The Finnish S-class torpedo boats was a series of six ex-

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...

s that had been taken over by the

Finns Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...

after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

and the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper '' Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil ...

. ''S1'' through ''S5'' belonged to the Russian ''Sokol''-class torpedo boat destroyers, while ''S6'' was of the smaller Modified ''Ussuri'' class (also called Modified ''Sungari'' class) torpedo boats.

Ships of the class

;''S1'': ex-''Ryaniy'' (Рьяный = eager) and ex-''Sova'' (Сова = owl); shipyard number: 112) was a Russian

torpedo boat destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

(officially was classified as a torpedo boat at first and later a squadron torpedo boat), which was taken over by the Finns after the Finnish Civil War in 1918. She was sunk as a training

target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

in 1930. ;: ex-''Prozorlivij'' (Прозорливый = sharp) and ex-''Gagara'' (Gagara = loon) in Russian service. Taken over by the Finns after the Finnish Civil War in 1918. Lost in a storm on 4 October 1925, with the loss of all hands. ;''S3'': ex-''Poslushniy'' (Послушный = obedient) and ex-''Korshun'' (Коршун = Kite) in Russian service; shipyard number: 101) was taken over by the Finns after the Finnish Civil War in 1918. The ship was returned to

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

in 1922 in accordance to the Tartu peace treaty of 1920. She was scrapped in 1925. ;''S4'': ex-''Rezviy'' (Резвый = frisky) and ex-''Voron'' (Ворон = raven) in Russian service; shipyard number: 109) was taken over by the Finns after the Finnish Civil War in 1918. The ship was returned to Soviet Russia in 1922 in accordance to the Tartu peace treaty of 1920. She was scrapped in 1925. ;''S5'': ex-''Podvishniy'' (Подвижный = mobile) and ex-''Albatros'' (Альбатрос = albatros; shipyard number: 99) was taken over by the Finns after the Finnish Civil War in 1918. She was used as a decoy target during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrie ...

and was anchored at Pellinge. She was scuttled in shallow water (so that the deck still was above the surface) and a large number of

anti-aircraft guns Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

were scattered on the nearby islands. In this manner the Finns hoped to lure the

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

to attack the . No aircraft were however sent there. ;''S6'': ex-''Torpedo boat № 212'' (Миноносец No. 212) was a Russian seagoing torpedo boat (officially was classified as a torpedo boat), which acted as a

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

during World War I. She was taken over by the Finns after the Finnish Civil War in 1918 and returned to Soviet Russia in 1922 in accordance to the Tartu peace treaty of 1920. The S6 was not of the same class as the other S-boats, but of the smaller Modified ''Ussuri'' class.

Sources

* *{{cite journal , last1=Joutsi , first1=Juha , title=The ''Sokol'' Class Torpedo Boats in Finnish Service , journal=Warship International , date=September 2021 , volume=LVIII , issue=3 , pages=206–214 , issn=0043-0374 Torpedo boat classes