VL E.30 Kotka was a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 two-seat, biplane maritime patrol aircraft, designed by Kurt Berger at the State Aircraft Factory (Valtion lentokonetehdas

Valtion lentokonetehdas

' was a Finnish aircraft manufacturing company that was founded on 23 February 1928 from the IVL or I.V.L. factory . The company was transferred from being subordinate to the Finnish Air Force to being subordinate to the Ministry of Defence...

). It was meant to replace the Blackburn Ripon

Blackburn Ripon

-See also:-External links:* in Flight...

s that were in service with the Finnish Air Force

Finnish Air Force

The Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions...

.

The prototype made its first flight on September 30, 1930. In 1931 the State Aircraft Factory began producing a series of five aircraft. These were used as liaison aircraft until 1944.

One aircraft (no. 4, KA-147) is still preserved and on display at the Päijät-Häme Aviation Museum.

Versions

• VL Kotka I - prototype aircraft, one built
• VL Kotka II - series production aircraft, five built

Specifications (VL Kotka II)