PCS Vilnius (CL-1927)

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The Vilnius class were modified 'D' class cruisers the plans for which the Polithstovian navy received in 1922. These two cruisers were the first major ships to be commissioned in Gdansk since Polithstovia came into being. Two years without much more than maintenance work to keep the shipyards going had been tough. These two cruisers also started the colaboration between Polithstovia and Scandinavia for building Polithstovias naval vessels. The main assistance came from the Bofors armaments giant which supplied most of the weaponry and/or turrets that were fitted to Polithstovian ships. The Vilnius class utilised the Bofors twin turret that was produced for Scandinavias Jötunheimr class cruisers.

The 'D' class design was heavily modified to replace the six single 6" guns and their associated magazines and handling rooms and replacing them with three twin 6" turrets hoists and magazines. The propulsion system was kept the same but the rest of the internal layout was completely changed. In 1937 when attending the Coronation Review, a serving officer of a Commonwealth 'D' class cruiser went belowdecks by himself and got lost. He was staggered by the changes that had had to be made. Particular attention had been made to the firing arcs of the tertiary armament weapons, as acting mainly in the confined waters of the Gulf of Finland, one of the major threats could be CMB (coastal motor boat) units. A few of the British CMB's, though scuttled. had been raised by the Soviets and the concept copied for use in all sorts of places from the Caspian and Black Seas to the Baltic Fleet.

The Vilnius was the flagship of Admiral Walesa during the Aseri Incident where Polithstovia showed that they would not kowtow to the Soviet Bear.

The brand new 1/2 inch Vickers multiple machine gun mounting was released in 1926 and the Vilnius class cruisers received their mountings in 1927.

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