Finland Navy - Merivoimat - History
After Finland's independence, its naval units were first assembled under the Coast Fleet. The Coast Navy was first introduced to the Navy as a name in 1928. The name was used continuously until 1944. The Finnish Navy was the name of the part responsible for the ships of the Finnish Coast Guard from 1923 to 1933, when it became known as the Finnish Navy. Already in 1927, the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Coastal Artillery were combined under the command of the Navy, responsible for coastal defense as a whole. The Navy fleet dwindled to 1,500 tons after the war, but after the 1955 procurement decisions, the tonnage quadrupled in ten years. It was not until the 1950s that the Navy gained the role of a defense branch. The Navy was named in 1952 as one of the three defense branches of Finland.
The Navy of independent Finland was founded on the Russian artillery and naval equipment that remained in Finland. In 1918, the first naval commander was appointed under the title of Navy Commander and an Admiral Staff was established to manage and develop naval and coastal artillery matters. Prior to the war, new torpedo boats, submarines, armored ships, and the school swan Suomen Swan were deployed, as well as the availability of coastal artillery cannon equipment, firing methods, and the dispersal of cannon batteries. Marine performance was created.
After Finland's independence, the country received as a gift a strong coastal artillery, which in turn was the so-called Peter the Great Sea Fortress Chain. It was built by Russia to protect its then capital, St. Petersburg, after sending its Baltic navy to the Japanese war. Since many Finns had served in the Russian army just before the time of independence, they were in the service of coastal artillery, so the equipment also had competent users. The Coast Artillery served as regional troops, each with its own area of responsibility. During the early decades of independence, activities also took place in the Vyborg Bay and Ladoga, and during the Continuation War also in Ääninen.
During the wars, coastal artillery and navy protected the sea areas and coasts of Finland, prevented landings and participated in numerous battles in the sea area and on the coast. The warring states lowered more than 60,000 mines and clearing barriers to the North Sea and the Gulf of Finland. At the end of the war, the Coast Fleet and the Coastal Artillery Corps were formed into a Demolition Fleet, which again cleared the Finnish shipping lanes for safe navigation. The naval defense had demonstrated its capability in both military and post-war clearance activities.
Following the return of the Armed Forces to peace, the Coastal Departments were given the names of regional responsibility: the Suomenlinna and Turku coastal artillery regiments and the Kotka, Hanko and Vaasa coastal batteries. This configuration continued until the summer of 1998, when coastal artillery and coastal ice training were merged with the then navy troops into current naval forces. When talking about Upinniemi, one must also remember the history of the area as a Soviet base from 1944 to 1956. In fact, the Soviet Union built Upinniemi: In just over fifteen years, the farming area with its sandy beaches and forests became a naval base.
After the wars, the Coastal Fleet became the body of the Clearing Fleet. After the clearing period, between 1952 and 1980, the vessels operated in various flag configurations, including the Navy Flag. After the wars, the Navy had a period of quiet life. The equipment was worn out and development was limited by the conditions of peace. Coastal artillery was separated from the navy and attached to the armed forces. The Navy and Coast Artillery were highly prepared during the Cold War. Maritime mining, fire-fighting and anti-rioting played a key role. The fleet relied on naval stations, the first of which, Helsinki Navy Station (HelLAs), operated at Katajanokka until 1959. At that time it moved to Upinniemi. The Turku Navy Station (TurLAs) was established in Pansio in 1939. The anniversary of the present Coastal Fleet on October 12 is based on this very event.
The second term, called the Coastal Fleet, was from 1980 to 1992 and the third from the beginning of 2015. In 1993, the Turku coastal fleet (headquarters and squadrons) and the Turku fleet station became the Archipelago Fleet (SmLaiv). A similar amalgamation was made of the fleet units in the Coastal Fleet in Upinniemi, as well as a few ships transferred there and the Helsinki Navy. This organization was named the Gulf of Finland Navy (SlLaiv).
Following the merger of the Navy and the Coastal Artillery in 1998, the Archipelago Navy and the Turku Coast Regiment formed the Archipelago Marine Defense Area (SMMEPA). Similarly, the Gulf of Finland Navy, the Hanko Coast Battery and the Suomenlinna Coast Regiment were formed into the Gulf of Finland Marine Defense Area (SLMEPA).
At the end of 2014, as part of the reform of the Armed Forces, both maritime defense areas were abolished and their coastal and naval units were separated. As of the beginning of 2015, Finnish Coast Guard training was concentrated on the Coastal Brigade (RPR) in Upinniemi and all naval units were assembled in the Coastal Fleet (RLAIV). The Coast Fleet operates from both Turun Pansion and Kirkkonummi Upinniemi bases.
From the summer of 1998 to the end of 2014, the Gulf of Finland Marine Defense Area, made up of both coastal and naval forces, operated in Upinniemi. Its task was to be responsible for maritime defense throughout the Gulf of Finland. The composition of the Marine Defense Area was gradually changed by concentrating operations in the Upinniemi headquarters by discontinuing operations in the fortress island of the Gulf of Finland.
With the reform of the Defense Forces at the turn of 2014 - 15, the Coast and Fleet troops were again separated into their own divisions. On January 1, 2015, the Coast Brigade was formed in Upinniemi as battleships transferred to the Coast Fleet. Although the permanent operations of the Armed Forces have ceased on many of the fortress islands, the Coast Brigade continues to be responsible for coastal defense throughout the Gulf of Finland, from Hanko to the eastern border.
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