By the time hostilities began against the USSR (June 25, 1941), there were no specialized anti-aircraft guns with a caliber of more than 76 mm in Finland. For this reason, attempts were made to adapt coastal defense guns for firing at enemy aircraft: 105-mm Bofors and 152-mm Canet. To do this, the Finns had to make changes to the design of the guns in order to increase the elevation angle and create remote fuses for the projectiles.
In 1918, about a hundred 152-mm Kane guns remained in Finland; at the end of the 30s, some of them were modernized, changing the recoil devices and increasing the elevation angle to 49 degrees, which made it possible to conduct anti-aircraft fire. Also, the guns received armor shields to protect the crews from shrapnel. A fragmentation projectile with a remote fuse, leaving the barrel at a speed of 830 m / s, could hit air targets at a distance of more than 10,000 meters. The combat rate of fire was 4-5 rounds per minute. To control anti-aircraft fire, Swedish rangefinders and mechanical computers were used. According to Finnish data, coastal batteries managed to shoot down several Soviet bombers and one fighter.
The most modern medium-caliber anti-aircraft guns were the 75-mm M29 and M30 guns supplied from Sweden. Most of these guns, combined into 4-6 gun anti-aircraft batteries, had Swedish or British-made fire control devices. In the continuation war, Soviet air raids reflected more than a hundred Swedish anti-aircraft guns. Some of them were installed on the coast and the guns could be used for firing at sea targets.
In 1941, Germany became the main supplier of anti-aircraft guns. But these were not German modern anti-aircraft guns, but trophies captured in other countries. In June, Finland received 24 French 75-mm anti-aircraft guns M / 97-14 Puteaux.
Anti-aircraft gun created on the basis of Schneider's 75-mm field gun mod. 1897, outdated by the beginning of the 30s. The French Aufiere fire control system was inconvenient to operate and could not fire at targets flying faster than 340 km / h. Cannons "Puto" with an initial speed of 6, 25 kg of a projectile of 530 m / s had an effective range of no more than 4000 meters. Rate of fire - up to 15 rounds / min. The low speed of the projectile, even within reach in range and height, did not allow to effectively deal with high-speed combat aircraft. And the main mode of fire of the French anti-aircraft guns was barrage fire.
In addition to the outdated French anti-aircraft guns, the Germans sold 20 Skoda 7, 5 cm Kanon PL corner guns. 37 and 5 fire control devices captured in Czechoslovakia. The Finns also received 56,000 shells. In terms of its characteristics, this gun was close to the Swedish M29 and M30 cannons. With an initial speed of 775 m / s, a fragmentation projectile weighing 5.5 kg could reach an altitude of 9000 meters. Practical rate of fire 10-12 rds / min.
But the French and Czech anti-aircraft guns did not noticeably strengthen the air defense of Finland. The main replenishment of Finnish air defense units in the initial period of the war were Soviet 76-mm guns of the 1931 model (3-K) and the 1938 model. In Finland, they received the designation 76 ItK / 31 and 76 ItK / 31-40. In the second half of 1941, Finnish troops captured 46 76-mm Soviet anti-aircraft guns (42 arr. 1931 and 4 arr. 1938) and another 72 guns came from the Germans.
For their time, these were quite modern and effective anti-aircraft guns, not inferior in combat characteristics to the 75 mm Bofors and Skoda guns. With a combat rate of fire of 15 rds / min, the 3-K cannon could fire at air targets at altitudes up to 9000 meters.
To control the fire of Soviet 76-mm anti-aircraft guns in Finland, standard Soviet PUAZO or Czechoslovakian M / 37 Skoda T7 were used. After the end of World War II, the former Soviet 76-mm anti-aircraft guns were transferred to the coastal defense, where they served until the mid-80s.
In 1941, the Finnish army captured two 85-mm anti-aircraft guns of the 1939 model on the Hanko Peninsula. But, since there were no fire control devices for these anti-aircraft guns, they could only conduct barrage fire. In the first half of 1944, Finland bought 18 Soviet 85 mm guns, the caliber of which was increased in Germany to 88 mm. Former Soviet guns received the designation 88 ItK / 39/43 ss in the Finnish armed forces. Modified 88-mm anti-aircraft guns, according to the firing tables, could fire at air targets at a distance of up to 10,500 meters. Practical rate of fire - 15 rds / min.
The guns with the dismantled wheels, combined into six-gun batteries, were installed in permanent positions. To control the fire, the French equipment PUAZO Aufiere was used. After the war, 88 ItK / 39/43 ss were transferred to the coastal artillery, where they were in service until 1977.
In the spring of 1943, deliveries of German anti-aircraft 88 mm Flak 37 guns began to Finland. This gun differed from the earlier Flak 18 and Flak 36 models in the design of the carriage and barrel manufacturing technology developed by Rheinmetall. An important improvement in the design of the gun was the manufacture of the barrel from several parts, which made it possible to replace its worn-out fragments right in the field. The guns were delivered in two versions, the first batch included 18 anti-aircraft guns on a wheeled carriage, another 72 guns, received in June 1944, were intended for installation on stationary concrete bases.
Unlike the earlier "eight-eight" models, the Flak 37 guns were equipped with the Ubertransunger 37 automatic targeting system, according to data transmitted by cable from the fire control equipment of the anti-aircraft battery. Thanks to this, the speed and accuracy of aiming have increased. In Finland, these anti-aircraft guns received the local designation 88 ItK / 37. Simultaneously with the first batch of Flak 37, the Germans provided 6 FuMG 62 Wurtzberg 39 fire control radars.
A radar with a parabolic antenna with a diameter of 3 meters, with a wavelength of 53 cm and a pulse power of up to 11 kW could correct anti-aircraft artillery fire at a distance of up to 29 km. At a distance of 10 km, the error in tracking an air target was 30-40 meters. The radar screen displayed not only air targets, but also the explosions of anti-aircraft shells.
German 88-mm anti-aircraft guns of the first batch were placed in three six gun batteries in the vicinity of Helsinki. Thirty-six stationary guns of the second batch also strengthened the air defense of the Finnish capital. The rest were placed around the cities of Turku, Tampere and Kotka.
The Finnish know-how was the addition of a powdery mixture of magnesium and aluminum to anti-aircraft projectiles. When bursting, such shells blinded the crews of the bombers and made it easier to adjust the fire. Unlike the German army, the Finnish 88-mm anti-aircraft guns were never used in anti-tank defense, but served only in air defense. Their active operation continued until 1967, after which the guns were distributed to the coastal defense units, where they were located until the beginning of the 90s.
In February 1944, when the ground segment of the Finnish air defense system was at its peak, the Helsinki area was protected by 77 75-88 mm anti-aircraft guns, 41 40 mm anti-aircraft machine guns, 36 searchlights, 13 sound detectors and two German FuMG 450 Freya radars.
FuMG 450 Freya
After the start of massive raids by Soviet bombers on objects deep in Finland, it became absolutely obvious that the existing air defense forces were not able to prevent this or at least inflict serious losses on the enemy. Finnish fighter aircraft operations at night were generally ineffective. Affected by the lack of anti-aircraft guns and searchlights. As practice has shown, the existing sound detectors in northern conditions turned out to be not a very reliable means of detecting approaching aircraft. In these conditions, German surveillance radars were of great help. A 20 kW all-round radar operating in the frequency range 162-200 MHz could detect approaching bombers at a range of 200 km. In total, Finland received two German Freya radars.
As mentioned in the second part of the review, during the Second World War, Finnish air defense units had several hundred 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns. These were guns purchased from Sweden and Hungary, as well as captured by the Germans in Austria, Denmark, Norway and Poland. In addition, about 300 Bofors were produced at Finnish enterprises. With practically the same combat characteristics, anti-aircraft guns released in different countries often had non-interchangeable parts and different fire control systems. This made maintenance, repairs and training in calculations very difficult. During the continuation war, about a dozen 37-mm automatic anti-aircraft guns of the 1939 model (61-K) became Finnish trophies.
The Soviet 37-mm gun was designed on the basis of the Swedish 40-mm Bofors L 60 cannon, but it used a different 37-mm ammunition with a projectile weight of 730 g. The 40-mm Bofors assault rifle used a 900 g projectile. the initial speed, the heavier projectile lost speed on the trajectory more slowly and had a greater destructive effect. At the same time, the Soviet anti-aircraft gun had a slightly higher rate of fire. In the Finnish army, 37-mm 61-K guns were designated 37 ItK / 39 ss. A design similar to the Bofors L 60 was quickly adopted by Finnish calculations.
Most of the anti-aircraft guns captured in battle were damaged, and they had to be repaired. At the same time, some of the guns were equipped with Finnish-made sights. But, since there were no fire control devices for Soviet anti-aircraft guns, they were often used individually at strong points as a dual-use system, providing air defense and fire support in defense. But the age of captured 37-mm anti-aircraft guns in Finland was short-lived. These guns were constantly experiencing a shortage of ammunition, shells for them were never produced in Finland. And the anti-aircraft guns themselves, deployed directly on the line of contact, were very vulnerable to artillery and mortar fire.
Simultaneously with the 88-mm Flak 37 guns, the Germans delivered a small number of used 37-mm anti-aircraft machine guns 3, 7 cm Flak 37 to Finland in the form of military assistance. Unlike the Swedish Bofors L 60 and the Soviet 61-K, the German anti-aircraft gun had two-wheel drive, similar to 20-mm machine guns. This significantly reduced weight and increased mobility. But the German automatic cannon, designated 37 ItK / 37, had weaker ammunition than the Swedish 40-mm Bofors and the Soviet 37-mm mod. 1939
After a short period of service, only four 37-mm assault rifles remained in working order, and the rest were out of order. Their repair was delayed and after the end of hostilities, all German anti-aircraft guns were quickly written off.
During the Winter War, the Finns were in dire need of small-caliber anti-aircraft guns and therefore acquired everything they could. In December 1939, the Finnish representatives managed to conclude a contract for the supply of 88 Italian 20-mm anti-aircraft guns Canon mitrailleur Breda de 20/65 mod.35. However, for political reasons, the Germans temporarily blocked the supply of anti-aircraft guns, and they arrived in the summer of 1940. In Finland, Italian 20mm assault rifles were designated 20 ItK / 35, Breda.
This anti-aircraft machine gun was created on the basis of the French large-caliber 13, 2-mm machine gun Hotchkiss Mle 1929 and inherited from the Hotchkiss gas-operated automatic equipment used the latest Swiss ammunition 20x138В - the most powerful of the existing 20-mm shells. The barrel with a length of 1300 mm (65 calibers) provided the projectile, which had a muzzle velocity of 850 m / s, with excellent ballistics. Food was carried out from rigid clips for 12 shots, which could be docked with each other. At a distance of 200 meters, the projectile penetrated 30-mm homogeneous armor. With a mass in a combat position of 330 kg and a rate of fire of 550 rds / min, the anti-aircraft gun could fight air targets at a distance of up to 2200 meters.
The weapon was advertised as a dual-use system capable, in addition to fighting air targets, to hit light armored vehicles. During the hostilities on the Karelian Front, 20 ItK / 35 Breda were often used for infantry fire support and as a light anti-tank weapon. Some of the machine guns were installed on trucks to provide anti-aircraft cover for transport convoys. Since these anti-aircraft guns were often used on the front line or in the frontal zone, their losses were higher than that of other 20-mm systems. Nevertheless, the Breda anti-aircraft machine guns were in service with the Finnish army until the mid-80s.
Along with the purchase of anti-aircraft weapons abroad, Finland carried out its own development of 20-mm assault rifles. On the basis of the L-39 anti-tank gun, the designer Aimo Lahti created a double-barreled 20-mm anti-aircraft gun 20 ItK / 40 VKT. This weapon used 20x138 B shells, the same as in German and Italian assault rifles.
The weapon turned out to be excessively heavy, weight in combat position - 652 kg. With a total rate of fire of two barrels of 700 rds / min, the combat rate of fire did not exceed 250 rds / min. The ammunition was supplied from box magazines with a capacity of 20 shells. In total, the Finnish industry has produced a little more than two hundred 20 ItK / 40 VKT.
The transportation of the paired machine was carried out on a two-wheeled trailer. Due to the small road trailer and not very strong structure, towing could only be carried out on good roads and at a speed of no more than 30 km / h. Despite the modest combat characteristics and low mobility, the Finnish military rated the 20 ItK / 40 VKT quite high. These anti-aircraft guns remained in service until the early 70s of the last century.
In terms of the number of samples of anti-aircraft weapons used in the troops, apparently, Finland had no equal. In addition to the described 20-mm anti-aircraft guns, the troops had small-scale single and twin designs of Aimo Lahti of the column type, representing the Finnish versions of the Oerlikon L assault rifles for various 20-mm ammunition. In 1943, to provide air defense for field airfields, several semi-handicraft anti-aircraft installations were created on the basis of the German bicaliber 15/20-mm MG 151/20 air cannon. The situation was no better with the anti-aircraft machine gun mounts. Since attempts to create a 13, 2-mm machine gun failed, the only large-caliber machine guns of the Finnish army were the Soviet 12, 7-mm DShK and aviation BT. The Finns installed a heavy-caliber turret machine gun on a pivot-type base and used it in air defense of airfields. The DShK, in addition to the destruction of anti-aircraft targets, was used at the front as a weapon of fire support and a means of fighting light tanks. As of the beginning of 1944, the Finnish army had about fifty captured Soviet heavy machine guns.
With anti-aircraft rifle caliber installations, the situation was about the same as with anti-aircraft artillery. The troops had a real zoo, in addition to the pairings already mentioned in the second part of the 7, 62 ItKk / 31 VKT and 7, 62 ItKk / 31-40 VKT, armed with Lewis machine guns on anti-aircraft machines, single and twin Soviet aviation machine guns DA on self-made pivot installations. There were several dozen such installations in the air defense, they were referred to as 7, 62 ItKk DA and 7, 62 ItKk DA2.
The Finns were very impressed by the Soviet aviation machine gun ShKAS with a rate of fire of 1800 rds / min. Machine guns removed from aircraft that made an emergency landing in the depths of the Finnish defense, after being mounted on swivels, were transferred to the air defense units under the designation 7, 62 ItKk / 38 ss Shkass.
However, the high rate of fire had a downside: when operating in the field, the ShKAS turned out to be very demanding to care for and often refused when it was dusty. In addition, for the reliable operation of the automation, special high-quality cartridges were required, supplied to the Red Army Air Force. The Finns could not have such ammunition in sufficient quantities.
In addition to aviation DA and ShKAS, the Finnish army had a certain number of single arr. 1928 and twin anti-aircraft guns mod. 1930 machine guns "Maxim", but the most numerous type of ZPU captured from the Soviet troops was the quad 7, 62-mm M4 installation of the 1931 model. In Finland, quadruple plants were designated 7, 62 ItKk / 09-31 and the unofficial name "Organ". In total, the troops had more than 80 installations 7, 62 ItKk / 09-31.
Since the operation of liquid-cooled machine guns in the winter was difficult, some quad machine guns were redesigned for air cooling, cutting oval holes in the casings. In general, such a modernization was justified, as a rule, fire on low-altitude air targets was conducted for a short time, and the barrels did not have time to overheat. In addition, it was possible to reduce the weight of the system as a whole.
Some of the installations were placed on trucks to accompany transport convoys. Quadruple ZPUs were used in Finland until 1952, after which they were considered obsolete.
During the Winter War, the Swedes supplied the 8 mm M / 36 twin. The ZPU received in Finland the official designation 8, 00 ItKk / 36, in some documents this weapon is listed as 8 ItKk / 39 CGG - from Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori. In Swedish machine guns, a very powerful cartridge for a rifle caliber 8 mm was used with a sleeve length of 63 mm.
At the end of 1939, the UK donated 100 Vickers Mk 1 7.7mm (.303 British) machine guns. Water-cooled machine guns were supplied on standard infantry machines, but they were not able to repel the attacks of the advancing Soviet troops. Since 7, 7-mm cartridges were used in the Air Force, British machine guns were installed on improvised machines and used in air defense of airfields. Similarly, more than 40 air-cooled Vickers were used.
In the early 30s, Aimo Lahti was tasked with developing an aircraft machine gun for use in synchronous and turret versions. The machine gun known as the L-34 with a rate of fire of 900 rounds per minute, based on the infantry L-33, used a 75-round disc. This sample might not have been bad in the 1920s, but by the beginning of World War II it was clearly outdated. During the Continuation War, about 80 L-34 machine guns defended Finnish airfields on the ground.
L-33
Some of the infantry machine guns with disk magazines were equipped with anti-aircraft sights and mounted on swivels. In addition, there were specialized small-scale modifications on the L-33/36 and L-33/39 anti-aircraft machines, which remained in service until the end of the 80s.
As you can see, in the Finnish ZPUs, which were structurally different from each other, non-interchangeable cartridges of various calibers and manufacturers were used. All this made it very difficult to operate, supply and repair.
Until 1944, Soviet bombing raids on Finnish cities were occasional and disturbing. In 1941-1943, there were 29 raids on Helsinki; in total, about 260 bombs fell on the city. The intensity of the bombing increased sharply in February 1944. Thus, Soviet long-range aviation acted as a means of political pressure to withdraw Finland from the war. According to Finnish data, more than 2,000 bombers took part in the three raids on the night of 6/7, 16/17 and 26/27 February: IL-4, Li-2, B-25 Mitchell and A-20 Boston, which dropped more than 16,000 high-explosive and incendiary bombs. The Finns announced that 22 bombers were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery fire, and German pilots flying the Bf 109G-6 claimed 4 more victories. These figures are most likely overstated, as are the combat scores of the Finnish fighter pilots.
In total, while repelling three massive raids, heavy anti-aircraft guns fired about 35,000 shells of 75-88 mm caliber. It should be borne in mind that the anti-aircraft fire was adjusted according to radar data. After the first bombardment on the night of February 6-7, which the Finnish air defense practically slept through, during the next two units of anti-aircraft artillery and night interceptors, they prepared for battle in advance. An important role in this was played by the Finnish radio interception stations, which listened to radio traffic between the crews of Soviet bombers and control points at the airfields. Despite the timely warning and putting the air defense system on high alert, the Finnish anti-aircraft artillery and German night interceptors were unable to prevent the bombing or inflict unacceptable losses on the enemy. A weak industrial base, the lack of the necessary engineering and design potential and the scarcity of material resources did not allow Finland to organize a truly effective air defense system, to organize the production of the necessary anti-aircraft weapons and fighters.
Having got involved in the war with the Soviet Union on the side of Germany in June 1941, the Finns hoped for territorial gains, but in the end they were forced to conclude a humiliating peace. According to the provisions of the Paris Peace Treaty, concluded on February 10, 1947, Finland paid a large indemnity, and also ceded the territory of Petsamo and the islands in the Gulf of Finland to the USSR.
