The official AHF Winter & Continuation War quiz thread

[Janne]

Are we on land or at sea? Are we talking about purchased, donated or captured AA guns?

[Juha Tompuri]

Hi Janne,
Very revealing questions

Are we on land or at sea?

At sea

Are we talking about purchased, donated or captured AA guns?

Hmmm...lend one.

Regards, Juha

[Janne]

Now I have a strong hunch that we are aboard an icebreaker! Tarmo?

[JTV]

Hi Janne,
Very revealing questions

Are we on land or at sea?

At sea

Are we talking about purchased, donated or captured AA guns?

Hmmm...lend one.

Regards, Juha

Hmm.... Loaned 25-mm anti-aircraft gun on double mount - sounds like it is not necessarily the Soviet one, but perhaps Swedish Bofors. But where - I have never heard or read any in Finnish use.

25-mm Bofors AA-gun:
http://www.tfd.chalmers.se/~m95perm/vap ... p_m32.html

Jarkko

[Juha Tompuri]

Now I have a strong hunch that we are aboard an icebreaker! Tarmo?

Sorry, but not on a icebreaker.

Hmm.... Loaned 25-mm anti-aircraft gun on double mount - sounds like it is not necessarily the Soviet one, but perhaps Swedish Bofors. But where - I have never heard or read any in Finnish use.

Bofors is correct.

Regards, Juha

[Janne]

I'm fairly certain that the funnel markings are those of Finska Ångfartygs Aktiebolaget...

[Juha Tompuri]

I'm fairly certain that the funnel markings are those of Finska Ångfartygs Aktiebolaget...

True.
So you are very, very close to end my misery here

Regards, Juha

[Janne]

When one knows what one is looking for, everything becomes so much easier to find:

s/s Oihonna sailed between Turku and Stockholm and during the war it was the only Finnish passenger or merchant ship that wasn't entirely unarmed: Swedish volunteers had provided and manned a pair of twin-mounted 25 mm Bofors AA guns aboard the ship.

[Juha Tompuri]

When one knows what one is looking for, everything becomes so much easier to find:

True
S/S Oihonna it is.

The main task of auxiliary ships in Winter War was trade protection. All sea lanes in Gulf of Finland were quite soon closed except the east-west one that ran close to shore and between islands. Thereafter the operation areas were Gulf of Bothnia and Ahvenanmaa-Sweden route. Protection was given only in open sea as it was very unlikely that enemy submarines could operate inside the archipelago. Finnbo north from Ahvenanmaa was a collection point. Ships gathered here, they got their orders and sailed north by Märket to Sweden. They returned also to Finnbo and sailed then independently to east. Usually it was possible to cross the open sea in daylight. Convoys were small, 1-4 merchant ships and two escorts. The Finnish merchant ships had no armament except s/s Oihonna that had a twin 25 mm gun delivered and manned by Swedes.

http://users.tkk.fi/~jaromaa/Navygaller ... iaries.htm

Book Suomen Laivasto 1918-1968 I (Finnish Navy...) mentions S/S Oihonna being used for transporting Swedish volunteers to Finland (perhaps the reason for the armament)

Pic sources
http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/FinlandSSCo.html
http://www.genealogia.fi/emi/emi327as.htm

Over to you

Regards, Juha

[Janne]

There is an old but not terribly funny joke about national stereotypes: a Frenchman, a German, an Englishman etc are asked to write an essay about the elephant. The Finn's essay is tuitled "The Elephant and the Winter War". Which brings me to the next question:

:What has Thailand got to do with the Winter War?

[Harri]

Bofors delivered guns ordered by Thailand or Siam in 1939/40 to Finland.

[Janne]

That was pretty quick!

Siam had ordered twelve 75mm deck guns for its four (I believe) submarines. Nine of them were ready for shipping in the port of Gothenburg in February 1940 when the good citizens of Turku who were aturally concerned about the lack of adequate AA defense and approached their Swedish connections on the subject of purchasing a few pieces of AA artillery with their own money.

BTW one of the guns stands as a war memorial on Vartiovuorenmäki.

More about the guns: http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/AA_GUNS3.htm


A new, more difficult question, please!

[Harri]

Thanks. I nearly forgot this one. OK, here is the next question.

Who is this Finnish soldier and why he is well-known?

Hint #1: He became "a model" in May 1944.

[Harri]

Hint #2: This particular soldier was "proposed" by Maj. V. Karhunen.

[Esa K]

The solider is Rajakorpraali (Border guard corporal) Väinö Karjalainen from RjP 8 who was model for a sculpture by Alpo Sailo of a Borderguard patrol man made in 1944. 1989 a larger version was put up in Immola as a memorial to the men and women who served in the Borderguard units during the wars 1939-1944.

best regards

Esa K