Naiset sotureita ilman - Finnish Female Fighter Units
Under the interim terms of Finland's 1944 surrender to the Soviet Union, all paramilitary organizations were to be disbanded. As a result, the Finnish armed forces' volunteer female auxiliary - the Lotta Svärd - was reorganized. The bulk of the Lotta Svärd's support role was taken over by the civilian Suomen Naisten Huoltosäätiö (Finnish Women's Welfare Foundation). What remained of the Lotta Svärd became components of the revised Puolustusvoimat (Finnish Defence Forces). Within the Finnish air force, Lotta Svärd units were designated LS-Ilmavoimat.
Following the example of the victorious VVS, combat squadrons were formed from female LS-Ilmavoimat personnel. The first was Hyökkäyslaivue (Attack Squadron) 60 flying armed VL Tuisku II biplane trainers as single-seaters. HyLe.Lv 61 was to fly converted VL Pyry monoplanes but this plan was dropped. Instead, HyLe.Lv 61 and HyLe.Lv 62 were equipped with the powerful 'Mersu' - mainly early-model BF 109G-2s - armed with ground-attack weapons.
Top A Bf 109G-6 of HyLe.Lv 61 while operating from the airfield at Ivalo. Piloted by yliluutnantti (Senior Lt.) Eevi Männikkö, the 'G-6 - something of a rare bird for LS-Ilmavoimat units - was used to fly top-cover for the squadron's fighter-bombers. This aircraft would be written-off when HyLe.Lv 61 moved up to Storslett on the Norwegian side of the border. Fortunately, ylil. Männikkö walked away from the wreckage, ending her war with the rank of kapteeni.
The scheme is standard wartime Luftwaffe paintwork. The post-September 1944 'swastika-less' Finnish roundel marks six locations and white identification bands wrap both nose and tail. On the rudder is HyLe.Lv 61's blue-and-white 'Tilkkutyö ('Patchwork') emblem. All previous yellow Ostfront recognition panels have been overpainted.
Bottom A Bf 109G-2 of HyLe.Lv 62 armed with a German 250 kg bomb on an ETC 500 belly rack. This aircraft was flown out of the crude airstrip at Enontekio by vänrikki (2nd Lt.) Annikki Viljanen. On 01 January 1946 - mere days before the final German collapse in Norway - this 'Mersu' was hit by German flak above the Norwegian village of Kåfjord in Troms og Finnmark county. The aircraft came down in the deep waters of the Kåfjorden and vänr. Viljanen's body was never recovered.
Again, a standard Luftwaffe scheme is worn, heavily over-coated with water-based 'Lumikki' ('Snow White') temporary paint - including blotching along the fuselage sides. On the tail is HyLe.Lv 61's usual Finnish flag motif - although that Lippu looked a little anaemic on MT-237. Note that the individual aircraft number on the cowling has been partially obscured by 'Lumikki' overpainting and that '7' lacked its white fuselage ID band.
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BTW: This was prompted by a suggestion of female combat units by Sport25ing[/i].
The 'MT-435' sideview was modified from a 'Mersu' profile by Karolina Hołda. 'MT-237' was another Google Image find ... but anonymous.