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Finnish Air Force Bomber Squadron 42

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Finnish Air Force Squadrons Vol. 1
By Matti Hämäläinen
Koala-Kustannus ©2000
ISBN 952-5186-13-X

Finland found itself in an interesting position during the Second World War. While the rest of the world was fighting the Germans the Finns found themselves going up against the Russians. Flying a blend of British, American and French designs, the Finnish Air Force rose to the task at hand and performed admirably.

While much has been written of the Finnish fighters and aces, the bomber squadrons have received little in the printed world. With this title all has changed. This book is actually a companion piece to the author's extensively researched book on Pommituslentolaivue 42, where he took all the photos that turned up during his research and put the best of them in this book. There's not much in the way of narrative in this book, but the captions are very well written and the photos are simply astounding.

The book starts out with the Winter War of 1939-40, with Bomber Squadron receiving its first Blenheims from England. These planes were taken from British Squadron use and as such had the markings painted out with white and civil registration applied. From there you see photos of how the squadron lived and flew during the Winter War. Similar treatment is given to the Interim Peace (1940-41), The Continuation War (1941-44), and the Lapland War (1944-45). Mixed in with the many black and white photos are a handful of color shots, showing some of the colors of these Blenheims.

Also included in the book is an appendix detailing the lives of all of Bomber Squadron 42's Blenheims, as well as an appendix giving an overview of other planes flown by the squadron.

If you are even vaguely interested in the Finnish Air Force, or are looking for something different for that Classic Airframes Blenheim kit, this book is a definite must-have.