VL Humu

Fighter Prototype [ 1944 ]

The VL Humu was nothing more than a short-lived local Finnish development of the American Brewster F2A fighter series - only one prototype was completed.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/05/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Finnish wartime aero industry managed a few notable entries during World War 2 (1939-1945), its adversary becoming the Soviet Union. Valtion Lentokonetehdas (VL) was its primary state-run aircraft factory which began manufacturing for the Finnish Air Force in 1928. Its early products were seaplanes, owing to the fact that the facility lacked a runway, but eventually the facility graduated to more advanced types.

One of the "one-off" prototypes to emerge during the war years - which saw a Soviet invasion of Finland spark the "Winter War" and subsequent "Continuation War" - was the VL "Humu" - or "Whirlwind". It was developed along the lines of a fighter with a nose-mounted single engine installation, a single-seat cockpit, and low-set monoplane wings. The undercarriage was made retractable and the pilot fully-enclosed in his cockpit. Armament centered on 2 x 12.7mm LKK/42 fuselage-mounted heavy machine guns.

At its core, the Finnish Humu was nothing more than a local evolution of the American Brewster "F2A" which became known as the "Buffalo" in British service. Like the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Finns were also recipients of this fighter product, via export, and found the most success with the type in its fight against the Soviets. Unlike the American entry, which was constructed as an all-metal aircraft, wartime restrictions on materials like metal forced wood to be substituted in the design where possible. The result was a "wooden fighter" with steel under structure.

The Humu was conceived of due to the fact that the 40+ F2As were simply not enough to meet the demand placed by the Finnish Air Force. So an indigenous effort was put forth to recreate the American fighter using local measures. Torsti Verkkola, Arvo Ylinen, and Martti Vainio were all names associated with the Humu's design as project leads.

This gave the Finnish fighter a strong resemblance to the Brewster product. It showcased a length of 26.3 feet, a wingspan of 35 feet, and a height of 12 feet. Power was from a Shvetsov M-63 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine developing 1,000 horsepower. The engines were Soviet in origin but based in the American Wright R-1820 "Cyclone" series radials which powered other aircraft - including the original F2A. The M-63 was an improvement over the earlier M-62.

Performance specs for the Humu included a maximum speed of 267 miles per hour and a service ceiling up to 26,250 feet.

An order for ninety Humu fighters was placed by the Finnish Air Force. The first completed aircraft was flown on August 8th, 1944 but this essentially marked the high point of the program for it was cancelled with just the sole example becoming available. This aircraft managed nearly 20 hours in the air but it was soon found to be heavy and lack the performance needed to contend with more modern fighters. As such, the Humu was left as-is and ended its days as a showpiece of the Central Finland Aviation Museum where it resides today.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

1944

Origin

Finland

Crew

1

Production

1
UNITS

VL (Valtion lentokonetehdas) - Finland

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Finland (cancelled)

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

X-PLANE
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.

Length

26.3 ft
(8.03 m)

Width/Span

35.0 ft
(10.67 m)

Height

12.0 ft
(3.65 m)

Empty Wgt

4,299 lb
(1,950 kg)

MTOW

6,393 lb
(2,900 kg)

Wgt Diff

+2,094 lb
(+950 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base VL Humu production variant)

Installed: 1 x Shvetsov M-63 9-cylinder radial piston engine developing 1,000 horsepower.

Max Speed

267 mph
(430 kph | 232 kts)

Ceiling

26,247 ft
(8,000 m | 5 mi)

Range

777 mi
(1,250 km | 675 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

2,000 ft/min
(610 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base VL Humu production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

PROPOSED:
2 x 12.7mm LKK/42 machine guns

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft heavy machine gun

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

0
Hardpoints

"Humu" - Base Series Name; sole example completed.

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Images Gallery

1 / 1

Image from the Public Domain.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)