Morane-Saulnier Ms.406, Finnish users

 

The Morane-Saulnier was a French fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Morane-Saulnier from 1938 onwards. With more than 1.000 exemplars manufactured, it was one of the most produced French fighters of the time so it comes no surprise that it was exported to many countries, among them, Finland.

In the Nordic country the Ms.406 had a parallel career. In February 1940 the first 30 fighters (which received the registration Ms-301 to Ms-330) were assigned to the Lentolaivue 28 (Squadron 28 in Suomi) commanded by Major Jusu. 

During the Winter War, they were thoroughly employed in combat against Soviet aircraft and with a total of 259 operational sorties, on that war alone, they shot down 16 Soviet aircraft. They were also employed during the Continuation War, from June 1941 to September 1944, in a modified form. Between November 1939 and September 1944, the Lentolaivue 28 scored a total of 118 aerial victories flying the Ms.406, the German Bf.109G and some few Mörkö-Morane (fighter which will be the subject of future posts). The unit lost a total of 15 aircraft with an unconfirmed kill number of 121.

Another unit equipped, partially, with the Ms.406 was the Lentolaivue 14 which had two aces in its rows, though it only received the Ms.406 in 1941 when Germany sold them. 

The top Morane-Saulnier Ms.406 ace in all theatres of war was W/O Urho Lehtovaara, with 15 of a total of 44.5 kills achieved flying a Ms.406. It was nicknamed as "Murjaani" (Suomi word for "Moor" or "Negro"), a twist on its name, "Mätimaha" (roe-belly) and "Riippuvatsa" (hanging-belly) because of its bulged ventral fuselage.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_M.S.406

2. Osprey Publishing - Aircraft of the Aces 121 - Morane-Saulnier Ms.406 Aces

3. Osprey Publishing - Aircraft of the Aces 23 - Finnish Aces of World War 2

4. Salamander Books - The Complete book of Fighters