The Finnish aircraft was not just a Mossie converted to take DB 605. Basically, it was designed as an aerodynamic copy of the British design, powered with German engines and fitted with Finnish and Russian ( recycled in the masterful way typical of Finnish Armed Forces for the period ) equipment. From a structural point of view, it was a different design.
It is curious to note that two very different countries, Argentina and Finland, opted for the same type of shortcut when both needed to conceive a twin-engined tactical bomber and attack aircraft to be built using local industrial capabilities. The Finnish project, the V.L. Vihuri, remained in the drawing board, while its South American cousin reached full production status as the I.Aé. 24 Calquín ( the indigenous Araucan Indian name for eagle ), albeit instead of the originally intended R.R. Merlins it was fitted with American radials. The resulting aircraft had a decent performance and served well into the 50s.
Cheers,
Rui Aballe
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