Joppe Karhunen, Peggy and Pekka Kokko, who was taken away from the flight to become a test pilot, killed in a test flight.
Jorma "Joppe" Karhunen was born the 17th March 1913 in Hogfors, Finland. His father Ananias Karhunen was a manager of a narrow-gauge railway company. In 1918, during the Civil War the father had to escape to avoid summary execution by Reds. Joppe and the rest of the family - comprising two girls and four boys - saw their father the next time in 1920. He had been fighting the Bolsheviks. All the boys entered military career under the influence of their father.
Jorma Karhunen joined the Home Guard at the age of 14 years, and was immediately issued full gear and a Mosin-Nagant mod.91 rifle. He became a good shooter and a top class skier. As the family had moved to Sortavala, Joppe saw in 1926 an air show performed by the FAF Gourdou-Leseurre fighters. After that he knew what kind of a soldier he wanted to be. He stayed at school only to be able to enter in the Cadet School having fulfilled his compulsory military service.
In 1933 he started his flying career at Kauhava in the ranks of the 3rd Reserve Officer Pilot course, and having completed it he continued in the Cadet School in 1934. In May 1936 he received his promotion and was posted to Squadron 24 ( LeLv 24 ) equipped with Gloster Gamecock fighters at the Utti Air Base.
Karhunen continued his career in skiing, in 1937 he became the Finnish Armed Forces champion in patrol skiing - the track was 27 km and the skiers were carrying full gear with rifle. In 1938 he qualified for the Finnish national skiing team for International Military Patrol Championships in Zakopane, Poland.
In 1939 the squadron was re-equipped with Fokker D.XXI fighters and the squadron leader, Capt. Magnusson started intensive training. Every one of his pilots had to get 70 % hits in ground target, if they failed, they had to practice more and try again. The clouds of war were thickening.
In May 1939 Karhunen landed his Fokker on the seldom used parallel runway at Utti. The sandy, soft surface made the fighter nose over. At impact the pilot's belt broke and he fell from his seat head first, the result was a bleeding in the spinal column. He recovered and returned to service a few weeks later, but was left with a chronic back pain.
The Winter War broke out on the 30th November 1939. Karhunen described his feelings: as if a burglar had broken into your house, and you would get the criminal out at any cost.
The next day, the 1st Dec 1939 Karhunen fought his first battle flying the FR-112. His two-fighter section was scrambled in the afternoon to intercept enemy bombers approaching Imatra from the direction of Lappeenranta. Karhunen deduced that the enemy would attack the Imatra hydroelectric power plant and in that case the enemy pilots would follow the power line to find their target. The two fighters flew above the same line at 600 m to meet the enemy. After a few minutes the Finnish pilots saw nine SB-2 at 500 m approaching from the West, Karhunen could not help admiring the fine nine plane formation, he had never seen one in the air. The Fokkers attacked, the bomber gunners opened fire against them, Karhunen and his wingman fired back - but without result. The bombers kept their direction. Above the town of Imatra Karhunen managed to damage the left wing SB so that it left formation. They were flying so low that the pilots could see how people came out of their houses to watch the battle. Karhunen realised that the bombers were going to raid the Immola Air Base, fortunately now more Fokkers joined the battle. At the target the SBs released their bombs, but with meager results, then dispersed, pursued by Fokkers. One of the attackers dived in flames, shot down by Capt. Magnusson. Karhunen and his wingman, Sgt. Heikinaro, chased a lone SB. When in range, Karhunen fired. The bomber decelerated, the fighter pilot had to break off to avoid collision. Heikinaro had now his chance, and he shot down the SB, which crashed on a small island of the lake Saimaa and burned. Both fighters returned to base. One prisoner of war was taken, he told their unit was 41.SBAP.
Bad weather set in, preventing flying up to Christmas. On the 25th December Karhunen and W/Sgt Vuorela were transferred with Detachment Luukkanen to Wartsila. On the very same day he shot down two SB-2. On the New Year's Day 1940 at Syskyjarvi the Fokkers had a dogfight with I-16. One of the enemies managed to fire at Karhunen from the rear quarter. Fortunately only the wing guns of the enemy functioned, one of the salvos sawed off his transceiver antenna, the other holed the other aileron. The Fokker had been flying between two streams of bullets for a second and survived only because the fuselage guns of the I-16 were jammed.
Two days later (3rd Jan) at landing Karhunen's wingman taxied on his fighter, and he was literally within an inch of his life as the other Fokker's propeller bit in the fuselage just behind the pilot. The planes were nearly wrecks, but the pilots managed to put the good engine in the good fuselage overnight in primitive, cold conditions.
Karhunen was sent to fetch a replacement fighter from the Aircraft Factory, but Major Magnusson posted him to the 1st Flight instead of letting him rejoin Detachment Luukkanen. By this time karhunen had 3.5 confirmed victories.
On the 10th February 1940 Lt. Karhunen and Sgt. Virta were ordered to Trollhattan, Sweden in civilian clothing to receive Brewster fighters that were being assembled there. Karhunen made friends with the U.S. test pilot Robert A. Winston despite language problems. Due to lack of manpower and technical problems the assembly work was so slow that the Winter war ended before an operational number of the Brewsters had been shipped to Finland. After the armistice, Mr. Winston joined one shipment as ferrying pilot and flew to Tampere. Karhunen could show the American guest working samples of the I-153, I-16, SB-2 and DB-3 at the Aircraft factory - all captured aircraft. Winston wrote a book, "Aces wild" about his experience.
As Squadron 24 was re-equipped with Brewsters, Karhunen was posted as the commander of the 3rd Flight. His pilots included the Winter War veterans "Illu" Juutilainen and "Lapra" Nissinen in addition to young replacements. During the armistice of 1940-41 a thorough training project was started under the command of Maj. Magnusson. For Karhunen his Flight was like a football team that must be trained to co-operate. He writes in his memories that in the initial stages of a battle the flight executes the tactical methods as a team, but soon each pilot has to pit his skills against individual opponents.
As Hitler launched the Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, Finland was again drawn in the war. The pilots of the Sqn.24 were full of fighting spirit. The veterans of the Winter War longed to have a chance to use their new equipment to avenge the enemy, and the new pilots were well trained and eager to fly. Karhunen received a telegram from Bob Winston a couple of days after the war broke out again, wishing him luck in the new war.
In July 1941 Karhunen and Kokko went to Varkaus one evening to visit "Lapra" Nissinen who was in the hospital having been wounded in an air battle. The pilots happened to meet a young lady with a beautiful Irish Setter, and Karhunen stopped to admire the dog. The owner complained how difficult it was to feed the dog when all food was rationed. Since the dog, whose name was Peggy Brown, seemed to like the men, it was agreed that Karhunen would keep the dog for the duration of the war. The setter jumped in Kokko's BMW without any hesitation. Major Magnusson did not object to the mascot, because she would provide the pilots of the flight with diversion and pastime. As soon as Peggy Brown got used to her new environment, she used to see the pilots off when the fighters were scrambled, then she went in the radio room to listen to the radio traffic. When the pilots engaged the enemy, the dog understood from the tone of the voices that her friends were in danger, and she began to whimper and walk around. As the pilots returned to the base, the dog would welcome them home. Peggy Brown became the most famous mascot of the Finnish military forces, providing good photo opportunities. She was returned to her owner in late 1944, but one year later she died of a thyroid problem.
The 3rd Flight did not get in contact with the enemy until the 4th of July at Simpele, as Lt. Karhunen encountered alone 12 SB-2 (his wingman had lost his leader from sight). He shot down one, but the bomber gunners damaged the engine of the BW-366 so badly that he scarcely managed to return to the base. The mechanics found that one cylinder of the Cyclone had been pierced by bullet.
Enemy fighters were encountered for the first time on the 8th July. The BW proved superior in speed to I-153 and I-16, and more manouverable than the MiG-1/3.
Karhunen was promoted to Captain in August 1941 as his flight was operating in the Ladogan Carelia. The enemy was passive and preferred to avoid battle if possible. After Pearl Harbour Karhunen in turn sent a telegram to Bob Winston, wishing luck; he received it on board an aircraft carrier in the Pacific.
On the 8th
September 1942 Capt. Karhunen was decorated with the Mannerheim
cross. He had 25 victories in his account, his Flight had scored
129 victories. 2 pilots had been killed and one taken prisoner.
The successful operations were based on several factors:
- well trained and talented pilots (aggressive, good shooters)
- good tactics (strict radio silence, "pendulum" when dealing with slower enemy, turning battle against faster ones, "first see, first shoot"-principle)
- ground crews kept the equipment in good trim
The commendation to his decoration mentioned that "Capt. Karhunen has led his fighter flight extremely successfully. Personally he has displayed exemplary courage in numerous air battles and excellent skill and expediency in leading his flight in numerous hard air battles. He has cultivated and transferred the correct will to fight and offensive spirit to his pilots. That is the reason why his flight has been able to shoot down 130 enemy aircraft with remarkable low losses."
Soon the 3rd Flight was nicknamed "Knight Flight" because three holders of the Mannerheim Cross serving in it: Juutilainen, Nissinen and Karhunen. All three were decorated within 12 months. Another celebration followed on the 26th October 1942 as the Squadron victories numbered 300.
Early in 1943 the tide began to turn for the Squadron 24. The Soviet Air Force had received new, superior aircraft which made the Brewsters obsolete. La-5 and Yak-1 were encountered by the BW pilots on the 25th March 1943. The enemy used the familiar "pendulum" tactics, but the poor shooting skill of the enemy saved the Brewster pilots, as often before and thereafter.
Rumours began to circulate about Messerschmitt 109 fighters to be acquired. They were indeed acquired for one entirely new squadron (Squadron 34). The best pilots from every old fighter squadron were transferred to the new unit. Captain Karhunen was furious, although he could not voice his anger. In his opinion, the FAF did not need another new squadron but new equipment for the existing ones. In Germany, the Me109 was flown by 18-year old boys, but Gen. Lundqvist and his staff - with their expertise and experience dating from the 1920's - believed that a modern fighter could be flown by very experienced men only. The "big brass" refused to listen to Col.Lt. Lorenz or Maj. Magnusson, the real aviation experts. The "esprit de corps" of every old squadron suffered, too, due to the loss of the best pilots.
Karhunen had to give up his top ace Karhunen among other pilots, and replace them with inexperienced new men - just when experience and skill were the only means of survival for Brewster pilots in battles against superior enemy aircraft. Karhunen was sure that Germany could have supplied 150 pcs Me109 in early 1943. Later it was alleged that Gen. Lundqvist (alias the "Artilleryman") in his Germanophobia pinned his hopes in the domestic "Myrsky" fighter, which was known to be a failure already in early 1943. Gen. Lundqvist belonged to the board of directors of the State Aircraft Factory, and he heeded too much the advice from that quarter. Also the decision making in the FAF headquarters was collegial, like in civilian government, and the general was dependent on his staff.
Marshal Mannerheim visited the Squadron 24 base at Suulajarvi on the 27th May 1943, to congratulate the squadron for the 500th victory. Squadron Leader Magnusson had a chance to discuss with the C-in-C without Lundqvist being present. A couple of days later Col.Lt. Magnusson was unexpectedly promoted to Colonel and given the command of all fighter squadrons of the FAF as the commander of Flying Regiment 3. Magnusson posted Capt. Karhunen as his successor in the command of the Squadron 24 on the 31st May 1943. Karhunen handed over the 3rd Flight to Hans Wind, one of the top aces the Squadron had been able to retain.
Karhunen gained his last victory on the 4th May 1943. Having become the Squadron Leader he quit active flying. He never explained - he did not have to - but speculation was rife for some time. Maybe Karhunen remembered too well the days as the Brewsters dominated, and having become seriously inferior to the new enemy fighter types was frustrating. Finally on the 10th November 1943 he was about to take off for an interception mission with the squadron as he was held back by a phone call from the HQ in Mikkeli. Lt. Perkko volunteered to fly instead, with the result that BW-366 was shot down in a heads-on battle by a Yak-1 and the pilot was taken PoW. Losing his fighter was a hard psychological blow to the Squadron Leader, contributing another factor to his decision to quit flying. Besides his damaged back was giving him trouble.
His colleague, Maj. Luukkanen, did fly, but he had delegated all his administrative duties. In the course of the time the pilots of Sqn.24 got used to the "grounded" squadron leader. He was considered a pleasant man who got well along with his men.
His squadron soldiered on with the Brewsters another 11 months before receiving Messerschmitt 109s in April 1944. As the war against Soviet Union was ended on the 4th September, Squadron 24 had scored 377 victories under his command .
The total number for the squadron was 877 confirmed victories (97 with Fokker D.XXI, 477 with Brewster and 304 with Me109 fighters). 44 fighters had been lost in action, as well as 27 pilots killed and 3 taken PoW.
In January 1945 Maj. Karhunen was married with Miss Ulla Virkkula (they were to have two sons). In 1946 he was posted in Captain course in the War College, which he privately considered an insult, taking into account his grade and experience. He did the course, though, and in 1949 he was promoted to Col.Lt.
In 1952 he led the introduction of D.H. Fb52 Vampire jet fighter in the FAF. Karhunen was proud of the fact that the single-seat jets were taken into use without a single accident. Some two-seat Vampires were acquired only in 1955.
Karhunen retired in 1955 with the rank of Colonel-Lieutenant. He was promoted in the reserve to Colonel.
The first thing he did after retirement was to write for his friend Bob Winston an account of the career of the Brewster fighters in the FAF. (Of course he wrote in Finnish and had it translated for his friend, whom he visited in the U.S. in 1958). Having completed his story, he showed it to a publisher - and was awarded a contract. His book "The Knight Flight" was published for the Christmas season of 1956, and three prints were taken. The success was beyond expectation, and Karhunen found a new career. In the course of years he has written 36 books. All of them are documentary or semi-documentary, most of them about the FAF during the 2nd WW, but also about Finnish aviation and Finnish military history. To my knowledge, none have been published abroad. Karhunen refuses to call himself "author", he considers himself a "literary worker".
Karhunen's Fokker D.21 FR-112, black '7', of 1./LLv 24, February 1940.
1999.04.26, © WW II Ace Stories.