Finnish torpedo boat S2
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Russian Empire
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| Name: |
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| Ordered: | 1898 |
| Launched: | June 26, 1899 |
| Commissioned: | September 1901 |
| Fate: | Taken over by Finland in 1918 |
 Finland
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| Name: | S2 |
| Commissioned: | 1918 |
| Fate: | Lost in a storm on October 4, 1925 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Sokol class torpedo boat |
| Displacement: | 290 tons |
| Length: | 57.9 m (190 ft) |
| Beam: | 5.6 m (18 ft) |
| Draft: | 1.7 m (5.6 ft) |
| Propulsion: | two steam engines, four Yarrow boilers, 3,800 hp |
| Speed: | 27 knots (50 km/h) |
| Range: | 550 nautical miles (1,020 km) at 15 knots |
| Complement: | 53 (52 in Russian service) |
| Armament: |
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S2 (ex-Prozorlivy and ex-Gagara in Russian service) was a Finnish Sokol class torpedo boat that had been seized from the Russians after the Finnish Civil War 1918. It sank during a fierce storm on October 4, 1925, taking with her the whole crew of 53.
Between 1900 and 1908, the Russians built 25 Sokol class torpedo boats for the Russian Baltic Fleet. "Sokol" (Сокол) is Russian for Falcon). The fourth ship of the class, Gagara (Гагара, Russian for Loon), was built at the Neva shipyard in Saint Petersburg and carried the construction number 102.
On March 9, 1902 the ship was renamed Prozorlivy (Прозорливый, Russian for sharp or awake). She was used as a trawler in 1911, but when World War I ignited she was taken into service as a minesweeper and was based in a Finnish port.
The war was going badly for the Russians and the Russian Navy revolted. The revolts soon spread out in the nation and Finland managed to secure its independence from Russia in the turmoil. However, tensions were still running high and soon after the declaration of independence the Finnish Civil War erupted. The socialists (reds) and the non-socialists (whites) clashed. Elements of the Russian Baltic fleet were still moored in Finnish harbours and the Russian sailors were sympathetic with the socialist side. However, the Finnish reds faced tough pressure from the whites, who had better military leadership. A German force that landed in southern Finland - in the back of the reds - finally broke the reds' fighting spirit.
The Russian fleet in Helsinki panicked when the Germans marched against Helsinki. They managed to secure a deal with the Germans, which allowed them to withdraw to Russia. However, only the largest ships managed to return to Russia, due to the harsh ice conditions of the Gulf of Finland. Numerous vessels were left behind to be seized by the whites and the German troops. On April 13, Prozorlivy was conquered by the whites and she was transferred to the Finnish navy, along with her five sister ships (Ryany (later S1), Poslishny (S3), Rezvy (S4), Podvizhny (S5) and No 212 (S6)).
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Wikipedia