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Finnish Coastal Defence Ship Väinämöinen
''Väinämöinen'' was a Finnish coastal defence ship, the sister ship of the Finnish Navy's flagship and also the first ship of her class. She was built at the Crichton-Vulcan shipyard in Turku and was launched in 1932. Following the end of the Continuation War, ''Väinämöinen'' was handed over to the Soviet Union as war reparations and renamed ''Vyborg''. The ship remained in Soviet hands until her scrapping in 1966. Design ''Väinämöinen'' and ''Ilmarinen'' were planned to be mobile coastal fortresses for the defence of the Finnish demilitarized islands at Åland in particular. The two ships were not well suited for the open seas due to a design with emphasis on operations in the shallow waters of the archipelago: it has been said that they were volatile and rolled too much. The minimal depth keel, together with the high conning tower, made the ships' movements slow and wide. It was said that the ships were uncomfortable, but harmless to their crews. The ship's heavy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Väinämöinen
Väinämöinen () is a demigod, hero and the central character in Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic ''Kalevala'' by Elias Lönnrot. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical singing voice. In Finnish mythology The first extant mention of Väinämöinen in literature is in a list of Tavastian gods by Mikael Agricola in 1551. He and other writers described Väinämöinen as the god of chants, songs and poetry; in many stories Väinämöinen was the central figure at the birth of the world. The Karelian and Finnish national epic, the ''Kalevala'', tells of his birth in the course of a creation story in its opening sections. This myth has elements of creation from chaos and from a cosmic egg, as well as of earth diver creation. At first there were only primal waters and Sky. But Sky also had a daughter named Ilmatar. One day, Ilmatar descended to the waters and became pregnant. She gestated for a ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finnish Submarine Vesikko
''Vesikko'' is a submarine, which was launched on 10 May 1933 at the Crichton-Vulcan dock in Turku. Until 1936 it was named by its manufacturing codename CV 707. ''Vesikko'' was ordered by a Dutch engineering company Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw (a German front company) in 1930 as a commercial submarine prototype, being the prototype for the German Type II submarines. Purchased by the Finnish before World War II, she saw service in the Winter War and Continuation War, sinking the Soviet merchant ship ''Vyborg'' as her only victory. After the cease-fire with the Allies in 1944, ''Vesikko'' was retired. Finland was banned from operating submarines after the war and she was kept in storage until she was turned into a museum ship. ''Vesikko'' was one of five submarines to serve in the Finnish Navy. The other four were the three larger boats , , and the small . The word "vesikko" is the Finnish name for the European mink. Development and design ''Ingenieurskantoor voor Sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kotka
Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish. The neighboring municipalities of Kotka are Hamina, Kouvola and Pyhtää. Kotka belongs to the Kotka-Hamina subdivision, and with Kouvola, Kotka is one of the capital center of the Kymenlaakso region. It is the 19th largest city in terms of population as a single city, but the 12th largest city of Finland in terms of population as an urban area. Kotka is located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of Kymi River and it is part of the Kymenlaakso region in southern Finland. The city center is located on an island surrounded by the sea called Kotkansaari ("Island of Kotka"). The most important highway in Kotka is Finnish national road 7 ( E18), which goes west through Porvoo to Helsinki, the capital of Finland, and exten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city's urban area has a population of , making it by far the most populous urban area in Finland as well as the country's most important center for politics, education, finance, culture, and research; while Tampere in the Pirkanmaa region, located to the north from Helsinki, is the second largest urban area in Finland. Helsinki is located north of Tallinn, Estonia, east of Stockholm, Sweden, and west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has close historical ties with these three cities. Together with the cities of Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen (and surrounding commuter towns, including the eastern neighboring municipality of Sipoo), Helsinki forms the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which has a population of over 1.5 million. Of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the naval mine dates to the Ming dynasty.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 203–205. Dedicated minesweepers, however, only appeared many centuries later during the Crimean War, where they were deployed by the British. The Crimean War minesweepers were rowboats trailing grapnels to snag mines. Minesweeping technology picked up in the Russo-Japanese War, using aging torpedo boats as minesweepers. In Britain, naval leaders recognized before the outbreak of World War I that the development of sea mines was a threat to the nation's shipping and began efforts to counter the threat. Sir Arthur Wilson noted the real threat of the time was blockade aided by mines and not invasion. The function of the fishing fleet's trawlers with their trawl gear wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any vessel or a particular vessel type, akin to anti-infantry vs. anti-vehicle mines. Naval mines can be used offensively, to hamper enemy shipping movements or lock vessels into a harbour; or defensively, to protect friendly vessels and create "safe" zones. Mines allow the minelaying force commander to concentrate warships or defensive assets in mine-free areas giving the adversary three choices: undertake an expensive and time-consuming minesweeping effort, accept the casualties of challenging the minefield, or use the unmined waters where the greatest concentration of enemy firepower will be encountered. Although international law requires signatory nations to declare mined areas, precise locations remain secret; and non-complying individ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Nordwind (1941)
Operation North Wind (german: Unternehmen Nordwind) was a joint German-Finnish naval operation in the Baltic Sea in 1941, in the course of World War II. The operation itself was a distracting manoeuvre so that another German force could occupy the Estonian islands of Hiiumaa, Saaremaa and Muhu (codenamed Operation Beowulf) without the interference of the Soviet Red Fleet. The operation suffered a major setback when the Finnish coastal defence ship ''Ilmarinen'' ran into a minefield and sank. It is uncertain if the Soviets ever noticed the fleet as they never responded. See also * Operation Barbarossa * Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ... * Kriegsmarine * Baltic Sea Campaigns (1939-1945) References Operation Nordwind Northwind Finnish Navy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanko Peninsula
The Hanko Peninsula ( fi, Hankoniemi; ), also spelled Hango, is the southernmost point of mainland Finland. The soil is a sandy moraine, the last tip of the Salpausselkä ridge, and vegetation consists mainly of pine and low shrubs. The peninsula is known for its beautiful archipelago and long sandy beaches. The town of Hanko is situated on the peninsula, as is the Port of Hanko. The Baltic Sea proper is demarcated by a line from the Hanko Peninsula to the northwesternmost point of mainland Estonia. The waters east of this line are considered the Gulf of Finland. The Hanko Peninsula has played a major part during times of war. The Battle of Gangut was fought outside the Hanko peninsula on 7 August 1714 ("Gangut" is the Russian transliteration of the Swedish name for the peninsula "Hangö udd"). Some of the Russian fortifications that were built as part of Peter the Great's Naval Fortress are located here. During the Finnish Civil War, the German Ostsee Division landed he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The army was established in January 1918. The Bolsheviks raised an army to oppose the military confederations (especially the various groups collectively known as the White Army) of their adversaries during the Russian Civil War. Starting in February 1946, the Red Army, along with the Soviet Navy, embodied the main component of the Soviet Armed Forces; taking the official name of "Soviet Army", until its dissolution in 1991. The Red Army provided the largest land force in the Allied victory in the European theatre of World War II, and its invasion of Manchuria assisted the unconditional surrender of Imperial Japan. During operations on the Eastern Front, it accounted for 75–80% of cas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финляндская война́ 1939–1940) are often used in Russian historiographybr>В.Н. Барышников. От прохладного мира к Зимней войне. Восточная политика Финляндии в 1930–е годы. Санкт-Петербург, 1997.; О.Д. Дудорова. Неизвестные страницы Зимней войны. In: Военно-исторический журнал. 1991. №9.; Зимняя война 1939–1940. Книга первая. Политическая история. М., 1998. – ; ttp://www.otvaga2004.narod.ru/photo/winterwar/wwar1.htm М. Коломиец. Танки в Зимней войне 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Väinämöinen 1938
Väinämöinen () is a demigod, hero and the central character in Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic ''Kalevala'' by Elias Lönnrot. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical singing voice. In Finnish mythology The first extant mention of Väinämöinen in literature is in a list of Tavastian gods by Mikael Agricola in 1551. He and other writers described Väinämöinen as the god of chants, songs and poetry; in many stories Väinämöinen was the central figure at the birth of the world. The Karelian and Finnish national epic, the ''Kalevala'', tells of his birth in the course of a creation story in its opening sections. This myth has elements of creation from chaos and from a cosmic egg, as well as of earth diver creation. At first there were only primal waters and Sky. But Sky also had a daughter named Ilmatar. One day, Ilmatar descended to the waters and became pregnant. She gestated for a very l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mechanical Calculator
A mechanical calculator, or calculating machine, is a mechanical device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic automatically, or (historically) a simulation such as an analog computer or a slide rule. Most mechanical calculators were comparable in size to small desktop computers and have been rendered obsolete by the advent of the electronic calculator and the digital computer. Surviving notes from Wilhelm Schickard in 1623 reveal that he designed and had built the earliest of the modern attempts at mechanizing calculation. His machine was composed of two sets of technologies: first an abacus made of Napier's bones, to simplify multiplications and divisions first described six years earlier in 1617, and for the mechanical part, it had a dialed pedometer to perform additions and subtractions. A study of the surviving notes shows a machine that would have jammed after a few entries on the same dial, and that it could be damaged if a carry had to be propagated over a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
