Operation Hokki

Operation Hokki was conducted by Finland between 31 July 1944 to 31 August 1944 during the Continuation War. The mission's objective was to destroy the railway yards of Petrozavodsk in order to prevent the enemy from supplying its troops in the Battle of Ilomantsi. Due to the many setbacks that occurred, the objective of the mission was changed and the Finnish troops ended up destroying a large portion of railroad tracks that were being used to supply the Soviet troops in Ilomantsi. Operation Hokki is the only known Finnish airborne operation during World War II and was the largest landing operation in Finnish history.

The mission leader, Captain Ilmari Honkanen, had his procedure hindered by a change in objective. He later fell gravely ill himself during the mission. Honkanen would later receive a Mannerheim Cross for his efforts.

Image of the mission leader, Captain Ilmari Honkanen (center) who fell ill during the mission, so terribly that he was barely able to remain conscious by the time this image was taken. Rubber boots also made an abrasion to his foot which subsequently became badly infected and he was thus unable to return from the mission on foot and had to be secretly evacuated with a floatplane after the armistice was signed between Finland and the Soviet Union in September 1944. Image taken in either August or September 1944.