Finnish torpedo boat S2 S2 ( ex - " Prozorlivy " and ex - " Gagara " in Russian service ) was a Finnish " Sokol " class torpedo boat that had been seized from the Russians after the Finnish Civil War 1918 . It sank during a fierce storm on October 4 , 1925 , taking with her the whole crew of 53 . Background . Between 1900 and 1908 , the Russians built 25 " Sokol " class torpedo boats for the Russian Baltic Fleet . " Sokol " ( " Сокол " ) is Russian for " Falcon " ) . The fourth ship of the class , " Gagara " ( Гагара , Russian for " Loon " ) , was built at the Neva shipyard in Saint Petersburg and carried the construction number 102 . On March 9 , 1902 the ship was renamed " Prozorlivy " ( Прозорливый , Russian for " sharp " or " awake " ) . She was used as a trawler in 1911 , but when World War I ignited she was taken into service as a minesweeper and was based in a Finnish port . The war was going badly for the Russians and the Russian Navy revolted . The revolts soon spread out in the nation and Finland managed to secure its independence from Russia in the turmoil . However , tensions were still running high and soon after the declaration of independence the Finnish Civil War erupted . The socialists ( " reds " ) and the non - socialists ( " whites " ) clashed . Elements of the Russian Baltic fleet were still moored in Finnish harbours and the Russian sailors were sympathetic with the socialist side . However , the Finnish " reds " faced tough pressure from the " whites " , who had better military leadership . A German force that landed in southern Finland - in the back of the " reds " - finally broke the " reds " ' fighting spirit . The Russian fleet in Helsinki panicked when the Germans marched against Helsinki . They managed to secure a deal with the Germans , which allowed them to withdraw to Russia . However , only the largest ships managed to return to Russia , due to the harsh ice conditions of the Gulf of Finland . Numerous vessels were left behind to be seized by the " whites " and the German troops . On April 13 , " Prozorlivy " was conquered by the " whites " and she was transferred to the Finnish navy , along with her five sister ships ( " Ryany " ( later " S1 " ) , " Poslishny " ( " S3 " ) , " Rezvy " ( " S4 " ) , " Podvizhny " ( " S5 " ) and " No 212 " ( " S6 " ) ) . " Prozorlivy " served over seven years in the Finnish navy . During her first years , she supported British operations against the Bolshevik navy . In accordance with the Treaty of Tartu of 1920 , three of the " Sokol " class ships were returned to the Soviet Union in 1922 . It was also planned that " Prozorlivy " would have been handed over , but the ageing ship was sold to Finland , where she was included in the Finnish navy . " Prozorlivy " was renamed " S2 " in 1922 and she continued to serve the fleet until October 4 , 1925 , when she was lost at sea with all hands . The loss of " S2 " is the worst peace - time accident in the Finnish navy and it shocked both the navy and the country . The disaster was a major catalyst for a large renewal program of the Finnish fleet . The last journey of the torpedo boat " S2 " . One of the Finnish Navy ' s annual traditions was a naval visit to the Finnish coastal towns along the Gulf of Bothnia , the trip doubling as a training exercise for conscript sailors . In 1925 , the gunships " Klas Horn " and " Hämeenmaa " , as well as the torpedo boats " S1 " and " S2 " , embarked on one such journey . The plan was to visit all the coastal cities up to Tornio and the group began the journey from Uusikaupunki to Vaasa on October 3 , 1925 . They traveled in line formation with one " kabellängd " ( 1 / 10 nautical mile ) internal distance and at a speed of 12 knots . " S2 " was positioned furthest back in the formation . Initially everything went as planned , but as the journey progressed , the wind started to pick up and later developed into a fierce storm , which created difficulties for the ships . The crews had to increase the internal distance between the ships , and they were also forced to reduce speed . The storm finally dispersed the formation when they reached the Pori parallel . " Klas Horn " , which was the lead ship of the formation , turned against the wind and headed towards the Swedish coast , followed by " Hämeenmaa " . The torpedo boats tried to follow the bigger vessels but were lagging behind due to the high waves . In the middle of the night , the wind speed reached hurricane force 48 – 55 m / s ( 12 on the Beaufort scale ) . The stormy sea created big problems for the torpedo boats when their propellers were lifted too close to the surface . This reduced their efficiency and what worsened the situation was the fact that the " S2 " ' s bearings were worn out , which caused a lot of vibrations in the ship and threatened to open up a leak where the shaft went through the hull . Both of the torpedo boats began taking in water in the high seas . This was mainly due to the construction of the superstructure . The coal was also slowly running out since the crew had to feed more into the boilers than usual due to the high seas . The flotilla leader " Klas Horn " sent out a distress call on behalf of the torpedo boats . The rescue ship " Protector " , which was located in Vaasa , received the distress call through the Finnish headquarters in Helsinki , and the message was also received by the Swedish rescue vessel " Helios " . Both promised that they would come to the rescue . The ships of the formation were soon given orders to go on their own to the closest available harbor . The gun boat " Klas Horn " headed for the Swedish coast , the gun boat " Hämeenmaa " headed for Vaasa and the torpedo boat " S1 " barely made it to Mäntyluoto outside Pori . She had only a few pieces of coal left when arriving there . " S2 " also tried to go to Pori , but the engines and the pumps could not function fully and the leaking worsened . It also seemed like rescue was too far away . Land was in sight and the radio operator of " S2 " was in contact with the radio station in Vaasa almost until the moment of disaster . The last message from the ship arrived at 1 . 23 pm , barely two minutes before she sank . The answer from the radio operator on " S2 " on the call from Vaasa was short : " I can not work now " . The accident . The pilot station at Reposaari observed the struggle of the ship in the waters between Outoori and the Säppi lighthouse . The high waves made the ship roll violently until a breaker rolled over the ship . The pilot station saw the ship for a short while ( when it probably had rolled over ) but it disappeared from view at 1 . 25 pm . Later the pilots learned that it had been the torpedo boat " S2 " that they had observed . The torpedo boat ' s crew of 53 were lost in the disaster . The loss of " S2 " was a great shock to the nation and to the young navy . An intense debate about the underlying reasons followed . An investigation panel was appointed to find the reasons for the disaster . At the place of the sinking , the sea bed rises sharply , and creates sharp breakers , especially when the wind is coming from west or northwest . This was later considered to be the main cause of the disaster . Further , the seagoing qualities had not fully been researched in the old Russian ships . There were , for example , no stabilization tables or ballast calculations for the type . The investigation also found that the crew had not obtained updated weather data , although such were available . The investigators especially criticized the leadership of the commander of the formation , Yrjö Roos . Roos had a reputation of being very stubborn , he probably tried to get all the ships to Vaasa , where they were expected the following day . The order to leave the formation was given very late , and when given , it was very unclear . All the different ships ' captains interpreted it in different ways . In the publics ' opinion , Roos was to be the scapegoat for the loss of " S2 " . One year later , Commander Roos was on a routine trip with one of the navy ' s A - boats to Örö . Upon arrival , Roos was found dead in his cabin . The investigation revealed that he had died from carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty exhaust pipe . This incident came however to spark different conspiracy theories . The salvaging of the vessel . The ship was found in June 1926 and the Ministry of Defence immediately began planning a salvage operation . " S2 " was lying upside down at a depth of only 15 meters ( 50 feet ) and it was believed that the lifting operation would not be too difficult . The salvagers first tried to lift the ship by pumping air into the hull . This lifted the fore section to the surface , but the aft section was securely stuck in the bottom mud . They tried to loosen it by aiming high - pressure streams of water against the mud , but to no avail . The Ministry of Defence soon ran out of money for the operation and gave the job to a private company . They too pumped air into the hull to lift it and pulled wires under the ship to lift it . After ten days , on August 5 , 1926 , the ship surfaced and floated with the aid of pontoons . The vessel was transported to the Reposaari harbor in Pori , where it was turned on its keel , emptied on water and initially investigated . They found the bodies of 23 crew members inside the hull and these were taken ashore . " S2 " was then transported to Helsinki where a more thorough investigation was conducted . The ship was scrapped after the investigation . The influence of the disaster . The loss of " S2 " created big headlines at its time and it upset both the general population , the personnel of the Finnish navy , as well as Finnish sailors . The accident and the following debate led to the creation of the Finnish Navy Association in 1926 ( the organization is called the Finnish Maritime Society today ) . This organization ran the fleet renewal question and it had a great influence on the decision on the new Fleet Law that was established in 1927 . This law resulted in the requisition of the coastal armoured ships " Väinämöinen " and " Ilmarinen " , the submarine fleet and the purchase of new torpedo boats in the 1930s . The 23 bodies that were found inside the ship were buried at the Reposaari burial ground in a joint grave , on August 15 , 1926 . A statue over the dead sailors was raised at the Reposaari church one year later . The statue was made by the sculptor Wäinö Aaltonen . The day of the disaster is also remembered by the Finnish navy every year . Miscellany . On November 27 , 1917 the Russian torpedo boat " Bditelny " ( Бдительный ) of " Inzjener - mechanik Zverev " - class ( Инженер - механик Зверев ) ran on a German mine at almost the same place . The torpedo boat was part of a 4 ship convoy and the mine was one of many , laid by the German sub " UC - 78 " earlier during the summer . About 50 men died in the accident , among them 2 Finnish pilots . The ship was found in 1919 and the weaponry and some other equipment were salvaged from the ship . The ship itself was too badly damaged since the whole bottom had been blown away . In 1922 several tons of valuable metals ( brass and copper ) were recovered , and the salvagers noted that the ship had moved far from its original position . The ship was then forgotten until it was found again in 1990 .