Characteristics:

21cm x 29.7 cm, 142 pages, 212 photos( with covers in color), English text .

Among the aces of the Second World War, the Americans and especially the Germans wrote their memories or have had their biographies published at ”testimonial title”. But a lot of other pilots would deserve the same « homage » before the time move them away for ever. This time the story come from Finland with this research on Hasse Wind, the second rank Finnish ace with 75 victories behind Ilmari Illu Juutilainen (94 vic.). Full of 211 photos, this book is not exactly exclusively dedicated to Hasse, but shows the evolution of the fight from the « Winter war » towards the end of « the Continuation war », that have made the victorious Finland the second European country, with England to avoid occupation.

After the introduction, the story goes crescendo, following progressively the events made of reversal in the positions, when the Allies in a day become enemies the next one, that lead to confusion to the foreign reader. The text is sharp, easy to read and illustrated with good photos (some few are well -known). Aside the famous Buffalo (Wind is the top score on this airplane), one discovers the others, Fiat, Curtiss, Fokker, ME109…as well as captured enemy airplanes. I mention that aside general views, some cockpit details rather rare bring good information.  Beyond the chronological facts, that’s the tactics explanation in the chapter « Hasse the teacher» and in the appendix that are revealed the secrets that allowed the Finnish to stay up. The flight formation “four fingers”, the intensive air to air gunnery training, and the total attack attitude, are the principles which predominated and contributed to maintain top efficiency from the beginning to the end. The study finish with the detailed list of Hasse’s victories and four maps to locate events and actions. Aside the very closed monographs on the Finnish aircraft, this book completely deserves it’s sub-title « The Finnish Air Forces at war 1939-1944 » for all details it delivers on a so often forgotten war and a front so near from us. Recommended . JPP

 http://www.apali.fi/uk/uk.html

March 2005

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that has 300,000 visitors a month, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.