Shipbucket

...and some more: Here is Riilahti and Ruotsinsalmi:

_________________
Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

Very nice additions, nice work on the paint schemes too.

_________________
Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

Truly excellent work!

While working on my never-were based AUs, I came to notice that the Finnish subs were still in que to get redone, and I actually Had done some work during 21-22, but even after then Ive came cross better references, if not still completely perfect ones, of the Vetehinen class, so Here is a remaking of these rather peculiar and unique shaped boats. Vetehinen class of 500t minelayer submarines were part of the 1927 Finnish Naval law act that constituted the majority of warships build in Finland before the WWII. They were designed by the famous I.v.S company from Netherlands and provided an advanced method of medium sized minelaying submarines, where the minestorages were aside the pressurhull in the midship, allowing front firing torpedotubes, that were ommited from the Great War era similar sized German submarines, that the I.v.S boats were largely based. Similar concept of boats in various sizes were offered to China, Brazil and Estonia as well, but no other boats with this same layout were constructed. At some point the design was preserved as part of mobilisation construction in German secret re-armament plans, before the design of Type I and II class submarines begun. Vetehinen herself was first warship to be launched in Independent Finland, and apart of the entire class important contribution to the Finnish maritime defences during the war time, Vetehinens most famous encounter was the sinking of Russian submarine ShCh-305 in Novermber 1942 by ramming, after fierce night action. Iku-Turso also sunk an undentified Russian submarine of the same class in earlier in the same autumn, While Vesihiisi sunk S7 from the S-class, both of these kills came via torpedoes. Finnish Navy had some issues with their intial italian build torpedoes, and like with USN in the early pacific war, had the equipment worked properly, there would have been lots of more success.

_________________
Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

And here is Saukko, a 99t "project lilliput" as dubbed by I.v.S, she was propably the smallest operational submarine of her era, not disminished as midget submarine. The idea behind her was to be operate on Lake Laatokka, as the 1920 Tarto peace treaty forbid warship over 100t to be deployed there, and overally as how suitable really small submarines would be in Finnish archipelago as there were no first hand operational experiences of such by anyone, and much of the Finnish submarine opertions in early days were somewhat blindfold experimenting, what could be done. Saukko was designed to be cut in half, to be transported to Laatokka via land, as no navigatable waterway existed at those days inside Finnish borders. Eventually she was bit of dissapointment, as her engines were borne to maulfunction and never achieved the operational levels desired. She was also a slow diver and bad seaboat, which did not improve her functionality. Still she remained in comission, fought the war, but had little to no success in the mainrole of submarines. During the war, in 1941 she get to launch her torpedo once in anger against two Russian patrol ships at Sommeri Pierside, but the torpedo ignited on the tube allready and fused the little boat with its exhaust gas, knocking out most of the crew with asphyxia.

_________________
Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

After the four submarines from the Naval Law of 1927, the fift Finnish submarine, Vesikko started life as private venture by Crichton-Vulcan shipyard in Turku, as an I.v.S:s covert operation to create prototype for the future German coastal submarines. Compared to the Vetehinen class, she was of new generation of construction with single hull, made mostly by welding, allowing theorethically deeper diving depth than the older boats. After completing as Cv-707 to the Crichton-vulcans private ownership, she was used clandestinely by Germans for sea-trials
in Finnish archipelago, before purchased by Finnish goverment and she joined the Finnish Navy under name Vesikko. During the wartime, it was generally regarded as best and most suitable of our submarines for the operations that were conducted, but despite this, its only victories came in summer of 41, when she sank a Russian merchantman. Postwar, as the peace treaty forbid submarines, Vesikko was the only one who was spared from scrapping, intially with hopes of early lifting of the treaty restrictions, so she could be recomissioned as training boat for new generation, but after this prostpect became unrealistic and the technology leaped foward, she was eventually refurbished as museum boat and is currently on display at Suomenlinna Garrison island in Helsinki.

_________________
Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

Great to see them reworked!