Naval Detachment K
Naval Detachment K was a Finnish military detachment, a flotilla that operated on Lake Ladoga during World War II.
Background
The Continuation War began in the summer of 1941. The Finns, who had operated naval units on Lake Ladoga before the Winter War, began reestablishing the Finnish Ladoga Flotilla on the lake as soon as their troops reached its shores early on in the war. The headquarters was formed in on 2 August 1941 and by 6 August, 150 motorboats, two tugs and four steam ferries had been transferred there. The tugs and ferries were equipped with 47 mm guns and machine guns. The Finns also established a number of coastal batteries on the shores and islands of Lake Ladoga. The only "true" Finnish warship on Lake Ladoga at that time was the obsolete motor torpedo boat. As the Finnish land forces advanced, new headquarters were established in the captured towns along the shores of Ladoga. The Ladoga flotilla's headquarters was eventually moved to Sortavala and the harbour at Lakhdenpokhya became its primary base of operations.Formation
Already during the spring Finnish Kenraaliluutnantti Paavo Talvela and Eversti Eino Iisakki Järvinen who was commanding the Ladoga Coastal Defense Brigade came up with an idea that the boat traffic providing supplies to the Leningrad needed to be disrupted. Talvela then presented this idea to the Germans on his own behalf going past both Finnish Navy Staff and General Staff. Germans responded positively to the proposition and informed the slightly surprised Finns—who apart from Talvela had very little knowledge of the proposition—that transport of the equipment for the Ladoga operation was already arranged. Both the Germans and Italians sent naval units to Lake Ladoga to assist the Finns with coastal defence of the lake and to enforce the ongoing siege of Leningrad.A combined Finnish–German–Italian unit, Naval Detachment K was formed on 17 May 1942, consisting of four Italian MAS boats, four Kriegsmarine minelayers and the Finnish motor torpedo boat Sisu. The German and Italian vessels were grouped into two units under Finnish command. First to arrive was the Italian XII Squadriglia MAS on 22 June, consisting of four motor torpedo boats. Five days later, four German KM-boats also arrived. The German minelaying boats had inexperienced crews and unreliable engines and it took until 10 August before all KM-boats were repaired and deemed operational.
Also operating on the lake were the Finnish Ladoga Flotilla, composed mainly of armed fishing vessels and small motorboats and the German Einsatzstab Fähre Ost , a Luftwaffe formation consisting of infantry boats and Siebel ferries.
Operations
Naval Detachment K's primary task was harassing Soviet supply lines to Leningrad on southern Ladoga, where Soviet and Allied food and munitions were transported to Leningrad. The unit also conducted minelaying operations near enemy bases and limited landing operations on the shores of Lake Ladoga. The unit failed to sink any Soviet watercraft during its operation on Lake Ladoga.EFO also undertook offensive operations on the lake like the Battle of Sukho Island, but this was a failure. The Finnish Ladoga Flotilla also had clashed with the Soviet Ladoga Flotilla and operated in Lake Ladoga from June 25, 1941, through November 4, 1944.