Gardkote
Gardkote (derived from the French garde-côtes - for bank watch, coastal protection) was the name of a series of sailing and rowing boats from the 19th century for securing, guarding and protecting river navigation on the Volga . The Gardkote boats were numbered consecutively from number 1 to 18, so they did not have any special names. They were built on behalf of the Kazan Admiralty and were part of the Caspian fleet .
The Gardkote boats could be equipped with one or two masts . The single-mast variant was equipped with a sloop rigging (a mainsail and a foresail ). The two-masted variant, on the other hand, had a Lugger rig (also Bermuda rigging ).
historical development
To save on mounted patrols and to prevent river piracy in the Volga catchment area, on June 20, 1797 , Tsar Paul I ordered a flotilla of initially nine light sailing boats to be put into service, which should also have oar oars. Light cannons and falconettes were used as armament . The boats were named Gardkote . Equipment, ship supplies and supplies were carried out directly by the fleet command , which commissioned the Admiralty office in Kazan with the implementation.
The Gardkote command command with 18 posts was established here; including commander (rank group Oberoffiziere) in the rank of lieutenant and main sergeant / staff sergeant (Russian starschina ) of the rank group non-commissioned officers with the function title Quartiermeister (Russian kwartirmeister ). The boats were numbered consecutively. In the sections between Volgograd (then Tsaritsyno) and Astrakhan , between Volgograd and Kazan and from Kazan towards the upper reaches three boats each crossed.
The Gardkote boats did patrol trips not only on the Volga, but also on some tributaries, such as the Kama and Vjatka .
In 1824 Gardkote Boats №7 were placed under commandant DI Trubnikow (from Stavropol , Samara ) at the disposal of Tsar Alexander I. All other Gardkote boats were under the naval administration until 1828, after which Tsar Nicholas I resolutely decreed the closure of the Admiralty office in Kazan. As a result, a Gardkote command had to be set up in Kronstadt , to which the boat units north of Kazan were subordinate. Another command was deployed in Astrakhan , commanding the units south of Kazan.
With this ukase , the Gardkote service was transferred to the area of responsibility of the Inland Shipping Administration (Russian ведомство Путей сообщения ). To better protect merchant shipping, a second half-battalion was formed in October 1829 and subordinated to the 9th Gardkote-Einsatz-Battalion (Russian Военно-рабочий №9 батальон ).
To complete the boat crews, two companies of the “8th” were assigned to this half battalion. Lastowy Ekipash ”from the Baltic fleet . The remaining staff was generated from the service post contingent - according to needs, skills and suitability - of the inland shipping administration. The half battalion consisted of three companies and comprised a total of 318 posts. The main office was in Kazan. Each of the three companies had six Gardkote boats , each equipped with 14 oars . The boat crew consisted of 15 crew posts. The boat commander was a non-commissioned officer. The teams were armed with rifles and side guns (can be planted or used as a side arm). During the winter months, the crews were quartered near larger cities on the Volga. From April 1830 officers were appointed boat commanders.
In 1833 the Military Service Battalion №9 was renamed Military Service Battalion №7 . In 1837 the half-battalions were given the designation Gardkote-Crew inland shipping.
In December 1856 the Gardkote service was finally suspended; whereupon the Gardkote boat crews were transferred.
Data and list of boats
A total of three series of Gardkote boats were made. According to the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire, Volume 2 №3210 of October 2, 1829, the following data has survived:
- Length (total) - approx. 10.5 m
- Width - over 3 m
- Oars - 14
- Boat crew: officers - 1; NCOs - 1; Teams - 15
- Armament:
- Long Cannon One Pounder - 1
- Falkonett One Pounder - 4th
| commander | period of service | comment | commander | period of service | comment | commander | period of service | comment | ||
| Gardkote boat №1 (series 1) 1 | Gardkote boat №2 (series 1) 1 | Gardkote boat №3 (series 1) 1 | ||||||||
| Sakharov, SS | 1802-1803 | Polosov, TP | 1811-1815 | Dunilow, IG | 1800-1801 | |||||
| Abramov, WE | 1804 | |||||||||
| Rubanowski, KM | 1809 | Surkov, pp | 1820 | Podchertikov, IW | 1809 | |||||
| WN Bartenew, WN | 1811 | |||||||||
| Schulepnikov, IS | 181-1816 | Chalykin, LT | 1813-1824 | |||||||
| WJ Aberjanow, WJ | 1825 | Berens, MS | 1826-1827 | Lutkowsky, PP | 1825 | |||||
| Gardkote boat №4 (series 1) 1 | Gardkote boat №5 (series 1) 1 | Gardkote boat №6 (series 1) 1 | ||||||||
| Podchertkov, IW | 1810 | Mansurov, TP | 1809-1811 | Tarchow, SP | 1805-1809 | |||||
| Gotowzew, ET | 1811-1815 | Pukalewsky, DI | 1812-1813 | |||||||
| Ilin, DI | 1815-1816 | |||||||||
| Surkov, | 1820-1822 | |||||||||
| Durnow, PI | 1824 | |||||||||
| Prince Uchutomsky, AM | 1825 | |||||||||
| Filatow, NI | 1827 | Martynov, DP | 1825 | Echunowski, SW | 1822-1825 | |||||
| Gardkote boat №7 (series 1) 1 | Gardkote boat №8 (series 1) 1 | Gardkote boat №9 (series 1) 1 | ||||||||
| Martschewski, A. | 1803 | Maslow, AW | 1806-1808 | |||||||
| Saridaki, SJ | 1812-1818 | Dzyurkovsky | 1805-1808 | Levitsky | 1809-1811 | |||||
| Serekin, PP | 1812-1813 | |||||||||
| Trubnikov, DI | 1820-1824 | Arzybaschew, IS | 1813-1824 | Sulow, PP | 1822-1826 | |||||
| Gardkote boat №10 (series 2) 2 | Gardkote boat №11 (series 2) 2 | Gardkote boat №12 (series 2) 2 | ||||||||
| Echnowski, SW | 1812-1821 | Licharev, Sp | 1811 | Schischkow, JS | 1806-1807 | |||||
| Anuchin, FA | 1822-1827 | Ivanov, N, F. | 1821 | |||||||
| Gardkote boat №13 (series 3) 3 | Gardkote boat №14 (series 3) 3 | Gardkote boat №15 (series 3) 3 | ||||||||
| not fixed | Shilinski, WP | 1825 | Ivanov, PF | 1825-1826 | ||||||
| Shedrinski, AF | 1826 | |||||||||
| Gardkote boat №16 (series 3) 3 | Gardkote boat №17 (series 3) 3 | Gardkote boat №18 (series 3) 3 | ||||||||
| not fixed | not fixed | Juriew, AM | 1824-1826 | |||||||
| Boltin, MA | until June 1827 | |||||||||
| Tyrtow, WM | from June 1827 | |||||||||
| Sayzew, PP | 1829 | |||||||||
literature
- Tschernyschjow, AA: The Russian sailing ship fleet. In: reference work. tape 2 .. Military Publishing House , Moscow 2002, ISBN 5-203-01789-1 , p. 480 (Warships and ships of the Russian fleet.).
- Tschernikow, II: The fleet on rivers. In: Encyclopedia of the River Fleet. Publishing house "Polygon", Sankt Peterburg 2003, ISBN 5-89173-247-5 (
- 1. Change in shape of officer's epaulettes // Collection of laws and ordinances: - Book IV. - December 17, 1937. - Page 327.
- 2. Renaming of the two half battalions / 7th Military Service Battalion to Gadkote Crew Inland Shipping // Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire: - anthology 2. - №10449 (June 13, 1837).