Rihtniemi-class

Summary

Description

The R-class patrol boats, initially constructed as coastal minesweepers for the Finnish Navy, were modified into patrol boats by the end of the 1960s. They transitioned to the Patrol Flotilla and later to the 7th Missile Flotilla, serving both as sea patrol vessels and in an anti-submarine warfare capacity. These vessels, praised for their low fuel consumption and excellent seagoing qualities, were eventually retired from the Finnish Navy in the 1990s.

In terms of design, these boats were particularly notable for their robustness, being essentially unsinkable—they could recover from a list of 115 degrees and return to an upright position. The R class consisted of five vessels, with the latter three—Ruissalo, Raisio, and Röyttä—being slightly larger. This difference led to some references to them as the Rihtniemi and Ruissalo classes, although the Finnish Navy officially recognized them all as the R class.

Throughout their operational history, the R-class vessels had different fates. Rymättylä and Rihtniemi were sold to the Estonian Navy in 1999, rechristened as EML Suurop and EML Ristna, respectively. Ruissalo was scrapped in the early 2000s, while Raisio was sold on the private market. Röyttä had a distinct path, being transferred to marine reserve training units in 2000 and used for training, followed by extensive renovations in 1980 and 2000 before being sold to a private adventure company and repurposed as the cruise ship Vartiovene 55 in Helsinki.

Countries that operated the R-class boats include Finland, with its two Rihtniemi and three Ruissalo-class vessels; Estonia, which acquired two former Finnish Rihtniemi-class boats; and Colombia, which operated three Ruissalo-class patrol boats named Carlos Alban, Nito Restrepo, and Jorge Soto del Corval, each built in 1971 and utilized until various years ranging from 1984 to 1997.

Technical specifications