Finnish submarine Iku-Turso
 |
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 Finland
|
|
| Name: | Iku-Turso |
| Ordered: | 4 March 1927 |
| Builder: | Crichton-Vulcan |
| Laid down: | 1927 |
| Launched: | 5 May 1931 |
| Commissioned: | 13 October 1931 |
| Decommissioned: | 1946 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1950s |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Vetehinen-class submarine |
| Displacement: | 493 tonnes surfaced, 716 tonnes submerged |
| Length: | 63.5 m (208.3 ft) |
| Beam: | 6.2 m (20.3 ft) |
| Draft: | 3.6 m (11.8 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Diesel-electric, 1,016 hp |
| Speed: | 12.6 knots (23.3 km/h; 14.5 mph) surfaced, 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 1,575 nmi (2,917 km; 1,812 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced, 75 nmi (139 km; 86 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged |
| Complement: | 30 men |
| Armament: | |
Iku-Turso was a 500-tonne Vetehinen-class submarine that served in the Finnish Navy during the Second World War. It was launched in May 1931 and was named after a Finnish sea monster, Iku-Turso. It was built by the Crichton-Vulcan shipyard in Turku according to a project developed by NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw, "IvS", and was scrapped in 1953.
On 7 December Iku-Turso was sortied to intercept the Soviet freighter Ivan Papanin sailing from Stockholm. The submarine was informed of the departure time of the target and the likely route and so Iku-Turso patrolled in the international waters off Sandhamn and Svenska Högarne during the night. Unidentified patrol boats harassed the submarine and forced it to dive and by the time Iku-Turso was able to reach periscope depth there were no freighters in sight. Ivan Papanin had passed the area few hours earlier and likely having been warned of the presence of the Finnish submarine, it had altered its course to evade Iku-Turso.
In late December 1941 Iku-Turso patrolled for a couple of days off Liepāja but did not encounter any targets the rules of engagements would have allowed the submarine to attack. In January 1941 Iku-Turso patrolled four days off Saaremaa and Hiiumaa but without any luck.
On 22 June 1941 Iku-Turso laid 20 mines north of the island of Mohni/Ekholm. A further 20 mines were laid at Ruuskeri SE from Gogland on 24 June and 18 mines to south of Vaindloo on 26 June after which further minelaying operations were postponed. Iku-Turso laid 18 already loaded mines on 11 July of the coast of Estonia east of Mohni.
On 30 July Iku-Turso along with Vetehinen were sortied to intercept a Soviet convoy moving to and from the besieged base of Hanko. The submarines saw the convoy but were unable to maneuver to attack position.
...
Wikipedia