- Yes
- No
Made for Finland’s coastal waters, the Väinämöinen-class consisted of Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen. Designed by the Dutch firm NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw and built in Finland, laid to sea in 1929 and launched in 1931 and 1933, respectively. Their operational history started with guarding the Åland islands from Soviet naval invasions between 1939-1940, after which they acted as floating Anti-Aircraft installations close to the city of Turku. The class was ordered to shell the Soviet base in Hanko peninsula on 5 seperate occasions in Jul and Nov 1941. The class also participated in Operation Nordwind on 13 September 1941, in which Ilmarinen was struck by 2 Soviet mines after a deployed Paravane caught in to a mine chain, dragging the mines to collide with the aft of Ilmarinen in a turn and blowing a hole to the engine room. Ilmarinen was claimed by the mine-laden waters of the Gulf in only 7 minutes, marking a great loss for the Finnish navy and the families of the 271 men lost with her. [1][2]
Spoiler
Sinking of the Finnish Ironclad “Väinämöinen”
Soviet propaganda poster of the sinking of Ilmarinen, mistakenly named Väinämöinen
[6]
Väinämöinen kept sailing after the incident, she was deployed to patrol the coast of Helsinki and Kotka in 1943. During the Russian offensive against Germany in mid-1944, the Russians prioritized the destruction of Väinämöinen, but she evaded most attacks and survived the war. She was given over the Soviets as war reperations in May 29 1947 and she was renamed to Vyborg and served the Soviets in the Baltic Fleet for 6 years. Three years later Vyborg was modernized and moved to Tallinn, Estonia to function as a residential ship, Vyborg was then scrapped in Leningrad in 1966, bringing an end to the last capital ship of Finland, indefinetely.
Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen carried similar equipment and armaments.
Main battery consisted of 254 mm/45 (10") Bofors guns mounted in two twin turrets.
Rate of fire is around 2-3 rounds per minute with rounds (APC) weighing 496 lbs. (225 kg).
The Armor Piercing Capped (APC) rounds had a propellant charge of 154 lbs. (69.8kg) and muzzle velocity of 2,789 fps (850 mps).
The shell’s maximum range was 33,140 yards (30,300 m) at 45 degree elevation and the turret’s minimum and maximum elevations were -10 / +45 degrees
[1][5]
Spoiler
Turret for Väinämöinen in Bofors erecting shop. [5]
Auxiliary batteries were the 105 mm/50 Bofors with 4 twin mounts.
Rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute with each shell weighing either a 55.6 lbs. (25.2 kg) or 35.3 lbs. (16 kg) shell (unknown shell type) with a 9.04 lbs. (4.1 kg) propellant charge and 2,625 fps (800 mps) muzzle velocity with maximum elevation at 85 degrees of 39,400 feet (12,000 m) [1][3]
Anti-Aircraft guns were the 2-pdr (40mm/39 QF Mk II) “pom-pom” with 4 mounts and two Madsen 20 mm/60 autocannons.
After the winter war, the 2-pdr were found inadequate and replaced by the far better twin 40mm/56 Bofors M36 Bofors and two single 40mm/60 Bofors M38 instead placed on platforms. Väinämöinen-class initially only got four Madsens as additional anti aircraft defences in 1941. After the sinking of Ilmarinen, Väinämöinen was upgraded with four more Madsen autocannons, for a total of eight. [1][3]
They had displacement of 3,900 long tons, lenght of 93.0 m (305.1 ft), beam of 16.864 m (55.33 ft) and draught of 5.0 m (16.4 ft).
The ships were propelled by a diesel-electric powertrain, four Krupp engines with 875 kW (1,173 hp) of output each, driving two shafts for combined output of 3,500 kW (4,700 hp), giving them a speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h, 16.7 mph) and range of 700 nmi (1,300 km, 810 mi) for 410 crewmen. [1][4]
Protection consisted of a 50–55 mm (2.5-2.8 inches) armored belt, 100 mm (4 inches) turret faces and 120 mm (5 inches) conning tower armor. Side and rear turret armor values are unknown, though estimated at roughly 75 mm (3 inches). Deck armor ranged from 13 mm (0.5 inches) on the weather deck to 20 mm (1.1 inches) over vital sections. [3]
I believe the Väinämöinen-class could be comparable to the IJN Ikoma in firepower alone, but its light armor, similar to that of IJN Kuma is a hindrance and deck armor being similar in thickness to what you see on destroyers. I could not see it placed with other early battleships BR, which is around 5.7-6.0 unless survivability was adjusted beyond historical expectations, or it’d be the earliest capital ship you can get at 5.0~. I could see Ilmarinen being implemented at a .3 higher BR than Väinämöinen with the basis of using her 1941 refit with additional anti aircraft armaments. She could be brought to the game as a foldered vessel, attached to Väinämöinen or as an event or premium vessel. Although they were designed to defend against the Marat and Imperatritsa Mariya, their lack of armor would make it challenging.
Sources:
https://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=507 [1]
https://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=506 [2]
Vainamoinen class coastal battleships (1931) – naval encyclopedia [3]
Finnish coastal defence ship Väinämöinen - Wikipedia [4]
Finland 254 mm/45 (10") Bofors - NavWeaps [5]
Warship Wednesday Aug 26, 2015: The Finnish Lighthouse Battleships | laststandonzombieisland [6]
