The grave memorial of Flight Sergeant Heikki Marklund

Maanantai 27.4.2026 - Tuesday Club member

Suomeksi

At Tyrväntö cemetery, north of the town of Hämeenlinna, lies the grave of Flight Sergeant Heikki Ludvig Marklund. While he was a student pilot (AOK 3) at the Air Force Academy in Kauhava, Marklund was killed in an air accident on 7 September 1934. The Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard (MA-34) he was flying crashed to the ground during target shooting practice. Marklund was born on 1 October 1907.

The images are from the book Fatal Flights 1918–1938.

At Marklund’s funeral, his fellow aviators erected one of the propeller blades from the accident aircraft MA-34 as a memorial on his grave. The blade has thus stood as the grave memorial for 92 years. A bronze commemorative plaque was fastened on the propeller blade about twenty years ago. It was acquired and affixed to the blade by Paavo Helanterä from Tyrväntö.

Photo: Pasi Pirttikoski

Aviation history enthusiast Heikki Kauppi noticed the poor condition of the propeller-blade memorial at Marklund’s grave and contacted his friend Pasi Pirttikoski. This led them to the idea of restoring the grave memorial and thereby honouring the deceased aviator from Tyrväntö. No relatives of Marklund could be found with whom the memorial could have been discussed, but permission was obtained from the parish to remove the memorial for restoration.

To restore the propeller-blade grave memorial, Kauppi and Pirttikoski contacted the Aviation Museum Society’s Tuesday Club. This eventually led to the Tuesday Club deciding to include the restoration of the propeller blade in its work program. As the work progresses, we will remain in contact with Kauppi and Pirttikoski.

Kauppi and Pirttikoski removed the propeller-blade memorial, together with its base, from Marklund’s grave at Tyrväntö cemetery. Pirttikoski brought the memorial on 8 April to the Aviation Museum Society’s workshop on Puusepäntie in Tuusula. When we examined the memorial, we found that the wooden base had completely rotted and needed to be rebuilt entirely. The base is attached to a metal frame, which is rusted but otherwise still in good condition. The entire grave memorial had been mounted on a flat natural stone. All that remains of the mounting are the rusted stubs of the fastening pins in the stone.

Photo: Mårten Juslin

Photo: Pasi Pirttikoski

The wooden base had completely rotted away, and the propeller blade itself was no longer in impressive condition either. The root of the blade has rotted and was presumably originally longer than it is now. The decayed root is full of cavities made by ants. Otherwise, however, the blade - despite its alarmingly weathered appearance - is still made of reasonably solid wood. We therefore did not give up but drew up the following plan to restore the propeller-blade memorial.

We will clean rust from the metal frame of the wooden base and paint it with black Isotrol paint to prevent further corrosion.

We will build a new wooden base for the propeller blade according to the original design, but this time from pressure-treated wood. A blade-profile-shaped opening will be made in the base, into which the root of the blade will be inserted and locked. We will paint the base with grey Isotrol paint.

We will remove mould from the wooden propeller blade, as there is organic material on its surface such as mould, lichen, and algae.

After mould removal, the propeller blade will be gradually impregnated with a solvent-based Valtti primer, mixed with clear Isotrol varnish. The solvent carries the wood preservative and the varnish deep into the wood, protecting it against mould and blue-stain fungi while also preventing water from penetrating the wood. The impregnation treatment will proceed so that, step by step, the amount of varnish in the Valtti-varnish mixture is increased. The final treatment will be done using only clear Isotrol varnish, which effectively protects the wood from moisture, dirt, and UV radiation.

Of the propeller blade’s five wooden laminated layers, the wooden strip on the trailing edge side has come loose from its glue joint. It will be glued back into place, but only after the impregnation process has been completed. At the same time, glue will be poured into the gaps between the other wooden strips of the propeller blade.

The restored propeller blade and the wooden base will be reassembled, and the bronze commemorative plaque will be refastened to the blade.

Heikki Kauppi and Pasi Pirttikoski at Marklund's grave. Photo: Pasi Pirttikoski

The restored propeller-blade memorial will be returned to the grave of Flight Sergeant Heikki Marklund.

Photos: Lassi karivalo, unless otherwise mentioned

Translation to English: Erja Reinikainen