Jorma Sarvanto

Infobox Military Person
name=Jorma Sarvanto
lived=February 22, 1912 - October 16, 1963
placeofbirth=Turku
placeofdeath=Inkeroinen


caption=
nickname=Zamba
allegiance=
serviceyears=1937-1960
rank=Lt.Col.
branch=Air Force
commands=
unit=
battles=
awards=
relations=
laterwork=

Jorma Kalevi Sarvanto (February 22, 1912 – October 16, 1963) was a Finnish Air Force pilot and the foremost Finnish fighter ace of the Winter War.

Early life

Sarvanto was born in Turku, his father was Finnish and his mother a Finland-Swede. Due to his mediocre study records he decided to aim for a military career. He was first admitted to the Pori Infantry Regiment, but decided to apply when the Finnish Air Force sent out a notice that they would select officer trainees. He was admitted and sent to the Reserve Officer Pilot Course number 4 at the Kauhava Air Base. He knew he had come to the right place. He completed his reserve officer training in 1934 and was unemployed for a while due to the Great Depression. He decided to apply to the Cadet School, Air Warfare Section where he wanted to become a cadre (professional) officer, and he was admitted in autumn 1934. In May 1937 his training was completed.

Sarvanto was at first sent to "Lentoasema" 1 (Air Base One) at Utti and later to "Lentorykmentti" 4 (Flight Regiment 4), which was a bomber squadron. He had wished to fly fighters and requested a transfer to Fighter Squadron 24, which was granted. He started to fly Fokker D.XXIs there in 1937. He excelled in the firing tests, with a hit average of 92%. [Sarvanto, Jorma: "Stridsflygare under Karelens himmel", pp. 157-159]

War service

On November 30, 1939, the Winter War erupted and Finland was at war with the Soviet Union. He saw his first battle on December 19, and his first two victories came on December 23, 1939.

On January 6, 1940, lieutenant Per-Erik Sovelius encountered 8 Ilyushin DB-3s while being on patrol. He immediately downed one of them. The rest continued towards the north. He radioed their position to the Utti Air Force Base where Sarvanto was based. The alarm sounded and Sarvanto and other pilots ran out to their Fokker D.XXIs and lifted off. Sarvanto was the first one off the ground and he could see the aircraft far away in the clear sky.

Closing in on the aircraft, 300 meters (1,000 ft) behind, the bombers opened fire. His plane vibrated from some hits. He continued onwards and being only 20 meters (70 ft) away from the bombers he opened fire with his machine guns and silenced the machine gunners of two aircraft. Then he aimed for the engines and fired very short bursts. Flames ignited and smoke trailed after the aircraft, soon the two first aircraft started to go down.

Cheering his kills he saw that another bomber had separated from the group. This one too was soon dealt with. Sarvanto now set his goal on destroying every single one of the bombers. The bombers maneuvered wildly, trying to shake him, but to no avail. One by one they went down with a thick black plume of smoke trailing the aircraft. There was only one bomber left. Sarvanto aligned himself behind the aircraft and aimed carefully. But when he pulled the trigger, his machine guns were silent. He was out of ammunition. He had no other option but to break off and go home. On the ground he would see the smoke, where the bombers had gone down. [Sarvanto, Jorma: "Stridsflygare under Karelens himmel", pp. 52-54]

Sarvanto had managed to down six bombers during a mission that lasted about 25 minutes. The fight itself took no longer than 4-5 minutes. There were two witnesses to the air battle, lieutenant Sovelius and lieutenant Ikonen. They took up the chase for the last bomber and Sovelius managed to down the bomber near the island of Hogland in the Gulf of Finland. Afterwards it was calculated that Sarvanto had not used more than about 400 shots against each bomber, some of these to silence the machine gunners. [Sarvanto, Jorma: "Stridsflygare under Karelens himmel", p. 54] [Keskinen, Kalevi: "Finnish Air Force", p. 8]

When Sarvanto landed and he and his ground crew started to investigate the damage on his aircraft, they found 23 bullet holes in the fuselage, some very close to the cockpit. [Sarvanto, Jorma: "Stridsflygare under Karelens himmel", p. 54]

This incident drew a lot of attention worldwide, and the press considered it a world record. Most of the major Western newspapers published a photo of lieutenant Sarvanto holding a large sheet of aluminum with a big "5" on it, a trophy from one of the victims. [Appel, Erik: "Finland i krig", p. 201]

Sarvanto was to become the top scoring Finnish ace of the Winter War with 13 victories. During the Continuation War he downed four more aircraft with Brewster Buffaloes, bringing his total score to 17. He flew a total of 255 combat missions during WWII. [Stenman, Kari: "Hävittäjä-Ässät"]

In 1941 he was appointed captain and he was given different staff positions, e.g. as a liaison officer with the German "Luftflotte" 1, as the commander of LeLv 24's 2nd division and later as the commander of TLeLv 35. [Sarvanto, Jorma: "Stridsflygare under Karelens himmel", pp. 160-162]

After the war

Sarvanto would continue his military career, which led him to become the commander of the Flight School in Kauhava. In 1954, he became Finnish military attaché in London, a position he held for 3½ years before returning to his position at the Flight School. Sarvanto resigned from the air force in 1960, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Sarvanto had married before the war and had four children. He would work as the CEO of a bank until his death on October 16, 1963.

Sarvanto's grandson is American professional Champion bagpipe player Jori Chisholm.

Aerial victories

[Sarvanto, Jorma: "Stridsflygare under Karelens himmel", p. 202]

Honors

*Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class, with swords, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
*Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class, with swords, of the Order of the Cross of Liberty
*Commander of the Order of the White Rose of Finland
*Order of the German Eagle 3rd Class, with swords
*Luftwaffe's pilot badge "honoris causa"

External links

* [http://www.sci.fi/~fta/finace26.htm Jorma Sarvanto - the Top Finnish Ace of the Winter War]

References

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