Tarmo (1907 icebreaker)
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''Tarmo'' is a
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
steam-powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...
icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
preserved in the
Maritime Museum of Finland The Maritime Museum of Finland ( fi, Suomen merimuseo, sv, Finlands sjöhistoriska museum) is a museum in Kotka, Finland. See also * Kotka Maretarium The Maretarium (officially Kotka Maretarium) is a public aquarium opened in Kotka, Finla ...
in
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 ...
. Built in 1907 by Sir W.G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co Ltd in
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, United Kingdom, she was the third state-owned icebreaker of Finland and the last Finnish steam-powered icebreaker to remain in service. When ''Tarmo'' was decommissioned in 1970, a decision was made to preserve the vessel as a museum ship. After a long wait 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 ...
, ''Tarmo'' was towed to
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 ...
and completely restored in the early 1990s.


Development and construction

The number of merchant ships calling at Finnish ports and requiring icebreaker assistance during the winter months had increased steadily since the first Finnish state-owned icebreakers, ''Murtaja'' and ''Sampo'', were built in the 1890s. In 1902 General Nikolai Sjöman, the director of the Finnish Pilot and Lighthouse Authority, made a proposal to the Senate of Finland for the construction of the third state-owned icebreaker. While reluctant at first, in May 1906 the Senate announced that the old ''Murtaja'' could be replaced with a new icebreaker and a call for bids was sent to a number of suitable shipyards. On 4 September 1906 a decision was made to order a new icebreaker even though no buyer had been found for the old ''Murtaja''. By 1 November 1906 tenders for the construction of a new icebreaker, similar to but slightly larger than ''Sampo'', had been received from four European shipyards. The most expensive tender, 1,608,900 Finnish markkas (FIM), was given by
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from Germany. It was followed by Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd from England (FIM 1,575,000), Gourlay Brothers Ship Builders of Dundee from
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(FIM 1,432,500), and
Burmeister & Wain Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it ...
from
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
(FIM 1,422,500). When a fifth tender for FIM 1,485,000 was received from the English shipbuilder R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company nine days after the deadline, Armstrong Whitworth lowered their bid by 100,000 markkas to FIM 1,475,000.
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was also asked to participate in the call for tenders, but the domestic shipbuilding was not yet ready to accept such demanding projects and there were difficulties in acquiring and importing steel suitable for icebreakers.Pohjanpalo 1978, p. 143. The tenders were evaluated by an expert committee appointed by the Senate and, after careful consideration, the icebreaker offered by Armstrong Whitworth turned out to be the most suitable. A number of changes were proposed to the original design including moving the bow propeller slightly abaft and upwards to protect it from grounding and improve the icebreaking characteristics of the ship by reducing the stem angle to 20 degrees. The shipbuilding contract was signed on 15 February 1907, and with the proposed changes the price of the vessel was 1,631,548.81 Finnish markkas. The new icebreaker was launched on 9 September 1907 and given the name ''Tarmo'', meaning "vigor" and "spirit" in the
Finnish language Finnish ( endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedis ...
. The ship was delivered on 17 December 1907 and on 30 December she left Newcastle under the command of Captain Leonard Melán and headed down the River Tyne to
Hanko Hanko may refer to People *August Hanko (military personnel), August Hanko, German First World War flying ace Places *Hanko, Finland, town and municipality *Hanko Peninsula, Finland *Hankø, an island in the Oslo Fjord in Norway *The asteroid ...
, Finland, where she arrived on 3 January 1908.


Career


Early career

''Tarmo'' was officially commissioned on 4 January 1908. Leonard Melán was replaced by Captain Johan Rosqvist, an experienced winter navigator known for his ability to predict the movements of ice fields with almost supernatural accuracy. However, the winter of 1908 was relatively mild and there was hardly any ice to break before the end of February. When the icebreaking capability of the new vessel could finally be assessed, it was found out that the new ship was not as maneuverable as the smaller and less powerful ''Sampo'', and the changes made to the original design did not improve her performance. However, despite the shortcomings ''Tarmo'' was still a valuable addition to the state-owned icebreaker fleet, and after a number of changes her icebreaking characteristics were in par with ''Sampo''.Laurell 1992, pp. 82–85. In May 1908, ''Tarmo'' was sent for the first time to the
Bothnian Bay The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and wit ...
to open the harbors and fairways for the spring. On 2 June, she was run hard aground near
Raahe Raahe (; sv, Brahestad; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. Founded by Swedish statesman and Governor General of Finland Count Per Brahe the Younger in 1649, it is one of 10 historic wooden towns (or town centers) remaining in Finland. Exam ...
due to an error by a
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
when navigating by sight, resulting in extensive damage to the bottom plating and a lost propeller blade. Kept afloat by her own pumps, she returned to Raahe for emergency repairs and continued to Helsinki, where she was drydocked from 7 June until early August. In 1912 she was again run aground near Hanko, but the damage was not as extensive as on the first time.Laurell 1992, pp. 88–89. During the 1910s, ''Tarmo'' assisted ships to the port of Helsinki and moved to Hanko with ''Sampo'' after the New Year. As the spring approached, she was sent first to the Gulf of Bothnia and finally to the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland to open the ports for the spring. However, during the winter months the icebreakers were not sent beyond Vaasa, partially due to the grounding of ''Tarmo'' outside Raahe in 1908.


First World War

In August 1914
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
joined the First World War and navigating in the Baltic Sea became dangerous due to
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 ...
s and
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U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
s. The Finnish icebreakers were placed under the command of the Baltic Fleet of 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 ...
and given the task of assisting naval ships and troop transportations in the Gulf of Finland. Despite the harsh winters, icebreaker assistance to merchant vessels was largely neglected, and several ships were destroyed by ice.Laurell 1992, p. 91. The Russians armed ''Tarmo'' with one 47 mm deck gun.


Finnish Civil War

When the
Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...
accepted the declaration of independence given by the Senate on 6 December 1917, the state-owned icebreakers under Finnish command raised the colours of the independent Finland for the first time. However, when the
Red Guard Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard le ...
took over Helsinki 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 W ...
began on 27 January 1918, ''Tarmo'' was still under Russian command. After negotiations with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union it was agreed that the Finnish icebreaker would be returned once the evacuation of the Russian forces – later known as the
Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet The Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet (russian: Ледовый поход Балтийского флота) was an operation which transferred the ships of the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy from their bases at Tallinn, at the time kno ...
– had been completed.Laurell 1992, pp. 99–101. However, after an attempt to evacuate the remaining members of the Senate from the occupied city by air had failed, Lieutenant Yrjö Roos was given an order to capture ''Tarmo'' from the Russians and bring her to a safe harbour at the Gulf of Bothnia. When the Germans captured the city of
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
on the other side of the Gulf of Finland, it was decided to take ''Tarmo'' there. ''Tarmo'' had a crew of 42 under the command of Acting Captain Hjalmar Kauppi and eight armed Russian sailors commanded by Lieutenant Nicolai Telegin. After both commanders agreed with the takeover, Telegin obtained a forged travel order for ''Tarmo'' to head to the Gulf of Finland on 3 March 1918 to assist icebound Soviet transport ships. He also sent two of his soldiers ashore, reducing the number of enemy soldiers to six. Shortly before the departure, Roos brought Senators
Pehr Evind Svinhufvud Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad (; 15 December 1861 – 29 February 1944) was the third president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, he played a major role in the ...
, the future President of Finland, and Jalmar Castrén to ''Tarmo'' disguised as engineers who had arrived to investigate ships damaged by ice. A small number of capturers had also hidden themselves on board the icebreaker on the previous night. When the icebreaker was near the island of
Aegna Aegna is an Estonian island in the Bay of Tallinn in the Baltic Sea. Administratively it is part of the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia and is a sub district of the Kesklinn (City center) district. Geography Aegna island has an ...
, the Finnish capturers cut the wireless antennas and stormed the Russian troops. Within minutes, the soldiers had been overpowered without casualties on either side and the ship was turned towards Tallinn. When a German plane was spotted approaching the ship, the capturers panicked as the largely red temporary state flag of Finland could be mistaken for the red Soviet revolutionary flag, and hastily replaced it with a large white
tablecloth A tablecloth is a cloth used to cover a table. Some are mainly ornamental coverings, which may also help protect the table from scratches and stains. Other tablecloths are designed to be spread on a dining table before laying out tableware and ...
. The German pilot later commented that he would have attacked ''Tarmo'' had he not dropped all his bombs on the Soviet icebreaker ''Yermak'' earlier that day. ''Tarmo'' was placed under German command and her armament was increased by two 75 mm deck guns. In addition to transporting German troops to Naissaar, she also participated in mine clearing operations in the Estonian west coast. On 25 March 1918, after the Finnish Senate had accepted military assistance from Germany, ''Tarmo'' was ordered to transport Finnish and German soldiers to the island of Suursaari. On 31 March, after having been immobilized by drifting ice for several days, the crew of ''Tarmo'' spotted a black cloud of smoke coming from the east. When the approaching ship was recognized as ''Yermak'', the largest and most powerful Soviet icebreaker in service at that time, the deck guns were manned and around twenty shots were fired at the ship some away. ''Yermak'', which had been under fire from a coastal artillery battery at Lavansaari only a couple of days earlier, turned around and retreated without returning fire. This engagement has been considered the first time a naval ship flying the flag of independent Finland opened fire against an enemy ship.Laurell 1992, pp. 108–112. When ''Tarmo'' returned to Tallinn, her crew was surprised to see another large icebreaker flying the Finnish flag moored at the harbour. The Soviet icebreaker ''Volynets'' had been captured only two days earlier and renamed ''Wäinämöinen''. Both ships were used to transport 3,000 German soldiers –
Detachment Brandenstein Detachment Brandenstein was a unit commanded by German Baron Otto von Brandenstein. The 3,000 man unit which fought in the Finnish Civil War by landing at Loviisa April 7, 1918. Its assigned mission was to cut the Reds' railway connections by att ...
– to Loviisa. On 18 April 1918, ''Tarmo'' arrived in Helsinki and was handed back to the Finnish Board of Navigation.


Interwar period

During the interwar period ''Tarmo'' was stationed at the Gulf of Finland, where in addition to assisting ships she often had to rescue local fishermen trapped on drifting ice floes.Laurell 1992, pp. 185–189. In early 1919 she was used for transporting volunteers to Tallinn to aid with the
Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westw ...
. She also transported Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim to Stockholm and Copenhagen in February 1919.Laurell 1992, p. 122. The interwar period also saw the expansion of the Finnish icebreaker fleet, first by two large steam-powered icebreakers ''Voima'' and ''Jääkarhu'', and finally by the diesel-electric ''Sisu'', which was the first large Finnish icebreaker built completely in Finland.Laurell 1992, p. 190.


Second World War


Winter War

When relations with the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
deteriorated in late 1939, the Finnish state-owned icebreakers were again armed and assigned to a wartime icebreaker flotilla.Laurell 1992, pp. 259–260. ''Tarmo'' had been fitted with gun mounts already in 1931, and shortly before the
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 1 ...
began she was armed with four 50-caliber
Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...
naval guns of Russian origin on two twin mounts. It was soon apparent that the guns, which were used on all large Finnish icebreakers, were not very suitable for naval use due to their relatively short range and slow rate of fire. On 11 January 1940, after spending the early days of the war near Turku, ''Tarmo'' was ordered to the Gulf of Finland because the ice conditions had become too severe for the smaller ''Murtaja''. When the two icebreakers met in Helsinki on 13 January, a
Madsen 20 mm anti-aircraft cannon The 20 mm AA Machine Cannon M/38 was a 20 mm rapid fire autocannon produced by the Danish company Dansk Industri Syndikat (DISA). The gun, which could be adapted to several tactical uses, was a primary weapon of the military of Denmark. ...
was moved from ''Murtaja'' to ''Tarmo''.Anttila 2008, pp. 80–91. After the Soviet troops had captured the island of
Sommers Sommers (russian: Соммерс, fi, Someri, sv, Sommarö) is an islet and a lighthouse in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea, just outside the Gulf of Vyborg, about 19 kilometres south of Virolahti, Finlan ...
in December 1939, a small transport ship had become trapped in ice near the island. On 16 January ''Tarmo'' was ordered to sink the ship, ''Kazakhstan'', before the Soviet icebreakers could release the icebound vessel. ''Tarmo'' left in the following night, but it was soon found out that the guns could not be aimed – when the temperature had dropped to , the frozen storage grease had jammed the guns – and the icebreaker returned to Kotka. In the following night, after the guns had been thawed, ''Tarmo'' headed towards Sommers again. On the second sortie, she was also carrying 80 Finnish soldiers, who were to take back the island while the icebreaker bombarded the Soviet forces with her deck guns. When ''Tarmo'' was some ten miles from Sommers, her old rival from the previous war, the Soviet icebreaker ''Yermak'', was spotted on the western side of the island. When a thick cloud of black smoke was spotted on ''Yermak'', the Soviet icebreaker turned back east without firing a shot and called in reinforcements – her crew had mistaken ''Tarmo'' for the Finnish coastal defence ship ''Väinämöinen'' and ordered an airstrike against the ship they thought to be the most powerful warship of the Finnish Navy. In the meantime ''Tarmo'' opened fire on ''Kazakhstan''. However, the guns malfunctioned again and only two shells were fired from the stern gun at the Soviet ship some seven miles away, both of which fell short. Continuing the naval engagement without operational guns was deemed futile and a decision was made to turn back to Kotka and return once the guns could be used again. On the way back the Soviet fighters and bombers attacked ''Tarmo'' several times, but none of the planes scored a hit on the Finnish icebreaker due to intense anti-aircraft fire. Around half past noon ''Tarmo'' arrived in Kotka and lunch was served for the crew.Laurell 1992, pp. 266–271. At 13:15 a lone Soviet bomber flying at dropped three bombs on ''Tarmo''. The first bomb missed the icebreaker and exploded harmlessly on ice in front of the ship, but the second hit the foredeck, destroying the anchors, and the third penetrated the wooden weather deck in front of the bridge and detonated on the tweendeck. The blast immediately killed 38 crew members and wounded ten, one of whom died later in hospital, and started a fire that quickly spread aft. By 18:00 the fire department had the blaze, which had ignited the ammunition stores and destroyed nearly all wooden parts from amidships aft, under control. The bow of ''Tarmo'' had been reduced to a pile of mangled pipes, twisted frames and torn plating, from which the twin barrels of the forward 120 mm guns were pointing to the sky. Her forward engine room was full of water that had frozen around the steam engine. Despite the devastating damage, ''Tarmo'' had not developed any leaks following the bombing. Furthermore, her boilers and stern engine were intact, and by 8 February her bow engine was running again as well. The damaged steel structures were cut at tweendeck level and the 120 mm deck guns were removed. On 9 February ''Tarmo'' left for Helsinki for further repairs under her own power. However, as the wheelhouse had been destroyed, the helmsman was stationed in the aft engine room and the commands were shouted through the skylight. Due to the ever-present danger of Soviet airstrikes, ''Tarmo'' moved only at night and spent the days camouflaged. Since the navigational aids could not be lit up during the war, a ski patrol moved in front of the icebreaker and used flashlights and tree branches to guide the ship through the archipelago. ''Tarmo'' arrived at Hietalahti shipyard on 10 February. Her bow was rebuilt only to the tweendeck level, the cabin of the first mate was turned into a bomb shelter with armour plates, and the armament was increased by two Bofors 40 mm guns and one 47 mm gun. After the repairs were finished on 8 March 1940, ''Tarmo'' was ordered to
Vyborg Bay Vyborg Bay (, , ) is a deep inlet running northeastward near the eastern end of Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea. The city of Vyborg is located near the head of the gulf. The Monrepos Park is considered a jewel of the bay and a major draw f ...
to break ice in front of advancing Soviet troops and tanks. When the icebreaker left for the mission on 10 March, it was soon found out that her icebreaking capability had been significantly reduced, and by afternoon she had not even passed the fort of Suomenlinna outside Helsinki. The following day, after having been attacked by Soviet fighters several times, ''Tarmo'' turned back to Helsinki; she had advanced only in two days but had nearly exhausted her coal stores and anti-aircraft munitions. When she arrived in Helsinki on 12 March 1940, the
Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...
had been signed and the Winter War was over.


Interim Peace

During the period which later became known as the
Interim Peace The Interim Peace ( fi, Välirauha, sv, Mellanfreden) was a short period in the history of Finland during the Second World War. The term is used for the time between the Winter War and the Continuation War, lasting a little over 15 months, from 1 ...
, ''Tarmo'' was disarmed and her armour was removed. Already on 13 March 1940 she was sent to Hanko to open a channel to the icebound harbour, but was unable to break through the pack ice fields and had to return to Helsinki. Later most of the damage the icebreaker had suffered during the war was repaired. In addition to rebuilding the bridge, the crew accommodation was improved considerably.Laurell 1992, pp. 275–278.


Continuation War

When 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 ...
started in June 1941, the state-owned icebreakers were again armed and assigned to the icebreaker flotilla. After spending the summer months guarding fairways in the Archipelago Sea, icebreakers ''Tarmo'' and ''Jääkarhu'' participated in
Operation Nordwind Operation Northwind (german: Unternehmen Nordwind) was the last major Nazi Germany, German offensive of World War II on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front. Northwind was launched to support the German Ardennes offensive campaign in ...
together with Finnish and German naval ships on 13 September 1941.Laurell 1992, pp. 282–290 The joint Finnish-German distraction manoeuvre was a complete failure. Not only did it fail to achieve its goal – it is uncertain if the Soviet forces even noticed the fleet – but when the ships turned back, paravanes dragged a Soviet naval mine against the hull of Finnish coastal defence ship ''Ilmarinen'', the flagship of the Finnish Navy, which sank in seven minutes following the explosion, claiming 271 lives. When the Soviet forces retreated from Hanko by the end of 1941 and the fighting moved outside the Finnish borders, the icebreaker flotilla was disbanded and ''Tarmo'' resumed her normal peacetime duties as an escort icebreaker. During the extremely difficult winter of 1942, ''Tarmo'' assisted 177 vessels and sailed , more than any other Finnish icebreaker during the season. After saving the crew and cargo of German steamer ''Helgoland'', which was damaged by ice and later sank, Captain Yrjö Malmi was awarded the
Order of the German Eagle The Order of Merit of the German Eagle (german: Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler) was an award of the German Nazi regime, predominantly to foreign diplomats. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. It ceased to be awarded follo ...
by
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. The winters of 1943 and 1944 were easier and several ports were kept open through the winter. After the Continuation War ended with the signing of the
Moscow Armistice The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of mo ...
on 19 September 1944, Finland had to hand over the newest state-owned icebreakers, ''Jääkarhu'' and ''Voima'', to the Soviet Union as
war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. ...
. Other icebreakers, including ''Tarmo'', were used to tow Soviet naval ships and submarines through the Finnish archipelago during the latter stages of the Second World War.


Post-war years and decommissioning

During the first post-war years the war-worn Finnish state-owned icebreaker fleet, reduced to four steam-powered icebreakers and the diesel-electric ''Sisu'', was overburdened with work. Due to the lack of modern tonnage, all available ships were taken into use, and during the winter months this meant a large number of older ships with low engine power and inadequate ice-strengthening. In 1946, ''Tarmo'' lost her rudder and the whole
sternpost A sternpost is the upright structural member or post at the stern of a (generally wooden) ship or a boat, to which are attached the transoms and the rearmost left corner part of the stern. The sternpost may either be completely vertical or may ...
while assisting ships in the Archipelago Sea. Using the bow and stern propellers to steer the icebreaker, Captain Malmi managed to return to Helsinki – a voyage of – and even enter the drydock without assistance from
tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
s. The boilers of ''Tarmo'' were converted for heavy fuel oil in 1950, which increased her endurance from one week to more than one month in normal ice conditions and quadrupled her range. Furthermore, the number of stokers tending the boilers could be reduced from 15 to 9. Her superstructure was also expanded and the crew accommodation was brought up to modern standards. However, as late as in 1952 she still lacked a
gyrocompass A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which is based on a fast-spinning disc and the rotation of the Earth (or another planetary body if used elsewhere in the universe) to find geographical direction automatically. The use of a gyroc ...
,
echosounder Echo sounding or depth sounding is the use of sonar for ranging, normally to determine the depth of water (bathymetry). It involves transmitting acoustic waves into water and recording the time interval between emission and return of a pulse; ...
and even a
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
, all of which were standard equipment on board the merchant ships she assisted during the winter months.Laurell 1992, pp. 315–316.Kaukiainen 1992, p. 229. Once the war reparations to the Soviet Union had been paid, the rebuilding of the Finnish state-owned icebreaker fleet began with the commissioning of the new ''Voima'' in 1954. When the harsh winters of the 1950s showed that more modern icebreakers were needed, a series of slightly smaller diesel-electric icebreakers were built for operations within the archipelago, and one by one the old steam-powered icebreakers were decommissioned and scrapped. From 1960 ''Tarmo'' was the only state-owned steam-powered icebreaker in service.Laurell 1992, pp. 319–336 When the new diesel-electric ''Tarmo'' was commissioned in 1963, the old ''Tarmo'' was renamed ''Apu'' and handed over to the Finnish Navy. In 1964, she spent two months in Tallinn as an accommodation ship for the crews of ''Riga'' class frigates ''Hämeenmaa'' and ''Uusimaa'' that had been recently purchased from the Soviet Union. In 1966, ''Apu'' was handed back to the Finnish Maritime Administration and resumed her icebreaker duties until the commissioning of the next diesel-electric icebreaker, ''Varma'', in 1968. ''Apu'' was decommissioned in the following spring, but instead of scrapping her it was decided to turn the last Finnish steam-powered icebreaker into a museum ship. On 29 May 1969 she was moored at Hylkysaari next to the
Helsinki Zoo Korkeasaari Zoo ( fi, Korkeasaaren eläintarha, previously known as ''Helsinki Zoo'') is the largest zoo in Finland, located on the island of Korkeasaari in Helsinki. The zoo was first opened in 1889, originally showcasing common animals from Fin ...
and given back her original name.Laurell 1992, pp. 337–342. However, the retirement of ''Tarmo'' did not go as planned. The winter of 1970 turned out to be very harsh and the old icebreaker had to be recommissioned. After her propellers had been re-installed in the Suomenlinna drydock, ''Tarmo'' was again renamed ''Apu'' and ordered to the Archipelago Sea to escort icebound ships. However, her efforts were often described being "mostly of moral nature", and in the spring of 1970 she was returned to her moorings at Hylkysaari. When the new diesel-electric ''Apu'' was commissioned in the summer of 1970, it was certain that the old icebreaker could finally be retired.


Museum ship

It took nearly 20 years until ''Tarmo'' was finally restored. In the 1970s and 1980s the Finnish Board of Navigation used its limited funding to maintain the ship in floating condition and the Maritime Historical Society of Finland tried to raise restoration funds, but despite the preservation efforts the wooden interior fittings and weather decks deteriorated over the years. When the Cabinet of Finland allotted two million Finnish markkas for the restoration of the old icebreaker, ''Tarmo'' was towed to Kotka in November 1990. After her interiors had been extensively documented and photographed, all fittings and furnishing were removed and stored ashore. When ''Tarmo'' was drydocked for inspection, her bottom plating was found out to be in surprisingly good condition. The deteriorated weather decks and aftship cabins were completely rebuilt. Although the engine rooms, boiler rooms and machinery workshops remain largely in their initial configuration and one officer cabin on the tweendeck was spared by the fire in the 1940s, the aim of the restoration work was never to return ''Tarmo'' to her original condition. Instead, she was rebuilt as she appeared after her last major refit in 1951, although with modern heating and air conditioning systems. Her hold was turned into an exhibition space and a cafeteria was opened in the crew mess. Although she was not repaired to operational condition – her stern engine was decoupled from the propeller shaft and equipped with an electrical turning gear – there are no permanent changes that would prevent her from ever sailing under her own power. The restoration work was completed on 19 May 1992 and a couple of days later the Board of Navigation handed the old icebreaker over to 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 ...
. Since then she has been moored in Kotka as part of the permanent exhibition of the Maritime Museum of Finland. ''Tarmo'' was drydocked during the winter of 2016–2017 for the first time in 24 years after the
Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...
granted 950,000 euro for the renovation project. She was towed to Suomenlinna in November 2016 and returned to Kotka in May 2017. Based on initial assessment, the hull of the icebreaker is still in good condition, but for example the wooden boat deck had to be rebuilt. ''Tarmo'' is often incorrectly reported to be the world's oldest surviving icebreaker even though there are at least two vessels that predate her: the 1894-built Swedish icebreaker ''Bore'' in
Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...
and the Russian icebreaker ''Angara'', built in 1900, that has been preserved as a museum ship in Irkutsk. However, she is older than the other preserved icebreakers in the Baltic Sea, ''Sankt Erik'' in Sweden, ''Krasin'' in Russia and ''Suur Tõll'' in Estonia.


Technical details

''Tarmo'' is almost identical to the older ''Sampo'' in terms of structural layout and general arrangements, but she was built with a number of minor modifications such as a smaller stem angle of 20 degrees. She is also slightly larger than the older icebreaker, having an
overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...
of ,
waterline length A vessel's length at the waterline (abbreviated to L.W.L)Note: originally Load Waterline Length is the length of a ship or boat at the level where it sits in the water (the ''waterline''). The LWL will be shorter than the length of the boat over ...
of , and moulded breadth of , both slightly greater than those of ''Sampo''. When loaded to an average draft of , ''Tarmo'' has displacement of 2,400 tons, some 350 tons more than that of her predecessor. Both ''Tarmo'' and ''Sampo'' were served by a crew of 43.Kaukiainen 1992, p. 376. ''Tarmo'' was powered by two triple-expansion steam engines manufactured in
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...
, one driving a propeller in the stern and the other a second propeller in the bow.Laurell 1992, pp. 72–79. The main function of the bow propeller was to reduce friction between the hull and the ice although the exact details of the icebreaking process were not known at that time.Laurell 1992, pp. 52–56. The stern engine produced 1,700 ihp at 97 rpm and the bow engine 1,300 ihp at 107 rpm, but for short periods of time they could put out 2,400 ihp at 98 rpm and 1,450 ihp at 120 rpm, respectively. This made her considerably more powerful than ''Sampo'', whose two engines had together produced only 3,052 ihp during sea trials and were rated at 2,800 ihp. ''Tarmo'' could maintain a speed of in open water, typical for icebreakers of her type at that time.Laurell 1992, p. 344. Like all icebreakers of her age, ''Tarmo'' was also equipped with sails – two staysails and two
Bermuda sail A Bermuda rig, Bermudian rig, or Marconi rig is a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats. This configuration was developed in Bermuda in the 1600s; the term ''Marconi' ...
s – although they were rarely, if ever, used. In the early 1930s, the sails were cut up piece by piece for other uses and eventually disappeared from the inventory. ''Tarmo'' had five coal-fired boilers for the main engines in two boiler rooms and a small auxiliary boiler for heating, deck equipment and electricity generation. Her midship fuel stores could hold 450 tons of coal, which was fed to the fireboxes at a rate of 3–4 tons per hour by six stokers and was enough for roughly one week of sailing in ice. Like the other Finnish state-owned icebreakers, ''Tarmo'' was equipped for escort icebreaker duties with a towing winch, a cable and a stern notch. In difficult ice conditions the ship being assisted was taken into tow, and in extremely difficult compressive ice it was pulled to the icebreaker's stern notch.Laurell 1992, pp. 198–200. For salvage operations ''Tarmo'' had a powerful
centrifugal pump Centrifugal pumps are used to transport fluids by the conversion of rotational kinetic energy to the hydrodynamic energy of the fluid flow. The rotational energy typically comes from an engine or electric motor. They are a sub-class of dynamic ...
capable of pumping water simultaneously through nine thick hoses.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarmo (1907) Icebreakers of Finland Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth 1907 ships World War I naval ships of Russia World War II naval ships of Finland Museum ships in Finland