The ''Sisu''-class motor torpedo boats () was a series of two

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

MAS Mas, Más or MAS may refer to: Film and TV * Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series * "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad'' Music Albums * ''Más'' (album), ...

type motor torpedo boats of the

Finnish Navy The Finnish Navy ( , ) 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 for "Finnish Navy ship", but ...

. The vessels were constructed in 1916 by the Orlando shipyard in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

, Italy. ''Sisu'' and ''Hurja'' were purchased by the Finns in 1920, and saw service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. When dashing forward at full speed, the vessels sprayed water high in the air, earning the nickname "the fountains" from Finnish sailors. On 1 October 1941 ''Sisu'', together with ''Nuoli'', was patrolling east of

Gogland Gogland or Hogland (, transliteration from original ; , German: ''Hochland'') is an island in the Gulf of Finland in the eastern Baltic Sea, about 180 km west from Saint Petersburg and 35 km from the coast of Finland (near Kotka) ...

when it came across a large, stationary Soviet

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 ...

of the . ''Sisu'' missed with her first torpedo, having mistaken the foam painted on the minesweeper's bow for an indication that it was actually moving. A second torpedo hit the minesweeper amidship and sank her.

Vessels of the class

;''Sisu'': Ex-''MTV 1'' in Finnish service, and ex-''MAS 220'' in Italian service. She was used as a torpedo boat until 1942, and then transferred to

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

, where she served as a patrol vessel. ''Sisu'' was broken up after the war. ;''Hurja'': Ex-''MTV 2'' in Finnish service, and ex-''MAS 221'' in Italian service. She was used as a torpedo boat until 1941. ''Hurja'' was broken up after the war.

References

{{WWII Finnish ships Torpedo boats of the Finnish Navy Ships built in Italy Torpedo boat classes