the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy and given the task of assisting naval ships and troop transportations in the Gulf of Finland. Murtaja was stationed with Sampo in the southern parts of the Archipelago Sea and between Turku and Mariehamn. Icebreaker assistance to merchant ships was largely neglected and the icebreakers often carried supplies for the Russian troops. On 6 December 1917 the Parliament of Finland accepted the declaration of independence given by the Senate and on 29 December the icebreakers Murtaja and Sampo raised the state flag of the independent Finland for the first time. However, already in early January 1918 the ship was seized by the Russian revolutionary fleet and ordered to assist the Russian troops stationed in Finland. From the beginning the Finnish officials attempted to negotiate the return of the icebreaker, but it wasn't until 5 April 1918 before Murtaja was handed back to Finland. Murtaja survived the war without major damage and continued in service through the interwar period. As new icebreakers entered service in the 1920s, she was stationed in Turku, the second official winter port. Second World War Due to the worsening relations with the Soviet Union, Murtaja and other state-owned icebreakers were armed and assigned to a wartime icebreaker fleet shortly before the Winter War began on 30 November 1939. The Finnish icebreakers had been equipped with gun mounts already in the 1920s and were armed with light artillery. Murtaja spent the early stages of the war in Viipuri and assisted supply ships to the port of Koivisto. When the Continuation War began on 25 June 1941, the Finnish icebreakers were re-armed and their anti-aircraft armament was improved. On 20 July, while guarding a motti in the Hanko Front, the camouflaged Murtaja was attacked by a group of Soviet fighter-bombers. None of the planes scored a direct hit, but the nearby explosions caused severe damage to the engine and fittings. On the following day Murtaja was towed to Crichton-Vulcan shipyard in Turku for repairs. Later the front moved east and the icebreaker fleet was disbanded in December 1941, after which some of the armament was removed and the icebreakers resumed their normal peacetime duties. For the remainder of the war Murtaja assisted ships without major incidents. Decommissioning Murtaja was often criticized for her poor performance in difficult ice conditions and she was deemed old and obsolete already in 1906. Selling