Ilmari Juutilainen
| Ilmari Juutilainen | |
|---|---|
| 21 February 1914 - 21 February 1999 | |
 |
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| Place of birth | Lieksa |
| Place of death | Helsinki |
| Allegiance |  Finland |
| Service/branch | Finnish Air Force |
| Years of service | 1935-1949 |
| Rank | Warrant Officer |
| Unit | LeLv 24, LeLv 34 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | |
| Other work | Professional pilot |
Eino Ilmari Juutilainen (21 February 1914 - 21 February 1999) was a Finnish Air Force fighter pilot during the Winter War (1939-1940) and the Continuation War (1941-1944).
Juutilainen is the top scoring Finnish fighter pilot, with 94 confirmed air combat
victories in 437 sorties. He flew Fokker D.XXI,
Brewster Buffalo and Messerschmitt Bf 109
fighter planes. He was one of four people who twice received the highest Finnish military decoration, the
Juutilainen entered the service of the Finnish military on September 9, 1932 for his compulsory military service and he served as a pilot in the Finnish Air Force starting from 1935. On 1st May 1935 Juutilainen was promoted to sergeant. He was transferred to LeLv 24 on March 3, 1939. During the Winter War he flew the Fokker D.XXI.
During the Continuation war he served in 3/LeLv 24 flying Brewster B239. In his BW-364 "Orange 4" he shot 28 enemy planes down. In 1943 he was transferred to LeLv 34 which used new Messerschmitt Bf 109-planes. He shot down 54 enemy planes in that craft. He refused an officer commission, fearing that would keep him from flying.
After the wars he served in the Air Force until 1949. He worked as professional pilot until 1956, flying people with his De Havilland Tiger Moth. He flew for the last time, a Finnish Air Force F-18 Hornet, in 1997.
Juutilainen died on his 85th birthday on 21st February 1999.
Further reading
- His memoirs were published in English in 1996 in Double Fighter Knight ISBN 9525026043.
References
- Keskinen, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari and Niska, Klaus. Hävittäjä-ässät (Finnish Fighter Aces). Espoo, Finland: Tietoteos, 1978. ISBN 951-9035-37-0. (Finnish)
- Stenman, Kari and Keskinen, Kalevi. Finnish Aces of World War 2 (Aircraft of the Aces 23). Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1-85532-783-X.
External links
Finnish World War II Aces with over 40 air victories |
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Ilmari Juutilainen | Hans Wind | Eino Luukkanen | Urho Lehtovaara | Oiva Tuominen | Olli Puhakka |
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