Finnish Air Force to honor Mauri Maunula with flyover in Helsinki tomorrow

The Finnish Air Force will honor the memory of Mauri Maunula with a flyover in Helsinki tomorrow, Thursday, October 23. Captain (ret.) Maunula was the last surviving military pilot who served in World War II, passing away in September at the age of 103.

The tribute will take place during a memorial service in Pakila, Helsinki, with the flyover scheduled between 11:45 AM and 12:00 PM. Four F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets will soar over the Church of the Good Shepherd in Pakila during this time. The exact timing of the flyover will be coordinated with the service proceedings, and the aircraft will fly from south to north at an altitude of about 300 meters, subject to weather conditions.

Captain Maunula’s military career began in April 1940. He volunteered for the Finnish Air Force in the fall of 1939 and completed a reserve officer course, earning his Finnish Pilot Badge No. 828 in December 1941. After this, he attended a cadet course from 1942 to 1943. During the Continuation War and the Lapland War, he served as a reconnaissance and fighter pilot, flying 69 combat missions on a total of 20 different aircraft types, from Smoliks to Bristol Blenheims.

In 1948, Maunula transitioned to civil aviation by enrolling in Aeron’s (now Finnair) flight engineer course. He served as co-pilot on the flight that retrieved Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim’s coffin from Geneva, Switzerland, to Finland. Maunula had a distinguished career in aviation as a commercial pilot, instructor, and flight examiner, amassing a total of 21,473 flight hours in both military and civilian aviation.