New fleet ! The Finnish Cold War Navy

The Finnish Navy in the cold war: The second armistice in 1944 and the subsequent Treaty of Paris brought problems for the Finnish Navy; a maximum of 10,000t and 4500 men were allowed, and submarines and torpedoes were forbidden. The remaining coast defence ship Vaindmdéinen was taken as ‘reparations’ by the Soviet Union, the submarines were scrapped and the MTBs deprived of their tubes and reclassified as patrol boats. Throughout the cold war, Finland was in a very difficult position, both geographically and politically, but managed to survive as a free nation, albeit one whose policies were strongly influenced by the need not to offend the Soviet Union. The navy received only small grants from the restricted defence budget and found it difficult to replace the losses to Soviet reparations. The fleet is principally composed of mine warfare vessels, missile boats and patrol vessels, mostly of Finnish construction. The world-famous Wartsila yard was the world’s most successful builder of icebreakers, exporting to the former Soviet Union and Sweden.
Now Part of NATO, the future looked brighter than ever.
A complete overview of bases, command structure, land and air assets, and all ships classes in detail.

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