Since 1998 the navy also includes the Nyland Brigade in Dragsvik, where Finnish Marines or Coastal Jaegers are trained.

The Meriekipaasi also manned the coastal batteries at the Santahamina Island during the siege of fortress Viapori in Helsinki.

The ships the Meriekipaasi operated included the steam frigates Rurik and Kalevala, named after the Finnish national epic.

Finland lost three more ships (the torpedo boats C1, C2 and C3) in supporting the British campaign in the Baltic Sea.

When the Winter War broke out the Finnish Navy moved to occupy the de-militarized Åland Islands and to protect merchant shipping.

In the first month of the war, battles between Soviet ships and Finnish coastal batteries were fought at Hanko, Finland, Utö and Koivisto.

Finnish efforts to use submarines (Vesikko and Saukko) to sink Soviet capital ships failed.

The base that the Soviets had acquired after the Winter War at the Hanko Peninsula divided the areas where the Finnish Navy would operate in two.

This included the coastal artillery positions at Russarö and Osmussaar, which guarded the minefields blocking the entrance to the Eastern Gulf of Finland.

[3] The greatest loss of the Finnish Navy occurred on 13 September 1941 when Ilmarinen ran into a mine and sank.

Most of the survivors later served in the Lake Onega flotilla, using old captured ships, including a steam-engined paddlewheeler.

Finnish and German naval forces tried to prevent Soviet submarines from gaining access to the Baltic Sea.

The next step in submarine warfare was to completely block the Gulf of Finland with anti-submarine nets between Naissaar and Porkkala.

In July 1942 the Soviets made an attempt to occupy the small island of Sommers in the Gulf of Finland.

In 1944 the Soviets launched a major offensive against Finland, during which the navy fought in support of Finnish land forces the Gulf of Vyborg.

The main focus was in the north, the Lapland War, but the Germans also tried to capture Suursaari in an operation named Tanne Ost.

After the Finnish-Soviet armistice, the Finnish Navy was ordered to participate in the demanding mine clearance operation.

A Bay-class frigate (Matti Kurki) for training purposes, two Dark-class fast patrol boats (Vasama 1 and Vasama 2) and four BYMS-class minesweepers were bought from the UK, two Riga-class frigates (Hämeenmaa and Uusimaa) and four Osa II-class fast attack craft (Tuima-class missile boats) were obtained from the Soviet Union.

Some of the vessels, such as two Turunmaa-class gunboats (Turunmaa and Karjala) and the Nuoli-class fast attack craft were produced domestically.

The Paris peace talks in 1947 resulted in a treaty that limited the offensive capability of the Finnish military.

The Navy experimented with one prototype hovercraft, but announced in 2003 that the Tuuli class would not enter active operations and that no more of them would be built.

Instead two new Hamina-class missile boats were built, and the extra weaponry from the hovercraft were installed on the Hämeenmaa-class minelayers.

[9] In 2018 Finnish Navy announced procurement of IAI's Gabriel 5 naval strike missile system.

The 19-metre (62 ft) Jehu transport boats can carry 25 troops and have a maximum speed in excess of 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph).