The VL Salamointi (Lightning) went from design to production in a mere six months thanks to advisory assistance from Heinkel Flugzeugwerke. Utilizing a license produced Daimler-Benz DB.605DC with hub gearing to drive contra-rotating VDM-Dural 4-Blade propellers, eliminating the effect of torque on the airframe and making full use of the 2,000 HP delivered by the DB.605DC. This power-plant was fitted to a slender-bodied fuselage as well as broad wings with slight dihedral. Armament is composed of two wing mounted 20 LTK/404 (A knock-off of the Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannons chambered for 20x110 mm rounds.), a third 20 LTK/404 fires through the propeller spinner and two 12.7 mm LKK/42 Machine-Guns (Pre-war licensed production of the Browning M2 .50 BMG Cal. Heavy Machine-Gun) outboard of the cannons in the wings. While her armament is lighter than late model Bf-109K variants - she more than makes up for it in having superior speed, endurance and maneuverability over even this iconic axis fighter.

Production was initially hindered via an insufficient work force but over 5,000 Jewish prisoners were released to Finland to use as a work force to build new factory facilities and to produce the new aircraft. A chill resulted between Germany and Finland as these workers were promised full rights of asylum and citizenship if they served Finland's endeavors during wartime. Prior to the war only 6,000 citizens were reported to be Jewish and Finland served as a host to 300 asylum seekers from pre-war Germany. Many of which served in Finland's military, some with pre-war medical skills tended to wounded German troops in the field and saved their lives. These workers nearly doubled their Jewish population. While Germany repeatedly demanded that this offer be renounced Finnish authorities bluntly responded that they needed a work force of at least that number and that they needed to be motivated to go above and beyond their duties.

Flight instructions:

Take Off:

- Use VTOL controls to lower the flaps by half.
- Apply pitch to climb.
- Throttle up to 50%.
- Once the aircraft lifts off of the ground, retract the landing gear, return the flaps to the 0 position and adjust throttle as desired.

NOTE: Failing to follow these instructions will cause the aircraft to nose over!

Landing:

- Throttle down and bleed off speed through flaring. (Pitching up and down.)
- Lower Flaps and extend landing gear at 150-175 mph.
- Landings can be made dead stick to 15~25% Throttle. Stall speed is somewhere between 95-115 mph.
- Once on the ground and under 90 mph, continue pitching up to assist the tail wheel in staying on the ground and break carefully so as to not nose over.

Tips on flight:

The VL Salamointi has a tendency to try to climb at low altitudes making constant aiming adjustments necessary when in pursuit of other aircraft. Thus the Salamointi tends to operate most effectively at 15,000-30,000 feet. Due to the wing area, dihedral and engine power she is capable of climbing to these altitudes in a very short span of time. When not scrambling to intercept allied bombers or attack aircraft pilots tend to climb to altitude in a shallow banking climb during which time she will pick up speed. Speeds as high as 610 mph were recorded during tests of the first production models at 30,000 feet. Speeds in the high 400 mph to mid 500 mph range is more the norm however.

Notes: This aircraft was built for @General360 's RP and the use of contra-rotating engines was given permission prior to the development of this project.

The guns are modded to represent the 12.7 mm LKK/42 Machine-Gun, a copy of the US Browning M2 .50 BMG Cal. Heavy Machine-Gun in addition to ammunition. While it is unclear if the Finns produced a different range of ammunition for this weapon it is more likely that it was identical to that used by the US produced model of this gun. Thus these were given the red tracers of the US Browning M2.

Stats for the weapon have been modded according to factual data on the Browning M2 and ammunition available at the time.

The 20 LTK/404 20 mm cannon is a spurious knock-off of the Hispano-Suiza HS.404 which the Finns had ample contact with from their Morane-Saulnier MS.406 fighters. (Both Great Britain and the US produced this weapon under license.) As such I guestimated that their ammunition would be identical to its foreign built parent design.

This weapon could not chamber ANY German made 20 mm ammunition due to its 20x110 mm cartridges, nor could it accommodate the Finnish Navy's stores of 20 mm ammunition from their 20 mm Madsen Cannons, due to their 20x120 mm cartridges.

Once again the guns were modded with factual information to reflect the actual weapon and munitions. The only thing I could not simulate was the HS.404's tendency to jam which continued to vex the British and United States until the type received a rather inglorious retirement from service post-war.

Feel free to use these altered weapons in your' designs as well, just remember the outboard weapons are based on the Browning M2 .50 cal. and the center-most three are based on the Hispano-Suiza HS.404 20 mm cannon and their license produced counterparts!