February 20th, 1943
Finnish-Soviet border, near Petsamo - Alert! The Red Army is massing troops southeast of Petsamo, on the Tuloma River (where the town of Verkhnetulomsky is located today). The radio surveillance of the Finns and the Germans quickly detects signs of troop movements, causing concern in Finland and in occupied Norway. The Finns send elements of the 11th Division to the Russian border, while the Germans launch patrols and aerial reconnaissance south of Kirkenes, on the border with Finland.
In reality, this is a classic Soviet maskirovka operation. It achieves its goal in dispersing German attention and conceals the Soviet naval concentration and the embarkation of troops in Murmansk.
Between a rock and a hard place
"Finland had recognized for years that it simply did not have enough aircraft or other resources to defend the entire country's airspace. As a result, during the Winter War, priority was given to the air defense of southern Finland and that of Lapland was left to the Swedish volunteers of the 19th Air Regiment, operating from Air Regiment, operating from Kemi. Also, no flak unit was deployed north of the Turku-Tampere-Jyväskylä-Joensuu line.
In 1942, the material situation of the Finnish Air Force had improved, but the south of the country continued to be a priority and the air defense of Lapland had not received any
substantial reinforcement. In fact, before Finland reaffirmed its neutrality in May of that year, it had been planned to give the Germans responsibility for the 500 km of front in the north of the country, including air operations. This project cancelled, the Finns had to improvise the defense of Lapland and in particular Petsamo.
Although Finland was not drawn into the world conflict, it remained on the war footing. Strategic realism demanded that the vast majority of Finnish military forces and resources be kept in the south of the country. Nevertheless, it was necessary to do something for Lapland in general and for Petsamo in particular. The 11th Division, already deployed in this area at the time Finland was preparing to participate in Operation Barbarossa, was not withdrawn. It had to ensure the essential defense of Petsamo, especially since the Finnish navy was non-existent in the Arctic - it had only one unit, the patrol boat Turja, which belonged to the Lapland Border Guard.
But with the development of the German-Soviet war and the political and military pressure from both sides, it appeared necessary to reinforce the defenses of Petsamo with an air unit. That is why the Independent Squadron No. 17 was created on June 1st, 1942. A very controversial decision of the general staff transferred to this unit twenty Messerschmitt Bf 109 E fighters from 28 and 34 Squadrons - almost half of the Finnish Bf 109 from Finland. At the time, many senior officers criticized this choice, considering that it was an unacceptable weakening of the air defense of the heartland in favor of a strategically indefensible region in the far north. However, since the Petsamo area was only 30 to 60 km wide and was located between the forces of two warring nations, the political and military leaders understood that it was the Finnish region most vulnerable to airspace violations by both the Soviets and the Germans, as both sides would seek to bomb the positions and to interdict opposing naval movements in Kirkenes or Murmansk.
Without a minimal air presence capable of playing a dissuasive role, even symbolic, Finland's right to exercise its sovereignty over the region would soon ring hollow. If the Finnish airspace over Petsamo were to be blatantly violated by the Germans, the Soviets or both, Finland would find itself under increasing pressure from both sides that could lead to war. An air unit could, to a certain extent, limit these violations and help to maintain the neutrality of the country.
The government and the high command know it only too well: if the Soviets or the Germans seriously decided to invade the Petsamo region, the Finnish soldiers could not do much, except to engage in delaying actions until the civilian population was evacuated, as had been the case during the Winter War. In such a case, Squadron 17 is ordered to provide only minimal air support to the local ground forces before withdrawing to Rovaniemi, the nearest Finnish airfield. This squadron is considered too valuable to be sacrificed in a desperate action against vastly superior forces.
In fact, the Finnish forces in the area - the 11th Division, the local Civil Guard, the border guards and Squadron 17 - were to serve more as a guard than a line of defense. Those who decided to invade Petsamo had to know that they would be throwing Finland into the same time throw Finland into the arms of their enemies and open up an additional front which they could not wish. The value of the Finnish defenses in the area was therefore more political than military.
In addition to Squadron 17, the air defense of Petsamo was reinforced by the deployment of anti-aircraft batteries. There had not been a single one during the Winter War and the Soviet air force had been able to operate without such opposition over the whole of Lapland. In January 1943, Lapland was defended by fourteen 40 mm Bofors guns - not much, but much better than nothing. These guns were divided into seven batteries: one at Tornio, near the Swedish border, two (one of which was on the airfield) in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, and four in Petsamo. One was located in Salmijärvi, where a third of the population of the municipality lived; another in Liinakhamari, to protect the port; a third in Kolosjoki, to protect the nickel mines, and the last one on the Petsamo airfield.
The anti-aircraft detachment of the 11th Division completed the flak in the area, called the 267th Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun Company. This company was equipped with six 20mm canons and six Maxim machine guns. These weapons were deployed on various positions of the 11th Division, near strategic points. In addition, to take into account the long nights in the area, a searchlight unit had been established in the vicinity of Liinakhamari, and isolated searchlights could be deployed in other places.
If, according to the Finnish standards, Petsamo had an important air defense for its size, according to the standards of the great powers of the time, this defense was full of holes. It was indeed concentrated around the populated areas, leaving the majority of the region totally deprived. For this reason, the Soviets could say to themselves that it did not pose a threat that would prevent them from launching a powerful air attack across the region toward Kirkenes." (M. Nagler, The War in the Arctic, 1940-1944)
