Eagle Biography
Eino I. Juutilainen
The magnitude of World War II often overshadows the fighting that occurred between
Finland and the Soviet Union during the Winter War of 1939-40 and the Continuation War
of 1941-44. During these conflicts, Finnish pilots destroyed 1,808 Russian aircraft in
aerial combat and achieved an overall 7.5:1 "kill" ratio, all while never
operating more than 150 fighters at one time. Out of these two wars, Warrant Officer Eino
Juutilainen emerged as Finland's highest scoring ace with 94 1/6 victories. Born in
1914, he entered the world's second oldest air force in 1932 completed flight training,
and was stationed in southern Finland when the Soviet Union invaded his country in
November 1939.
Flying Dutch-built Fokker D-XXI fighters, he was credited with
shooting down 2 1/6 aircraft during the bitter 16-week Winter War. As his country fought
against Russia in the subsequent Continuation War, Juutilainen destroyed 34 more Soviet
aircraft while flying the American-built Brewster Buffaloes and, in 1942, was
awarded Finland's highest medal of valor--the Mannerheim Cross. He later transitioned to
the newly acquired Me-109G fighters and his tally increased by another 58 aerial
victories. In mid- 1944, Juutilainen received his second Mannerheim Cross, making him one
of only two Finnish aviators to be so decorated.
On 3 September 1944, he also had the
distinction of shooting down the last Russian aircraft of the Continuation War. During
his 437 combat missions flown in both wars, Juutilainen scored victories against 22
different types of Soviet, British, and American built aircraft flown by the Russians;
more remarkably, his aircraft was never hit by enemy fire. Following the war, he left the
Finnish Air Force, purchased his own aircraft, and began a career as a private pilot,
flying transport operations throughout Finland.
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| More About The Eagle: |
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| Honored as an Eagle In: |
| 1984
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The Brewster Buffalo was originally produced in 1937 for the US Navy
and became the first monoplane to enter the Navy inventory. World War II
found an updated F2A Buffalo in service with both the US Navy and
Marines in the Pacific and with the Royal Air Force in Burma. However, the
aircraft became known as the "flying coffin" due to its limited
armament and maneuverability. In contrast to the plane's reputation in the
Pacific, Finnish fighter pilots cherished the Buffalo and called it
"Taivaan Helmi" (Pearl of the Sky). Flying earlier model
Buffalo B-239s marked with the light blue swastika national emblem of
Finland, Eino Juutilainen and his fellow members of No. 24 Flying Squadron
achieved 447 aerial victories against the Soviets while losing only 19 of
their own aircraft.
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