High-tech search begins for wreckage of Finnish plane shot down over Gulf of Finland in 1940

Two submersible robots to search for passenger plane downed during peacetime

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On Friday an American crew began the search for the wreckage of a Finnish passenger plane, the Kaleva, which was shot down over the Gulf of Finland near the Estonian capital Tallinn in 1940, in the period between the Winter War and the Continuation War.
     
The search equipment was shown to journalists and marine researchers while en route to the island of Naissaar off Tallinn. The weather favoured the group of researchers on the US Navy ship, the Pathfinder, and the team was elated to learn that CNN had reported on the story.
     “My group has never done anything like this before. We are very enthusiastic about this opportunity”, said Martin Ammond, head of the team.
     
Helping in the search will be two autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) - submersible research robots. The AUVs have new kind of sonar and a video camera. The route of the torpedo-like robots is to be programmed with the help of a computer.
      Although the Pathfinder is a vessel of the US Navy, researchers and the entire crew are civilians.
      “I am fairly sure that our system is sufficiently advanced to pinpoint the plane, if it is in the area that we are searching”, Ammond said. In his view, it would be magnificent if they found the wreckage of the Kaleva.
     
During the cruise, the smaller, shallow water robot was lowered into the water. After a dive of a few hours, it was brought back in, and the pictures it had taken were shown to the guests, and analysed.
      On Friday, the group began to survey the sea bottom with the sonar on board.
      The AUVs are to be placed in the water near where the crash took place, near the lighthouse island of Keri.
      Ammond says that the robots will be in the water for about 12 to 15 hours at a time, after which they will surface again. That is the time when the material shot by the AUVs is to be downloaded onto the ship’s computers for analysis. The material is sent by satellite for further analysis by marine researchers in the USA.
      “Generally our work involves the surveying of the sea bottom”, says engineer Corey Smith from Mississippi, who is responsible for the robots. Smith says that he is excited about the mission. He has seen two situations in which a group has accidentally located a plane wreckage as part of routine work.
     
Also taking part in the study is Irmeli Wallin, a Finnish expert on underwater searches, who has studied the Kaleva case for several years. Last summer Wallin’s four-member group used sonar to search the area. The American team began its search by revisiting locations found by Wallin.
      “There are 18 objects in the area, which could be engine parts, as far as their size and material is concerned”, Wallin said.
      According to Wallin, the depth of the sea in the area that is being searched varies between 70 and 100 metres. The bottom is partly even, but in the northern area, there is a granite ridge running from east to west.
     
After the search for the Kaleva, the Pathfinder will take part in the Baltops 2008 naval exercise in the Baltic Sea. The vessel came to search for the downed plane at the request of Estonian Defence Minister Jaak Aavikson.
     
The Kaleva, a Junkers Ju52 plane of the Finnish airline Aero, had taken off on its last flight from Tallinn to Helsinki’s Malmi Airport on June 14th, 1940, when it was shot down by two Soviet fighter-bombers about ten minutes after takeoff.
     The plane fell into the sea near the lighthouse island of Keri.
     
The crew included a Finnish captain Bo von Willebrand and radio operator Tauno Launis. Passengers included one Estonian citizen, two Germans, two diplomatic couriers of the French Embassy, as well as one Swedish and one American diplomatic courier.
     The diplomatic post on board is seen as one possible reason why the plane was shot down.
     
Two days after the plane was shot down, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia. The Soviet Union and Russia have never admitted to having downed the plane.
     Estonian filmmaker Toivo Kallas, who is producing a documentary on the Kaleva case believes that the diplomats may have been in possession of surveillance material concerning Soviet bases in Estonia.
     However, Kallas believes that the Russians had not originally intended to shoot down the plane, but rather to force it to fly back to the airport and detain the diplomats.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Americans launch search for Finnish passenger airplane Kaleva shot down in 1940 (27.5.2008)

Links:
  Wikipedia: Kaleva (airplane)

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