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Turunmaa class Little Corvette

The cannon boat Karelia is one of the Turunmaa-class ships introduced by the Navy in 1968, which was unique in the Baltic Sea because of its structure, armament and speed. The ship were internationally classified as a corvette. During a crisis, the Turunmaa-class cannon boats were designed for use in maritime traffic defense, reconnaissance and artillery missions. In addition, the vessel was used for maritime surveillance, territorial integrity and international activities.

The Turunmaa-class cannon boats were built in Helsinki in 1968. The ship's propulsion and weapon systems were state-of-the-art. The ship's main engine was a Rolls-Royce Olympus gas turbine and three diesel engines were cruise ships. Both engines of the ship could be operated at the same time, thus achieving considerable cruising speed. The ship was equipped to combat both surface vessels and submarines. The main cannon was 120mm Bofors. The ship was modernized during use and renovated in 1985. The cannon boat Karelia served as a guard, training and command ship. It also participated in several international naval visits.

The design of the vessel began in 1963, when the designers created five different hull types and 35 machinery options. On 18 February 1965, the Karelia was ordered from the Wärtsilä shipyard in Helsinki. The ship's keel was laid in March 1967 and launched on 16 August 1967. The vessel was completed on 21 October 1968, and was delivered the same year to the Navy, which placed it in service in 1969. Karelia was a bit of a freak ship. It had 3 diesel engines and a Rolls-Royce 16000kW aircraft turbine. At full power, this 70m long and 700 ton ship reached a speed of 40 knots, an unimaginable pace for a ship of that size. The elongated shape of the ship also made it much more stable, for example, the Helsinki-class missile boats,

The steel-hulled ship displaced about 700 tons at the time of delivery, but gained 100 tons over the eyars in various upgrades. The superstructure wa is made of aluminum and the main parts are protected by armor plates. The engine solution is a combined turbine and diesel system. The diesel engine could run 5,000 miles without refueling. The speed was over 35 knots and the top speed was recorded at 37.3 knots. All the power of the engines, or 24,000 horsepower, was needed for this speed.

The two units were built at Wärtsilä shipyards in Helsinki, Finland. The Turunmaa was commissioned in 1968. The Karjala joined the Guard Fleet in the Archipelago Marine Defense Area located in Upinniemi in 1969. The 120mm cannon barrel on the bow of the ship exploded in the shooting range in the summer of 1970, causing minor damage to the gun. The ship made many naval visits to the ports of the Baltic and North Sea, with its farthest sailing to Norway, where in 1982 it participated in the 25th anniversary celebration of the King of Norway, Olavi V. The ship was renovated between 1985 and 1986. After the renovation of the Turku Dockyard in 1986, the cannon boat Karelia was the leader of the Battle Department. The Karjala traveled a total of 257,306 nautical miles in the Navy, operated 22,051 hours, and consumed approximately 24 million liters of fuel. It trained more than 2,000 conscripts. It was decommissioned in 2001 as obsolete and too demanding, and the ship was towed in 2002 from Pansio to Forum Marinum as a museum ship along the River Aura in Karelia. It is owned by the War Museum and maintained by the Forum Marinum Foundation. The cannon boat Karelia is only part of the Forum Marinum fleet. Perhaps the most famous ship in the Maritime Museum is the Finnish Swan anchored near Karelia. Next to Karelia there is a floating Minesweeper Keihässalmi.

Turunmaa was handed over to Satakunta University of Applied Sciences for teaching in autumn 2000.