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learned about the depth charges that were in use and managed to get a hold of a few for his experiments. He then proceeded to find out at which heights the aircraft should fly to avoid deflecting depth charges from the surface and still drop the charge without breaking the detonation mechanism upon impact with the water.
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The most notable difference between the
Finnish and Allied methods was that the Allies were able to set the detonation depth just prior the drop, while the Finnish ones were pre-set on ground. This was partly due to the use of less advanced bombers in the naval bombing squadron, and partly due to the
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Knowledge of the effective submarine hunting method soon spread around the world. Most navies, up to that point, had been using regular bombs. Upon learning about it, some members of the
British House of Commons pressed for the introduction of similar weapons in their aerial submarine hunting forces.
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The
Finnish bombers were equipped with three depth charges, each one set to detonate at different depths. The bomber squadron became quite successful, sinking eight Soviet submarines. Captain Ek was involved in the sinking of four. The Soviets did not manage to find any effective countermeasures
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from aircraft. Immediately at the outbreak of the Winter War, Ek noticed that the small bombs used up to that time to combat submersibles were too weak against the Soviet submarines with their strong pressure hulls. They had to find another way of dealing with them. From a friend in the navy he
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aircraft that had been captured, usually without escort. The aircraft had to rely on camouflage and also flew at altitudes of only some 100 meters above the sea to make them more difficult to spot, but in the same time made the use of parachutes, as the means of escape, impossible.
232:. All his belongings and pension savings were confiscated by the Finnish state, and Ek was forced to obtain loan from friends and relatives to make ends meet.
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Merilentäjät sodan taivaalla: meri-ilmailusta, suomalaisten merilentäjien vaiheista vv. 1918–39, talvi- ja jatkosodan taistelulennoista
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He was promoted to the rank of major after the war, and pursued a career as the foreign military attaché at the
Finnish embassy in
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in southern
Finland. He married Tyyni Orvokki Puupponen and had two daughters. He began his military career in the early 1930s.
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aircraft equipped with four depth charges and were used quite successfully against
Italian and German submarines.
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He returned to
Finland just before his death. He is buried at the knight's grove at the Levo cemetery.
182:), or submarine hunter pilot. He is credited with inventing and refining the method of dropping naval
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Birger Ek was born in 1911 to insurance inspector Arthur Ek and Elsa
Lundequist and grew up in
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Captain Ek flew all of his submarine hunting missions with notoriously unreliable Soviet
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In the 1960s he could not pay his taxes and decided to go into voluntary exile to the
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shallow depth of the Gulf of
Finland where most of the missions were carried out.
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as a pilot and the commander of the second flight of bomber squadron 6 (
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Suomen puolesta - Mannerheim-ristin ritarit 1941–1945, 4. painos
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He flew 171 wartime missions, including 29 in the Winter War.
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195:This was soon followed by the other Allied forces.
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262:Joppe Karhunen: Merilentäjät sodan taivaalla.
304:Hurmerinta, Ilmari; Viitanen, Jukka (2004).
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178:Captain Ek was the first Finnish "Suto" (
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271:Joppe Karhunen: Erikoismiehet iskevät
198:British forces mostly used modified
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287:Birger Ek ja hänen SB-2 lentueensa
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252:Finnish Mannerheim Cross Knights
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401:Knights of the Mannerheim Cross
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180:sukellusveneentorjuntalentäjä
416:Finnish expatriates in Spain
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391:Finnish World War II pilots
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146:) was a Finnish pilot and
381:Finnish military aviators
138:(born 23 January 1911 in
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342:Karhunen, Joppe (1980).
323:Karhunen, Joppe (1971).
289:. Ilmailumuseoyhdistys.
285:Peltonen, Kauko (2022).
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191:during the entire war.
160:He participated in the
406:Swedish-speaking Finns
142:, dead 7 July 1990 in
325:Erikoismiehet iskevät
88:Years of service
221:and subsequently in
200:Vickers Wellington
386:Winter War pilots
308:. Ajatus kirjat.
296:978-952-7044-96-4
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82:Finnish Air Force
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166:Continuation War
148:Mannerheim Cross
129:Military attaché
120:Mannerheim Cross
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126:Other work
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38:23 January 1911
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376:1990 deaths
371:1911 births
50:7 July 1990
365:Categories
279:References
162:Winter War
59:Allegiance
346:. Otava.
327:. Otava.
219:Stockholm
91:1931-1945
20:Birger Ek
150:Knight.
76:Service/
170:2./LeLv
155:Loviisa
70:Finland
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223:London
116:Awards
110:LeLv 6
78:branch
239:Notes
144:Lahti
100:Major
53:Lahti
348:ISBN
329:ISBN
310:ISBN
291:ISBN
164:and
106:Unit
96:Rank
47:Died
35:Born
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