Turunmaa was a Finnish gunboat built in 1918. She served in the Finnish Navy during World War II . The ship was named after Turuma , a type of frigate designed for use in shallow waters of the archipelago and served in the Swedish Archipelago fleet in the late 18th century. The frigates had in turn been named after the region of Finland .
23-471: Turunmaa may refer to: Åboland or Turunmaa, a current region of Finland Finnish gunboat Turunmaa Turunmaa class gunboat See also [ edit ] Turuma , a type of frigate used by the Swedes in the late 18th and early 19th century Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
46-493: A civilian ship – SAT Ost (Schwere Artillerie Trager – Heavy Artillery Carrier) – was also moved to the area to counter Soviet naval artillery, which was believed to be superior to that of the Finnish and German ships. The original Soviet landing force consisted of 256 lightly armed men (later reinforced by an additional 57 men from Moshchny Island ) supported by a force of ~30 patrol ( MO ) and motor torpedo ( TKA ) boats. When
69-444: A few 45 mm anti-tank guns and 20 mm automatic cannons, and several machine guns. During the battle the garrison was reinforced with an additional 100 men. The Finnish Navy deployed 3 gunboats ( Turunmaa , Hämeenmaa , and Uusimaa ), 2 minelayers ( Riilahti , and Ruotsinsalmi ), 6 VMV-class patrol boats and 4 motor torpedo boats to the area. In addition, several small minesweepers were used to carry ammunition for
92-704: A modest operation to clear a Finnish observation post from a small island, it became one of the largest surface ship engagements in the Baltic theater. During the Russo-Finnish Winter War (1939–40), Soviet forces captured several Finnish islands in the eastern Gulf of Finland . In March 1940 these were ceded to the Soviet Union in accordance with the Moscow Peace Treaty . The Soviets occupied some of them with small garrisons. When
115-540: A single 152mm gun—heavier than any guns aboard the Soviet ships—attempted to drive them away, and the Soviet ships withdrew under cover of smokescreens. This proved to be the final surface action of the battle. During the morning the last Soviet pockets of resistance had been cleared from the island. There were several more Soviet aerial attacks, but no further landing attempts. Finnish and German forces reported sinking over 16 Soviet patrol and motor torpedo boats, and credited
138-727: The Continuation War began in June 1941 the islands were generally ignored; in autumn 1941, however, the Finnish Navy attempted to occupy the small, rocky island of Someri (now Sommers, Russia) , mistakenly thinking it had been abandoned by the Soviets. Coming under fire from the defenders, the small Finnish landing force hastily withdrew. Over the next few weeks the Finns shelled and bombed the island several times in hopes of forcing
161-629: The Coastal Fleet near Åland in mid December 1939. She participated in anti-submarine patrols which continued until the sea froze on 30 January. Turunmaa was tasked with escort duties at the start of the Continuation War. She was detached from that duty following the Soviet attack to Bengtskär and ordered to rejoin the rest of the Finnish gunboats. On 29 August Turunmaa together with Karjala , Hämeenmaa and Uusimaa escorted by Riilahti and Ruotsinsalmi sailed through
184-544: The Finnish Air Force with sinking a Soviet auxiliary gunboat; Soviet reports, on the other hand, claimed that several large vessels (Finnish gunboats or large German minesweepers) had been sunk. The relatively weak performance of the Finnish gunboats showed how badly outdated their main armaments had become, and prompted the Finnish Navy to upgrade them; however, due their old age, weak hulls, and lack of resources, only Hämeenmaa and Uusimaa were modified before
207-581: The Koivisto region where the British naval detachment was located. On 4 September 1939, Turunmaa as part of the Coastal Fleet was moved to the Sea of Åland. However, for the rest of the autumn, Turunmaa patrolled the waters from Kotka to Koivisto together with Karjala . On 1 December 1939 Turunmaa was covering the minelaying effort by auxiliary minelayer Suomi south-east of Isosaari . Turunmaa join to
230-528: The Soviet garrison to depart. Finally in December 1941, as Soviet forces evacuated Hanko and several other islands in the Gulf of Finland , the garrison on Someri was withdrawn to Moshchny Island . Finnish coastal forces occupied the island soon after. It proved to be a good position for observing Soviet movements in the area. The 100-man Finnish garrison on the island was equipped with two 75 mm field guns,
253-413: The ammunition stores on the gunboats. Soviet artillery ships started their approach and forced the Finnish ships to depart for resupply, which provided an opening for the Soviet boats to approach and in turn reinforce their landing force. Returning Finnish gunboats drove the Soviet boats away from the island before nightfall. On shore, the Soviet landing force was pushed into a small corner on the east end of
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#1732780048108276-552: The boilerroom of Turunmaa . Turunmaa started leaking and the aft gun was jammed and the ship was temporarily unable to participate to the action. This and other damages to the ships of the Battle Group Arho led to its withdrawal from action. Battle of Someri The Battle of Someri took place in the Gulf of Finland during World War II on 8–9 July 1942, between the Soviet Union and Finland. Starting as
299-485: The gunboats and reinforcements for the garrison. The Finnish Air Force supported the naval forces and sortied several flights of fighters ( Brewster F2A Buffalo and Fokker D.XXI ) and bombers ( Bristol Blenheim and Dornier Do 17 ) to the area. Germany sent two M-class minesweepers ( M-18 and M-37 ) and an older minesweeper/tender, the Nettelbeck , to support Finnish forces. An auxiliary gunboat converted from
322-448: The immediate vicinity of the island, but, as they drove off Soviet motor torpedo boats, repelled attacking Soviet aircraft, and bombarded Soviet troops ashore, the Finnish gunboats' ammunition stores dwindled rapidly, and they were forced to depart for resupply. Finnish forces supported by a newly arrived German minesweeper managed to bring reinforcements to the island before noon, but once again, repeated Soviet MTB and air attacks depleted
345-742: The initial landing failed to surprise or overpower the Finnish defenders, more naval forces were deployed to the area. These consisted of two large minesweepers ( T-205 , T-207 ), the Uragan -class guard ship Burya ( Буря ), the auxiliary gunboat Kama ( Кама ), and additional patrol and motor torpedo boats. The Soviet Air Force repeatedly attacked Finnish ships and positions on the island with Il-4 (DB-3F) & Pe-2 bombers and Il-2 ground attack aircraft protected by I-153 , Yak-1 and LaGG-3 fighters. Shortly after midnight, on 8 July 1942, Soviet aircraft bombed Someri , causing minor damage, after which 26 Soviet patrol and motor torpedo boats approached
368-467: The island, but managed to hold its positions there. During the night Soviet ships shelled from a distance, while a few Soviet boats managed to reach the island under cover of darkness. On the morning of 9 July most of the naval activity came to an end as Soviet boats withdrew, though the larger Soviet ships continued shelling the area. Finnish forces, reinforced by the German SAT Ost , armed with
391-425: The island. On 1942 Turunmaa like other Finnish gunboats was tasked with guarding of the minebarriers northeast of Hogland and performing anti-submarine patrols in the same region. On 8 August Turunmaa was sortied to fend off the Soviet attack on Someri but arrived several hours after Hämeenmaa and Uusimaa . Turunmaa shelled both the nearby Soviet vessels as well as positions of the Soviet landing force on
414-512: The island. After the naval action had already ended Turunmaa was slightly damaged by a near-miss by a bomb and suffered some crew losses (2 dead, 8 wounded) as overheated barrels of both of the 20mm Madsen guns aboard exploded. On 2 May 1943 while guarding the mine barriers northeast of Hogland, Turunmaa was seriously damaged in an air raid and the sinking ship had to be beached to shallow water at Haapasaaret (group of islands south from Kotka ). Crew casualties were 1 dead and 9 wounded. The ship
437-435: The island. Heavy firing erupted as the Soviet landing force moved ashore. Though considerably outnumbered, the heavily armed Finns, fighting from well-prepared positions, drove off many of the boats and contained the landing force in the eastern half of the island. Alerted by the garrison, a sizable portion of the Finnish Navy, as well as several flights from the Finnish Air Force, came to Someri's defense. They were able to clear
460-463: The main Soviet minebarrier south of Hanko to the eastern Gulf of Finland. After island of Sommers had been thought to be unmanned following the shelling of the island by VTV-1 on 9 October 1941 Finns prepared to occupy it. Turunmaa was escorting the landing force in its failed attempt to land on 11 October as the landing force turned back before reaching the shore when Soviets opened fire. On 29 October Turunmaa together with Karjala shelled
483-630: The ship had been named both Orlan and Tshirok . Turunmaa was built in Helsinki for the Imperial Russian Navy but was taken over by Finnish troops in the Finnish Civil War . The ship was used as a training ship for Finnish sea cadets during peacetime and was nicknamed as Surunmaa (land of sorrow). In the second half of 1919, Turunmaa , amongst other Finnish naval vessels, was tasked with security and patrol duties in
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#1732780048108506-568: The title Turunmaa . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Turunmaa&oldid=566513394 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Finnish gunboat Turunmaa During construction while in Russian lists (1916–1917)
529-453: Was immediately refloated and was fully repaired by 23 October 1943. When Soviet summer offensive of 1944 started Turunmaa was first part of the flotilla evacuating the Koivisto region. And later took part in the fighting at Bay of Viborg on 4 July 1944 as part of the Battle Group Arho consisting of Finnish and German light naval units. While defending against repeated air attacks and attacks by motor torpedo boats two bombs exploded under
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