The 1940s

The Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union began in November 1939 and lasted until March 1940. After this war, a year of peace between the countries ensued, and during this period, the Finnish police was given a new uniform.

The uniform of 1941 included a coat that was looser-fitting than the previous one and had a lower collar. Breast and side pockets with buttons were added to all uniforms. Constables were given collar straps of the kind until then worn only by sergeants and commanding officers. The new uniform was very similar to a military uniform, the main difference being that the police uniform was dark blue in colour. The previous uniform statute from 1935 remained in force, and it was still, with certain modifications, permitted to wear the old uniform.

The uniform of 1941 also included a new summer cap made of the same light grey material as the summer coat. The peak of the cap was made of shiny leather, and the insignia and other details followed those of the dark blue uniform cap. A military steel grey summer coat had been introduced by a separate decision in 1940, and the police emblem had been added to it.

The Continuation War broke out in June 1941 and continued until the autumn of 1944. The Second World War and the general lack of resources associated with it characterised the entire 1940s. The fact that the Finnish police adopted items from the military uniform did not mean that the police felt any need or desire to become more military in character, the reason simply being that the army had greater resources at its disposal, making a military-produced uniform the cheapest option for the police. The military uniforms were turned into police ones with blue dye. The buttons, belt buckles and rank insignia were painted with aluminium paint to make them look like silver.

In November 1944, the army cap was introduced as part of the police uniform, and this cap would be used for decades. The new cap was dark blue and designed for winter use as an alternative to the fur cap. A lighter version of the field cap was introduced in 1946, when the Ministry of the Interior issued a new statute on the police uniform. The statute was long and detailed, but did not contain any major changes. The statute of 1935 would no longer be in force, and the tight-fitting uniform coat was to be replaced with a looser-fitting one.

From 1941 onward, police uniforms would no longer be ordered from local tailors, but from a single manufacturer. Thereby the uniforms would be cheaper to produce and more uniform in appearance. Procurement of uniforms was also to be centralised, and for this purpose, the Police Central Depot was established in 1945. The major problem remained that materials were not readily available due to the Second World War, but when the economy gradually rose from the wartime slump, the availability and quality of the uniforms eventually improved.

Characteristic of the uniform of 1941 were the metal sword lion emblems fastened on the shoulders. A wide light blue cord followed the piping of the trousers. Junior Constable Sakari Mansukoski of the Pori Police Department wearing the uniform of 1941.

The uniform statute of 1941 permitted officers to wear the uniform of 1935, but its rank insignia had to be adapted to the new standard. The transition time was half a year. Among these Tampere police officers, some are wearing the uniform coat of 1941, others that of 1935. Photographer: M. Aaltonen.

The uniform coat of 1941 no longer included the silver cords previously worn on the shoulders by commanding officers. The cords were replaced with sword lion emblems and a silver-coloured coat-of-arms lion. The district chiefs of the Helsinki Police Department in 1946.

The army's field cap, known as the "blood scoop", became part of the police uniform in 1945. The cap was dark blue in colour, and the colour of its piping followed the colour of the collar straps of the coat. In the beginning, the field cap was only used in winter. Officers inspecting travel permits at the Tampere Bus Station. Photographer: E.M. Staf. Image: Museum Centre Vapriikki.

Due to the economic difficulties of the 1940s, the police adopted several different uniforms. There were two kinds of summer coats: the grey military summer coat adopted in 1940 and the summer coat introduced in 1935. All manufacturing of uniforms during the war and immediate post-war years was characterised by the low quality of the materials. Basic training for new police officers organised by the National Traffic Police in the mid-1940s.