. Atleast we haven't been branded as nazis, yet.

Finns are hardly seen as "bad guys" in the west during WW2, probably partly because the two sides' forces never came to blows.  I think most people can see a small nation defending itself from a vastly (numerically) superior enemy in turn forming an alliance with a nation that is fighting this same enemy as logical.

To emphasize how they are not seen as villains, the aviation museum where I work even has a small section describing how the Finnish Air Force used the Brewster Buffalo (since we have a repro one) to great effect against the Russians...probably discussing this because we American's had no such luck with the plane against the Japanese (though I think it had a weaker engine when we used it).  Also, the picture used with an ace in front of one cuts off just before you can see the swastika on the rear fuselage....

Edit:  Just did a little reading, the Buffalo the Finns used didn't have a more powerful engine but it was lightened due to the lack of need for all the naval equipment of the American version (tailhooks, etc).  The changes brought it back to the performance of the earlier and lighter versions, which were described as being quite nimble and fast climbing.  The Finns also apparently figured out a tweak to resolve a chronic issue with the Pratt and Whitney engine they used.

 

[Untitled.]

Finns are hardly seen as "bad guys" in the west during WW2, probably partly because the two sides' forces never came to blows.  I think most people can see a small nation defending itself from a vastly (numerically) superior enemy in turn forming an alliance with a nation that is fighting this same enemy as logical.

The Finns never signed the Tripartite Pact. They weren't allied with Germany or anyone else. They happened to have the same enemy as Germany and solid historical relations to said nation.

 

[Jhessail]

We were de facto allied to Germany, even if de jure we weren't. Great Britain even declared war upon Finland a day before Pearl Harbor, though USA never did. Royal Navy Air Arm planes bombarded a fishing village at Petsamo once. Still, Finland really is only seen as "bad guys" in Russia, and that's only because of decades of Soviet propaganda. The vilification level depends on which decade's history books you look at, but basically Russians justified Winter War because Finland then joined Germany in '41. Which is illogical and backwards, but apparently works.

 

[Skot the Sanguine]

"Which is illogical and backwards"

Russia in a nutshell.  Wait, who said that?