Juutilainen, Eino Ilmari “Illu” born on 21-02-1914 in Lieksa, Finland. to Tuomas Pärttylinpoika Juutilainen and Helmi Sofia Juutilainen (born Kauppinen). Eino “Illu” Juutilainen read the book “Der Rote Jagdflieger” by Manfred von Richthofen that made him dream of becoming a pilot. From 1932 to 1933 he performed his military service as an assistant mechanic at the 1st Separate Maritime Squadron, then obtained his pilot’s license in civilian training and then joined the Finnish Air Force. Juutilainen was promoted to sergeant on 1 May. He was transferred to LeLv 24 on 03-03-1939. During the Winter War he flew with the Fokker D.XXI. During the next war he flew with the Brewster Buffalo band took down 28 enemy aircraft. On 21-07-1941, Juutilainen and five other Buffaloes scrambled to intercept Soviet fighters from 65th ShAP that were strafing Finnish troops near Käkisalmi. During that sortie, he destroyed a Polikarpov I-153 ‘Chaika’, making him an “ace” in the Brewster Buffalo In 1943 he was transferred to LeLv 34, which flew the new Messerschmidt BF-109. With the Bf-109, he shot down another 58 enemy aircraft. He shot down six Russian planes on 30-06-1944.
Juutilainen was the top scoring Finnish fighter pilot. He flew Fokker D.XXI, Brewster Buffalo, and Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. He was one of only four people to twice receive the highest Finnish military decoration, the Mannerheim Cross, and is considered the highest scoring non-German ace of all time. Juutilainen finished the war without a single hit to his plane from enemy fighter airplanes (once he was forced to land after a friendly anti-aircraft gun fired at his Bf 109). Like the Japanese fighter ace Saburō Sakai, Juutilainen never lost a wingman in combat. He also scored the first radar-assisted victory in the Finnish Air Force on 24-3-1943, when he was guided to a Soviet Pe-2 by a German radar operator, who was testing out the freshly-delivered radar sets, that officially became operational 3 days later. Saburō Sakai, died 22–09-2000, aged 84 in Atsugi Naval Air Station, Japan
Juutilainen, Eino Ilmari “Illu, refused an appointment as an officer, afraid that would prevent him from flying. After the war he served with the Air Force until 1949. He worked as a professional pilot until 1956 and made sightseeing flights in his De Havilland Tiger Moth. He last flew in 1997 in an F-18 Hornet from the Finnish Air Force. His brother was the Finnish Army Captain Aarne Edward Juutilaine, nicknamed “The Terror of Morocco”. He was a Finnish army captain who served in the French Foreign Legion in Morocco between 1930 and 1935. After returning to Finland, he served in the Finnish army and became a national hero in the Battle of Kollaa during the Winter War with the Soviet Union. Despite having far fewer troops than the Soviets, the Finnish forces (12th Division) repelled the Red Army because the Soviets were only prepared to proceed along roads. The Kollaa area had very few roads, all of them guarded by Finnish troops; and the Soviets were not able to proceed cross-country without skis. “The Terror of Morocco”. was wounded three times during World War II. He died in Helsinki on 28-10-1976, at the age of 72.
Death and burial ground of Juutilainen, Eino Ilmari “Illu”
Juutilainen died on 21-02-1999 on his 85th birthday and is buried on Tuusula Church Cemetery Tuusula, Tuusula Municipality, Uusimaa, Finland.
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