Finnish submarine Saukko
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Saukko after being launched in 1930
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Class overview | |
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Builders | Sandvikens Skeppsdocka och Mekaniska Verkstad, Helsinki |
Operators | Finnish Navy |
In service | 1930–1952 |
In commission | 16 December 1930 – 1947 |
Completed | 1 |
Retired | 1 |
Preserved | 0 |
General characteristics | |
Displacement |
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Length | 32.4 m (106 ft) |
Beam | 4.1 m (13 ft) |
Draft | 2.9 m (9.5 ft) |
Propulsion | 1 × Germaniawerft diesel, 200 hp (150 kW); 1 × electric motor 120 shp (89 kW). |
Speed |
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Range |
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Complement | 15 |
Armament |
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Saukko (Pu110) was a small
The construction of Saukko
The construction of Saukko began in 1928 at Sandvikens Skeppsdocka och Mekaniska Verkstad in Helsinki. The design was based on German drawings for the submarine Pu110 ("smaller, quickly assemblable submarine prototype"). Launched on 2 July 1930, Saukko was declared ready for service on 16 December 1930. At that time it was the world's smallest submarine, officially weighing only 99 tonnes (97 long tons; 109 short tons). Saukko had a crew of 15 men. The outer hull was designed for icy conditions.
Operational history
Original plans called for Saukko to be brought to the town of
Winter War
Saukko, accompanied by several motor torpedo boats, was towed by the gunboat Karjala to Koivisto on 7 December 1939. Since hostilities had started before the Finnish Navy had a chance to lay defensive minefields outside their coastal forts, it was hoped that Saukko might be able to accomplish that task. A Leningrad-class destroyer and five other Soviet destroyers reached the area on 8 December, and began to shell Finnish positions. The slow Saukko could not engage the Soviet destroyer group.[2] The next day, ice prevented Finnish boats from sortieing against the bombarding Soviet ships. When the ice was finally broken, half of the air valves on Saukko were frozen, which nearly caused the boat to capsize when it tried to submerge to lay a minefield. After these failures, the Finnish boats were withdrawn from the area.[2]
Continuation War
On 3 July 1941 Saukko was patrolling off the island of
Gallery
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Launch of the ship at Hietalahti shipyard, 2 July 1930
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Launch ceremony
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Launch ceremony
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In the archipelago
References
- ^ Sopanen, Akseli (August 2019). "Itämeren pieni vaanija Sukellusvene Saukko alkuideoista poistoon saakka 1921–1953" (PDF). UEF. University of Eastern Finland. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ a b Kijanen, Kalervo (1968). Suomen Laivasto 1918–1968 I [Finnish Navy 1918–1968, part I]. Helsinki: Meriupseeriyhdistys/Otava. pp. 248–249.
- ^ Kijanen, Kalervo (1968). Suomen Laivasto 1918–1968 II [Finnish Navy 1918–1968, part II]. Helsinki: Meriupseeriyhdistys/Otava. p. 17.