Satakunta Air Command

Last updated
Satakunta Air Command
Satakunnan Lennosto (Finnish)
Satakunta flygflottilj (Swedish)
Insignia of the Satakunta Air Command.svg
Distinctive unit insignia of the Satakunta Air Command
Active1918–
CountryFlag of Finland.svg  Finland
Branch Finnish Air Force
Garrison/HQ Pirkkala, Tampere Airport
MarchLentäjän marssi
Anniversaries1st of August [1]
Engagements Winter War
Continuation War
Commanders
Current
commander
Colonel Mika Kulkas [2]
Insignia
Flag Satakunnan Lennoston lippu.svg

The Satakunta Air Command (Finnish : Satakunnan Lennosto, abbr. SatLsto; Swedish : Satakunta flygflottilj) is a peace-time Finnish Air Force unit. Its headquarters are not located in the present-day province of Satakunta, but in historical Satakunta and in the present-day province of Pirkanmaa, at the Tampere-Pirkkala Airport in Pirkkala.

Contents

It is responsible for maintaining the prerequisites for operation in Southern Finland for the Finnish Air Force. It studies and develops air combat procedures and equipment. It operates from bases in Southern Finland, also supporting Finnish Army troops. [3]

History

The Satakunta Wing was founded on 26 June 1918 in Sortavala and was moved to Suur-Merijoki, near Viipuri in 1938. The unit was disbanded after the Winter War, but reinstated in Aunus in 1942. In 1944 the unit was moved to Pori Airport and it was equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 109s. It was the first unit of the Finnish Air Force to be equipped with jet aircraft, when it received its De Havilland Vampires. It was later to receive Folland Gnats and MiG-21s. The unit was renamed into the "Satakunta Wing" in 1957 and the headquarters was moved to Tampere in 1965. The Fighter Squadron 21 was moved to the Pirkkala Airport in 1985 and it was the first unit to be equipped with F-18 Hornet fighters in 1995.

The Fighter Squadron 21 was the operational unit of the wing. It was disbanded in summer 2014, with fighters relocated to Karelian Air Command and Lapland Air Command. [4] At the same time, Satakunta Air Command was given new tasks: transport flights and flight research. The former flight research center in Halli was amalgamated into Satakunta Air Command's Air Combat Centre.

Organization

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davis–Monthan Air Force Base</span> US Air Force base in Arizona, United States

Davis–Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base 5 miles southeast of downtown Tucson, Arizona. It was established in 1925 as Davis–Monthan Landing Field. The host unit for Davis–Monthan AFB is the 355th Wing assigned to Twelfth Air Force (12AF), part of Air Combat Command (ACC). The base is best known as the location of the Air Force Materiel Command's 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, the aircraft boneyard for all excess military and U.S. government aircraft and aerospace vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finnish Air Force</span> Branch of the Finnish Defence Forces

The Finnish Air Force 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 Force was founded on 6 March 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampere–Pirkkala Airport</span> Airport

Tampere–Pirkkala Airport, or simply Tampere Airport, is located in Pirkkala, Finland, 7 nautical miles south-west of Tampere city centre. The airport is the sixth-busiest airport in Finland, as measured by the total number of passengers, and the third-busiest as measured by the number of international passengers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">85th Group</span> Military unit

The 85th Group, formerly the Air Forces Iceland, is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with United States Air Forces in Europe at Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland, assigned as a unit of the 48th Fighter Wing whose home station is at RAF Lakenheath, UK. It was inactivated on 28 June 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Combat Group RAAF</span> Force element group of the Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force's Air Combat Group (ACG) is the group which administers the RAAF's fighter and bomber aircraft. ACG was formed on 7 February 2002 by merging the RAAF's Tactical Fighter Group and Strike Reconnaissance Group in an attempt to improve the speed with which the RAAF can deploy its combat aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 78 Wing RAAF</span> Military unit

No. 78 Wing is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operational training wing, headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales. It comprises Nos. 76 and 79 Squadrons, operating the BAE Hawk 127 lead-in fighter, and No. 278 Squadron, a technical training unit. No. 79 Squadron, located at RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia, is responsible for converting new pilots to fast jets, while No. 76 Squadron at Williamtown conducts introductory fighter courses; both units also fly support missions for the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">121st Air Refueling Wing</span> Military unit

The 121st Air Refueling Wing is a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard, stationed at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">403 Helicopter Operational Training Squadron</span> Canadian military flying unit

403 "City of Calgary" (Helicopter) Operational Training Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) located at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown. It is equipped with CH-146 Griffons and provides operational aircrew training to the crews who will fly the helicopter. The squadron also conducts operational test and evaluation, develops aviation tactics and carries out operations in support of the 1 Wing mission. It also supports the local Army requirements of the Combat Training Centre. It was founded as No. 403 Squadron RCAF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">175th Wing</span> Military unit

The 175th Wing is a unit of the Maryland Air National Guard, stationed at Warfield Air National Guard Base, Middle River, Maryland. If activated to federal service, components of the Wing are gained by the two separate major commands of the United States Air Force: Air Combat Command (ACC) and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">137th Special Operations Wing</span> Oklahoma Air National Guard unit

The 137th Special Operations Wing is a unit of the Oklahoma Air National Guard located at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base, Oklahoma. If activated to federal service, the wing is gained by Air Force Special Operations Command. During World War II, its predecessor, the 404th Fighter Group, flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, provided close air support to troops following the Operation Overlord, the Normandy landing until the close of the war. The wing is entitled to the honors won by the group by temporary bestowal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Air National Guard</span> Military unit

The Maryland Air National Guard is the aerial militia of the State of Maryland, United States of America, and a reserve component of the United States Air Force. It is, along with the Maryland Army National Guard, an element of the Maryland National Guard.

Fighter Squadron 21 was a Finnish fighter squadron located in Pirkkala, near Tampere. It was the operational part of the Satakunta Air Command. The squadron was disbanded in June 2014, with the fighters being split between Karelian Air Command and Lapland Air Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">110th Bomb Squadron</span> Missouri Air National Guard unit

The 110th Bomb Squadron is a unit of the Missouri Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing located at Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, Missouri. The 110th is equipped with the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">112th Fighter Squadron</span> Military unit

The 112th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard 180th Fighter Wing located at Toledo Air National Guard Base, Ohio. The 112th is equipped with the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon.

The 336th Bomber Squadron, callsign "Olympus", is the second oldest squadron in service with the Hellenic Air Force, forming part of the 116th Combat Wing. It is based at Araxos Air Base in the Peloponnese, and operates the F-16 Block 52 Advanced aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karelia Air Command</span> Military unit

The Karelia Air Command is the peace-time Finnish Air Force unit responsible for the protection of the airspace of Eastern and South-Eastern Finland. In spite of its name, the headquarters of the air command is not located in the Finnish historical province of Karelia, but in historical Savonia and the present-day province of Northern Savonia, at Kuopio Airport in Siilinjärvi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lapland Air Command</span> Military unit

The Lapland Air Command is the peace-time Finnish Air Force unit responsible for the protection of the airspace of northern Finland. The headquarters of the air command is located in the present-day province of Lapland, at Rovaniemi Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">338th Bombardment Group</span> Military unit

The 338th Bombardment Group is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. It was last active with Continental Air Command at O'Hare International Airport, Illinois on 27 June 1949. It was first activated during World War II as the 338th Fighter Group and served primarily as a training unit until it was disbanded in 1944. The group was reconstituted in the reserves in 1947, but was inactivated when military spending was reduced in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">84th Combat Sustainment Group</span> Military unit

The 84th Combat Sustainment Group is an inactive United States Air Force (USAF) group last assigned to the 84th Combat Sustainment Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, where it was inactivated in 2010. The group was formed in 1942 as the 84th Bombardment Group, one of the first dive bomber units in the United States Army Air Corps and tested the Vultee Vengeance, proving that aircraft unsuitable as a dive bomber. As an Operational Training Unit, it was the parent for several other bombardment groups, but from 1943 until it was disbanded in 1944, trained replacement aircrews as a Replacement Training Unit designated the 84th Fighter-Bomber Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">473rd Fighter Group</span> Military unit

The 473d Fighter Group is an inactive United States Air Force (USAF) unit. Its last assignment was with the 30th Air Division at K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base, Michigan, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1959.

References

  1. Satakunnan lennoston historia ja perinteet. Finnish Defence Forces. Retrieved 2020-07-30. (in Finnish)
  2. About us - Ilmavoimat - The Finnish Air Force. Finnish Air Force. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  3. "About us - Ilmavoimat - The Finnish Air Force". The Finnish Air Force. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  4. Annual Report 2014 (PDF) (Report). The Finnish Defence Forces. 20 March 2015. pp. 18–20. Retrieved 31 May 2015.