Figure 1.-- Within three hours of invading Finland, Soviet planes bombed Helsinki. TheRed air Force was largely ineffective in the War, but some 1,000 Finnish civilians were killed in bombing raids. Here two parents morn their child killed in a nombing raid. The caption read, "At Finnish grave: Caption from Finnish capital accompanying this radiophoto says that [thi] Finish soldier and his wife mourn at the grave of their only child who was killed in an air bombing raid. Picture was telephoned from Amsterdam to London and then radioed to New York." It was dated Decmber 14, 1939.

Finland had a very small air force when Stalin launched the Winter war and only minimal air defenses. Helsinki was protected by the 1st Anti Aircraft Regiment. They had four heavy anti-aircraft batteries of three to four guns each, one light AA battery and one AA machine gun company. Other cities had minimal air defenses. The Finns faced the largest air force in the world the Soviet or Air Force (VVS). Air wafare was still relatively new. War plans were still largely theoretical. Many Red Air Force commanders were consumed in Stalin's purges. But even had this not happed, there was no well thoughout Soviet plan as to how to effectively use its air superiority. The Soviet air attacks were mostly conducted by the long-range bombing and reconnaissance group of the Soviet Air Force (VVS), the Aviatsiya Dalnego Deystviya (ADD). This group was under the direct control of the Soviet High Command (Strvka). The Soviet bomber fleet was diverse, in part because Stalin wa obssed with building a massive force and unwilling to retire obsolete types. Three hours after the Red Army attacked along the Finnish border, Red Air Force planes bombed Helsinki. The most intensive bombing raids of the War occurred during the first few days. We are not sure why. One would have expected Soviet air attacks to hve intensifed as the ground war faltered. The Soviets bombed Helsinki only eight times during the Winter War, dropping a mere 350 bombs on the city. Some 97 people were killed and 260 injured. Some 55 buildings were destroyed. In World War II terms this was miniscule. Civilans in other cities were more affected. The Red Air Force carried out 2,075 bombing raids on 516 localities. Nearly 1,000 Finnish civilians were killed. The city of Viipuri, a priority Soviet target , was esentially leveled, hit by nearly 12,000 bombs. The small Finnish Air Force was largely committed to protecting Finnish cities and could not support the Army. The Finns could not stop the Soviet bombers, but did inflict losses. They are believed to have shot down 240 Red Air Force planes. [Trotter, pp. 187-93.] The Soviet air offensive was basically ineffective despite thecsize of the Red Air Force. Unlike the Luftwaffe, the Red Air Force was not skilled at close air force. It was used as more of a strategic bomber force. The trouble with this was that Finnland was not a highly industrialized country and there were few targts of importance. The rail system was the main Soviet target. The Soviet pilots went after small village depots of limited importance. They cut the rail lines repeatedly, but the damage was easily repaired. Finns would have the trains running again in a few hours. The Soviet bombings like the land invasion led to sharp crititicm abroad. President Roosevelt asked the Soviets to refrain from bombing Finnish cities. Soviet Fireign Minister Molotov replied that "Soviet aircraft have not been bombing cities, but airfields, you can't see that from 8,000 kilometers away in America."

Air Forces

Red Air Force

They Finns faced the largest air force in the world the Soviet or Air Force (VVS). The Soviet bomber fleet was diverse, in part because Stalin wa obssed with building a massive force and unwilling to retire obsolete types. The Soviets are believed to have had about 5,000 aircraft in 1939. About a third of this force was positioned for the attack on Finland, some 700 fighters and 800 medium bombers.

Finnish Air Force

Finland had a very small air force when Stalin launched the Winter war and only minimal air defenses. At the onset of the Winter War, the Finnish Air Force consisted of only 17 British Bristol Blenheim bombers and 46 fighters (32 modern Fokker D.XXI and 14 obsolete Bristol Bulldogs). There were 58 liaison aircraft, but 20 of these were only used for messengers. The most modern aircraft possessed byb the Finns were the British-designed Bristol Blenheim bombers that had been built under license in Finland. The primary fighter aircraft was the Fokker D.XXI, a cheap but maneuverable design with fabric-covered fuselage and fixed landing gear. The Finns should have been swept away by the massive attacking Red Air Force. During the War, the Finns woyld acquire some British and Italin aircradt.

Air Defenses

Helsinki was protected by the 1st Anti Aircraft Regiment. They had four heavy anti-aircraft batteries of three to four guns each, one light AA battery and one AA machine gun company. Other cities had minimal air defenses.

Soviet Air Campaign

Air wafare was still relatively new. War plans were still largely theoretical. Many Red Air Force commanders were consumed in Stalin's brutal purges. But even had this not happed, there was no well thoughout Soviet plan as to how to effectively use its air superiority. The Soviet air attacks were mostly conducted by the long-range bombing and reconnaissance group of the Soviet Air Force (VVS), the Aviatsiya Dalnego Deystviya (ADD). This group was under the direct control of the Soviet High Command (Strvka). Three hours after the Red Army attacked along the Finnish border, Red Air Force planes bombed Helsinki. The most intensive bombing raids of the War occurred during the first few days. We are not sure why. One would have expected Soviet air attacks to have intensifed as the ground war faltered. The Red Air Firce just did not have a tactical capability like the Luftwaffe. But this was the case of British and French at the time as well. The only airforce in the world at the time with Forward Air Controllers was the Luftwaffe. A major problem for the Red Air Force as the Red Army was communications equipment. This was a problem that was not solved untill Lend Lease deliveries began reaching the Soviets.

Distruction

The Soviets bombed Helsinki only eight times during the Winter War, dropping a mere 350 bombs on the city. Some 97 people were killed and 260 injured. Some 55 buildings were destroyed. In World War II terms this was miniscule. Civilans in other cities were more affected. The Red Air Force carried out 2,075 bombing raids on 516 localities. Nearly 1,000 Finnish civilians were killed. The city of Viipuri, a priority Soviet target , was esentially leveled, hit by nearly 12,000 bombs. Overall, the Red Air Force had virtually no impact on the Finnish war effort, an amazing circumstance give the enormous size.

Air Combat

The small Finnish Air Force was largely committed to protecting Finnish cities and could not support the Army. The Finns could not stop the Soviet bombers, but did inflict losses. They are believed to have shot down 240 Red Air Force planes. [Trotter, pp. 187-93.] The Finnish Air Force adopted the Finger-four formation in mid-1930s. It would prove to be much more effective formation than the Vic formation that many other countries were still using at the onset of the War.

Assessment

The Soviet air offensive was basically ineffective despite the size of the Red Air Firce. Unlike the Luftwaffe, the Red Air Force was not skilled at close air force. It was used as more of a strategic bomber force. The trouble with this was that Finland was not a highly industrialized country and there were few targts of importance. The rail system was the main Soviet target. The Soviet pilots went after small village depots of limited importance. They cut the rail lines repeatedly, but the damage was easily repaired. Finns would have the trains running again in a a few hours.

International Reaction

The Soviet bombings like the land invasion led to sharp ceititicm abroad. President Roosevelt asked the Soviets to refrain from bombing Finnish cities. Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov replied that "Soviet aircraft have not been bombing cities, but airfields, you can't see that from 8,000 kilometers away in America."

Sources

Trotter, William R. The Winter war: The Russo–Finno War of 1939–40 (London: 1991). The Trotter book was pirst published in the United states as A Frozen Hell: The Russo–Finnish Winter War of 1939–40.

Created: 5:12 AM 3/19/2015
Last updated: 12:05 PM 12/22/2017