Ladoga Canal major canals constructed in Russia. It was one of the projects of Peter the Great, who ordered its construction in 1718. Rapid economic development in Russia required a significant expansion of routes, especially waterways. One part of the Vyshny Volochek waterway (1709) linking the Volga river to the Baltic Sea, passed through Lake Ladoga. The Ladoga section of the route was one of the most difficult and dangerous because the lake is prone to winds and storms which destroyed hundreds of cargo ships. Peter the Great decided to avoid the navigation in the huge and stormy lake by building a
Finnish Ladoga Naval Detachment losses. In the spring 1942 Finnish commander made recommendations to German leadership past Finnish HQs leading to the formation of Naval Detachment K, which included the Finnish motor torpedo boat "Sisu", to the lake. They were also joined in summer 1942 by a German unit, the Einsatzstab Fähre Ost (EFO), of armed Siebel ferries. Operations of the Naval Detachment K or EFO had very limited success. When Germany decided to withdraw its naval assets from Ladoga in late 1942, the Finns bought two of the Siebel ferries, "T-2" and "T-17". Later, when the Soviets' 1944 offensive against the Finns began,