Ship identification

Coast Defence Ships

Before the Winter War the coast defence ships were painted light grey and the newer one, Ilmarinen had one black ring around the top. In Winter War the ships had grey color and when stationed in Turku they had white camouflage. During the interim peace color was dark gray and in Continuation War a splinter camouflage scheme was used.

The ships had originally two searchlights in frontside of the mast. The platforms were built in about 45o angle. When Vickers guns were replaced by Bofors guns, the searchlight platforms were removed and a new one built that pointed straight ahead. In Winter War the ships had two crossed yardarms. Before Continuation War they were replaced by a single transverse one. The picture shows two searchlight platforms and crossed yardarms. The aft gun director station / 4 m rangefinder is not yet built and secondary artillery is 102 mm Obuhovs.

Modifications in armament:

• A ship without secondary artillery is most likely Väinämöinen in 1932.
• 102 mm Obuhov guns were used as secondary artillery in Väinämöinen.
• 105 mm Bofors were in use 1934.
• 40 mm Vickers AA guns were changed to 40 mm Bofors in June 1941. The Vickers guns look like over-sized Maxim machine guns.
• 20 mm Madsen AA guns were taken into ships in June 1941. Their number varied. At first there were two behind the bridge on Vickers gun platforms.
• More 20 mm guns were installed in summer 1941 to bow and stern, in front and behind 254 mm turrets.

Submarines

There were three different submarine types in the Finnish navy. To distinguish between these types following points are useful:

• Boat size: "Vetehinen" class was about 63 m long, Vesikko 41 m and Saukko 32 m.
• Weapons: "Vetehinen" class had both 76 mm gun and 20 mm gun, Vesikko only 20 mm gun and Saukko none. "Vetehinen" class had two torpedo tubes in bow and stern, Vesikko three bow tubes and Saukko two bow tubes.

Before the Winter War the "Vetehinen" class submarines were painted light grey and they had rings around conning tower. Vetehinen had one, Vesihiisi two and Iku-Turso none.

During the peace time between Winter War and Continuation War the "Vetehinen" class submarines were painted dark and they had large numbers painted on the tower: 1 - Vetehinen, 2 - Vesihiisi and 3 - Iku-Turso.

During the winter 1941-42 the 20-mm Madsen gun of the "Vetehinen" class boats was moved from after deck to tower.

The gunboats

The ships that were classified as gunboats were following:

• Klas Horn and Matti Kurki
• Turunmaa and Karjala
• Uusimaa and Hämeenmaa
• In addition there were two auxiliary gunboats in 1942-44, Aunus and Viena, converted from ocean trawlers.

Klas Horn and Matti Kurki had the typical old torpedo boat destroyer profile with round foredeck and a gun in front of the bridge. These ships were decommissioned in 1930's. Usually it is said that Matti Kurki was sunk as gunnery target and Klas Horn became accommodation ship. However, there is a photo taken after Continuation War where Matti Kurki is reduced to a barge. There are some points to tell apart Matti Kurki and Klas Horn:

• The bridge is narrower in Matti Kurki. In Klas Horn the bridge extends outside the vertical supports.
• Matti Kurki has one transverse yardarm and Klas Horn two crossed arms.

In Winter War and Continuation War the real gunboats were the two pairs Turunmaa - Karjala and Uusimaa - Hämeenmaa. There are some points that can be used to tell apart the boat types:

• Turunmaa - Karjala had mast behind the bridge and Uusimaa - Hämeenmaa mast in front of the bridge.
• Turunmaa - Karjala had a single storey bridge and Uusimaa - Hämeenmaa two-storey bridge.
• Turunmaa and Karjala show clear horizontal lines above and below the anchor hawse pipe.
• Before the war the ships had two masts and on Turunmaa - Karjala they were of equal height and on Uusimaa - Hämeenmaa the aft one was clearly shorter.

Before the Winter War Turunmaa had a dark ring around the smoke stack while Karjala had none.

Changes in armament:

Uusimaa and Hämeenmaa

• A platform for 20 mm Madsen was built ahead of mast and bridge in July 1941.
• After the Battle of Bengtskär July 1941 gunboats Uusimaa and Hämeenmaa were equipped with a second 40 Bofors guns for better AA. They were both installed aft from the smokestack.
• Two 20 mm Madsen were added in 1942.
• The bow 102 mm Obuhov of Hämeenmaa was equipped with a splinter shield in late 1942.
• The ships were equipped with more efficient 105 mm guns with large splinter shield in 1943.

• A platform for third 20 mm Madsen was built in the bow in 1943.

The old torpedoboats

The old torpedoboats seized in 1918 were "Sokol" class or "Tsiklon" class ^[Mer68b]. In Breyer ^[Bre92] there are four classes that are "Sokol" or direct successors for it. The original Sokol was constructed by Yarrow & Co, Poplar in 1895 and later renamed Prytkij. It was the only ship of its type and followed by 13 ships of "Rezvyj" class, four ships of "Pylkij" class, and 22 ships of slightly larger "Boykyj" class. "Tsiklon" class boats were built under French licence ^[Bre92]. They were named Minonosets 214 to 223.

Name in Finland	Original	Original	Commissioned	Builder	Fate
S 1	Rjanyj	Sova	1901	Nevskij, St. Petersburg	Sunk as gunnery target in 1930's
S 2	Prozorlivyj	Gagara	1901	Nevskij, St. Petersburg	Capsized and sank in storm 4.10.1925. Raised 1926 and scrapped.
S 3	Poslushnyj	Korshun	1900	Crichton, Turku	Returned to Soviet Union 1922. Scrapped 1925.
S 4	Rezvyj	Voron	1900	Nevskij, St. Petersburg	Returned to Soviet Union 1922. Scrapped 1925.
S 5	Podvizhnyj	Albatros	1900	Izhora, St. Petersburg	Sunk as decoy 1944.
S 6	Minonosets 212		1902	Crichton, Turku	Returned to Soviet Union 1922.
C 1	Minonosets 215		1902	Nevskij, St. Petersburg	Crushed in ice and sunk 1919.
C 2	Minonosets 216		1902	Nevskij, St. Petersburg	Crushed in ice and sunk 1919.
C 3	Minonosets 217		1902	Nevskij, St. Petersburg	Crushed in ice and sunk 1919.
C 4	Minonosets 219		1902	Nevskij, St. Petersburg	Broken up in Finland

The "Sokol" class ships had four smokestacks and "Tsiklon" class ships three.

The torpedoboat S 1 had mast in front of the bridge and S 2 and S 5 behind.

Motor Torpedo Boats

During the wars Finland had eight different motor torpedo boat types:

• MAS boats Sisu and Hurja. The boats had low bow. They were first without cockpit but later a small cover was built. Torpedoes were in side launchers.
• Experimental boat Isku. The boat had Thornycroft hull, but torpedoes were in side launchers. The boat had only a very small cockpit.
• Thornycroft boats Nuoli, Syöksy, Raju, Vinha. Elliptical hull with a quite large cockpit, spherical hatch on bow and torpedoes in stern launch rails.
• Three classes of Baglietto boats, "Jymy" and "Hurja" class boats were built in Italy and "Taisto" class boats in Finland. It is difficult to tell these boats from each other, but some details can be used:
  • "Jymy" class boats had no scuttles in hull, whereas "Hurja" and "Taisto" class boats had five. On a "Hurja" class boat the portholes are evenly spaced, whereas on a "Taisto" they are arranged 1-2-2.
  • "Jymy" class boats had 20 mm gun aft from the deckhouse and 12.7 mm machine gun on foredeck. Other boats had only 20 mm gun.
  • "Taisto" class boats had clearly larger deckhouse than other ones, especially the sprayhood.
  • "Jymy" class boats had depth charge rail in stern, "Taisto" class boats a smoke generator.
• Soviet war booty boats, types D 3 and G 5. D 3 was a large v-bottom hull. G 5 was an aluminium construction with planing hull.

In 1941 some Thornycroft boats had pictures painted on the sides of cockpit. They had connection to boat names. Nuoli had an arrow, Syöksy a stylished letter "S".

In 1942 the four Thornycroft boats had pictures of Aces painted on the sides of cockpit. Ace of Hearts = Nuoli, Ace of Clubs = Vinha, Ace of Diamonds = Syöksy, Ace of Spades = Raju.

In 1943 and 1944 the boats had a three-digit number. First number = Flotilla, second number = group, third number = boat.

• 1943
  • 1. Flotilla, I Group: "Taisto" class (6 boats)
  • 1. Flotilla, II Group: "Jymy" class (4 boats)
  • 2. Flotilla, I Group: "Hurja" class (5 boats)
  • 2. Flotilla, II Group: captured G 5 and D 3 type boats (3 boats)
• 1944
  • 1. Flotilla, I Group: "Taisto" class (6 boats)
  • 1. Flotilla, II Group: captured G 5 type boats (3 boats)
  • 2. Flotilla, I Group: "Jymy" class (4 boats)
  • 2. Flotilla, II Group: "Hurja" class (5 boats)

Patrol boats

Motor launches of the Coast Guard were used as Patrol Boats (Vartiomoottorivene, VMV). They were built in two batches. The first ones were built in 1930-1932 and numbered VMV 1 to VMV 7. The second batch was built 1935 and numbered VMV 8 to VMV 17. Of these boats VMV 3 and VMV 7 were lost before the wars. VMV 1 to VMV 7 had gasoline engines and the newer ones gas oil engines. There is a clear difference in the superstructure of old and new boats. In older boats there is a clear space between air intake and deckhouse and in the newer boats the deckhouse was moved forward.

The boats VMV 5 and VMV 6 had higher deckhouse than other ones.

The camouflage pattern in the beginning of Continuation War was varying versions of short light wavy lines. In 1943 and 1944 the common pattern in VMV boats were broad, reddish brown horizontal lines along the whole boat length ^[Hau07]. Boats used in securing of coast defence ship Väinämöinen and minelayers had often no camouflage pattern at all. They were painted light grey and the boat number was painted in large number on deckhouse sides. In 1942 and 1943 the front deck was painted yellow for identificaton.

Sweeper boats

The small mine sweeper boats consisted of three classes:

• The old A-boats left by Russians in Finland 1918.
• Six boats of "Ahven" class built by Turun Veneveistämö 1937.
• Six boats of "Kuha" class built by August Eklöf Ab in 1941.
• More "Kuha" class boats were built in Porvoo after the Wars, Kuha 7 to Kuha 14 were delivered in 1945 and Kuha 15 to Kuha 18 in 1946.

All these boats look quite identical. "Ahven" class boats were developed from old A-boats and "Kuha" class boats were modified from "Ahven" class.

"Kuha" class boats were slightly larger than "Ahven" class, about 10 cm larger beam and longer foredeck. Probably the easiest way to tell apart "Ahven" and "Kuha" is to look to the portholes. "Ahven" class boats had four evenly spaced portholes and "Kuha" class boats six, in order 1 + 1 + 4 counting from the bow.

The 1941 batch of "Kuha" class has rounded deckhouse front wall and in the boats built after the war the deckhouse has straight walls.