Ilmari Juutilainen

From The Air Combat Wiki

Ilmari Juutilainen was the top scoring Finnish fighter pilot in the Finnish Air Force during the Winter War (39-40) and the Continuation War (41-44), against Russia. He scored 94 official victories against various allied aircraft including I-16s, P-51s, P-39 Aircobras, La-5s and other advanced combat aircraft. He did so flying what was considered to be inferior aircraft such as the Fokker D.XXI, Brewster Buffalo and Messerschmidt Bf 109 fighter planes. Amazingly, he finished the wars without a single hit to his plane from enemy fighter airplanes. Only once was he forced to land due to a friendly anti-air gun that had damaged his Bf 109. Like Japanese fighter ace Saburo Sakai, Juutilainen never lost a wingman in combat. He was the highest scoring non-German ace.

Juutilainen entered the service on September 9. During the Winter War he flew the Fokker D.XXI. During the start of the Continuation War, he flew the Brewster Buffalo. The plane was never referred to as the Buffalo in Finland; it was known simply as the Brewster, or sometimes by the nickname Taivaan helmi ("Sky Pearl") or Pohjoisten taivaiden helmi ("Pearl of the Northern Skies"). The 44 planes Finland received were put to good use. In his BW-364 "Orange 4" he shot 28 enemy planes down. In 1943 he was transferred to LeLv 34 which used new Messerschmidt Bf 109-planes. He shot down 54 enemy planes in that craft. He refused an officer commission, fearing that would keep him from flying.

The Brewster was regarded as being very easy to fly and many Finnish pilots commented that it was a "gentleman's plane" while the Messerschmidt Bf 109 (also used by the FAF) was "a killing machine." Brewster’s were also popular within the FAF because of their long range and endurance, and their good maintenance record. This was due in part to FAF mechanics, who solved a problem plaguing the Wright Cyclone engine by inverting one of the piston rings in each cylinder, thus enhancing the engine reliability.

In the end, the Brewster gained a reputation as one of the most successful fighting aircraft ever flown by the Finnish Air Force. In service during 1941-1945, the Brewster’s were credited with 496 Soviet and German aircraft destroyed, against the loss of 19 Brewster’s: a victory ratio of 26:1.

Juutilainen stayed in the Finnish Air Force until May 17, 1947, when he retired. He then continued flying in general and commercial aviation until the mid-50’s. He died on the 85th birthday on February 21st. 1999.