Republic Seabees in Finland

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OH-EGA

OH-EGA (s/n 679)
The first Seabee in Finland
Photo: © via Matti Mecklin
 

No other country in the World would be more perfect for Seabee amphibians than Finland - "The Land of 10,000 Lakes"!  With thousands of lakes (187,888 to be precise!!), thousands of islands (179,584...) and a long coast line, there will never be a problem finding a landing spot for a Seabee.  However, it is a fact that the Seabees were never imported into Finland in such numbers as in the neighbor countries Sweden and Norway, whatever the reasons were...  Only three Seabees are known to have a connection to Finland.

OH-EGA (s/n 679)
The first Seabee in Finland
Photo: © ?

1947 Seabee s/n 679 was the first general aviation aircraft imported to Finland after WW2.  The Seabee, registered OH-EGA, was imported new from manufacturer Republic Aviation Corp. by the Finnish distributor Lentopalvelu Oy; Helsinki.  In November 1947 OH-EGA was registered to company Enso-Gutzeit Oy; Savonlinna.  In September 1958 OH-EGA overturned and sank after landed gear down on a lake in Kaukopää.  OH-EGA was cancelled from Finnish register in 1959.  Fortunately the aircraft was recovered and in 1992 the wreck was purchased by Mr. Matti Mecklin for rebuild and restoration.

Currently OH-EGA is stored in hangar at Vesivehmaa Airfield, 20 km N of Lahti for future restoration, until time and money will permit Mr. Mecklin to start the restoration.

OH-SBB (s/n 200)
Photo: © via Matti Mecklin

The second Republic Seabee imported to Finland was s/n 200, OH-SBB, imported from Denmark in 1951.  This Seabee was originally imported factory-fresh to UK as G-AJNM, then sold on to Denmark as OY-ABZ before ending up in Finland.

OH-SBB (s/n 200) taxiing before take off 1967-08-06
Puumala, Finland

In Finland OH-SBB was operated for 15 years by a number of different owners, until it sadly crashed on 6 August 1967.  On take off from sea near Puumala airport, in Southern Finland, OH-SBB stalled and crashed into sea, killing both people aboard.  Some German tourists took some photos of the fatal take off.

OH-SBB (s/n 200) on fatal take off 1967-08-06
Puumala, Finland

The third and final Seabee destined for Finland was s/n 737, imported from Norway in 1962, to be registered OH-SBC.  However, this never happened...  In 1962 s/n 737 (LN-MAM) was purchased from the Norwegian operator Mørefly AS by the Finnish businessman Levi Hellberg, Helsingfors.  On 15 June 1962 Mr. Hellberg took off from Ålesund, Norway, to fly the Seabee home to Finland.  The first landing en route was made in Östersund, Sweden, where he stayed overnight.  Next morning he started for the next leg to Gävle, on the East coast of Sweden, some 140 km north of Stockholm.  The weather forecast indicated fog on the coast, but Mr. Hellberg decided he still would go.  If weather turned too bad, he could easily land on sea or on a lake and wait for weather to improve.

Near Gnarp, some 30 km south of Sundsvall, the forecast turned out to be right, and Mr. Hellberg decided to land on sea, approximately 1 NM from the Swedish coast.  The landing was uneventful and he started to taxi towards land.  After a while Hellberg decided to make a short 'hop' towards land, to save time.  When he landed again after a few hundred meters, the right wing float hit a wave hard and was torn off.  In an attempt to lift the wing from sea, Hellberg added power.  Unfortunately this was too late; the wing dug in and the Seabee flipped over on its back.   Mr. Hellberg was rescued by to boatsmen.  The Seabee did not sink at first but floated towards land, near Hernösand, Fågelhorn, where it was completely destroyed when beating against the rocks in the waves.  Later the wreck was recovered.  The Finnish registration OH-SBC was probably never applied to the aircraft.

 

OH-SBB

OH-SBB
Taxiing before fatal accident
06 August 1967
Photo: © via Paul R. Compton

OH-SBB

OH-SBB
After accident on 06 August 1967
Photo: © via Paul R. Compton

OH-SBB

OH-SBB
After accident on 06 August 1967
Photo: © via Paul R. Compton

OH-SBB

OH-SBB
Photo: © via Paul R. Compton

OH-SBB

OH-SBB
On skis!
Photo: © via Paul R. Compton

OH-EGA

OH-EGA
Photo: © via Paul R. Compton
S   Reg. Mk: S/N: Reg. Years: Remarks:
R OH-EGA 679 1947 - 1959
1992 -
Crashed 1959-09-30.
Stored in hangar at Vesivehmaa Airfield, 20 km N of Lahti for future restoration
C OH-SBB 200 1951 - 1967 Ex G-AJNM, OY-ABZ
Crashed 1967-08-06.
C   OH-SBC 737 1962 Ex LN-MAM
Crashed 1962-06-16.
  Crashed (C) / Scrapped/Destroyed (D)
  Confirmed flying (F)
  Unknown (U)/ Restoration (R) / Stored (S) / Exported (E).

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Updated 2010-06-13

© 2004-2010 Steinar Saevdal