Air Defence in Northern Europe
Air Defence in Northern EuropeAIRPOWER AFTER WORLD WAR II
Finland
The most important combat lesson to emerge from the war for FAF was that quality is all-important, and that the most important quality factor is personnel. The world record number of ace fighter pilots relative to populationl10 proved to be such an asset that the FAF could always fight successfully regardless of enemy numbers. The national investment in the fighter force had been too small, but anywhere where this team was it remained unbeaten. Supported by technicians with a readiness for the necessary technical improvisation, this force caused heavy losses to the enemy and, perhaps even more important, suffered so few losses itself that it was able to maintain its combat readiness through the two wars. Although the number one quality factor was human resources, the level of technology must also be at least at the same category as that of the adversary. This became evident in the use of obsolete reconnaissance aircraft, for while the pilots in this branch carried out perhaps the most brilliant feats of airmanship of all, they were compelled to take advantage of the weather and night conditions in a very carefully preplanned manner.
The bombers played a very decisive role in the battles of summer 1944, and were also used successfully for long-range photo reconnaissance and mapping, but the maintaining of a large enough attack force proved to be beyond the limits of a small nation.
After the war a reorganization to a peace-time level of deployment took place throughout the defence forces. The FAF changed its wing organization for an air command organization with regional air defence responsibilities. The fierce fighting of summer 1944, which had demanded all the resources that the force could muster, had taught the FAF the right principle of organization. Centralized control allows the commander to use the force flexibly on a national scale, while a decentralized operational system gives each commander the ability to defend his respective airspace with the fighter wing, air surveillance network, control centers and a system of air bases. A force that is evenly distributed in peace-time can quickly be redeployed so that one air command can at a certain phase have the entire fighter force in its disposal, for example.
The new air surveillance and control system was built up around control centers equipped with British Marconi long-range radar systems and a network of Finnish-made middle-range VRRVI and VRRVY radar devices- The wartime equipment continued to dominate the arsenal of the fighters up to the 1950s, when the transfer to the jet age was made with the help of Vampire fighters. After this such planes as the Gnat, Fouga Magister, MiG-21 F and Bis, Draken and Hawk have preserved the line up to the present fighter system. The total number of aircraft has traditionally been small, but there are two key factors which have boosted the effectiveness of the force. Firstly, the entire force is concentrated on the most important task: air superiority, with both training and equipment devoted to air combat. Secondly, the professionalism inherited from the war has proceeded without interruption breaks through all the technical generations, building up a continuity of readiness to adopt new applications of aviation technology.
One of the biggest changes in air defence after the war was implemented in 1952, when the anti-aircraft artillery was subordinated to the Army. The leadership of the AAA opposed the transfer, suspecting that the air defence system would suffer,8 but the transfer was made for reasons rationalization in the years of stringent economy that accompanied the rebuilding after the war. One reason was, of course, that the majority of the antiaircraft artillery units had been deployed to protect army troops in the field in the final phase of the war.
Although the transfer decision was a step backwards as far as systems development was concerned, the AAA and Air Force actually turned it into a step forward. Both of these major components of the air defence system were highly specialized and their weapon systems and personnel training used different technological applications and methods. The AAA was predominantly a reserve training organization, like the Army, with wartime complement achieved by mobilization, whereas the Air Force was a professional branch with its fighting capacity maintained continuously even in peace-time. The major factor that they had in common was the air surveillance system and the air defence fire control system. By combining this area of action, each could achieve the best possible effectiveness by specializing in its own mission and coordinating the net result.
The Commander of Air Force is responsible for the total air defence fire control of the country, and accordingly, the Air Force is responsible for the air surveillance system. Conversely, all air defence units except for the anti-aircraft units earmarked for the Air Force and Navy belong to the Army. These are connected to the Air Force surveillance system and are able to receive the overall air surveillance picture. The Army has full tactical freedom to place its air defence units according to its own plans and situations, and at the same time their air defence fire is controlled by the Air Force control centers in full coordination with fighter ground control. In this way fighter interception and surface-to-air missiles, for instance, can be used effectively and in a coordinated manner in the same airspace. Thus, despite early misgivings, the basic arrangement has worked well by virtue of the key factors of high specialization and keen cooperation.
The material development of the country’s anti-aircraft defence has advanced through steps which are very much universal in nature. The dominance of radar for fire control purposes, special armoured anti-aircraft vehicles, automatic cannons, fire control wagons and replacement of the heaviest calibers with cannons which have higher fire rates and smaller calibers are typical examples. The surface-to-air missile era was ushered in with the British Bloodhound system, followed by the Russian SA-3 and the French Crotale and Mistral systems. The small Russian shoulder-launched IR missile weapons Strela and Igla were also introduced into Army units.18
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J Lindberg. Copyright © 1997-2006 Fighter Tactics Academy. All rights reserved.
Revised: tammikuu 01, 2006.
