 | This article needs to be updated.(January 2024) |
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| Established | 1977 |
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| Location | Hämeenlinna Finland |
| Coordinates | 61°0′19″N24°27′21″E / 61.00528°N 24.45583°E |
| Type | Military History |
| Director | Mikko Kero |
| Website | www |
The Artillery Museum of Finland (Suomen Tykistömuseo in Finnish) is a special military museum dedicated to the history of the artillery from the 15th century to the present day. It was located in Niinisalo from 1977 to 1997. In 1997 it was relocated to Hämeenlinna.
A museum dedicated to the field artillery was discussed in Finland already in the 1930s but the Second World War put an end to that discussion. The idea was revived again in the beginning of the 1970s. A possibility of establishing the museum seemed feasible but the location was problematic. Proximity of some large artillery garrison was considered best for the museum.
In the heart of Satakunta, in Niinisalo, a suitable building was found. An empty school of Saloharju was rented to Tykkimiehet Association by the borough of Kankaanpää. The large artillery garrison of Niinisalo was placed quite near. The museum was founded on 2 July 1977 in Niinisalo under the name Artillery Museum (Tykistömuseo in Finnish). The great public did not, however, quite find its way to the museum, probably because of its remoteness. The decision to move the museum to a more central location was made in 1995.
A campaign for finding a new location was launched. Linnankasarmi at Hämeenlinna, with its vacant barracks, begun to feel attractive. The new Artillery Museum was opened there to the public on 12 May 1997.
The name of the museum was changed 1 January 2004 to The Artillery Museum of Finland (Suomen Tykistömuseo in Finnish).
A farewell party for the Artillery Museum of Finland was organized 4 December 2012 at the museum's Gun Hall. Starting from the beginning of 2013 the Artillery Museum of Finland's premises in Hämeenlinna's Linnankasarmi site were taken over by the new Museo Militaria, a military history museum created by joining the Artillery Museum of Finland, the Pioneerimuseo museum of Engineer Corps (of Finland) and the Viestimuseo museum of Signal Corps (of Finland).
The Artillery Museum of Finland is located at Hämeenlinna in the Linnakasarmi area. The buildings of Linnankasarmi date back to the Russian regime, to the Autonomy 1809–1917. The construction of the barracks started in 1850 and was completed in 1913. The archaeological committee values Linnankasarmi quite highly as a traditional military area and prehistoric site because the medieval town of Hämeenlinna has once been here and its remains are still under the barrack yard. Moreover, Häme Castle is right next door and its century's long tradition includes also artillery.
In the museum there is also a cafeteria.
The permanent exhibition displays in three floors the history of artillery in Finland and the military history on the nation.
On the ground floor of the main building the birth of our artillery centuries ago is on display. The story proceeds from the War of Finland 1808-1809 through the period of Autonomy to the Finnish Civil War and to the Jäger Movement. A muzzleloader called Helvig, a cannon dating back to the War of Finland 1808-1809 is one of the guns worth mentioning. On the center passage of each floor there are projectiles from different periods and different guns.
The second floor brings the visitor to the times of the winter and Continuation Wars. The firing methods of the field artillery and of the subjects connected, demonstrate the high technical know-how of the Finnish artillery. The study of the Artillery General Vilho Nenonen is also in this floor. The proto type of the Nenon – camera is on display in this room. The floor of the artillery veterans ends with the present time and with its objects. Special branches, such as artillery intelligence, communications and survey activities are placed on this floor. On display is also the uniform of Väinö Myllyrinne, the largest Finnish soldier ever at 226 centimeters some 7 foot and 5 inches tall.
The third floor displays the life of the Marshal of Finland Gustaf Mannerheim, and for example the honorary gun, a Finnish 105 H 37 light howitzer on which gun carriage Mannerheim was escorted to the eternal rest in the winter 1951 is on display. Also is shown the life in the Finnish army after the Second World War and the technological development of artillery is also given special consideration.
The gun collection of the museum is unique, the most comprehensive in the Scandinavia. As far as it is known[ by whom? ] there is no other museum outside Russia with a collection on Russian and Soviet artillery equipment as exhaustive as this.[ citation needed ] The amount of the pieces in the museum is now 90 different cannons plus heavy grenade launchers and rocket launchers. In the gun hall are located the rarest guns in the museum.
The majority of guns in the museum are located at the gun yard. On the honorary place in the gun yard, with the flag of the Artillery Museum as a color guard, there is the funeral gun of the Artillery General, Mannerheim Cross Knight Vilho Nenonen, a Finnish 105 H 37 light howitzer.
A new special exhibition "Artillery themed tin toys" opened in April 2010.
In the auditoriums are shown the multimedia video films: "The miracle of Ihantala", based on the defensive victory in the summer 1944 on the Karelian Isthmus "Victory in wilderness", which is about the successful counter-attack in the wilderness of Ilomantsi in the summer 1944 "The last battle in Ladoga Karelia", the third film is also of the battles in the summer 1944, this time in Ladoga Karelia. The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940", the first defensive victory The road to continuation war in 1940-1941, how Finland ended up allying itself with Germany against Russia.
The museum has also an interactive system "The artillery system of Finland in different times" on computers, which illustrates us the development of artillery from the 13th century to the present times.
The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 September 1944 with the Moscow Armistice. The Soviet Union and Finland had previously fought the Winter War from 1939 to 1940, which ended with the Soviet failure to conquer Finland and the Moscow Peace Treaty. Numerous reasons have been proposed for the Finnish decision to invade, with regaining territory lost during the Winter War regarded as the most common. Other justifications for the conflict include Finnish President Risto Ryti's vision of a Greater Finland and Commander-in-Chief Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim's desire to annex East Karelia.
The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. Despite superior military strength, especially in tanks and aircraft, the Soviet Union suffered severe losses and initially made little headway. The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from its organization.
The Mannerheim Cross, officially Mannerheim Cross of the Cross of Liberty is the most distinguished Finnish military honour. A total of 191 people received the cross between 22 July 1941 and 7 May 1945, with six of the recipients receiving a cross twice. Available in two classes, the 1st class medal has only been awarded twice, with both recipients also having received the medal in the 2nd class. Although still active de jure, no crosses have been awarded since 1945. Tuomas Gerdt, the last living Knight of the Mannerheim Cross, died on 1 November 2020.
Paavo Juho Talvela was a Finnish general of the infantry, Knight of the Mannerheim Cross and a member of the Jäger movement. He participated in the Eastern Front of World War I, the Finnish Civil War, the Finnish Kinship Wars, the Winter War and the Continuation War.
The Aunus expedition was an attempt by Finnish volunteers to occupy parts of East Karelia in 1919, during the Russian Civil War. Aunus is the Finnish name for Olonets Karelia. This expedition was one of many Finnic "kinship wars" (heimosodat) fought against forces of Soviet Russia after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and during the Russian Civil War.
The Finnish Army is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry, field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, engineers, signals, and materiel troops. The commander of the Finnish Army since 1 January 2022 is Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki.
Vilho Petter Nenonen was a Finnish general.
Karelia is a historical province of Finland, consisting of the modern-day Finnish regions of South Karelia and North Karelia plus the historical regions of Ladoga Karelia and the Karelian isthmus, which are now in Russia. Historical Karelia also extends to the regions of Kymenlaakso, Northern Savonia and Southern Savonia (Mäntyharju).
122 mm corps gun M1931/37 (A-19) was a Soviet field gun developed in late 1930s by combining the barrel of the 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) and the carriage of the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20). The gun was in production from 1939 until 1946. It saw action in World War II and remained in service for a long time after the end of the war. Vehicle-mounted variants of the gun were fitted to the IS-2 and IS-3 tanks of the Iosif Stalin series of tanks and the ISU-122 self-propelled gun.
The BL 8-inch howitzer Marks VI, VII and VIII were a series of British artillery siege howitzers on mobile carriages of a new design introduced in World War I. They were designed by Vickers in Britain and produced by all four British artillery manufacturers but mainly by Armstrong and one American company. They were the equivalents of the German 21 cm Morser 16 and in British service were used similarly to the BL 9.2-inch howitzer but were quicker to manufacture and more mobile. They delivered a 200 lb (91 kg) shell to 12,300 yd. They had limited service in the British Army in World War II before being converted to the new 7.2 in (180 mm) calibre. They also equipped a small number of Australian and Canadian batteries in World War I and by the US Army in that war. They were used in small numbers by other European armies.
The 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20), is a Soviet heavy gun-howitzer. The gun was developed by the design bureau of the plant no 172, headed by F. F. Petrov, as a deep upgrade of the 152-mm gun M1910/34, in turn based on the 152-mm siege gun M1910, a pre-World War I design by Schneider. It was in production from 1937 to 1946. The ML-20 saw action in World War II, mainly as a corps / army level artillery piece of the Soviet Army. Captured guns were employed by Wehrmacht and the Finnish Army. Post World War II, the ML-20 saw combat in numerous conflicts during the mid to late twentieth century.
The 122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30) is a Soviet 121.92 mm (4.8 inch) howitzer. The weapon was developed by the design bureau of Motovilikha Plants, headed by F. F. Petrov, in the late 1930s, and was in production from 1939 to 1955. The M-30 saw action in World War II, mainly as a divisional artillery piece of the Red Army (RKKA). Captured guns were also employed later in the conflict by the German Wehrmacht and the Finnish Army. Post World War II the M-30 saw combat in numerous conflicts of the mid- to late twentieth century in service of other countries' armies, notably in the Middle East.
The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive or Karelian offensive was a strategic operation by the Soviet Leningrad and Karelian Fronts against Finland on the Karelian Isthmus and East Karelia fronts of the Continuation War, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The Soviet forces captured East Karelia and Vyborg/Viipuri. After that, however, the fighting reached a stalemate.
152-mm howitzer M1938 (M-10) was a Soviet 152.4 mm howitzer of World War II era. It was developed in 1937–1938 at the Motovilikha Mechanical Plant by a team headed by F. F. Petrov, and produced until 1941. It saw combat with the Red Army until the end of World War II and remained in service until the 1950s. Captured pieces were used by Wehrmacht and the Finnish Army. The latter kept the M-10 in service until 2000.
152 mm howitzer M1909/30 was a Soviet 152.4 mm howitzer, a modernization of the 152 mm howitzer M1909, initially designed by Schneider. It was the most numerous 152 mm howitzer employed by Red Army in World War II.
The Finnish Defence Intelligence Agency is the combined signals (SIGINT), geospatial (GEOINT) and imagery intelligence (IMINT) agency of the Finnish Defence Forces. Operational since 2014, its responsibility is to support the defence of Finland through information gathering and analysis as an intelligence agency, organic to the Intelligence Division of Defence Command.
The Finnish invasion of the Karelian Isthmus refers to a military campaign carried out by Finland in 1941. It was part of what is commonly referred to as the Continuation War. Early in the war Finnish forces liberated the Karelian Isthmus. It had been ceded to the Soviet Union on 13 March 1940, in the Moscow Peace Treaty, which marked the end of the Winter War. Later, in the summer of 1944, the Soviet Union reconquered the southern part of the isthmus in the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive.
122 mm corps gun M1931 (A-19) was a Soviet field gun, developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1939 the gun was replaced in production by an improved variant, M1931/37. The piece saw action in World War II with the Red Army. Captured guns were employed by Wehrmacht and the Finnish Army.
The 368th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as a standard Red Army rifle division, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Siberian Military District. After forming, it remained in the reserves of that district until March 1942, when it was assigned to the 7th Separate Army in Karelia, where it remained until mid-1944. The division had a mostly uneventful war on this defensive front, but then took part in the offensive that drove Finland out of the war in the summer of that year, being awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its services. It later saw action against the German forces trying to hold northern Finland. The division ended the war in the Belomorsky Military District on garrison duties in the Soviet Arctic.
The VII Corps was a corps of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War of 1941 to 1944, where the Finnish Army fought alongside Germans against the Soviet Union. Under command of Major General Woldemar Hägglund, it took part in the Finnish invasions of Ladoga Karelia and East Karelia, including the capture of Petrozavodsk. During its existence, its composition varied significantly. It was disbanded in May 1943.
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