Raketa (hydrofoil)

Class overview
Raketa-234 on the Volga River, 2004
Builders:	Krasnoye Sormovo, Sormovo, Nizhny Novgorod
Built:	1957–1970s
General characteristics
Type:	Hydrofoil riverboat
Displacement:	25 230
Length:	26.9 m (88 ft 3 in)
Beam:	5 m (16 ft 5 in)
Draft:	1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) displacement mode 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) foilborne
Propulsion:	900–1,000 hp (671–746 kW) (depending on the model), propeller
Speed:	60–65 km/h (37–40 mph) cruising 70 km/h (43 mph) maximum
Capacity:	64 or 66 passengers (depending on the model)

Raketa (Russian: Раке́та, Rocket) was the first type of hydrofoil boats commercially produced in the Soviet Union. They were manufactured from 1957 until the early 1970s. The chief designer was Rostislav Alexeyev and the project 340 vessels had been planned already in the late 1940s.

The first model, Raketa-1, was built by Krasnoye Sormovo (Красное Сормово) shipbuilding plant in Sormovo, Nizhny Novgorod (Нижний Новгород). On its maiden voyage, on 25 August 1957, it carried 30 passengers from Nizhny Novgorod to Kazan (420 km) in seven hours.

Raketa boats were soon in wide commercial service on the Volga River and elsewhere in the Soviet Union. To this day, the name is often used generically in Russian for all hydrofoil river boats. Later designs include the Meteor and Kometa types, among many others.

There were several versions of project 340 vessels: project 340 (проект 340), project 340E (проект 340Э) and project 340ME (проект 340МЕ).

Operators

Austria

"Dolphin"

Cambodia

daily service between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap

England

River Thames

Finland

In Finland the traffic with project 340 vessel started in 1962, when the cities of Lahti and Jyväskylä had a joint-venture company, which bought one vessel. They prolonged the operations until 1983. After that the ownership was transferred to the private persons. The first name of the vessel was Tehi due to the one part of the southetnmost Päijänne, Vesijärvi. Later the hydrofoils were taken off. Later M/S Tehi became M/S Suvi-Tuuli.

M/S Tehi

M/S Tehi started its operations in 1962. Later the M/S Tehi was renamed as M/S Suvi-Tuuli (without hydrofoils):Lake Päijänne cities of Lahti and Jyväskylä 1962-1983, Pyhäjärvi 2008, river Kokemäenjoki 2009- ^[1]

M/S Rosetta

M/S Rosetta is Raketa 314, which was bought from Tartu of Estonia in 1993. From 1995 to 2005 it was operated under the name M/S Suvijet . It was bought from Estonia and has been operated in Lake Päijänne for Royal Cruises since 2005 after the second renaming as M/S Rosetta. Raketa-314 was built in Feodocija in 1963. It may not prolong the chartered trips on Lake Päijänne after its sale.^[2] The home harbour of M/S Rosetta is in Lahti.

The vessel does not have its original engine just like M/S Suvi-Tuuli does not have. Both of the vessels has a MAN 2842 LYE. The highest speeds are from 29 to 32 knots. During the renovation the steeging was changed from the back side to the front.

Netherlands

Rheinfeil in Rhein, now Raketa 72, Rotterdam

- Germany, "Rheinpfeil"
  - now in private collection in the Netherlands), now Raketa 72, Rotterdam

Hungary

between 1962–1985

Lithuania

The Lithuanian remaining Raketa has been operated by the UAB "Nemuno linija" line from the Kaunas passenger dock to Nida until 2010.^[3] It had two Raketas named "Aistė" and "Lina" of which "Aistė" was renovated. Both "Aistė" and "Lina" were constructed in 1963.