The Communications Centre Lokki
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The headquarters communications centre in Mikkeli operated in a cave quarried into Naisvuori hill during the Continuation War of 1941-44. It transmitted the headquarters signals and telephone and teleprinter messages. In an adjacent cave there was the Air Surveillance District Centre, a German signal station and rest rooms for the personnel of the communications centre. There were also workrooms for Commander-in-Chief Mannerheim and his immediate subordinates.
The headquarters telephone exchange in the cave quarried into Naisvuori hill. Photo: Military archives
The idea of restoring the communications centre was conceived in the late 1980s. The badly decayed timbers had to be taken down and a similar structure was built in their place. The rebuilt communications centre was officially opened on 4.12.1995.
On the recommendation of the Defence Council it was decided on 17.7.1939 to locate the army headquarters in Mikkeli. In autumn 1939 quarrying of Naisvuori was begun, the intention being to use the resulting caves for the offices of the headquarters. But the quarrying was not completed until the time of the interim peace, so the headquarters had to be accommodated in the nearby Central Elementary School. During the Winter War, the headquarters communications centre was in the cellar of the school.
During the period of the interim peace, the headquarters were transferred to Helsinki. The unsettled military situation in Europe meant that the interim peace lasted only until the summer of 1941. Preparations for the relocation of the headquarters in Mikkeli had begun in May 1941 and the order to transfer the headquarters was given on 24.6.1941.
A Hughes teleprinter in the communi- cations centre Lokki. Photo: Matti Sikanen
Workrooms for the Commander-in-Chief and the rest of the high command were found in the Central Elementary School. The headquarters communications lines passed through the communications centre, which had the code name 'Lokki' (Seagull).
Radio communications were handled via the local radio station. Lokki's staff numbered 100-130 people, mainly members of the women's auxiliary services. These women were responsible for the telephone and teleprinter connections. Professionals from the Post and Telegraph Office were seconded to the centre to take charge of technical matters. The staff worked in three shifts with about 30 people in each shift.
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