Finnish Navy
The Finnish Navy (Finnish: Suomen merivoimat, Swedish: Finländska marinen) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces.
The Navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year.
Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS" simply short for "Finnish Navy Ship".
Organization
The current Commander-in-Chief of the Navy is Vice Admiral Hans Holmström. The navy is organized into two naval commands. The navy also includes the Uusimaa brigade, where coastal jaegers are trained. The Uusimaa brigade is also the only Swedish language unit in the country. Restructuring will move the Naval Headquarters to Turku by the end of 2007.
Locations
- Naval Headquarters: (Lauttasaari, Helsinki)
- Naval Academy: (Suomenlinna, Helsinki)
- Naval Depot: Pansio and Kimito
- Naval Research Depot: Espoo
Bases
- Gulf of Finland Naval Command: (Upinniemi, Kirkkonummi)
- Archipelago Sea Naval Command: (Pansio, Turku)
- Nyland Brigade: (Dragsvik, Ekenäs)
History
During the Russian rule (1809 - 1917) an entirely Finnish Navy unit, Suomen meriekipaasi, was defending the country alongside the Imperial Navy. Meriekipaasi participated the Crimean War, albeit mostly on-shore duties. Meriekipaasi manned the coastal batteries in Santahamina Island during the siege of Fortress Viapori in Helsinki. The ships ekipaasi had included steam frigate named "Kalevala" after the Finnish national epic (later serving Russian Pacific fleet).
The first ships of the independent Finnish Navy were old ships left behind by the Russians during the Finnish Civil War. These included gunboats, motor torpedo boats and minesweepers. In 1927 the Eduskunta approved a plan to build two coastal defence ships (Panssarilaiva in Finnish) and four submarines. Four motor torpedo boats were also ordered from Britain. More ships were purchased during the 1930s, and in the autumn of 1939 the Finnish Navy consisted of:
- 2 coastal defence ships (Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen)
- 5 submarines (Vesihiisi, Iku-Turso, Vetehinen, Vesikko and Saukko)
- 4 gunboats (Turunmaa, Karjala, Uusimaa and Hämeenmaa)
- 7 motor torpedo boats
- 1 mineship
- 1 training ship Suomen Joutsen
- 6 minesweepers
When the situation worsened the Navy was expanded with civilian boats, ice-breakers and patrol boats from the Coast Guard.
Winter War
When the Winter War broke out the Finnish Navy moved to occupy the de-militarized Åland Islands and to protect merchant shipping. In the first month of the war battles between Soviet ships and Finnish coastal batteries were fought at Hanko, Finland, Utö and Koivisto. In Koivisto the batteries forced Soviet battleships to retire with damages.
In December 1939 the ice became so thick that only the ice-breakers could still move. The two armoured coastal vessels were moved to the harbour in Turku where they were used to stiffen the air-defences of the city. They remained there for the rest of the war.
Continuation War
Before the Continuation War five more torpedo boats were ordered from Italy. The base that the Soviets had acquired in the Winter War at Hanko Peninsula divided the areas where the Finnish Navy would operate in two. Large mine fields were laid down in cooperation with the German Kriegsmarine when the war began. The two armoured coastal vessels bombarded the base at Hanko during the summer until the Soviets evacuated Hanko in December 1941.
Between 1941-1945 some 69,779 mines and mine sweeping obstacles were laid in the Gulf of Finland by Finnish, Soviet and German naval forces. The Soviet navy laid 16,179 mines and 2,441 mine sweeping obstacles, the Finnish navy 6,382 mines, and the German navy's vessels, submarines and aircraft laid some 45,000 mines, of whome 3,000 were magnetic mines. The last mine sweeping season was held in 1957, but the mine danger continued for some 10 more years, and there are still mines there.[1]
The greatest loss of the Finnish Navy occurred on September 13, 1941 when the Ilmarinen ran on a mine and sank. 271 sailors lost their lives and only 132 were rescued. Most of the survivors later served in the Lake Onega flotilla, using old captured ships, including steam engined paddlewheeler.
In 1942 the main focus of the war at sea was on the Finnish submarines which fought against over 30 Soviet submarines that tried to attack shipping in the Baltic Sea. The Soviet subs sank 18 ships, seven of which were Finnish. 12 Soviet submarines were also sunk.
In July 1942 the Soviets made an attempt to occupy the small island of Someri in the Gulf of Finland. The Soviets lost 16 boats and 128 men. 102 Soviet soldiers were taken prisoner. During 1943 the Navy received 14 new torpedo boats which were used to replace the old pre-war ones.
In 1944 the Soviets put in their main offensive against Finland. The Navy fought in the Gulf of Vyborg and sustained heavy casualties. In the end the ships were forced to pull out.
Lapland war
On September, 1944 the operations against Germany started. The main focus was in the north, the Lapland War, but the Germans also tried to capture Suursaari (Operation Tanne Ost), but the attack was repulsed. During the battle, Finnish MTB's (motor torpedo boats) sank several German vessels.
The last action of the Finnish Navy was during the amphibious landing of troops from Oulu in Tornio. The Finnish gunboats successfully shelled German batteries, which had posed serious threat for the landingships, while their anti-aircraft batteries defended the convoy from German air attacks. The Navy also hunted German U-boats in the Baltic and dropped the last sea mines.
After the Armistice the Navy started very high demanding mine clearance operation, which lasted until 1950. Especially the Gulf of Finland was extensively mined. The result were high casualties among the clearance crews.
The Cold War era
The Paris peace talks in 1947 resulted in a treaty that limited the offensive capability of the Finnish military. For the navy, this meant a limitation to a fleet of no more than 10,000 tons and 4,500 men. As for the weaponry, torpedoes, submarines, mines and missiles were forbidden. The restrictions were eased in the 1960's and missiles and mines were allowed. The torpedo restriction was not either fully exercised as the Riga class frigates were equipped with torpedoes and a number of torpedo boats were manufactured as "gun boats" (but could quickly be converted to carry torpedoes).
The war time navy was replaced in the 1950's and 1960's. Due to the Finland's neutrality she tried to balance her new purchase of equipment between the two blocs and also produce its own ships. Two fast gun boats, some minesweepers and a frigate were bought from the UK, two frigates and four OSA-II class fast attack craft from the Soviet Union. The smaller vessels were usually domestically produced. Some evidence of secret Finnish Navy cooperation with the NATO have surfaced lately.[1]
Equipment
Vessels
Patrol
- 2 Helsinki class missile boats (+ 2 in reserve)
- 4 Rauma class missile boats
- 4 Hamina class semi-stealth missile boats
Mine Warfare
- 1 Pohjanmaa class minelayer
- 2 Hämeenmaa class minelayers
- 6 Kuha class minesweepers
- 7 Kiiski class minesweepers
- 3 Pansio class minelayers
Future vessels
In the late 1990s, the Finnish Navy was developing a new missile squadron called Laivue 2000 (English: Squadron 2000). At first it was supposed to consist of two Hamina class missile boats (already built at this date) and four Tuuli class hovercraft. The Navy experimented with one prototype hovercraft, but announced in 2003 that the Tuuli class would not enter active operations and that no more of them would be built. Instead two new Hamina class missile boats were built, and the extra weaponry from the hovercrafts were installed on the Hämeenmaa class minelayers.
As the new squadron is nearly finished the Navy has shifted its attention to mine prevention. The Navy will replace the old Kuha and Kiiski classes with three new minehunters. This new project also includes the development of a new mine Sea Mine 2000. The ships have been ordered from
- Three mine countermeasures vessels of the MCMV 2010 programme will be launched 2009-2011. The ships have been ordered from the Italian company Intermarine and the order is valued 244.8 M€.[2]picture
Coastal artillery
Mainly towed artillery, fixed gun positions at island fortresses are phased out as obsolete, all artillery-based coastal defences are to be phased out.
- 100 mm cannons
- 130 mm cannons, both fixed (130 53 TK) and mobile (130 K 54, 130 K 90-60)
- MTO-85 coastal missiles (SAAB RBS-15SF)
- Spike-ER missiles
- BOR-A 550 Ground and coastal Surveillance Radar (GSR)
Future coastal defences
The Navy will be phasing out the mobile artillery in the next few years. Training of the new Euro-Spike coastal missile systems has begun 2005 in Uusimaa Brigade. The older RBS-15 missiles will be complemented with the new RBS-15 Mk3 (MTO-85m).
Past equipment
- 1 Suomen Joutsen training ship (museum ship)
- 2 Turunmaa class gunboats/corvettes (decommissioned in 2000)
- 1 Matti Kurki frigate/training ship
- 2 Riga class frigates
- 1 Tuuli class hovercraft
External links
References
- ^ Rannikon Puolustaja 3/2006, p. 59
- Finnish Defence Forces Website of The Finnish Defence Forces