The design was good, giving the boats excellent seagoing qualities, fast speed and a light construction, and thanks to their wooden hull, resistance to magnetic mines.

The standard armament consisted of one 20 mm automatic cannon, although they could be armed with wide variety of weapons depending on the requirements.

At the outbreak of the Winter War, the VMV boat armament was improved by fitting machine guns, depth charges and smoke dischargers.

During the Continuation War, the extra armament varied depending on the mission; for example, they could be fitted with four or five naval mines or two 450 mm (18 in) torpedoes.

During the Continuation War, their primary tasks were anti-submarine warfare and escort duty, although several boats participated in battles for control of islands on the Gulf of Finland.