True crime · 15.09.1920
Spirit by air: the smuggling pilots of Lasnamäe
Piiritus õhuteed: Lasnamäe salapiirituse lendurid
Finland went dry in 1919, and Estonian spirit was soon crossing the gulf by every route imaginable, including the sky. The young Estonian air force, whose land planes were based at the Lasnamäe airfield after the War of Independence, turned out to have its own trade on the side: its airmen had been flying contraband spirit over to Finland. On 15 September 1920 Captain Jüri Ots was removed as commander of the air company because of what his subordinates had done. The following summer the unit was reorganised as the air force.
Open it on the map See the spot on the old maps and as it is today
Eesti keeles
Soomes kehtestati 1919. aastal kuiv seadus ja peagi liikus Eesti piiritus üle lahe kõikvõimalikke teid pidi, ka õhu kaudu. Noorel Eesti lennuväel, mille maalennukid baseerusid pärast Vabadussõda Lasnamäe lennuväljal, oli, nagu selgus, oma kõrvaläri: lendurid olid vedanud lennukitega salapiiritust Soome. 15. septembril 1920 tagandati kapten Jüri Ots lennuroodu ülema kohalt, sest tema alluvad olid seda teinud. Järgmisel suvel korraldati rood ümber lennuväeks.
Source: Estonian Wikipedia: Eesti õhuvägi; Lasnamäe lennuväli ↗