Olavi Puro

Olavi Puro
Puro in the cockpit of his Bf 109 during mid-1944
Nickname(s)	Olli
Born	18 November 1918 Helsinki
Died	20 June 1999 (1999-06-21) (aged 80)
Allegiance	Finland
Service / branch	Finnish Air Force
Years of service	1940–1944
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	LeLv 6, LeLv 24
Awards	Freedom Cross, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Class
Other work	Data processing director at a savings bank

Olavi Kauko Puro was born on 18 November 1918 in Helsinki and died on 20 June 1999. He was one of the top scoring aces in the Finnish Air Force with 36 confirmed victories.

Biography

Puro served in Fighter Squadrons (LLv's): 6 and 24 during the Second World War. He became an ace in 1943. Puro was actively flying at the front almost during the whole war.

During his 207 combat missions, Olavi Puro scored 36 confirmed victories in I-153s, Brewster Buffaloes and Bf 109 Gs. Puro was relieved from service at the end of the war in 1944 and took up a job as a data processing director at a bank. His memoirs were published in the book Mersu-ässä in 2011.

Victories

Puro claimed the following numbers of victories in each type of aircraft he flew:

Aircraft	Victories
I-153	2
Brewster Buffalo	5.5
Messerschmitt Bf 109G	28.5
Total	36

References

Bibliography

• Keskinen, Kalevi; Stenman, Kari and Niska, Klaus. Hävittäjä-ässät (Finnish Fighter Aces) (in Finnish). Espoo, Finland: Tietoteas, 1978. ISBN 951-9035-37-0.
• Stenman, Kari; Keskinen, Kalevi (1998). Finnish Aces of World War 2. Aircraft of the Aces 23. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-783-X.

Further reading

• Olavi Puro : Mersu-ässä. Koala-kustannus, Helsinki 2011 ISBN 9789522291219

See also

• List of World War II aces from Finland