The name of the unit derives from Satakunta, the historical province where Lake Näsijärvi was located at the time, but the Finnish version is likely a mistranslation of flotilla.

The flotilla was founded during spring 1916, as the Russian military commissioned the Finnish passenger ships Tarjanne, Kuru and Pohjola and the tugs Murole and Näsijärvi.

The Russian contingent of the flotilla numbered circa 100 men, housed in a storage building at Mustalahti harbor.

During the spring 1917, the flotilla was paralyzed, as the February Revolution negated the discipline of the Imperial Russian Army and Fleet.

During the navigation season of 1917, the flotilla carried out no activities worth mentioning, and its Russian members moved out of Tampere in October 1917.