Hobby Master 1/48 HA8753 BF 109G-6 "Juutilainen" "White 0"/MT-451, 1/LeLv34, Finnish Air Force, June 1944

The first Bf-109G “Gustav” entered service in March 1942. New features were a pressurized cockpit with three larger guns mounted on the nose and none on the wings but could be field mounted. The Bf-109G could overheat causing oil leaks; starting a fire forcing the pilot to bail out. The Gustav was produced in many variants including long-range fighters, recon fighters and bomber destroyers. The Bf-109G-6 lacked a pressurized cockpit but was the most numerous Bf-109 produced and the first to carry 13mm machine guns; equivalent to the American 50 caliber Browning.

During WWII the Finnish Air Force received 159 Bf-109s referred to by the Finns as Mersu. These aircraft made it possible for Finland to take on the Soviet aircraft. The Finnish claimed 667 victories to 34 of their own lost in combat. Finnish Flight 34th Squadron 1st Squadron pilot W.O. Eino Ilmari Juutilainen is the highest-scoring non-German pilot of all time, with 94 confirmed victories. By the end of WWII Juutilainen’s aircraft was never struck by enemy fire. 34 of Juutilainen’s victories were earned flying a Brewster Buffalo.