Hans Wind
Hans Henrik "Hasse" Wind (born July 30, 1919 in Ekenäs , Finland , † July 24, 1995 in Tampere ) was a Finnish fighter pilot in World War II .
From August 1942 to June 28, 1944, Captain Hans Henrik Wind flew missions in the Second World War (aircraft: Brewster Buffalo (B-239), from April 1944 Bf 109 G (MT-201 and MT-439)). On June 4, 1942, Hans Wind accompanied Adolf Hitler in a flight escort of four aircraft when the latter wanted to congratulate the Finnish Field Marshal Mannerheim on his birthday. For this reason, Hans Wind was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class by Reichsmarschall Göring on April 6, 1943 .
By the summer of 1943 he had received 33½ personal kills. For these services, the Finnish Marshal Mannerheim appointed him on July 31, 1943 as Mannerheim Knight 2nd Class of the Order of the Freedom Cross ( Mannerheim Cross ). He achieved a total of 75 victories, after Ilmari Juutilainen with 94 victories, the second highest number that a Finnish pilot has achieved. On June 28, 1944, Captain Wind was awarded the Mannerheim Cross 2nd Class of the Order of the Freedom Cross for the second time by the Finnish Marshal Mannerheim.
A total of 191 Finnish soldiers became Knights of the Mannerheim Cross, 2nd class. Four of them received this award twice ("double Mannerheim crusader"). One of them is Hans Wind.
Web links
- Ossi Juntunen: Hans "Hasse" Wind and his last flight. In: Finnish Fighter Aces. Fighter Tactics Academy, January 1, 2006, archived from the original on June 12, 2012 ; accessed on April 1, 2018 (English).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wind, Hans |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wind, Hans Henrik; Wind, Hasse (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Finnish fighter pilot in World War II |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 30, 1919 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ekenäs , Finland |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 24, 1995 |
| Place of death | Tampere |