Taisto-class motor torpedo boat
The Taisto class motor torpedo boats (English: Battle) or T class was a Finnish-designed class of motor torpedo boats, which saw service with the Finnish Navy during World War II.
 Tyrsky preserved in Forum Marinum | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Taisto |
| Builders: | Turun Veneveistämö |
| Operators: | Finland |
| Completed: | 8 |
| Lost: | 1 |
| Retired: | 7 |
| Preserved: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Motor torpedo boat |
| Displacement: | 22 tons |
| Length: | 17.8 m (58 ft) |
| Beam: | 4.6 m (15 ft) |
| Draught: | 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 48 knots (89 km/h; 55 mph) |
| Complement: | 1+10 |
| Armament: |
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| Notes: | Ships in class include: Tarmo (T 1), Taisto (T 2), Tyrsky (T 3), Tuima (T 4), Tuisku (T 5), Tuuli (T 6), Taisto 7, Taisto 8 |
In 1943, the Finnish Navy was in great need for new motor torpedo boats and the Finnish ship designer Jarl Linblom studied the Finnish Navy's Italian-designed motor torpedo boats and improved the design. The improved hull design gave them better seaworthiness and the boats could reach up to 63 knots (117 km/h; 72 mph) without armament. Six were manufactured at Turun Veneveistämö during the war, and called the "Taisto class".
In the summer of 1944 the motor torpedo boats participated in the battles near the Karelian Isthmus. On 21 June the Taistos were attacked by Soviet aircraft, who managed to sink Tarmo and damage Tuuli, resulting in the loss of two men. The T class served with distinction during the attempted conquer of the island of Hogland in Operation Tanne Ost.
Five of the six vessels survived the war, and another two were manufactured after the war. The ships were converted into patrol boats in 1949, in accordance with the Paris peace treaty. The T class vessels served until 1964, when they were auctioned out.
Vessels of the class
- Tarmo (T 1)
- Sunk on 21 June 1944 by Soviet aircraft.
- Taisto (T 2)
- Tyrsky (T 3)
- Preserved at the Turku Maritime Museum Forum Marinum.
- Tuima (T 4)
- Command ship of the flotilla leader, the Mannerheim Cross knight Jouko Pirhonen. Tuima the only ship that was fitted with torpedo tubes, instead of torpedo launchers, during the war. She was changed into a gunboat in 1945 and served until 1954 when she was sold on the private market.
- Tuisku (T 5)
- Tuuli (T 6)
- Taisto 7 (T 7)
- Constructed in 1946.
- Taisto 8 (T 8)
- Constructed in 1946.
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