Hämeenmaa was rebuilt into a minelayer in the 1980s. A communications central replaced the Hedgehog mounting. The torpedo tubes were removed. A bow twin 30 mm AK-230 was added. Hämeenmaa was decommissioned in 1985.
The Hämeenmaas were acquired from the Soviet Union in the mid-1960s, to be used as gun training ships. They formed the "Escort Flotilla" (Finnish: Saattajalaivue) together with the s.
The commissioning of and in the late 1960s led however to personnel shortages in the Finnish Navy (Finland had a naval manpower restriction after World War II) and the navy was forced to limit the use of its two Hämeenmaa frigates. They were initially used one at a time and finally decided to retire them.[1]
Hämeenmaa was in Finnish Navy service between 1964–1985. The sister ship was decommissioned in 1979 and cannibalized for spare parts for Hämeenmaa. Both ships had already served a few years in the Soviet Navy before sale to Finland.