Military Museum of Finland - Submarine Vesikko and Manege

Submarine Vesikko and Manege

The Military Museum has in the summer time two exhibitions open in Suomenlinna. Submarine Vesikko is a Finnish submarine built in 1933 that served in the second World War in the Gulf of Finland. Vesikko is the only remaining submarine of the Finnish Fleet during the World War II. Other four U-boats were scrapped in 1953. During the Winter War and the Continuation war 1939-1944 Vesikko was in active service, conducting different patrols and safeguard missions in the Gulf of Finland and Åland archipelago. Vesikko managed to destroy one enemy transport ship as it sank Soviet Vyborg July 3, 1941 near Suursaari. After the peace treaty with the Soviet Union Vesikko’s days in active service were over because The Peace Treaty of 1947 banned Finnish submarines. Vesikko was however saved for possible Finnish Navy’s educational purposes. But no use emerged for Vesikko and it was transferred to Katajanokka dockyard. The state planned to sell it in 1959 but thanks to strong lobbying, the submarine was once again saved and removed from Katajanokka to Suomenlinna in the early 1960s. After opening as a museum July 9, 1973 it has become the most popular exhibition of Military Museum.

The Manege was opened to public June 1, 1989. The original exhibition consisted mainly of heavy weapons from Finnish wars against Soviet Union in 1939-1944. There have also been arranged special exhibitions, for example in 2003-2004 about Finnish submarines and in summer 2011 about the submarine Vesikko. The Manege’s collections include for example a German 88mm Flak 37 Anti-Aircraft gun and British Vickers- Armstrong 38 light tank. Both have been used by the Finnish Army during the wars. One specialty in the exhibition is a torpedo tube from a Finnish S2- torpedo boat, sunk in 1925. In summer 2012 there was opened a new exhibition From autonomy to Atalanta - an exhibition on Finnish military history.