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All News & Notes


Kaleva shot down 86 years ago
Soviet warplanes shot down Aero’s (present-day Finnair) ”Kaleva” airliner over the Gulf of Finland on 14th June, 1940; making Sunday 14th, 2026 the 86th anniversary of the atrocity. If you wish to revisit the incident as well as the occurrences preceding and following it, here are some pointers: Wikipedia gives a pretty good rundown: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaleva_(airplane) Sylvia Wrigley provides a more detailed description in her blogpost: https://fearoflanding.com/h
Kalervo Mikkonen
Jun 121 min read


How the Kaleva was found - 84 years after Russian bombers shot it down
Photograph: Henri Hoffren / Suomen Ilmailumuseo (Finnish Aviation Museum) Soviet bombers shot the Kaleva down on 14th June 1940. The airliner was on its daily scheduled run from Tallinn to Helsinki. Everyone on board died in the crash into the sea near Keri lighthouse island off the Estonian coast. The reason for the barbarous attack has never been fully resolved. Over the years numerous attempts have been made to find the wreck of the Kaleva. As long as these were unsuccessf
Kalervo Mikkonen
Jan 62 min read


Kaleva Down reviewed by Aviation Book Reviews
Max Heldring at Aviationbookreviews.com has reviewed Kaleva Down. He concludes his review with the sentence: 'A smooth and exciting read with an unexpected and surprising ending.' Click the button below to read the full report: The above may beg the question: Is Kaleva Down an aviation book? I like to think of Kaleva Down as a Cold War action thriller with an aviation twist. The book should appeal to anyone, who is fond of 20th century historical thrillers. The flying episo
Kalervo Mikkonen
Nov 25, 20251 min read


Dramatic cover design by Miika Haavisto
Miika Haavisto has been designing the cover for Kaleva Down and created this dramatic image of the doomed Kaleva.
Kalervo Mikkonen
Nov 4, 20251 min read
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