''Wilhelm Carpelan'' is a former ''Von Fersen''-class transport boat. Built in 1915 for the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

, she was used as a transport boat and later a minesweeper by the

Finnish Navy The Finnish Navy ( fi, Merivoimat, sv, Marinen) 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", short f ...

until 1977. After decommissioning, she was sold to private ownership and used as a

pleasure boat Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, su ...

. In 2013, ''Wilhelm Carpelan'' was donated to the collections of Forum Marinum, the maritime museum in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Description

As a transport boat, ''Wilhelm Carpelan'' had a length of , beam of , draft of , and

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of about 20 tons.The main dimensions given in Rannikon Puolustaja 2/2004 are slightly different: length 18.3 metres, beam 3.9 metres, and draft of 1.8 metres. Initially equipped with a petrol engine that gave her a speed of about , she was later fitted with a more powerful engine that increased her speed to about . The vessel, crewed by two non-commissioned officers and two seamen, could carry about 4–5 tons of cargo or 40–50 passengers in the small cabin and open aftdeck. Later her aftship was covered and she was fitted with an enclosed

pilothouse The interior of the bridge of the Sikuliaq'', docked in Ketchikan, Alaska">RV_Sikuliaq.html" ;"title="Research Vessel ''RV Sikuliaq">Sikuliaq'', docked in Ketchikan, Alaska file:Wheelhouse of Leao Dos Mares.jpg, Wheelhouse on a tugboat, topp ...

. She was armed with one

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

History

Finnish Navy

''Wilhelm Carpelan'' was one of the four transport boats built by Kone- ja Siltarakennus Oy in

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 ...

in 1915 for the Imperial Russian Navy. Initially built under the name ''S1 Shrapnell'', she was seized by the newly founded Finnish Navy and renamed after Wilhelm Carpelan. The other boats of the class were ''Augustin Ehrensvärd'', ''Axel von Fersen'', and ''Fabian Wrede''. The ''Von Fersen''-class transport boats were sometimes referred to as the ''Ehrensvärd'' class. ''Wilhelm Carpelan'' served as a transport vessel in the Finnish

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

in the Helsinki region before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. After the war, the vessel was converted into 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 ...

operating in the Gulf of Finland. Afterwards, she was again used as a transport vessel in the coastal artillery. Over the years, the vessel was rebuilt a number of times, and when ''Wilhelm Carpelan'' was decommissioned and sold in 1977, there were barely any of the original steel plates left in her hull. Piloting captains have praised the seaworthiness of the small vessels, although they have also been called "submarines" due to their shape and their tendency to have waves crashing over their decks. Passengers were also said to appreciate the stability and safe travel of the vessels.

Civilian ownership

On 11 November 1977, ''Wilhelm Carpelan'' was sold in

to Vilho Suominen, who restored the vessel to its former condition. Since the vessel was sold without an engine, she was fitted with a

Valmet Valmet Oyj is a Finnish company and a developer and supplier of technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. Valmet has over 200 years of history as an industrial operator. Formerly owned by the S ...

815D

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

producing 180 hp. Nokian pääkonttori Keilaniemessä

''Wilhelm Carpelan'' changed hands again on 30 April 1982, when she was purchased by animator Antti Peränne from

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

. The interior of the vessel was then rebuilt and the cabin walls were panelled with palisander acquired from the Swedish steamship ''Achilleus'' that was being

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...

in Hamina. She was also fitted with a hydraulic tilting mast in order to fit under the bridges of

Länsiväylä Länsiväylä (the Western Highway, Swedish: Västerleden) is a motorway in the Greater Helsinki area of Finland, mainly at the Helsinki conurbation. It is part of the Finnish national road 51. The road begins in Ruoholahti in western Helsinki ...

. After rebuilding, she was registered as a pleasure boat and included in the classic ship registry of the

Finnish National Board of Antiquities The Finnish Heritage Agency ( fi, Museovirasto, sv, Museiverket), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is a ...

in 1995. Peränne took great care of his historic vessel, for which he received a grant of 7,000

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

from the Finnish National Board of Antiquities in 2011, until his death in 2012. For several years, ''Wilhelm Carpelan'' was usually seen anchored in Keilalahti, Espoo, next to the Nokia head office. In the past, the employees of the office had jokingly referred to the vessel as a spy boat of the Swedish telecommunications company

Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in informa ...

. In an online interview, Stephen Elop, the CEO of

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...

, said that when he enquired about the green vessel moored year-round in front of the office, he was told that it was a "

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...

spy ship".Engadget Live: 'Ask me anything' Q&A with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop
Engadget. The vessel was donated to Forum Marinum, the maritime museum located by the Aura River in the city of Turku, in the spring of 2013.Wilhelm Carpelan sai kodin Turusta. Laiva 1/2013.

Notes

References