Hans Wind
| Hans Wind | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Nickname | Hasse |
| Born | 30 July 1919 Ekenäs |
| Died | 24 July 1995 Tampere |
| Allegiance |  Finland |
| Service/branch | Finnish Air Force |
| Years of service | 1939-1945 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | LeLv 24 |
| Awards | Mannerheim Cross (awarded twice) |
| Other work | Businessman |
Hans Henrik "Hasse" Wind (30 July 1919, Ekenäs - 24 July 1995, Tampere) was a Finnish fighter pilot and flying ace in World War II with 75 confirmed air combat victories.[1]
Wind started his pilot career in 1938 by volunteering to join a pilot training course. He was a reserve officer in the Winter War 1939-1940 but didn't fly due to a lack of available planes. He finished his officer examination in the summer of 1941, and after that he participated in the Continuation War in fighter squadron 24.
He flew a Brewster B239 (the export version of the Brewster Buffalo) from 1941–1943 and then a German Messerschmitt Bf 109 from 1943-1944. Hans Wind is considered one of the most skillful aerial tacticians in the Finnish Air Force, also being responsible for writing the combat manual for the Brewster after analyzing the Battle of Midway in 1942.
Wind was awarded his first Mannerheim Cross on 31 July 1943 and his second on 28 June 1944. He was promoted to captain on 19 October 1943 when he was only 24 years old.
Over the summer of 1944 Wind shot down 30 enemy airplanes in 12 days and in doing so obtained "ace in a day" status five times. He was seriously wounded in an aerial battle against a much larger squadron on 28 July 1944. He still managed to fly and land at an airfield even though his plane had been seriously damaged during the attack.
Wind recovered from his wounds but never flew a combat mission again.
He left the Finnish Air Force in 1945 and worked in business until his retirement.
Contents |
[edit] Victories
| Aircraft | Victories |
|---|---|
| Brewster B239 | 39 |
| Messerschmitt Bf 109G | 36 |
| Total | 75 |
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Keskinen 1978, p. 8-11.
[edit] Bibliography
- Keskinen, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari and Niska, Klaus. Hävittäjä-ässät (Finnish Fighter Aces) (in Finnish). Espoo, Finland: Tietoteas, 1978. ISBN 951-9035-37-0.
- Stenman, Kari and Keskinen, Kalevi. Finnish Aces of World War 2 (Aircraft of the Aces 23). Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1-85532-783-X.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
 Finnish World War II Aces with over 40 air victories  |
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Ilmari Juutilainen | Hans Wind | Eino Luukkanen | Urho Lehtovaara | Oiva Tuominen | Olli Puhakka |
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