In all there should be reasonable borders...John T wrote: You are right that moral factors was a important factor but
I'd rather talk of "freedom of action" and the concept of "fleet in being".
As the main objective for F19 was to remain a fighting force.
In my opinion, the Finnish command has a little overdone with "preservation" of the Swedish airgroup.
By the way, motives why airgroup have removed from front are rather interesting. In fact all over again it frightened nobody, Swedes quite on a regular basis appeared above a front line. The reason in high losses of group can?
The nearest to Rovaniemi the Soviet air station of fighters was almost in 200 kilometers to the east. It reduced an opportunity of meetings with the Soviet fighters to a minimum.John T wrote: If F19 had been annihilated in one big fight that would given Soviet bombers a free ride thereafter.
One risk with concentration would be that IF you met Soviet fighters you'd loose a significant percentage of your force. By spreading out you didn't make any decisive victories nor losses. But the bombers had always to look for fighters.
But low "efficiency" Finnish (read - Swedish) aviation in area of 9-th army (in 8-th army too, but to a lesser degree) conducted to that command of the Air Forces of 9-th army did not consider it necessary to distract fighters from performance of other tasks. I have in view of to distract on protection of bombers. Even there, where it needed to be made (for example, in Kemijarvi)
John T wrote:But this is not really a right/wrong question, possibly a matter of what we consider most efficient.
Here in that and a problem. I very much try and I can not understand my opponents.. In what, in their opinion, efficiency of fighting application F19 consist? In doubtful statements, what from one kind of "Gladiator" the Soviet bombers ran the whole squadrons?
Regards