6.12.2011

The work “horse” of Ville Silvasti Oy has arrived from Patria on 31^st August transporting the port wing of “Hanssin-Jukka”.

Small details needed fixing until the last minute, and even when this report is written, there still are some things to be done. Markku Mäkinen looking busy, carrying a warm air blower.

So that the plane fits in the tent, the radio antenna must be dismantled. Finishing the small details continues, while 7^th September approaches.

Inside the passenger cabin the installing of the seats is on the way. Detachment from Kuopio, Jorma and Aaretti, are working for the common cause.

The festivities are about to begin and gentlemen in dark suits are swarming around the plane.

Smiles all around on 7^th September 2011, when people representing all the different parties involved in the project are posing in a group picture. 

In this picture taken by Jorma Kelo, the autumn sun is caressing the camouflaged surface of “Hanssin-Jukka”. Just visible in the background is the storage hangar, where the aircraft spent almost three decades before it was handed over to the capable hands of the restoration team just one year and three months earlier.

”Hanssin-Jukka”, longing for a permanent place of display. Its huge dimensions make solving this problem complicated. A big plane is big.

It has come time to put a final full stop to this story (it is to be found in the end of the last sentence!). Thanks to all of you, showing interest for this blog. I hope that I have been able to convey some glimpses to the work during this restoration project.


PROJECT NEWS, part 6

30.8.2011

Before applying the necessary coats of paint, the aircraft had to be thoroughly cleaned. Topmost in the picture, a member of the airfield maintenance crew is hosing down water and Markku Mäkinen on the wing stump and Aaretti Hoffren on the floor are mopping the plane. Two more phases were needed before the aircraft was ready for painting.



Where are the carrots and is this really a vegetable patch? Nope, but it was absolutely necessary that no dust rose from the ground, so it had to be watered once in a while. Markku Mäkinen expertly handles the watering can.

While restoring an old object, there are several stages that you have to do extra carefully and explicitly. You can’t really see the progress. Pertti Juutilainen, Martti Vesikainen and Markku Mäkinen attaching the rubber seals to the passenger cabin windows.

On the other hand, when you get to actual painting, lots of visible results are achieved in a short time. Reminding a giant beluga, the “Hanssin-Jukka” has been given a coat of primer on top of the Metaflex and is ready for the application of the camouflage paint pattern.



Mixing the olive green paint: Mr Hannu Valtonen is meticulously handling the ladle, supervised by Patria paint works foreman Jukka Järvinen. Two parts of RAL 6013 and one part of black gets you quite close to the desired end product. The shade of the colour is carefully “warmed” by adding small doses of the Eastern Front Yellow- paint.

When the colour sample was dry it was compared to a known original paint sample preserved in a wartime model of the Finnish advanced trainer aircraft “Pyry” made in 1942 by Eero Salmela. By the fourth test the colour shade is pretty close.



These magnificent replica parts were made by Rauno Pylväläinen. Amongst others, the parts above consist of the pitot tube and the hanging antenna apparatus below the nose.

A pair of restoration-oriented swallows made their nest on one of the supporting beams of the tent, which proved out to be a poor choice. The tent shook quite severely in the winds and their nest was damaged. Two of the young swallows didn’t survive their first landing on the hard tarmac, and sadly, had to be buried. The other two came down later, and their parents carried on feeding them. Here they have succeeded on getting back on the beam and a full Private Pilot’s License is just a matter of days!

Spray painting requires lots of protective masking because of the fine paint dust. Boys from Patria are getting ready for applying the Eastern Front Yellow.

All mixed up? Luckily not, the all white base roundel has already been painted and the template for the Finnish Swastika is revealed for painting. Jukka Karppinen and Raimo Kallio removing the protective layer. Removing the templates is not recommended for one in a hurry!

Same process from the other side; Mr Juha Suonperä filming.



Mr Jorma Kelo attaching a handle for one of the side windows. The cockpit has already been painted in – surprise, surprise – Cockpit Green!.

The underside of the nose offered some real challenges for the repair crew and so did the final assembly phase. Rauno Pylväläinen uses a plastic mallet while Olli Rantanen pushes the part in place on August 25^th.



Master-upholsterer Iris Mero climbing aboard on August 28^th. Erkki Mero follows en suit while carpenter Sakari Kivelä and Mr Kari Kärkkäinen watch nearby.

Looking at the nearly half finished interior in this picture and comparing it to those from the early days when the careful resurrection of “Hanssin-Jukka” from its long corrosive sleep started, makes you really see the difference. Carpenter Sakari Kivelä was in charge of the flooring and the walls up to the top of the windows while the upholsterers, the Meros, took care of the “vaulting” of the ceiling.

PROJECT NEWS, part 5

The necessary scaffolding needed for the project was provided by Telinekataja Oy; and with a reasonable price, too! Matti Mäkinen (up on the scaffolding) and Martti Vesikainen are adding an extra wooden platform on 17^th May.

The place that needed most work, the bit of fuselage under the WC, gets expert attention on 18^th May. Pertti Juutilainen looks through the doorway as the crew from Patria precision cut metal sheets.

The news crew from broadcasting company MTV 3 is making their report on 7^th June, from left Juha Suonperä, cameraman Raimo Kallio and on the far right reporter Meeri Ylä-Tuuhonen. During the restoration project Hanssin-Jukka has got a lot of well deserved attention from the media.

A row of holes has been fixed with putty and is now sanded smooth: Iiro Ojala and Pauli Heimo from Patria working.

Sheet metal specialists Matti Lahtinen and Seppo Ottman from Patria in front of the recently covered gaping hole of the WC floor.

Inside of Hanssin-Jukka: the work of carpenter Sakari Kivelä starts to take shape.

Martti Vesikainen demonstrates the many uses of the traditional Finnish “puukko”: it is a deadly weapon of war as well as a useful tool while getting rid of unwanted smears in the metal. In the background Markku Mäkinen fights the hard resisting screws on the door with a drill.

The fuselage of another Finnish DC-2, ”Pikku-Lassi”, was transported from the Finnish Aviation Museum in Vantaa to Central Finland Aviation Museum in Tikkakoski on 27^th May. Here the considerable donation is loaded on the transport trailer of Ville Silvasti Oy.

Perfectly normal sight on Finnish roads: “Pikku-Lassi” on the move, Friday 27^th May…

… and finally at Tikkakoski ready for the role as an “organ donor”. “Pikku-Lassi” offers lots of useful parts to complete the restoration of “Hanssin-Jukka”. The damaged lower part of the nose needed a lot of work and hence was delivered to Patria earlier in the winter.   

The repaired propellers and engines arrived from Finnair: here Markku Mäkinen is putting the protective wraps on the blades on 14^th July. The propellers were earlier used in Brewster aircraft, so an important part of Finnish aviation history will thus be preserved as well!



PROJECT NEWS, part 4

The boards for the Central Organization of Finnish Aviation Museums and the Finnish Aviation Museum Foundation visited Luonetjärvi on October 30^th 2010 and announced that the fuselage of DO-3, the DC-2 aircraft nicknamed “Pikku-Lassi”, will be available for renovating “Hanssin-Jukka”.

The valuable donation awaits transportation and will remarkably help complete the object of renovation. Splendid! Our humblest thanks!

The commander of Finnish Armed Forces, general Lauri Puheloinen and chief of staff of the Finnish Air Forces, Lauri Puranen visited the work site on November 2^nd.

Week 46 permanent snow covered Luonetjärvi and the temperature remained below zero for a longer time. In the work tent, water in the coffee machine began to freeze and the regular work ceased. Some measurements were taken and planning for the metal sheet work for next spring was still done. “Hanssin-Jukka” started a period of hibernation.

In the beginning of November Mr. Juha Suonperä and Mr. Jarmo Alanko - representatives of Guild of Air Force Academy - visited the Netherlands and discussed options for co-operation. In the picture the Finns are posing in front of a flying DC-2 aircraft in Schiphol. In the middle Mr. Juha Vilpponen and next to him to the right Mr. Jarmo Alanko.

“Mind over matter”. Pertti Juutilainen has managed to remove a badly corroded pressure meter from the cockpit of “Hanssin-Jukka”. Now all the instruments that need repairing are ready for shipment to the workshop.

On behalf of the Insta Oy – the company responsible for the renovation of instruments – chief of  workshop Mr. Jukka Nuora receives the meters in Tampere.

At the same time, the lower part of the nose of DO-3 was carefully removed by “The Tuesday club” – voluntary enthusiasts at the Finnish Aviation Museum in Vantaa – and delivered to Patria in Halli for straightening and repairs.

When a part is missing and can not be acquired, a replica part is manufactured. In the picture assistant-conservator Pekka Nieminen is making a pipe through which the hanging antenna was lowered through the fuselage of “Hanssin-Jukka”.

On November 26^th the engines and propellers were sent to the Finnair repair shop. Mr. Suonperä is adequately dressed for the – 25 Celsius degree weather while supervising loading. A Finnish army joke: “What does a soldier do in very cold weather?” Answer: “Stands in the middle of his/her clothes:”

The peace and quiet of the winter is broken – a snow shovel is essential in getting to the tent in winter time. The picture is from the 17^th of January and a nose landing light was fetched to be delivered to Halli.

On the next day works manager Jukka Järvinen and Mr. Valtonen are admiring the ailerons re-fabricated by Mr. Kari Mustonen. The nose part came from Vantaa before Christmas and was delivered to Halli.

On February 21^st a heap of passenger seats from “Hanssin-Jukka” is waiting for transportation southwards. Mr. Martti Vesikainen does not shed too many tears while eying the shipment.

Next day at Finnair repair shop, chief of section Harry Nordman and PR-chief Tom Karsson - among others - are smiling widely when they receive the goods...



PROJECT NEWS, part 3: Present day picture gallery

Dr Hannu Valtonen is examining the much coveted wash basin and toilet bowl at the Finnish Aviation Museum 1^st July 2010. Acting Museum Director, Mr. Matias Laitinen, gives a helping hand and keeps the door open. The boards for the Central Organization of Finnish Aviation Museums, the Finnish Aviation Museum Foundation and the Foundation of Aviation Museum of Central Finland held a meeting in Luonetjärvi on 20^th October. More of this meeting later on.

There are many partners in the project; it would be almost impossible to complete such a project with just a small group of enthusiasts. In the picture above representatives from Mänttä Technical Institute are eagerly surveying one of the M-62 engines. Unfortunately, it was soon evident that the hours they could put into this project were not sufficient, even though the engine otherwise would have been ideal for their educational purposes.

Martti Vesikainen starts the removal of registration number and the light green “civilian” stripes on 20^th August. The exceptionally warm summer weather slowed down the progress. The outer surface of the tent is dark green and made the inside temperature unbearable.

Finnish defence industry company Patria is the single most important partner in the restoration project. In the picture above some Patria personnel visit “Hanssin-Jukka”.

A device for registering air-to-ground fire hits from the Fouga Magister era; found from a corner of a storage facility and ready for retirement. It proved valuable, though, by providing the right font for the octane number (87) used in the yellow triangle to notify service personnel of the correct fuel used in “Hanssin-Jukka”.

The picture above is from 17^th September. There are some extra holes to patch in the fuselage. The fourth counting from the tail was made for the lift that transferred bakes and cakes for the cafeteria. The fifth gave some light into the cabin. 

The panel lines and rivet stems have to be cleaned extra carefully. In a plane such as “Hanssin-Jukka” there are quite many of those…

The place where the obligatory toilet facilities from the café era were put needs quite a lot of new sheeting. As does the toilet window on the right of the door.

To finish the cleaning of the nose high up some scaffolding was needed. The picture above is from the end of September.

An example of corrosion on the underside of the plane caused by a mix of rainwater and polluted city air. Places like this need delicate working.

The seats are mouldy and in poor condition in general, except for this one, donated by Mr. Seppo Sievänen from Urjala. In the picture above from 27^th September, Markku Mäkinen (on the right) and Kari Kärkkäinen.

Compared with the passenger seats, the pilot’s and co-pilot’s seats aren’t as bad as they look like.

In the picture above from 1^st October the persons mainly responsible for the restoration, from left: Kari Kärkkäinen, Pertti Juutilainen, Markku Mäkinen and Martti Vesikainen. From time to time “younger” persons have been helping as well, when their work permits.

Cleaning the seams in the hardest place – the underside of the mid wing. Mäkinen and Vesikainen doing a perfect job on 7^th October.

“Stained glass” – the window glasses were a bit discolored. The windows were dismantled by 11^th November.

Not much to show in the passenger compartment!

In October some helping hands arrived from Kuopio, Savo: on the left Arto Hoffre´n and on the right Jorma Kelo. They are cleaning an air vent.

Markku Mäkinen and Kari Kärkkäinen have managed to remove the front door – a hacksaw was needed. For the use as a café, the door opening and door were made 1/3 of its height taller. On 25^th October 2010 this is quite a defect.

The wings have been primed and painted white at Patria on 28^th October.

“The lower end of the hatch is going to be SO clean”, thinks Aaretti Hofren.

The Guild of Air Force Academy Chairman, Ilkka Nyyssönen, visited on 2^nd November and so did even the Chief of the Finnish Defense Forces, General Ari Puheloinen, (with his party) checking on the progress of the project.

Checking detail on the structures and painting of the plane on 3^rd November 2010. Dr. Hannu Valtonen is responsible for the overall supervision of the restoration work and aviation-historical research regarding “Hanssin-Jukka”. Mr. Kari Kärkkäinen is responsible for the “hands-on”, technical, side of the restoration.

The evidence provided by photographs is utterly important in this restoration project. Unfortunately information provided by instruction manuals and blueprints has not been available at the same extent as in the former restoration project undertaken by the Guild of Air Force Academy four years ago – the BL-200 project. We’ve got a lot of help from other aviation museums and private citizens – our warmest thanks to all of you!


PROJECT NEWS, part 2: History to present day

On 15^th October 1956 the Air Force Headquarters motioned that “Hanssin-Jukka” would be retired after full service – the total flight time of the air frame was 7,579 hours of which 2,508 hours in the Finnish Air Force. On 4^th March 1957 this was accepted.

The plane was sold to Hämeenlinna Hunting Club and was transported there 31^st March 1959. There it would start a new career as a café. The man behind this project was Warrant Officer Osmo Rantala, a former pilot of the plane. He suggested that he would fly the plane on to the ice of a nearby lake next to Hämeenlinna, where it would be easy to transport the plane to its intended position on a market place. This plan could not be accepted and preparations for transport by road were made. The plane had to be dismantled, even the mid wing part had to be removed.

The opening ceremonies of café “Hanssin-Jukka” were held in August 1959. In the picture below from left to right Osmo Rantala, Esko Halme and Kaarlo “Fritu” Väänänen, the longest serving pilot responsible for the plane during the war years.

The cakes and buns that were served in the café were baked in the small shed behind the plane and were delivered “upstairs” on an elevator and served to the customers. The elevator caused some trouble; it wasn’t that reliable. Many of the customers bought their goods directly from the counter of the shed and at least for some time there were tables and chairs under the plane as well.

The interior of the plane had been totally stripped and renovated. At the time when “Hanssin-Jukka” was converted into a café, athletics and sports clubs could get some tax deduction when they started a business like this. However, soon the tax officials complained that a hunting club was not “sporty” enough and were about to cancel these deductions. The problem was solved by dividing the original club into two. A Shooting Club fulfilled all the criteria.

In the autumn 1981 café “Hanssin-Jukka” was closed. To secure the purchase of the plane for a planned museum, the Guild of Karelia Air Command organized a citizens’ whip around to get enough money. The plan was a grand success and the plane was bought and once again returned to the Finnish Air Force. It was transported back to its old home base to Luonetjärvi as quickly as on 27^th November 1981. Thanks to Savo-people for their rapid action!

The signs of a long life on the road could clearly be seen on the plane at this stage and in the picture above some more damage is done by careless lifting of the plane.

Next year some insulation materials that easily absorb moisture, were fortunately stripped, but soon “Hanssin-Jukka - the Sleeping Beauty” was put aside and left alone for 39 years.

 Alas, 39 years later, the persons who had carried out the restoration of Blenheim Mk. IV, BL-200 – a project also organized by the Guild of Air Force Academy – still felt eager to start a new project and the name “Hanssin-Jukka” kept on coming up in their discussions. Finally, in the picture below, on 13^th April 2010, messieurs Kari Kärkkäinen (on the left) and Martti Vesikainen are taking a “serious look” on their new project.

”There seems to be something missing in the cockpit…”

… and the view inside the fuselage isn’t any better. But you have to start somewhere.

Finally, on 14^th June 2010 “Hanssin-Jukka” once more comes out from its cramped hiding place. Now it has been transferred from the FAF books to the responsibility of the War Museum and its location will be the Aviation Museum of Central-Finland.

The Old Lady is towed backwards: it might not be as dignified as expected, but necessary for practical reasons. On the background in the picture below the modern counterpart of “Hanssin-Jukka”, a brand new Casa C-295 M transport plane of the FAF, is ready for loading/unloading cargo.

The tent in the picture below will not be the “retirement home” for the aircraft; it is the place where “Hanssin-Jukka” will spend time while it will be restored from the outside. This is the primary goal of the project. The finishing touches on the inside can be done elsewhere, as well. The aim is to be ready with the outside by September 2011.

The outer wings will be restored by Patria Oy in Halli (the company that carries on the traditions of the State Aircraft Factory / Valmet) and are in the picture below loaded on a special transport carrier provided by Ville Silvasti Oy.

The fabric covered control surfaces will be renovated by Mr Kari Mustonen from Muurame. He was involved in similar work when restoring BL-200, so a high standard of work can once more be expected. In the picture below taken on 4^th August 2010 Kari is still laughing, but Martti (on the right) maybe has a better picture of the huge amount of work: there are lots of square meters to be covered in this plane!

In the main news broadcast on 15th June 2010, The Finnish Broadcasting Corporation presented the ongoing restoration project of “Hanssin-Jukka” for the wider public.

link to the story: http://areena.yle.fi/video/1066944


PROJECT NEWS, part 1

HISTORY

The following text is a translation of Dr Hannu Valtonen’s Finnish article on these pages. Dr Valtonen would like to thank mr Kyösti Partonen, who made available his notes regarding the history of “Hanssin-Jukka”. These were a great help while Dr Valtonen compiled this article.

Douglas DC-2-115 aircraft (production number 1354) rolled out of Douglas’ Santa Monica factory on the 5^th January 1935. On the 3^rd April it was delivered to the Dutch airline KLM, registered as PH-AKH and given the name “De Haan” (Rooster). It started operating on a new route Amsterdam – Frankfurt am Main – Milan on the 5^th May. Quite soon it was transferred to a long distance route Amsterdam – Djakarta. The aircraft returned to European routes in 1937. In mid September 1939 it had accumulated some 5072 flight hours.

To help the Finns in their struggle against the Soviet Union in the Winter War, Swedish count Carl Gustav von Rosen came up with the idea of buying this aircraft and donating it to FAF ( in Finland his father is known as the donor of the first FAF aircraft back in 1918). A good friend of his, engineer J.H. Sager donated 250,000 Swedish Crowns, and the aircraft was acquired from its Dutch owners. To avoid too much attention, the aircraft was given a Swedish designation SE-AKE and together with two Koolhoven F.K.52 planes bought by count von Rosen himself, it was flown to Sweden.

A famous story tells that the idea of modifying the airliner for bombing purposes came from count von Rosen himself. The plans included bomb racks under the mid wing, incendiary bomb cassettes put in the place of the toilet facilities, a gunner’s position on top of the plane and a forward firing machine gun for the pilot, too! (A downward firing machine gun was in the original plans as well, but was not implemented).  The engineers at the Swedish aircraft factory, SAAB, refused to modify the plane, but an American engineer, F.G. Blumenthal (from the Douglas factory) was present in Sweden at the time and agreed to do the conversion.

In reality, the modifications were ordered by the FAF and plans were made by Torvald Appelroth, a captain assigned to the weapons office of the FAF. All the above mentioned modifications were carried out at the aircraft factory in Trollhättan, Sweden. The newborn heavily armed airliner/bomber got a nasty new name “Hanssin-Jukka” – after a famous 19^th century Finnish villain and designation DC-1.

Does anybody know who suggested the name “Hanssin-Jukka”?

The transfer flight from Bromma to Luonetjärvi (via Turku and Tampere) took place on 14^th February 1940. On the 19^th von Rosen handed over the plane to 44^th Squadron, where it was assigned to the 3^rd Flight. In the photo the plane is in Tampere airfield on its way to Luonetjärvi.

During the winter war, on 1^st of March, ”Hanssin-Jukka” took part in a bombing raid against the Russian air forces base near lake Suur Pyhäjärvi. This proved out to be a highly international act of war: the plane was piloted by 1^st Lieutenant (in reserve) von Rosen (a Swede), the observer was 2^nd Lieutenant (in reserve) Rolf Winqvist (a Finn) and the gunner Staff Sergeant Rasmus Rasmussen (a Dane); the hostile act was aimed against a fourth country, the Soviet Union.  On the first run only the contents of the toilet (i.e. the cassettes of small bombs) were successfully dropped. On the second run the rest of the bombs got away, but at the same time one of the engines stopped working! At first the crew thought that they were hit by enemy a-a fire, but later on it was found out that the motor stopped because of lacking oil.

The plane was speedily fixed and was again operative on 21^st March. During the next ten days von Rosen schooled a Finnish crew for the plane on eight training flights.

On the 25^th April Warrant Officer Kaarlo “Fritu” (Frithiof) Väänänen was given the responsibility of the plane and it was transferred to 46^th Squadron. The mechanic assigned to “Hanssin-Jukka” was Staff Sergeant Aulis Hakkarainen and the radio operator Master Sergeant Eino Jokinen. WO Väänänen flew over 700 flight hours on “Hanssin-Jukka” which put him on the first place of all the FAF pilots who flew on this aircraft.

In May 1940 the bombing equipment and the nose machine gun were dismantled and the plane was equipped for aerial photography and reserved for topographic purposes.

One of the first times when “Hanssin-Jukka” was used for personnel transport was to transport Marshal Mannerheim and his entourage to Luonetjärvi. The occasion was the first general meeting of the Brotherhood of the War Invalids (Sotainvalidien Veljesliitto) which was held in Jyväskylä in August 1940. The unexpected visit of the chief of the defense forces to a small inland airfield was certainly a day to remember! In all, Mannerheim travelled on “Hanssin-Jukka” on five different occasions.

In August 1940 it was noted that the Cyclone engines were quite worn out. Different options for replacement engines were pondered: Twin Wasp Junior, Mercury VIII or Pegasus IIL3? Somewhere new engines were acquired, whether these were Brewster spare engines or loaned from Aero Oy, is not clear. Or maybe the worn out original engines were once more taken apart and restored for flying condition? Probably the last option is what happened because there is no record of engines being replaced in this stage in the plane books.

The aircraft continued in the role of personnel transport; Foreign Secretary Witting was flown to Stockholm and in April 1941 some special troops of the Headquarters used “Hanssin-Jukka” when they trained parachuting in Luonetjärvi. Together with another airforces transport aircraft (Fokker F.VIII, FE-1) “Hanssin-Jukka” was used to transport gasoline drums to Derevjannoje (they supported the Finnish tank troops in the beginning of the Continuation war). The aircraft was transferred to 48^th Squadron in November 1941 and in February 1942 it was ordered to be flown to the Airforces Depot.

On 9^th March a report from theDepot says: “The aircraft painted according to Warpaint scheme: underside light blue and the upper surfaces olive and black. The aircraft has got full national insignia and designation”. Still on the 12^th of March it is unclear how the designation should be marked on the side of the plane – DC-1 or DO-1? An order is given that the form is to be DO-1, so the old DC-1 becomes history. During this time at the depot a bigger cargo door is installed, so that airplane engines can be transported.

The first flight to Germany takes place in 14^th March, the destination is the airfield in Rangsdorf. Flight Captain Leppänen of Aero Oy helped in the arrangements on this flight. From 15^th March onwards the Airforces Headquarters made the decisions regarding the use of “Hanssin-Jukka”.  All in all, 625 passengers and 24 tons of supplies were transported. In the picture below is the crew that flew the most with “Hanssin-Jukka”: from the left radio operator Master Sergeant Eino Jokinen, pilot Warrant Officer Kaarlo Väänänen, co-pilot 1^st Lieutenant K.O. Uotinen and mechanic Staff Sergeant Aulis Hakkarainen.

In May 1942 the aircraft headed for the Depot for engine change, evidently the “worn out” engines had been repaired. While transporting personnel to a trip to fetch some Morane fighter planes from Chateauroux the right engine let its oil out during the take off on 11^th July. A spare engine was flown from Germany.

On the 10^th September a decision was made to equip the plane with Russian M-62 engines and Brewster propellers. The electric system was changed from 12 V to 24 V and the aircraft was once again flow to the Depot.  Warrant Officer “Jurre” Juurikas flew the test flights and evidently at the same time the suitability of Russian two-bladed AV-1 propellers was tested. The picture below shows what happened in icy conditions. There was no room for ice between the Naca-ring and the propeller.

When the aircraft was back in duty, it started transporting Finnish pilots to fetch new aircraft from Germany. On 9^th March fighter pilots transferred new Messerschmitt planes from Erdingen to Finland and about a month later, 17^th April bomber pilots were flown to Tutow to get new Junkers 88 bombers.

On these trips to Europe “Hanssin-Jukka” was damaged in many accidents. While taxing in Devau on 4^th June 1943 the right main landing gear collapsed and there was damage in the landing gear and the right wing tip as well. There was no spare landing gear available in the whole Europe, so the State Aircraft Factory made one. The plane was repaired by Deutsche Lufthansa ; test flight went well otherwise, only the landing gear gave way once again and the right wing was damaged. It was fixed again and finally on 17^th August after a successful test flight “Hanssin-Jukka” was back in business.

On 27^th August the aircraft was flown to the air forces Depot and from there to the State Aircraft Factory for general overhaul, this was completed by 21^st January 1944. Between its other duties, “Hanssin-Jukka” once again visited Germany and suffered some shrapnel damage in the bombing of Augsburg. This damage was repaired back in Finland between 22^nd and 25^th February.

While taking off from Devau airfield in Königsberg on 3^rd March number eight cylinder in the starboard engine overheated and cut up. On the return journey back to Finland the aircraft was forced to land in Tallinn due to an air raid warning. On 13^th March the engine was replaced. On 24^th March both M-62 engines were replaced.

A flight from Neuruppin to Devau was disrupted due to an engine failure on 16^th April. Again, four days later a flight from Devau to Helsinki was disrupted also due to an engine failure. Once again, the starboard engine was replaced on 29^th April. On the 9^th May the replacement of both engines was ordered.

While the plane was on the way from Helsinki to Devau it made a forced landing on Ülemiste airfield on 1^st June due to breakage of the standard revs device of the starboard engine. A spare part was flown to Tallinn and the journey was continued next day.

“Hanssin-Jukka” took Finnish pilots to attend a night fighter course in Germany on 13^th June; the first group was flown at 06.00 and the second group at 14.00.

On 20^th June the plane was on the way from Böblingen in Stuttgart to Helsinki, and had to stop at Insterburg airfield. Severe cross winds forced the plane out of the landing strip and the right tire came out of the rim and caused the landing gear to collapse. The plane was in quite alarming state: the wing was bended, the mid wing and landing gear needed attention, the oil cooler air scoop was broken, two propeller blades were bended and landing flaps were damaged. In the inquest the cause of the accident was deemed to be due to the overall handling qualities of the aircraft in question.



On 2^nd September the white base color of the national insignia was painted over in grey and on 5^th September the yellow east front coloring was painted over.

During the Lapland war against the Germans “Hanssin-Jukka” was used for personnel transport. Twice a small group of special force troops were to be dropped behind the enemy lines in Lätäseno, but the weather made both attempts futile. The long time pilot of “Hanssin-Jukka”, Warrant Officer Väänänen flew his last flight on the aircraft on 21^st February 1945.

The plane was once again flown to Valmet Oy (the former State Aircraft Factory) for general overhaul in February 1949 and it was once again ready for action on 28^th June 1949. The war paint had been stripped and instead the plane had got a new green striped livery.

 When landing to Halli on 18^th March 1953 “Hanssin-Jukka” once again had a rough and bumpy landing in a hard cross wind and a tire rim was broken and the left mid wing was ruptured. The plane was repaired and was operational 20^th May 1953.

The “official” last flight of “Hanssin-Jukka” took place on 29^th May 1955 in Helsinki Air Show. A medical flight, transporting a breathing paralysis patient on the stretch Utti – Helsinki and then returning to Luonetjärvi , was the final service flight of the aircraft. The total flight time of the aircraft was then 7,579 hours and 35 minutes ; in the service of the Finnish Air Forces the aircraft had totaled 2,508 hours. Then it was time for a long coffee break.