Russalka (1865)

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Russalka
Russian naval war flag
Builder: Admiralty Shipyards, St. Petersburg
Keel laying:
Launch: August 31, 1867
Commissioning: 1868
Period of service: 1868-1893
Displacement: 1871 t
Length: 62.9 m
Width: 12.9 m
Draft: 3.3 m
Drive: two compound steam engines
2 flame tube boilers
2 screws
870 hp
Speed: 9.8 kn
Range:
Crew:
Armament: Guns:

1868:

Russalka ( Russian Русалка , transliteration Rusalka; German: 'Elfe', 'Nixe') was the name of a gunboat of the Imperial Russian Navy . The boat entered service in 1868. Due to its construction, the Russalka is also known as a monitor . The Russalka was the second boat in a class of three gunboats, the other two boats were the Smertsch and the Charodeika . The Russalka sank on September 6, 1893 during a storm in the Gulf of Finland . All crew members were killed.

history

The Russalka in the dock in Helsingfors

At the beginning of 1863 the gunboat Rolf Krake was laid in Glasgow at the shipyard of Robert Napier & Sons . This boat, equipped with two turrets and built on the basis of an order from the Danish Navy, represented a significant leap in development compared to the American Passaic class. In the summer of 1863, the shipyard offered the Russian Navy type for use in the Baltic Sea . After the approval of the Russian naval command, the contract for the construction of the boat Smertsch on the Admiralty Shipyards (Galley Island) in St. Petersburg was concluded on June 13, 1863 according to the Rolf Krake project . For the license to build the turrets, the Department of the Navy paid £ 259 and 17 shillings to Coles, the turret designer. Construction began on August 1, 1863, and was launched just under a year later on June 11, 1864.

Following the example of the Smertsch , two more gunboats were commissioned. Compared to the type boat, the dimensions have been increased and the equipment partially changed. The Russalka was built at the shipyard belonging to the Admiralty Shipyards on Galley Island in St. Petersburg. The launch took place on August 31, 1867. In 1868 the boat was added to the fleet as an armored tower boat . On February 1, 1892, it was reclassified as a coastal armored ship .

construction

Deck of the Russalka

The Smertsch had two Coles system turrets. The loopholes in the parapet were practically at the level of the upper deck. The armor of the towers consisted of a layer of 114.3 mm thick armor plates, which were fastened with vertical studs. Initially, the idea was to double-layer the armor on the front of the towers. However, there were practical problems with the attachment. After all, both layers should be fastened with the same bolts, which ultimately led to the fact that the inner layer was omitted and the original outer layer was reinforced to 152.4 mm. The armor was backed with two layers of teak with a thickness of 203 and 102 mm. This should prevent parts of the brittle armor from flaking off when hit. In addition, the inner sides of the towers were covered with iron plates with a thickness of 25.4 mm. The armor was made in England and the armor plates came from different manufacturers. The hull was armored 102–114 mm, the deck had an armor of 25.4 mm.

Initially, it was planned to equip the towers with 60 pounder smoothbore cannons. However, by introducing guns with rifled barrel, the combat power of the boat could be increased significantly. Therefore, a 203-mm cannon was installed in each tower. As early as 1870, these guns, as well as on the monitors of the Bronenossez (Броненосец) type, were replaced by more modern guns of the 229 mm caliber. In addition there were two 37 mm Hotchkiss cannons and two four-pounders. The Russalka side straightener was powered by an auxiliary steam engine with an output of 6 hp. There was a separate boiler system for this auxiliary steam engine.

The boat was powered by two steam engines with an output of around 870 PSi via two screws. The steam was generated with two flame tube boilers. The top speed was 9.8 knots.

The displacement of the Russalka was 1871 t. The boat was 62.9 m long, 12.8 m wide and had a draft of 3.3 m. The Russalka was thus somewhat larger and faster than the Smertsch built first .

commitment

The articles Russalka (memorial) #The sinking of the Rusalka and Russalka (1865) #Use overlap thematically. Help me to better differentiate or merge the articles (→  instructions ) . To do this, take part in the relevant redundancy discussion . Please remove this module only after the redundancy has been completely processed and do not forget to include the relevant entry on the redundancy discussion page{{ Done | 1 = ~~~~}}to mark. Wheeke ( discussion ) 3:45 pm , Aug 12, 2020 (CEST)


Russalka Monument by Amandus Adamson

The boats were intended as part of the coastal defense of the Baltic Sea , which was based on armored gunboats, the tower frigates of the Admiral Spiridow class, the unarmored gunboats of the Doschd class and the coastal fortifications of the Kronstadt fortress . The focus of the operation should be the defense of the accesses to the Russian capital St. Petersburg and the naval port of Reval . Therefore the Russalka was stationed in Reval. After the reclassification in 1892, all boats of the class came to Kronstadt, but often stayed in Reval for training purposes and practice shooting.

On September 6, 1893, the Russalka ran at 08:30 under the command of Captain 2nd rank W. Ijenisch (В. Иениш) from the bay of Reval in the direction of Helsingfors . The Russalka was accompanied by the gunboat Tutscha (Туча). During the storm with winds of up to nine Beaufort and heavy fog, the boats lost each other. At 3:06 p.m. the Tutscha arrived in Helsingfors with considerable delay without the Russalka .

The first news about the fate of the Russalka did not reach the port of Sveaborg until the evening of September 9th. The Helsingfors Police Chief reported the discovery of a boat with the body of a sailor on one of the Kremar Islands. On the island of Sandchamn (Сандхамн - fin. Santahamina) wreckage of another boat, wooden debris and pieces of equipment from the Russalka were found. A total of 15 ships were used to search for the Russalka . The search dragged on for 37 days until October 16, 1893 and then had to be canceled because of the incipient icing and the approaching winter storms. None of the officers and men could be saved, and the place where the Russalka sank could not be found either.

The search continued between June and August 1894. A balloon mother ship was used for this. However, the search yielded no results and was officially canceled on August 15, 1894. In the same year an investigation report into the sinking of the boat was submitted. The boat had been examined in Kronstadt in 1893 and found ready for use. A further 9-17 years of service was considered possible. In the summer of 1893, the boat moved to Reval for practice shooting when it was ready for use. However, the storm covers of the deck hatches remained in Kronstadt. The investigation therefore ruled out a possible poor condition of the boat as the cause of the sinking. An explosion on board the Russalka has also been ruled out. In its report, the commission recognized an external cause of the accident ( от внешних причин ).

The sinking of the Russalka was received with great dismay by the public and dominated the newspapers for a few weeks. The issuing of a brochure with obituaries for the officers and men was initiated. With the proceeds, the bereaved should be supported. The government ordered an unreduced first class pension for the widows and orphans. The widows of the officers received 500 rubles a month, those of the men 60 rubles. Orphans were supported with 150 and 40 rubles respectively. On September 7, 1902, the ninth anniversary of the Russalka's sinking , a memorial was inaugurated in Reval to commemorate the Russalka's sinking and occupation . The monument in the shape of an angel was designed by the sculptor Amandus Adamson .

The wreck of the Russalka was discovered in 1932 by the EPRON at a depth of 74 m. It was right on the southern border of the area searched in 1893/94. During an expedition in 2003, however, the wreck could not be located at the specified location. It was only during a further search in July 2003 that the wreck was found three nautical miles south of the location specified by EPRON. The Russalka was stuck almost vertically, with the stern up, in the ground. The stern gun turret is missing, the deck hatches are open. The location of the wreck suggests that the Russalka was on course for Reval at the time of the sinking. The rudder was turned hard to port.

A scenario for the sinking can be reconstructed from the position of the boat. The boat's captain probably decided to run back to Reval in the heavy storm shortly before Helsingfors . The turning maneuver was almost complete when the boat took over a lot of water due to a high wave, which penetrated the boat through the open hatches. The boat immediately sank bow ahead. The crew, who, with a few exceptions, were below deck at this time, had no way of reaching the lifeboats.

The wreck is still at the site of the sinking. Neither Finnish nor Estonian authorities are considering a rescue. The Russian naval command, to which the documents from the search carried out in 2003, including the underwater photographs, were handed over, has so far also shown no interest in the wreck.

literature

  • Леонид Ильясович Амирханов: Артиллерия российских мониторов , Гангут, Санкт-Петербург 1998 [Leonid I. Amirkhanov: The Russian Artillery : The Artillery . Gangut Publishing House, St. Petersburg 1998]
  • А. А. Никонов: “Русалка” найдена! Природа №10, 2004 г [AA Nikonow: Russalka naidena !, Priroda 10, 2004] (Russian)

Web links

Commons : Rusalka (ship, 1867)  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Amirchanow gives the summer of 1864 for the proposal, but since construction began in August 1863 and the contract was concluded in June 1863, this cannot be correct
  2. ↑ The crooked dimensions result from the fact that metric units of measurement were not in use in Russia at the time. 25.4 mm correspond to the Russian length measure Djuim (Дюйм) or 1  inch
  3. ↑ a b see Nikonow