Hurja class motor torpedo boat
Encyclopedia
The Hurja class motor torpedo boats or H class was an Italian
-designed class of Finnish
motor torpedo boat
s, seeing service with the Finnish Navy
during World War II
.
The five boats of the H class were built by Cantieri Baglietto in Genua, Italy and transported to Finland over land and sea, a journey that took 11 days. These boats had been ordered during the Winter War
in 1940, but due to lack of material, the production took time, and became ready by 1943. Their main engines, originally aircraft engines, were of bad quality. Therefore the engines had to be spared and not used at all for training. After only 20 hours of service, the engines had deteriorated greatly in power. The Finnish Navy stopped using these as torpedo boats after the summer of 1943 and used them instead as fast mine-layers and smoke dischargers.
The ships were converted into patrol boats in 1949, in accordance with the Paris peace treaty
. They were then equipped with two 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons and two heavy machine guns. The H class were stricken from the lists in 1963 and auctioned out. H 4 have survived until today as the M/Y Odysses.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-designed class of Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
motor torpedo boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
s, seeing service with the Finnish Navy
Finnish Navy
The Finnish Navy is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS" simply short for "Finnish Navy Ship"...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The five boats of the H class were built by Cantieri Baglietto in Genua, Italy and transported to Finland over land and sea, a journey that took 11 days. These boats had been ordered during the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
in 1940, but due to lack of material, the production took time, and became ready by 1943. Their main engines, originally aircraft engines, were of bad quality. Therefore the engines had to be spared and not used at all for training. After only 20 hours of service, the engines had deteriorated greatly in power. The Finnish Navy stopped using these as torpedo boats after the summer of 1943 and used them instead as fast mine-layers and smoke dischargers.
The ships were converted into patrol boats in 1949, in accordance with the Paris peace treaty
Paris Peace Treaties, 1947
The Paris Peace Conference resulted in the Paris Peace Treaties signed on February 10, 1947. The victorious wartime Allied powers negotiated the details of treaties with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland .The...
. They were then equipped with two 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons and two heavy machine guns. The H class were stricken from the lists in 1963 and auctioned out. H 4 have survived until today as the M/Y Odysses.
Vessels of the class
- Hyöky (H 1)
- Hirmu (H 2)
- Hurja (H 3)
- Hyrsky (H 4)
- Häijy (H 5)