Finnish coastal defence ship Väinämöinen

"Väinämöinen" was a Finnish coastal defence ship, the sister ship of the Finnish Navy's flagship "Ilmarinen" and also the first ship of her class. She was built at the Crichton-Vulcan shipyard in Turku and was launched in 1932. "Väinämöinen", as well as "Ilmarinen" were planned to be mobile coastal fortresses for the defence of the Finnish demilitarized islands at Åland in particular. The two ships were not suited for operations on the open sea. The biggest problems were that the ships were volatile and rolled too much. The minimal depth keel, together with the high conning tower, made the ships' movements slow and wide. It was said that the ships were uncomfortable, but harmless to their crews.

The ship's heavy armament (Bofors 254 mm) could fire shells of 255 kg up to 31 km.

Fire control

When it came to fire control, the two coastal ships were identical. The fire control and the lining of the gun towers were connected electrically and the values and commands could be given without spoken contact. With the aid of mechanical calculators, the values were transferred directly to the gun towers.

Operational history

The first longer cruise that the ships did together was to the fleet parade at Spithead, where they participated in the festivities for the coronation of King George VI. The bad sea-going capabilities were showing south of Gotland, where she needed tug help from the bigger Swedish ship HMS "Drottning Victoria".

When they arrived at Spithead the ships were praised for their beautiful lines. Many officers who had experience from the waters of the Baltics remarked that the ships were perfect for that environment. It is said that someone commented on the looks of the ships in the following manner: "Finland must be a strong sea power, even their lighthouse ships are armed with 10-inch guns."

Winter War

During the Winter War, the two coastal defence ships were transferred to the Åland islands to protect against invasion. When the ice cover started to become too thick in December, the ships were transferred to Turku, where their anti-aircraft artillery aided in the defence of the city.

Continuation War

The only time the "Väinämöinen" and "Ilmarinen" fired their heavy artillery against an enemy was in the beginning of the Continuation War, during the Soviet Red Army evacuation of their base at the Hanko Peninsula. "Väinämöinen" also participated in the distraction manoeuvre Operation Nordwind on 13 September 1941, where the sister ship was lost to mines. "Detachment Väinämöinen", which consisted of "Väinämöinen", six VMV patrol boats and six motor mine sweepers, was moved east in 1943, to take positions at the coast, between Helsinki and Kotka. She did not particularly actively participate in any operations, since heavier Soviet units never left Leningrad. Her primary duty was to patrol the Gulf of Finland between the mine fields "Seeigel" and Nashorn, as well as the German-Finnish U-boat net.

During the Soviet assault in the summer of 1944, the Soviets put much weight in trying to find and sink the "Väinämöinen". They found a large naval ship in Kotka harbour and decided to attack it with 132 bombers and fighters. The ship wasn't "Väinämöinen" — instead it was the German AA-cruiser "Niobe".

After the wars

After the end of the Continuation War it was decided to hand over the "Väinämöinen" as war reparations to the Soviet Union. The ship was handed over on May 29 1947 to the Soviet Baltic Fleet, where it was renamed "Vyborg". The ship served over 6 years in the Red Fleet at the Soviet base in Porkkala, Finland. The ship was called "Vanya" (a Russian short form of the name Ivan) by the sailors of the Baltic Fleet.

The "Vyborg" was modernized during the 1950s and served for a while as a residential ship in Tallinn. Preparations to scrap the ship were begun in 1958. During this time, there were talks to return the ship to Finland. The ship was, however, scrapped in 1966 at a Leningrad scrapyard. According to Soviet calculations, they received 2,700 tons of metal from the ship.

External links

* [http://www.warship.get.net.pl/Finlandia/Cruisers/1932_Vainamoinen_class/_Vainamoinen_photos.html Photos of Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen]