Messerschmitt Me-262 A-1f - Finnish Air Force

After the Soviet winter offensive of 1944 there were loud voices in Finland to end the war and make peace with the Soviet Union. The pro German factions prevailed however and it was decided to continue the war against the Soviets alongside the German forces.

In order to bolster the Finnish morale Germany agreed to supply the Finnish Air force with a number of modern machines to combat the Soviet Fighters. Under this agreement 100 Focke Wulf FW-190D-9's were supplied in December 1944 followed by 60 Messerschmitt Me-262's in February 1945.

The Me-262 supplied to Finland were of the A-1f subtype which featured a special version of the Jumo 004 engine optimized for the low temperatures in Finland. Engine life was not much better than that of the other versions however and the Me-262 saw only very limited use in the Finnish Air Force.

Finland sued for peace with the Soviet Union in September 1945 and the Me-262's were quickly retired from active service. The Fw-190D's soldiered on until 1954.

 

The model

The model is an old Monogram Me-262 kit in 1/48.