Ladoga Naval Flotilla

formed on Lake Ladoga in October 1939 during the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939–40; the flotilla operated along the lakeshore flanks of the Soviet forces; after the war it was turned into a training detachment.

In the Great Patriotic War (1941–45) the flotilla was reinforced in early July 1941 with ships from the Baltic Fleet. (From Aug. 7 to Oct. 13, 1941, the Ladoga Naval Flotilla was commanded by Rear Admiral B. V. Khoroshkhin and then, until Sept. 25,1944, by Captain First Rank, later Rear Admiral, V. S. Cherokov.) In 1941 the Ladoga Naval Flotilla was composed of seven gunboats, two patrol vessels, two armored cutters, eight patrol boats, and 13 minesweepers, as well as transport and auxiliary craft and artillery and antiaircraft battalions. In 1942–43 it was further reinforced with torpedo and other cutters, submarines, and a great number of tenders.

During the Battle of Leningrad the Ladoga Naval Flotilla assisted the troops of the Twenty-third, Seventh, and Fifty-fourth armies. During the blockade of the city it transported food, fuel, weapons, ammunition, and troops across Lake Ladoga and evacuated some of the population and industrial enterprises from the city. In the winter of 1941–42 the men of the Ladoga Naval Flotilla actively participated in building and protecting what was called the Road of Life across the ice. In 1942–43 the flotilla transported over 1.5 million tons of freight and over 1 million people; this played an important role in the defense of Leningrad and in supplying the needs of the population, the Leningrad Front, and the Baltic Fleet.

On Oct. 22, 1942, the Ladoga Naval Flotilla, the battery of Sukho Island, and the aviation of the Baltic Fleet routed the German-Finnish Lake Flotilla (destroying 19 landing craft and shooting down 14 aircraft), which tried to capture Sukho Island and to cut off communications. In the summer of 1944 the Ladoga Naval Flotilla participated in the Svir’-Petrozavodsk operation of 1944, which was carried out by the troops of the Karelian Front, and successfully carried out the Tuloksa landing operation of 1944. The Ladoga Naval Flotilla was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and was deactivated on Nov. 4, 1944.