Ilmarinen (ship, 1934)
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|---|---|
 The sister ship Väinämöinen |
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| Overview | |
| Type | Coastal armored ship |
| Shipyard | |
| Keel laying | July 9, 1929 |
| Launch | August 14, 1931 |
| Namesake | the hero Ilmarinen from the epic Kalevala |
| Commissioning | April 17, 1934 |
| Whereabouts | Sank on September 13, 1941 at position 59 ° 27 ' N , 21 ° 5' E after a mine explosion. 271 dead, 132 survivors
|
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
3,900 t |
| length |
93 m over everything |
| width |
16.9 m |
| Draft |
5.0 m |
| crew |
330 men, |
| drive |
|
| speed |
14.5 kn |
| Armament |
2 × 2-254 mm Bofors guns (twin turrets), |
| Sister ship |
Väinämöinen |
The Ilmarinen was a coastal armored ship and was the flagship of the Finnish fleet until it sank after being hit by a mine in September 1941 .
Naval Act of 1927
In 1927 the formation of the future Finnish fleet was decided in the so-called Fleet Act. Then two coastal armored ships were ordered, which were named after heroes from the Finnish epic Kalevala . Later the fleet building program with submarines and torpedo boats was completed.
history
The Ilmarinen and her sister ship Väinämöinen were the largest ships in the Finnish fleet until then. The two ironclad ships were intended for coastal defense and were very heavily armed for their size. Both ships, as well as other ships from this fleet building program, were designed by the Dutch engineering office NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw (IvS), a front company of German shipyards, and their activities contradicted the Treaty of Versailles. The armored ships were intended as mobile coastal artillery locations and were not intended for operations over large sea areas. Shallow draft, heavy armament and a heavy, large fire control tower had a negative effect on the seaworthiness.
The two ironclads were the Finnish Crichton-Vulcan shipyard in Turku In 1928 laid the keel . They were equipped with the latest technology. They had a diesel-electric drive. The fire control system was electrical and transferred its values to mechanical computers and from there the guide values were passed on directly to the turrets.
The sister ship Väinämöinen was launched on December 28, 1930 and the Ilmarinen on July 9, 1931. The Ilmarinen was the flagship of the Finnish Navy, which also meant that the commander of the coastal fleet was usually on board.
Winter war
At the beginning of the Winter War , on November 30, 1939, the ship was attacked by Soviet bombers . After this first attack, the ship moved to the island of Lohm in the Korpo archipelago . As a result, the second wave of bombers could no longer find the Ilmarinen and instead attacked its replacement target, namely the city of Helsinki, on this first day of the war. During the initial phase of the Winter War, the ship was in the Åland Islands , which should protect it against invasion. At the end of January 1940, when the ice became difficult, the ship went to Turku , where it was supposed to protect the city against air raids with its anti-aircraft guns .
Turku was attacked 60 times by more than 400 bombers. The 40 mm Vickers cannons proved ineffective and they were replaced by 40 mm Bofors cannons in 1941 . Due to the danger of air raids, more and more anti-aircraft guns were installed on the ship during the war. Towards the end of the Winter War the ship moved to the Hangö - Porkkala area to prevent enemy forces from landing. The ice conditions and the danger of air attacks prevented the relocation closer to the front line in support of the ground troops.
Continuation War
At the beginning of the Continuation War it was the job of the Ilmarinen to protect the "Operation Regatta". This operation served to protect the Åland Islands. The ship was attacked immediately on the morning of June 22, 1941. On July 27, 1941 at the Battle of Bengtskär , it was ordered there to support the defenders. It was believed that Soviet destroyers were in the area. Again the ship was attacked by airplanes. One crew member was killed and the Ilmarinen was forced to move back to Turku for repairs. The ship was attacked several times by Soviet troops from their base in Hangö before the base was evacuated.
North Wind Company
The "Operation North Wind" was a sham enterprise with the purpose of distracting the Soviet Union from the fact that German troops should occupy the Estonian island of Ösel ( Operation Beowulf ). For this purpose, a total of 25 ships were brought together at Utö . From there they were supposed to march south towards Ösel and be discovered by the Soviets. Simultaneously and for the same purpose, the “Westwind” and “Südwind” mock operations were carried out.
The unit marched south on September 13, 1941 along a route that had not previously been cleared of mines. During the day it was discovered that a mine had become caught in the Ilmarinen's minesweeping gear , but it was not possible to get rid of the mine. When darkness fell around 8:30 p.m. and the Soviets had still not noticed the bandage, the bandage was ordered to return. The Ilmarinen turned to starboard so that the mine, which was still in the mine sweeping gear , should not touch the ship.
During the turning movement, however, there was an explosion on the port side , which violently shook the ship and threw up a water fountain. The Ilmarinen quickly got strong list to port and capsized a few minutes. The ship sank just seven minutes after the explosion. The accompanying watch boats saved 132 crew members , but 271 crew members were killed. The commander of the expedition fleet , Commodore Eero Rahola, and the commander of the Ilmarines , frigate captain Göransson, were among the survivors. The remaining ships returned to the starting point without any further problems.
The wreck
The wreck of the Ilmarinen was found in 1990 after a three-year search. The following year, six survivors were able to visit the wreck in a mini-submarine. The wreck lies kieloben 25 nautical miles south of Utö in 70 m water depth at the position 59 ° 27 ' N , 21 ° 5' O .
About 15 kilometers from the wreck of the Ilmarinen lies the wreck of the ferry Estonia, which sank in 1994 .
Web links
- Pansarfartyget Ilmarinen (Swedish)
- Finnish "Lighthouse Battleships", with many photos (English)
- World War II Database: Ilmarinen (English)
- Photographs of Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen
- Jari Aromaa: Loss of Ilmarinen. July 10, 2011, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on June 18, 2019 (English).
Footnotes
- ↑ So z. B. the submarine Vesikko , which is currently a museum ship in Suomenlinna, a fortress island in the port of Helsinki .
- ↑ It was the Finnish armored ship division under Commodore Eero Rahola with the two coastal armored ships Ilmarinen ( frigate captain Ragnar Göransson) and Väinämöinen (frigate captain Koivisto), secured by the four 30 t watch boats VMV 1 , VMV 14 , VMV15 and VMV 16 , the German minelayer Brummer , five boats of the third Vorpostenflottille , two ocean-going tugs , eight smaller vehicles and the Finnish icebreaker Jääkarhu and Tarmo . ( http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/41-09.htm )
- ^ "Westwind" with the torpedo boats T 2 , T 5 , T 8 , T 11 , the 2nd and 3rd S-boat flotilla and nine smaller vehicles was directed to the west side of the island, "Südwind" with three groups of altogether around 50 small vehicles from Riga towards the south coast. ( http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/41-09.htm )