The SteelNavy.Com Message Board: Re: References on Finnish Sub Vesikko & Italian CM Small Sub

Timo Merensilta lists four differences.
1) Type IIA had higher and lengthwise shorter conning tower.
2) Rescue buoy in Vesikko was installed in the rear part of the conning tower. In Type IIA it was on the aft deck.
3) The shape of the hulls were identical, but Finns used a lot of rivets besides of welding, as Germans used solely welding.
4) Hatches and flow gaps on the deck were located differently.
Vesikko's bridge got in 1940-41 a narrow visor. Fixed metal bows were added on both rear sides to protect aft hydroplanes.
20mm Madsen AA-gun was installed on the foredeck in winter 1942-43.Vesikko never had a radio direction finder as German boats had. Vesikko had similar Atlas 12 microphone hydrophones, but the arrays were different. Type IIA had UT-Anlage side by side with the microphones but Vesikko did not have them. Vesikko could not lay magnetic ground mines through its torpedo tubes like Type IIA did.

Jorma

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Thank you so much for your kind offer, Jorma!

I will send you an e-mail shortly.

Kind regards,

Art

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Hi Art,
Timo Merensilta’s book tells that CV707 (later Vesikko) colors were 1933-1934: hull and tower above waterline Navy Grey or light grey, below waterline red toxic paint. Wooden deck brown (treated with wood tar and varnish).
Summer 1940: hull and tower black, hull below waterline red, wooden deck brown. White tactical number 5 in tower.
Spring 1943 black and white and yellow identification stripe in tower and in front part of the bow deck and deck brown so colors as you have seen in museum ship.
Summer 1944 hull and tower black, deck brown, underwater parts red.
There are two videos of Vesikko in youtube:

Also, there is virtual exhibition of museum ship here:
https://www.thinglink.com/card/1626947303115849730
If you could send me your email address, I could send you two pages scanned from the book about the differences between Vesikko and German type II.
My email in firstnamefamilynameeight at gmail com. Number eight as a number not word and no dots between both names and a number.
Kindly,
Jorma Huuhtanen

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Hi Jorma,

Thank you very much for your response and for your help.

My main interest is in what color schemes the Vesikko was painted in other than the two-color one she is painted in as a museum.

I am also interested in knowing what differences there were between the Vesikko and the German Type II submarines, but that may be too much to ask.

Best regards,

Art

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Hi Art,

I have no information about that article of Vesikko, but I have a Finnish book of Vesikko. Timo Merensilta:"Vesikko Suomenlahden hiljainen vartija" (Vesikko, Silent Watchman of the Gulf of Finland) It was published in 2009, of course in finnish but it has a 10 pages summary in english. All the captions are also in english. It has lot of photos and some drawings. Unfortunately my google search did not turn out any left in second-hand bookhops. Is there any specific information you are looking for that I could look from the book?

Yours
Jorma Huuhtanen

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Hi All,

OK, I admit it, I like certain small submarines.

Can anyone direct me to good references on the Finnish submarine Vesikko, now a museum ship?

In particular, does anyone have a copy of an article cited in Wikipedia as "Atkinson, Krispen (August 2021). Osborne, Richard (ed.). 'Finnish Submarine Vesikko'. Warships: Marine News Supplement. 75 (8): 399–401"?

Lastly, does anyone know of a good article or other reference on the Italian CM small submarine class? I think only one was built during WWII.

Thanks very much!

Art Nicholson