MSAbkhazia
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Abkhazia |
| Owner | Black Sea State Shipping Company |
| Port of registry | Odessa,Soviet Union |
| Builder | Baltic Works,Leningrad |
| Completed | 1928 |
| In service | 1928 |
| Fate | Sunk by German aircraft, 10 June 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Krim-classcargo liner |
| Tonnage |
|
| Displacement | 5,770t(5,680long tons) (deep load) |
| Length | 112.15 m (367 ft 11 in) |
| Beam | 15.55 m (51 ft) |
| Draught | 5.95 m (19 ft 6 in) |
| Depth | 7.7 m (25.3 ft) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Installed power | 3,900hp(2,900kW) |
| Propulsion | 2screw propellers;2diesel engines |
| Speed | 12.6knots(23.3 km/h; 14.5 mph) |
| Capacity | 518 passengers |
MSAbkhaziawas one of sixSovietKrim-classcargo linersduring the late 1920s built for theBlack Sea State Shipping Company.During theSecond World War,she participated in theSiege of Odessain 1941 and theSiege of Sevastopolin 1942. She was sunk by German aircraft in the port in June.
Description
[edit]The four ships built inLeningradwere shorter than the pair built in Germany, but had more powerful engines.Abkhaziahad anoverall lengthof 110.6 metres (363 ft), with abeamof 15.5 metres (51 ft) and adraughtof 5.8 metres (19 ft).[1]She had twodecksand adepth of holdof 7.7 metres (25.3 ft). The ship was assessed at 4,727gross register tons(GRT), 2,583net register tons(NRT),[2]and 1,600 tonsdeadweight(DWT).[1]She had a pair of six-cylinder,two-stroke diesel engines,each driving ascrew propeller,and the engines were rated at a total of 1,372nominal horsepower.[2]Sources differ about her maximum speed, quoting speeds of 13knots(24 km/h; 15 mph)[1]or 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[3]The ship had a designed capacity of 450 passengers.[3]
Construction and career
[edit]Abkhaziawas one of the four ships in the class that were constructed in 1928 at theBaltic Worksshipyardin Leningrad. After completion the ship was assigned to the Black Sea State Shipping Company bySovtorgflotwith itsport of registryatOdessa.[2][1]
After the invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 (Operation Barbarossa) by Nazi Germany and its allies,Abkhaziawas used for military tasks. On 16–21 September, she served as atroopshipferrying part of the157th Rifle DivisionfromNovorossiyskto Odessa. A day after commencing the voyage, the convoy of which she was a part was fruitlessly attacked by German aircraft. The division was evacuated from Odessa to Sevastopol in several convoys between 3 and 6 October with the ship ferrying her portion of the division on 5 October.Abkhaziaarrived in Odessa on 14 October to begin loading the city's defenders and reached Sevastopol on the 16th without damage despite repeated German air attacks.[4]
The liner transported elements of the386th Rifle Divisionfrom Novorossiyk to Sevastopol on 1–5 January 1942 and made another trip at the beginning of March.Abkhaziaarrived in the besieged port with supplies on 2 April, followed by another trip on 10 April. Together with thedestroyerSvobodny,the ship delivered 1,958 men, 209 tons of fuel and 348 tons of supplies on 21 May. At the beginning of June,Abkhaziawas part of a convoy that brought 2,785 troops to reinforce the garrison and evacuated 487 wounded men and 722 civilians on the return voyage.[5]On the night of 9/10 June,Abkhaziawas part of a convoy bound for Sevastopol that was unsuccessfully attacked byHeinkel He 111torpedo bombersfrom the Second Group of Bomber Wing 26 (II./Kampfgeschwader 26). The following morning the ship was set on fire by bombs delivered by the First Group of Bomber Wing 100 (I./Kampfgeschwader 100). An attack 10 minutes later byJunkers Ju 87dive bomberscaused the liner to roll over against the adjacentpier.She remained on fire until her cargo of ammunition finally exploded around 22:00.[6]
References
[edit]- ^abcdJordan, p. 376
- ^abcLloyd's Register of Shipping(PDF).Vol. II: Steamers and Motorships of 300 Tons Gross and over (1937–1938 ed.). London: Lloyd's of London. 1937.Retrieved17 November2022.
- ^abWilson, p. 20
- ^Rohwer, pp. 100, 105, 108
- ^Rohwer, pp. 131, 149, 156, 158, 166, 170
- ^Forczyk, pp. 159–160
Bibliography
[edit]- Bollinger, Martin J. (2012).From the Revolution to the Cold War: A History of the Soviet Merchant Fleet from 1917 to 1950.Windsor, UK: World Ship Society.ISBN978-0-9560769-4-6.
- Budzbon, Przemysław; Radziemski, Jan & Twardowski, Marek (2022).Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939–1945.Vol. III: Naval Auxiliaries. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing.ISBN978-1-3990-2281-1.
- Jordan, Roger W. (1999).The World's Merchant Fleets, 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 ships.London: Chatham Publishing.ISBN1-86176-023-X.
- Forczyk, Robert (2014).Where the Iron Crosses Grow: The Crimea 1941-44.Oxford, UK.ISBN978-1-78200-625-1.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Rohwer, Jürgen(2005).Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two(Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-59114-119-2.
- Wilson, Edward A. (1978).Soviet Passenger Ships, 1917–1977.Kendal, UK: World Ship Society.ISBN0-905617-04-5.
