In November 1939, the USSR invaded Finland after this country refused to give up some territory that the Soviets demanded. The aggressors deployed at least 2500 aircraft against a handful of outdated aircraft operated by the Finns. Initially, they relied on Fokker D.XXI, a Dutch fixed landing gear monoplane but as the war began, they acquired whatever type they could get their hands on. One such type was the Gloster Gladiator, a British biplane. Outdated almost as soon as it entered service, thirty examples were soon put to good use. Slow but very maneuverable, it could be very effective against Soviet fighters, many of which were biplanes too. The Winter War between Finland and the USSR would produce quite a few aces on the Finnish side and the first Gladiator ace was Oiva Tuominen. This NCO pilot first joined the Air Force as a mechanic but soon became a pilot and demonstrated that an outdated biplane could be effective against enemy fighters as well as bombers. Tuominen would continue flying against the Soviets throughout the WWII and end up as the fifth most successful Finnish ace.

Main Sources:
Andrew Thomas Gloster Gladiator Aces
https://amzn.to/3WHTNtj
Biplane fighter aces Finland Lentomestari Oiva Emil Kalervo ‘Oippa’ Tuominen
http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/finlan...
Oiva "Oippa" Tuominen from mechanic to Knight
https://web.archive.org/web/201106061...

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