Finnish frigate Hämeenmaa

Hämeenmaa was a Finnish Riga-class frigate. The class was called the Hämeenmaa class in Finland since the ship had some unique modifications (i.e. British submarine hunting equipment). The two 37 mm twin guns were also replaced with two 40 mm single AA guns in 1975.

Hämeenmaa in 1983, somewhere in the Gulf of Finland
History
Soviet Union
Name	SKR-69
Builder	Yantar, Kaliningrad
Yard number	125
Laid down	29 July 1956
Launched	28 December 1956
Completed	12 June 1957
Fate	Sold to Finland, 1964
Finland
Name	Hämeenmaa
Commissioned	1964
Decommissioned	1985
Fate	Scrapped 1986
General characteristics
Class and type	Hämeenmaa class (modified Riga-class frigate)
Displacement	1,260 tons 1,500 tons (full load)
Length	91.5 m (300 ft)
Beam	10.1 m (33 ft)
Draft	3.2 m (10 ft)
Propulsion	steam turbines, 14,900 kW (20,000 hp)
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h)
Range	2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	175
Armament	three 100 mm guns two 2 × 37 mm AA guns two 2 × 25 mm AA guns two Hedgehog ASW mortars one 3 × 533 mm torpedo tubes

Hämeenmaa was rebuilt into a minelayer in the 1980s. A communications central replaced the Hedgehog mounting. The torpedo tubes were removed. A bow twin 30 mm AK-230 was added. Hämeenmaa was decommissioned in 1985.

Operational service

The Hämeenmaas were acquired from the Soviet Union in the mid-1960s, to be used as gun training ships. They formed the "Escort Flotilla" (Finnish: Saattajalaivue) together with the Nuoli-class fast gunboats.

The commissioning of Turunmaa and Karjala in the late 1960s led however to personnel shortages in the Finnish Navy (Finland had a naval manpower restriction after World War II) and the navy was forced to limit the use of its two Hämeenmaa frigates. They were initially used one at a time and finally decided to retire them.

Hämeenmaa was in Finnish Navy service between 1964–1985. The sister ship Uusimaa was decommissioned in 1979 and cannibalized for spare parts for Hämeenmaa. Both ships had already served a few years in the Soviet Navy before sale to Finland.