Satakunta Flotilla

Satakundskaya Flotilla
The Satakunta Flotilla wintering over in Mustalahti Harbor, Tampere, 1917.
Active	1916–1917
Country	Russian Empire
Branch	Imperial Russian Navy
Type	Gunboat unit
Role	Brown water warfare
Size	Three converted passenger ships, two tugs and a number of requisitioned motorboats. Manned by 100+ matrose.
Garrison/HQ	Mustalahti
Engagements	World War I Finnish Civil War
Commanders
Notable commanders	Captain of 2nd rank Shablin

World War I

The Satakundskaya Flotilla (Russian: Сатакундская флотилия, translit. Satakundskaya flotilla) was a brown-water navy unit of the Imperial Russian Navy, operating on Lake Näsijärvi, Finland, during the First World War from spring 1916 until winter 1917. In Finnish sources, the unit is often called Satakunta Fleet (Finnish: Satakunnan laivasto). The name of the unit derives from Satakunta, the historical province where Lake Näsijärvi was located at the time, but the Finnish version is likely a mistranslation of flotilla.

The flotilla was founded during spring 1916, as the Russian military commissioned the Finnish passenger ships Tarjanne, Kuru and Pohjola and the tugs Murole and Näsijärvi. In addition, civilian motorboats were requisitioned for military use. The ships were manned by their original Finnish crew, commanded by their Finnish masters subordinated to a Russian officer. The passenger ships were armed with 75 millimetres (3.0 in) naval guns, manned by Russian matrose. The flotilla was commanded by Captain of 2nd rank Shablin, who used the Tarjanne as his flagship. The Russian contingent of the flotilla numbered circa 100 men, housed in a storage building at Mustalahti harbor.