Interesting developments. So, some new(ish) fighter aircraft find their way into Finnish hands, and while B-534 could hardly be called top of the line fighter aircraft, the Soviet aircraft they will be flying against, are not overwhelmingly superior to them, with only I-153s and I-16 having substantialy better performance then them. When we consider that it is very likely that Finnish Pilots will be better then their Soviet counterparts as IOTL, and the fact that we are talking about 48 aircraft availlable on hand, when compared to 20-30 Gladiators, then situation may not seem so dire in the air as it may have seemed at first.
They are however rather sparsely equipped with more modern, monoplane fighters, with only 4 MS-406s availlable, and that may force them into pressing their two-engined fighters into roles they may not be particulary suited for. However, Morko Morane may make a much earlier appearance ITTL, and in substantialy larger numbers, which will make a lot of difference during the TTL Continuation War, giving the Finns a fighter capable of standing up to most of the Soviet designs of the time. With different decisions made, we could easily see original order of 50 M-Ms increased, provided that the Finns manage to either buy or produce Hispano engines.
Other purchases are also interesting, though it is a shame that they did not manage to get any Fokker T.VIIIs, they could have really used some maritime patrol aircraft and torpedo bombers. As for other aircraft purchased, I do like what they went with, but I do doubt the roles they have planned for these aircraft. I mean, Lockheed Electra is a purpose made passager/cargo aircraft, and I do not know how well suited it would be for bombing purposes, even modified. Perhaps they could be used as such due to lack of any other suitable craft, bit I would still consider them more useful in their original, intended role, then used as half-baked bomber. In regards to the Dragon Rapide, it does seem to be a little too much of a plane to be used for liason purposes, would not some smaller, lighter aircraft be more suitable for the role, while they are used as cargo/passager carriers, or even as Air Ambulances, a role where their impact would be much better felt.
Lastly, have we had any info in regards to the training aircraft Finns have in service? They are often overlooked, but extremely important part of an airforce, and they could also be pressed in other roles as well, due to their relative simplicity, often good STOVL capabilities and nice handling characteristics, like Night Harrasment Bombers (U-2/Po-2) or Ground Forces Liason aircraft, used to relay reconaissance to troops on the ground and performing artillery spotting. They are not lacking for choice in regards to training aircraft, ot seems that everyone built them during the Interwar period, and they are a very wise investment, allowing the (much reduced from OTL) Finnish military aviation to slowly build up its capabilities. As for the liason aircraft, they can use these same training aircraft in these roles at first, but a dedicated design would be preferable, something along the lines of Fi-156, Piper Cub, Taylorcraft Auster...
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Lastly, and I know that it is not the focus for this TL, and that I have been harping on about this for some time, but I do still think that some larger changes are in store for the Finnish ground forces. Not only because of the greater amount of funding made availlable to the Finnish Armed Forces, but also as a butterfly effect of sorts, where other changes and decisions have been made due to different choices made in the past.
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Keep up the good work @Jukra.
They are however rather sparsely equipped with more modern, monoplane fighters, with only 4 MS-406s availlable, and that may force them into pressing their two-engined fighters into roles they may not be particulary suited for. However, Morko Morane may make a much earlier appearance ITTL, and in substantialy larger numbers, which will make a lot of difference during the TTL Continuation War, giving the Finns a fighter capable of standing up to most of the Soviet designs of the time. With different decisions made, we could easily see original order of 50 M-Ms increased, provided that the Finns manage to either buy or produce Hispano engines.
Other purchases are also interesting, though it is a shame that they did not manage to get any Fokker T.VIIIs, they could have really used some maritime patrol aircraft and torpedo bombers. As for other aircraft purchased, I do like what they went with, but I do doubt the roles they have planned for these aircraft. I mean, Lockheed Electra is a purpose made passager/cargo aircraft, and I do not know how well suited it would be for bombing purposes, even modified. Perhaps they could be used as such due to lack of any other suitable craft, bit I would still consider them more useful in their original, intended role, then used as half-baked bomber. In regards to the Dragon Rapide, it does seem to be a little too much of a plane to be used for liason purposes, would not some smaller, lighter aircraft be more suitable for the role, while they are used as cargo/passager carriers, or even as Air Ambulances, a role where their impact would be much better felt.
Lastly, have we had any info in regards to the training aircraft Finns have in service? They are often overlooked, but extremely important part of an airforce, and they could also be pressed in other roles as well, due to their relative simplicity, often good STOVL capabilities and nice handling characteristics, like Night Harrasment Bombers (U-2/Po-2) or Ground Forces Liason aircraft, used to relay reconaissance to troops on the ground and performing artillery spotting. They are not lacking for choice in regards to training aircraft, ot seems that everyone built them during the Interwar period, and they are a very wise investment, allowing the (much reduced from OTL) Finnish military aviation to slowly build up its capabilities. As for the liason aircraft, they can use these same training aircraft in these roles at first, but a dedicated design would be preferable, something along the lines of Fi-156, Piper Cub, Taylorcraft Auster...
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Lastly, and I know that it is not the focus for this TL, and that I have been harping on about this for some time, but I do still think that some larger changes are in store for the Finnish ground forces. Not only because of the greater amount of funding made availlable to the Finnish Armed Forces, but also as a butterfly effect of sorts, where other changes and decisions have been made due to different choices made in the past.
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Keep up the good work @Jukra.