Valtion Lentokonetehdas - Expansion To Tampere

Expansion To Tampere

In the 1930s the factory was moved to Tampere, which was also a potential bombing target since it was the biggest industrial city in Finland. The build up of the factory and the airport around it gave work to hundreds of people in the depression of the 1930s. Politically Tampere was in the left what almost led to the factory being located to Vaasa.

Valtion lentokonetehdas was moved to Härmälä, near Tampere in 1936. During the Second World War, the VL serviced and assembled German (Junkers Ju 88) and British (Bristol Blenheim) bomber aircraft.

The Tampere factory employed 665 persons in 1936 and 1,697 persons by 1941. A major part of the work of the factory was overhaul and repair of military aircraft, building new aircraft was a secondary function and the design of indigenous aircraft a tertiary function.

During the wars, the production was dispersed all over Finland to avoid destruction of the whole factory at once; the engine factory was moved to Kokkola, the woodworking factory to Kylmäkoski, stores to Viiala and Pirkkala. Other facilities were located at Pori and Kolho. The Karhumäki brothers' factory was entirely transferred under VL's supervision at the end of the war.