No. 42 Squadron ( or LLv.42, from 3 May 1942 Le.Lv.42), renamed No. 42 Bomber Squadron (Finnish: Pommituslentolaivue 42 or PLe.Lv.42 on 14 February 1944) was a long-range bomber squadron of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. It was established in 1940. The squadron participated in the Winter, Continuation and Lapland wars as part of Flying Regiment 4, and was the only regiment in the squadron that exclusively operated Bristol Blenheim bomber aircraft. The squadron was abolished in 1952. The Third Regiment, of the Flying Regiment 4, was established on January 16, 1940, but existed initially only on paper. Under the command of Captain Armas Eskola, the crews of its three flights were transferred to Juva on February 23 to wait for their British-purchased Blenheim fleet. The 12 aircraft, flown by English pilots, arrived at Juva Jukajärvi Airport on February 26. The machines were long-nosed, Mk.IVs. After a short period of training, the squadron took part in bombing missions from March 4, 1940, fighting the Russian invasion of the Vyborg Bay . By the start of the truce, the squadron had completed 62 aircraft-specific warfare flights. One aircraft had been lost, three of the crew had died and one had been taken as a prisoner of war. After the Winter War, the squadron moved from Jukajärvi to the Luonetjärvi base, where training continued throughout the truce. On April 25, 1940, seven aircraft and their crew transferred to Pori Airport for a month-long mission to fly surveillance flights in the Baltic Sea and the Åland Islands. The squadron aircraft also performed aerial photography during the truce: on October 13 and November 11, 1940, the Soviet base at Hanko and the Russian airports in the Karelian Isthmus were photographed. In the summer of 1941, at the beginning of the Continuation War, the squadron was transferred to Siikakangas Airport . The squadron flew its first military flight on June 28, performing reconnaissance and filming the sections Parikkala-Rautu and Vyborg-Sortavala with a single aircraft. These remained the only flights from the Siikakangas field. On July 3, the squadron was transferred back to Lake Luonetjärvi, with the task of supporting the field army, which was preparing to attack at the Karelian Isthmus. On July 4, the squadron bombarded Russian troops and tanks on the Tyry-Ihala road with nine aircraft, and railway equipment at Elisenvaara station on July 8, first with eight aircraft and