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VL Myrsky (Storm)

1943 COLD WAR WORLD WAR 2

The Story of VL Myrsky (Storm)

Before the war with the Soviet Union, the Finnish authorities considered a domestic fighter design to arm their fledgling air force. By mid-1939, the program was gaining some traction, but by November, when the Soviet Union invaded Finland to begin the "Winter War", no product was ready.

The conflict led to a "provisional peace" in March 1940, although the war undoubtedly alerted Finnish authorities and furthered the indigenous fighter design initiative known as the VL Myrsky ("Storm"). The Myrsky was manufactured by the state-owned company Valtion Lentokonetehdas (hence the name "VL") and its design work began in 1941 under the direction of Edward Wageluis.

Myrsky was a piston engine aircraft of the traditional design of the time. The type is characterized by its low monoplane wing assembly (front center) and a forward radial piston engine driving a three-bladed propeller. The cockpit is placed at the center of the design, with good visibility from both sides, and rather limited forward visibility facing the long nose. The rear spoiler layout is conventional, with a short circular vertical spoiler and applicable circular horizontal spoiler.

The landing gear is retractable and consists of two single-wheel main landing gear legs and a tail wheel. Myrsky was piloted by a pilot. The wingspan is 11 meters and the fuselage length is 8.35 meters. The building is made of wood and metal.

Myrsky is equipped with a SFA-Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp R-1830-SC3-G series 1,650 hp 14-cylinder radial piston engine, air-cooled and mounted in a compartment forward of the cockpit. This gives the installation a top speed of 328 mph, a service ceiling of 29,500 feet and a range of 580 miles.

The engine was originally an American product manufactured under license in Sweden and was later incorporated into the Finnish product.

Armament is an important consideration for any fighter, and the Myrsky is armed with 4 x 12.7mm LKK/42 machine guns, all mounted on the forward fuselage and firing in synchrony via rotating propeller blades. For strike operations, 2 x 100kg conventional bombs will be carried.

The first flight of the prototype was recorded on December 23, 1941, and the aircraft was named "Myrsky I". Three pre-production aircraft were then built for testing, which soon revealed several significant design flaws, most notably the wings tending to detach from the fuselage under certain loads.

The landing gear legs also proved weak, and new processes were introduced in both areas for added strength. Due to these dangerous problems, none of the four completed airframes survived the test - all were lost in the accident, and two test pilots were killed in the process.

In 1943, production of the modified "Myrsky II" began, of which 47 were finally completed. The aircraft then entered service with the Finnish reconnaissance and fighter group in August 1944, and took action against the Soviet Union in the "Continuing War" (June 1941-September 1944).

Myrskys were used in both fighter and fighter-bomber roles, complementing the arrival of the very capable Messerschmitt BF 109G fighters supplied by Germany. In any case, the Finnish design is good enough for the role presented, although their pilots are said to have never really appreciated the genre, mostly due to poor performance. Continuing the war ended with a victory for the Soviet Union, cemented by the Moscow armistice.

Finland then turned against the Germans in the "Lapland War" from October 1944 to the end of World War II in April 1945, officially ending German influence in the country.

Myrsky II existed beyond the war, was active until 1947, and finally retired from service with the Finnish Air Force in 1948. An improved variant, the "Myrsky III," was built, but none was completed and thus never saw action.

A total of 51 Myrsky I and Myrsky II aircraft are produced and operated in Finland.