Donets (1886)

Donets

Ship data flag  Russian Empire Ukraine   Ship type Gunboat Shipyard Admiralty Shipyard, Nikolayev Keel laying May 9, 1886 Launch May 23, 1887

Ship dimensions and crew length 67.20 m ( Lüa ) width 12.20 m Draft Max. 3.70 m   crew 180 137 (from 1912)

Machine system machine two horizontal composite steam engines indicated performance 1,819 PS (1,338 kW) Top speed 13 kn (24 km / h) propeller 2

Armament Guns: 2 × 8-inch M1885 cannon 1 × 152 mm L / 35 cannon M1877 6 × 47 mm 1 × 37 mm Torpedo tubes 1 × 381 mm from 1912: 2 × 152 mm L / 45 cannon M1892 1 × 120mm L / 45 2 × 75mm L / 50 4 × 47 mm 2 × MG

Donets ( Russian Донец ) was the name of a sea-going gunboat of the Imperial Russian Navy . Commissioned in 1889, it was sunk and raised twice during its service. After being decommissioned in 1921, it was finally canceled in 1928. The Donets belonged to a class of eight boats. The name of the boat corresponds to the Russian name for a resident of the Don area and, in the narrower sense, for a Don Cossack .

The boat was procured as part of the fleet armament program for the years 1882-1902. It was intended for service in the Russian Black Sea Fleet .

The Donets was laid on May 9, 1886 at the Admiralty shipyard in Nikolajew . Like all boats intended for service in the Black Sea Fleet, it was built in a Russian shipyard, while the boats intended for service in the Baltic Sea and the Far East were built in foreign shipyards. The launch took place on November 18, 1887.

From 1889 to 1900 the boat was periodically assigned to the Russian Mediterranean Squadron for the performance of diplomatic tasks and provided station service in various ports. In 1900 the Donets underwent major repairs and modernized at the same time. After the work was completed, the boat was used for training purposes. In 1912 the boat was modernized again and the armament was replaced. Then, in June 1912, the Donets relocated to the Mediterranean and replaced the Chiwinez off Crete . In 1913 the boat returned from the Mediterranean after the Chiwinez had completed her modernization.

When the Turkish fleet attacked the Russian Black Sea ports on October 29, 1914, the Donets was in the port of Odessa . At 3:20 a.m., the Turkish destroyers Gayret-i Vataniye and Muavenet-i Milliye entered the port. Although the Donets watchman opened fire on the attacking ships, the gairet managed to shoot down a torpedo from 100 m away , which hit the Donets in the bow . Due to the damage, the Donets sank at her berth.

In December 1914 the boat was lifted, repaired and then put back into service. Until 1916, the Donets belonged to the department for the defense of the north-western coast of the Black Sea and was used together with other boats for fire support of the Russian land forces. From August 1916, the Donets belonged to the Russian Danube Flotilla . Here, too, the main task was to provide fire support for the Russian troops on land. During this mission, the number of shots intended for the guns' barrel was exceeded, which led to high wear on the barrel and, as a result, to reduced accuracy.

The Donets in the Ukrainian Fleet (1918)

On January 18, 1918, the boat passed over to the sides of the Soviet Russian troops. During the occupation of the Black Sea ports by German troops, it was taken over by them in Sevastopol on May 1, 1918 . After the Germans had withdrawn, it fell into the hands of the British-French intervention forces in December 1918. They left the boat to the Southern Russian fleet in April 1919 . Also by these the boat was used primarily for fire support for troops on land. In May 1919 the boat sank in the Tender Spit during a storm.

On November 28, 1921, the boat was lifted, but not put back into service, but stored for the time being. In 1928, the Donets was broken up to extract scrap.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ see page of the Black Sea Fleet

Web links

Commons : Donez  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Information about the boat on the Black Sea Fleet website (Russian)

literature

• А. Тарас: Корабли Российского императорского флота 1892–1917 гг. Харвест, 2000 (A. Taras: The Ships of the Imperial Russian Navy 1892–1917. ) Harvest, 2000, ISBN 9854338886 .
• Г. Лорей: Операции германо-турецких морских сил в 1914–1918 гг. 1934, ISBN 5-89173-207-6 . (G. Lorei: The operations of the German-Turkish naval forces 1914–1918. ) (Russian)
• Флот в Белой борьбе. Центрполиграф, 2002, ISBN 5-9524-0028-0 . ( The fleet in the White Battle. ) (Russian)
• В. Доценко (Составитель): Гражданская война в России: Черноморский флот , ACT, 2002, ISBN 5-17-012874-6 . (W. Donetsko (editor): The Civil War in Russia: The Black Sea Fleet. ) (Russian)