The VL Humu (Whirlwind) is a Finnish

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

, designed by

Valtion lentokonetehdas ''Valtion lentokonetehdas'' (State aircraft factory) was a Finnish aircraft manufacturing company that was founded on 23 February 1928 from the IVL or I.V.L. factory (Ilmailuvoimien lentokonetehdas, Finnish Air Force Aircraft Factory), founded in ...

in 1944, and based on the American

Brewster F2A Buffalo The Brewster F2A Buffalo is an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II. Designed and built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was one of the first U.S. monoplanes with an arrestor hook and other modificatio ...

Design and development

The

Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; ; ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions. The Finnish Air ...

had acquired 40+ surplus B-239 naval variants of the Brewster Buffalo and put them to good use during the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, so it was decided in 1942 to produce a copy due to aircraft shortages. Chief designer Martti Vainio, along with designers Torsti Verkkola, Arvo Ylinen at Valtion Lentokonetehdas were tasked with designing the new aircraft as well as a replacement wing made of wood instead of metal. The Humu was largely constructed out of wood due to scarcity of metals, but the frame was made from steel and its design followed closely that of the Brewster. It was planned that captured

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

engines and instrument panels would be used. It was powered by a 930 hp

Shvetsov M-63 The Shvetsov ASh-62 (Russian: АШ-62, designated M-62 before 1941) is a nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aircraft engine produced in the Soviet Union. A version of this engine is produced in Poland as the ASz-62 and the People's Republic of Ch ...

engine, previously tested on a Brewster. The wooden wing added 250 kg of extra weight and moving the fuels tanks from the wing to the aft fuselage adversely affected maneuverability due to the center of gravity being shifted. The first flight took place on 8 August 1944. Later flight testing gave a total flight time of 19 hours and 50 minutes. The aircraft was heavier than calculated, its engine was underpowered, and it was felt that the fighter would not be able to compete against enemy aircraft. The end of the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

in September 1944, combined with the aircraft's poor performance, however, put the end to the project.

Operators

; *

Aircraft on display

The sole Humu, HM-671, was placed in storage in 1945. It was restored between 1972 and 1974 and is displayed at the

Central Finland Aviation museum The Finnish Air Force Museum (), formerly the Aviation Museum of Central Finland (), is an aviation museum located near Jyväskylä Airport in Tikkakoski, Jyväskylä, Finland. The museum exhibits the aviation history of Finland, from the early ...

.Dann, Richard S. and Steve Ginter, ''Brewster F2A Buffalo and Export Variants'', Simi Valley, CA: Ginter Publications, 2017

Specifications (VL Humu)

References

External links

The VL Humu at Central Finland Aviation museum
{{Valtion lentokonetehdas aircraft

Humu The VL Humu (Whirlwind) is a Finnish fighter aircraft, designed by Valtion lentokonetehdas in 1944, and based on the American Brewster F2A Buffalo. Design and development The Finnish Air Force had acquired 40+ surplus B-239 naval variants of t ...

1940s Finnish fighter aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1944 Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft