Memorial site for Finnish pilots Memorial site

Located on the edge of the Lilaste-Saulkrasti highway, next to the "Viada" gas station.

The memorial site was established in 2013 at the site of the crash of the Finnish Air Force in 1943. The disaster killed four Finnish army soldiers flying from Germany to Finland. The installation, design and manufacture of the monument was entirely an initiative of the Finnish representatives. It is a tradition of Finnish war pilots to erect memorials at plane crash sites.

In 1943, Finland purchased 24 modern Junker bombers from Germany. They were designed to supplement the Finnish Air Force with modern aircraft. The factory delivered the aircraft in 1943 and, after pilot training, took them to Finland. The flight of one plane ended tragically. Due to technical defects, the pilots were forced to look for a place to make an emergency landing. The plane lost height until it caught trees, fell into the woods and caught fire. Finnish pilots were buried in the cemetery of the German army in Riga during the occupation of Germany. They were later reburied in their homeland.

It is interesting that one of the most modern airplanes manufactured in Latvia was crashed in Finland in 1938 as well. It was piloted by Latvian and Finnish army pilots - K. Lešinskis and F. Kuopameki.