Hawker Hurricane Mk I Finland (HU460)

Item#: FMPHHH

MSRP Price: $299.95

Factory Direct Price: $199.95

This Hawker Hurricane Mk I Finland Model Airplane has a detachable display stand with a logo and inscription plaque added the finishing touch to this masterpiece.

Hawker Hurricane Mk I Finland History

The Finnish Air Force was founded on 6th March 1918. There was one exceptional feature in the founding of the FAF, that it was organized right from the start as an independent branch of the armed forces. This foresight created a good basis for its development and made it one of the oldest air forces in the world.

The first Hawker Hurricane Mk I aircraft was donated by a Swedish count, Erik von Rosen. On the wings of the airplane was painted his personal lucky insignia, the blue swastikas. This was the origin of the first official Finnish Air Force markings. The swastikas, still seen in many FAF traditional markings, as insignias have nothing to do with the Nazi swastikas of the 1930s.

The Winter War was the first real baptism of fire for the Finnish Air Force. The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany formed a pact in 1939 which resulted in the German attack on Poland in September of that year. Subsequent to that assault was the Soviet Union's attack on Finland on November of the same year.

The Defense Forces of Finland was ill-prepared for the war from a material standpoint. In the Air Force for example the number of fighters was alarmingly small. However, their training and therefore their combat readiness was fairly high. Actually, the Finnish Air Force was the inventor of the modern fighter tactics.