No. 24 Squadron, Finnish Air Force

No. 24 Squadron Finnish Air Force
Lynx emblem of No. 24 Squadron
Active	15 July 1933 - 4 September 1944
Country	Finland
Branch	Finnish Air Force
Role	fighter
Engagements	Winter War, Continuation War

No. 24 Squadron (Finnish: Lentolaivue 24 or LLv.24, from 3 May 1942 Le. Lv.24), renamed No. 24 Fighter Squadron (Finnish: Hävittäjälentolaivue 24 or HLe.Lv.24 on 14 February 1944) was a fighter squadron of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. The squadron was part of Flying Regiment 2.

During the Winter War, all Fokker D.XXIs - Finland's only modern fighter - were concentrated into the No. 24 Sqn, making it the only frontline fighter force.

No. 24 Squadron was the most successful fighter squadron of the Finnish Air Force during World War II, claiming 877 aerial victories for a loss of 55 aircraft. The unit produced seven Mannerheim Cross winners, including Ilmari Juutilainen and Hans Wind, the two top-scoring aces.

After the re-organization of the Finnish Air Force after World War II, HLeLv 24 was renamed into HLeLv 31. Today it is part of the Karelian Wing, flying F-18 Hornets and still sporting the "Supersonic Lynx" as its emblem.

The Finnish Air Force was re-organized on July 15, 1933. As a result of a political decision, more aircraft bases were built and new units were formed. Among these were No. 24 Sqn, which was located to Utti, north of Kotka and close to the Karelian Isthmus. No. 24 Sqn was equipped with British Gloster Gamecock III fighters, that had been license-manufactured in Finland. The first unit commander, Richard Lorenz, developed a new fighter tactic, based on aircraft pairs, instead of the three-aircraft groups that were standard of the day. It is possible that the Finnish Air Force was the first air force to introduce this system as a tactical formation, later to be immortalized by Luftwaffe, and a standard today. The squadron was equipped with Dutch Fokker D.XXI fighters in 1937.