|
''S2'' (ex-''Prozorlivy'' and ex-''Gagara'' in Russian service) was a Finnish ''Sokol'' class torpedo boat that had been seized from the Russians after the Finnish Civil War 1918. It sank during a fierce storm on October 4, 1925, taking with her the whole crew of 53. ==Background== Between 1900 and 1908, the Russians built 25 ''Sokol'' class torpedo boats for the Russian Baltic Fleet. "Sokol" (''Сокол'') is Russian for ''Falcon''). The fourth ship of the class, ''Gagara'' (Гагара, Russian for ''Loon''), was built at the Neva shipyard in Saint Petersburg and carried the construction number 102. On March 9, 1902 the ship was renamed ''Prozorlivy'' (Прозорливый, Russian for ''sharp'' or ''awake''). She was used as a trawler in 1911, but when World War I ignited she was taken into service as a minesweeper and was based in a Finnish port. The war was going badly for the Russians and the Russian Navy revolted. The revolts soon spread out in the nation and Finland managed to secure its independence from Russia in the turmoil. However, tensions were still running high and soon after the declaration of independence the Finnish Civil War erupted. The socialists (''reds'') and the non-socialists (''whites'') clashed. Elements of the Russian Baltic fleet were still moored in Finnish harbours and the Russian sailors were sympathetic with the socialist side. However, the Finnish ''reds'' faced tough pressure from the ''whites'', who had better military leadership. A German force that landed in southern Finland - in the back of the ''reds'' - finally broke the ''reds fighting spirit. The Russian fleet in Helsinki panicked when the Germans marched against Helsinki. They managed to secure a deal with the Germans, which allowed them to withdraw to Russia. However, only the largest ships managed to return to Russia, due to the harsh ice conditions of the Gulf of Finland. Numerous vessels were left behind to be seized by the ''whites'' and the German troops. On April 13, ''Prozorlivy'' was conquered by the ''whites'' and she was transferred to the Finnish navy, along with her five sister ships (''Ryany'' (later ''S1''), ''Poslishny'' (''S3''), ''Rezvy'' (''S4''), ''Podvizhny'' (''S5'') and ''No 212'' (''S6'')). ''Prozorlivy'' served over seven years in the Finnish navy. During her first years, she supported British operations against the Bolshevik navy. In accordance with the Treaty of Tartu of 1920, three of the ''Sokol'' class ships were returned to the Soviet Union in 1922. It was also planned that ''Prozorlivy'' would have been handed over, but the ageing ship was sold to Finland, where she was included in the Finnish navy. ''Prozorlivy'' was renamed ''S2'' in 1922 and she continued to serve the fleet until October 4, 1925, when she was lost at sea with all hands. The loss of ''S2'' is the worst peace-time accident in the Finnish navy and it shocked both the navy and the country. The disaster was a major catalyst for a large renewal program of the Finnish fleet. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Finnish torpedo boat S2」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|