ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 193915
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| Date: | Sunday 25 February 1940 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Gloster Gladiator Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 1./LLv 26 Suomen ilmavoimat |
| Registration: | GL-258 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Ristseppälä -
 Finland
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
On 15 February 1940 the detachment Siiriäinen of LLv 26 arrived in Joueseno where it was made subordinate to LLv 24. Led by luutnantti Siiriäinen, the commanding officer of 1./LLv 26, it had nine Gladiator IIs on its first deployment six days before and had suffered no loss.
On the Soviet side, the 13 VA received its first light bombers, some R-Zs of 4 LBAP, on 10 February. The unit started to fly sorties during the night of 13-14 February and was complete on the 16th.
On 25 February 1940, three pilots from detachment Siiriäinen were sent to intercept Russian artillery observation planes above Muolaa. Luutnantti Pentti Tevä , alikersantti Matti Sukanen and alikersantti Ilmari Joensuu were flying respectively the Gladiators GL-254, GL-258 and GL-256. The reported meeting nine R-5 planes near Muolaanjärvi, and claimed four shot down. Sukanen claimed one shot down (his first claim) and one damaged at 1530 hrs while Tevä claimed two shot down at 1610 hrs as his 2nd and 3rd victories and Joensuu finally claimed one shot down at 1615 hrs as his 4th victory.
Soviet fighters then attacked and Tevä was shot down and killed. His GL-254 was seen to dive straight into ground at Muolaanjärvelä from the altitude of 3000 m without any attempts to pull up or jump, so Tevä was probably hit himself. Sukanen was also shot down. He was wounded and crashed his Gladiator at Ristseppälä. Joensuu was forced to make forced landing with a damaged fighter.
On the Soviet side, the "R-5s" were in fact R-Zs from 4 LBAP, 13 VA, that reported being attacked by four Bulldogs. Three or four R-Zs were hit. All could return to friendly territory but two were damaged beyond repair and not repaired.
One of the latter was the R-Z 2058 flown by Leytenant Georgiy T. Meshcheryakov (pilot) and Starshiy Leytenant Petr S. Kozlov (air bomber/gunner) was hit in the oil tank. The pilot turned off the engine and glided to Soviet territory, force landing in Kaneljarvi area. A Finnish fighter chased them but Kozlov claimed to have hit it. Both crew survived.
The other was the R-Z 2083 flown by Mladshiy Leytenant Aleksandr S. Krykhtin (pilot) and Leytenant Nikolay K. Orlyuk (air bomber/gunner). It force landed on the frozen lake Kaneljarvi that was used as an airfield by the Soviet. Both crew survived.
The R-Z 2253 was hit and force-landed on the frozen lake Suolajärvi, also used as an airfield. The pilot, Starshiy Leytenant Fedor Z. Boldyrykhin, was unhurt but his air bomber/gunner, Starshiy Leytenant Valentin Georgiyevich Belyayev, was seriously wounded and died two days later, on the 27th. This aircraft was repairable.
It is possible that another aircraft, the R-Z 2400, was damaged in this battle but no details are known.
Six I-153s from 13 OIAP were in this area as an escort to the R-Zs. They claimed one Finnish fighter shot down.
Six I-16s from 68 IAP led by Starshiy Leytenant Plotnikov patrolled in the region of Mäkelä village and were engaged in combat with eight "Bulldogs". The task of this group was to cover SB bombers attacking a target in the same area. Soon after that the SBs dropped their bombs, the I-16s saw the first Bulldog, which flew to north at the altitude of 2500 metres. It was attacked and downed by Starshiy Leytenant Plotnikov. According to the pilot report, the aircraft smoked and fell into the forest. Just after that, at 1705 hrs (Soviet time), the I-16s turned to the opposite direction and saw a group of R-Z aircraft, which were flying below them and also seven other Bulldogs. Two Bulldogs attacked one R-Z and it came over Soviet territory losing altitude. Leytenant Safronenko’s flight attacked one of these Bulldogs and shot it down. The Bulldog crashed into the forest on the Finnish side. At the same time, Plotnikov’s flight flew towards five other Bulldogs flying 1000-1500 metres higher and not seeing the Soviet fighters. While climbing, the I-16s got onto the tail of the enemy formation and all together fired a burst that missed and the Bulldogs began to turn towards the Soviet fighters. The I-16s continued to turn and shot down one more enemy fighter, which was observed by a command post of a Soviet Army Corps. Then the flight separated and in the following combat, Leytenant Emirov shot down one Bulldog. Emirov was wounded in the hand, while his I-16 received 85 holes, but he returned safely to the airfield. At the same time, Leytenant Mayev got into a head on attack with a Bulldog, but simultaneously two other Bulldogs got behind his tail. Mayev’s I-16 got 56 bullet holes, but the Bulldog attacked by him was hit and fell to the ground out of control. Mayev returned safely.
Sources:
http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/gladiator_finland.htm
http://www.vif2ne.org/nvi/forum/arhprint/127791
"Istoriya Aviatsii spetsvypusk 2. VVS Krasnoy Armii v Zimney voyne 1939 -1940"
https://slon-76.livejournal.com/7037.html
http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/finland_teva.htm
http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/finland_sukanen.htm
http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/finland_joensuu.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhitkovo
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Mar-2017 21:32 | Laurent Rizzotti | Added |
| 16-Feb-2021 18:13 | Lelek | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator] |
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