Rautu-class minesweeper
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Rautu |
| Builders | list error: <br /> list (help) Vilppula: Putilow, St. Petersburg Rautu: Varkaus |
| Operators | Finnish Navy |
| Built | 1916-1917 |
| In commission | 1918-1952 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Retired | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minesweeper |
| Displacement | 240 tons |
| Length | 44.0 m |
| Beam | 6.1 m |
| Draught | 2.5 m |
| Propulsion | 450 hp (340 kW) |
| Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h) |
| Complement | 32 |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) Wartime: 1 x 75 mm 2 x machine gun Later: 1 × 20 mm Madsen AA |
| Notes | Ships in class include: Rautu, Vilppula |
Rautu and Vilppula were left by the Soviets to Finland in 1918 since they would not have survived the harsh sailing to the Leningrad. Ships had weak hulls and their engines were not particularly powerful. During peacetime they were used as depot and test ships. Vilppula was designated as T-2 and Zashtshitnik and Rautu as Murman before they were included to the Finnish Navy[1]
In war time the ships were used as minesweepers but occasionally were assigned with more exotic tasks. On 5 December 1941 after Soviets had fled from Hanko there was urgent and pressing need to clear inshore seaways for merchants however the weakhulled minesweepers could not operate in the prevailing conditions. Rautu and Louhi were used as icebreakers breaking clearing the waters for the smaller minesweepers to operate. On 25 July 1944 Vilppula and another Finnish ship were attached to pier near Porkkala when a lone Boston (Douglas A-20 Havoc) type bomber torpedoed both ships. Though the ships were refloated Vilppula was not deemed to be worth of repairing. Rautu was decomissioned in 1952.[1]