Naval Detachment K
Naval Detachment K (Finnish: Laivasto-osasto K) was a Finnish military detachment—specifically, a flotilla that operated on Lake Ladoga during World War II.
Background
The
Formation
Already during the spring Finnish Lieutenant General Paavo Talvela and Colonel Järvinen who was commanding the Laatokka Coastal Brigade came up with an idea that the boat traffic providing supplies to the Leningrad needed to be disrupted. Talvela then presented this idea to the Germans on his own behalf going past both Finnish Navy HQ and General HQ. Germans responded positively to the proposition and informed the slightly surprised Finns—who apart from Talvela had very little knowledge of the proposition—that transport of the equipment for the Ladoga operation was already arranged. Both the Germans and Italians sent naval units to Lake Ladoga to assist the Finns with coastal defence of the lake and to enforce the ongoing siege of Leningrad.[1]
A combined Finnish-German-Italian unit, the Laivasto-osasto K (LOs.K., Naval Detachment K) was formed on 17 May 1942, consisting of the four Italian MAS boats, four German KM minelayers and the Finnish motor torpedo boat Sisu. The German and Italian vessels were grouped into two units under Finnish command. First to arrive was the Italian unit ). Five days later, four German KM-minelayers also arrived. However, the German minelayers suffered from inexperienced crews and unreliable engines and it took until 10 August before all German boats were repaired and deemed operational.
Also operating on the lake were the Finnish Ladoga Naval Detachment, composed mainly of fishing vessels and small motor boats, and the German Eastern Ferry Unit, a Luftwaffe formation of armed Siebel ferries.
Operations
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Naval Detachment K's primary task was harassing Soviet
Analysis
The operations of the international flotilla were a failure. Torpedoes proved useless in the shallow waters of southern Lake Ladoga, where they frequently struck the bottom. Nor did their magnetic detonators work well against the wooden hulls of Soviet barges and patrol boats. The secondary armament of the MTBs also proved too light to seriously threaten Soviet gunboats. German mineboats turned out to have extremely unreliable engines, keeping them docked in port far longer than they spent on actual operations nor were their influence mines especially useful against mainly wooden hulled Soviet vessels.
Dissolving the detachment
Naval Detachment K was dissolved in the winter of 1942/43. The Italian torpedo vessels were relocated from Lake Ladoga to Tallinn at the end of October 1942 and would eventually
References
- ^ Kijanen, Kalervo (1968). Suomen Laivasto 1918–1968 II. Helsinki: Meriupseeriyhdistys/Otava.
- ^ a b Finland and Siege of Leningrad 1941–1944. By Dr. Nikolai Baryshnikov. Russian: "Блокада Ленинграда и Финляндия 1941–44" Институт Йохана Бекмана. 2003. Russian fragment: "Центр Политических и Социальных Исследований Республики Карелия". Archived from the original on 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
- ^ Дважды Краснознаменный Балтийский Флот, Гречанюк Н. М., Дмитриев В. И., Корниенко А. И. и др., М., Воениздат. 1990. с. 195.
- ^ Доценко В. Д., Флот. Война. Победа. С.-Пб, Судостроение. 1995 с 238
Bibliography
- Балтийский Флот. Гречанюк Н. М., Дмитриев В. И., Корниенко А. И. и др., М., Воениздат. 1990.
- Der Zweite Weltkrieg. Raymond Cartier. 1977, R. Piper & CO. Verlag, Munchen / Zurich; 1141 pages.
- Siege of Leningrad and Finland 1941–1944. By Dr. Nikolai Baryshnikov. Russian: "Блокада Ленинграда и Финляндия 1941–44" Институт Йохана Бекмана. 2003.
- Kugler, Randolf (1989). Das Landungswesen in Deutschland seit 1900. Buchzentrum, Empfingen. ISBN 978-3-86755-000-0
- Lenton, H.T. (1976). German Warships of the Second World War. Arco Publishing. ISBN 978-0-668-04037-2
- Levine, Alan J. (2008). The War Against Rommel's Supply Lines, 1942–43. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3458-5