''Krasnoye Znamya'' (Красное Знамя, ''Red Banner'', ex-''Khrabryy'') was a Soviet

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

. The ship had been built in the late 19th century as the ''Khrabryy'' (Храбрый, ''Brave'') by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

. The ship was the only craft of its class. The ''Krasnoye Znamya'' was sunk in the harbour of

Lavansaari Moshchny (russian: Мощный; fi, Lavansaari; sv, Lövskär, et, Lavassaar) is an island in the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, located some 120 km west of Saint Petersburg. The island is a part of the Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The ar ...

in the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and ...

on November 18, 1942 after an attack by Finnish

MTBs MTBS is an annual interschools athletics competition (the largest in South Africa) held between four high schools located in Bellville, Western Cape. The competition is mainly an athletics meeting and includes cheerleading and flashes. These s ...

The sinking of ''Krasnoye Znamya''

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

''Khrabryy'' participated in the battles in the Baltic Sea. It was lightly damaged during the

Battle of Moon Sound The Battle of Moon Sound was a naval battle fought between the forces of the German Empire, and the then Russian Republic (and three British submarines) in the Baltic Sea during Operation Albion from 16 October 1917 until 3 November 1917 duri ...

in 1917. On December 31, 1922 the ship was renamed to ''Krasnoye Znamya''. After the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940 between Finland and the Soviet Union, the island of Lavansaari had been handed over to the Soviets. 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: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

the island was a Soviet naval base and housed a radar station. On November 18, 1942 the three Finnish motor torpedo boats ''Syöksy'', ''Vinha'' and ''Vihuri'', as well as a minelaying KM-boat made an assault on the harbour of Lavansaari. ''Syöksy'' managed to hit the ''Krasnoye Znamya'' with one torpedo. She was sunk in her moorings.''Attacken mot Lövskärs hamn'' (The Attack on the harbour of Lavansaari, in Swedish)
Commanding officer of Syöksy, lieutenant commander Jouko Pirhonen was awarded the Mannerheim Cross for the successful attack. The ''Krasnoye Znamya'' was salvaged on November 13, 1943 and recommissioned on September 17, 1944. She was finally decommissioned in 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krasnoye Znamya World War II naval ships of the Soviet Union 1895 ships Gunboats Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Finland Maritime incidents in November 1942 World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea World War I naval ships of Russia