of reconnaissance sorties. The Germans brought several of their own aircraft, but they did not contribute much to the overall outcome of the war. The first air-force base of independent Finland was founded on a lake shore near Kolho. The base could operate three aircraft. The first aircraft arrived by rail on 7 March 1918, and on 17 March 1918 took off from the base for the first time. In 1918 the Finns took over nine Russian Stetinin M-9 aircraft that had been left behind. The first air operation of the Whites during the war was flown over Lyly. It was a reconnaissance-gathering mission as the front-line moved south. As the line neared Tampere, the base moved first to Orivesi and then to Kaukajärvi near Tampere. The contribution of the White air force during the war was almost insignificant. From 10 March 1918 the Swedish Lt. John-Allan Hygerth led the Finnish Air Force. He was however replaced on 18 April 1918, due to his unsuitability for the position and numerous accidents. The German Captain Carl Seber took over the role and commanded the air force from 28 April 1918 until 13 December 1918. By the end of the Civil War the Finnish Air Force had 40 aircraft, of which 20 had been captured from the Reds (the Reds did not operate this many aircraft, but some had been found abandoned on Åland). Five of the aircraft had been flown by the Allies from Russia, four had been gifts from Sweden and eight had been bought from Germany. Winter War (1939–1940) The Winter War began on 30 November 1939, when the Soviet Air Force bombed 21 Finnish cities and municipalities. The Soviet Union had an estimated 5,000 aircraft in 1939, and of these, some 700 fighters and 800 medium bombers came to the Finnish front to support the Red Army's operations. As with most aerial bombardments in the early stages of World War II, the damage to Finnish industry and railways was quite limited. At the beginning of the Winter War the Finnish Air Force was equipped with only 18 Bristol Blenheim bombers and 46 fighters (32 modern Fokker D.XXIs and 14 obsolete Bristol Bulldogs). There were also 58 liaison aircraft, but 20 of these were only used for messengers. The most modern aircraft in the Finnish arsenal were British-designed and -built Bristol Blenheim bombers. The primary fighter aircraft, the Fokker