Here is the second volume of Finnish AF Aerial Victories.  This is not just an aces book, though one of their very early editions covers this, but a listing of the victories of every pilot who flew for Finland during the Winter and Continuation War against the Soviet Union and the war against the Germans starting in late 1944.

The authors have spent a number of years comparing lists from the Finnish AF as well as those made available in archives in Germany and Russia. This was a painstaking process and the results show the effects of their attention to detail. As in any conflict where there have been a large number of aircraft participate, the claiming of victories is generally a bit more than reality, however, it seems as if the Finns have been closer to reality than some other nations.

Written in both Finnish and English, the pilots are listed alphabetically and this volume covers N to Y. Each pilot's score is covered with the date, time, place, unit, aircraft flown, and victim. There is also a small biography of these men. This and the previous volume contain superb photos of some of the aircraft flown. You generally get three to five pages of biography with a page that includes three aircraft photos. Something I noticed is that few of these photos are Bf-109s so you get a wide range of types in the images.

As there are not enough pilots to complete the volume, there are several pages of group photos, followed by several more of tail images showing the various kill markings. A final table includes 'foreign' pilots (all Danes or Swedes) as well as their successes. A list of balloon kills finishes out the book. The inside covers contain color profiles as is common in the other books of the series.

This is a superb work of research and makes for some interesting reading as well. An outstanding companion to Volume 1 and a must for the enthusiast.

May 2006

Review book courtesy of  Kari Stenman Publishing, where you can order your copy of this and several other superb books on the Finnish AF.

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