SSDekabrist
SSDekabristwas a Russian steamship, built in 1903 and immediately converted to anarmed merchant cruiser.She served in theRusso-Japanese War,World War I,theRussian Civil War,andWorld War II.She was sunk in 1942.
History
[edit]Dekabristwas launched asFranche Comteat theVickers Maxim shipyardinBarrow-in-Furness,Great Britainfor M. le Boule ofLe Havreon 2 October 1902, but remained at Barrow after her completion in April 1903.[1]She was sold in secret to theImperial Russian Navyand sailed from Barrow in April 1904, ostensibly bound for France, but was next reported atLibauunder the nameAnadyr,where she was outfitted as an auxiliary cruiser for theRusso-Japanese War.She was armed with 8x57mm cannon and had a crew of 16 officers and 245 men. From Libau, she sailed with the Second Pacific Squadron for the Far East.Anadyrwas present at theBattle of Tsushima,where she rescued survivors from the auxiliary cruiserUral,and escaped to Russia viaMadagascar.
DuringWorld War I,Anadyragain served in the Imperial Russian Navy. In March 1918, pro-Soviet crewmen took over the ship on behalf of theBolshevikgovernment. In 1920, she served as a merchant ship with Transbalt. In 1921, she was again employed as a warship against theWhites.[2]
1n 1922 she returned to merchant service asDekabrist,operating fromVladivostok.
In 1940Dekabristwas used briefly as transport forPolish POWsfrom Vladivostok toMagadanen route to forced labour at theKolymagold mines inSiberia.
In December 1941,Dekabristwas employed on the Kola Run, the Allied supply route through theNorwegian Seato the USSR's Arctic ports.
Dekabristsailed in one east-bound convoy,PQ 6,in December 1941,[3]returning with other empty Allied merchant ships in west-bound convoyQP 5in January 1942.[4][5]
Fate
[edit]In November 1942,Dekabristtook part inOperation FB,an attempt to run several independent-sailing merchant ships under cover of the Arctic night.
Dekabristsailed on 3 November, but was spotted and attacked by German aircraft. She was hit by a bomb which tore a hole in her bow. Despite efforts to save her,Dekabristwas abandoned at midnight on 5 November, and sank the following day.[5]
Dekabrist's crew of 80 were able to abandon ship in four lifeboats; of these only one reached land, the inhospitableHopen Island,and of that boat's 20 crew-members, only three survived. These were picked up by a German vessel in October 1943, 11 months after the sinking.[6][5]
Notes
[edit]- ^"Anadyr(5602037) ".Miramar Ship Index.Retrieved22 September2019.
- ^AnadyrArchived2018-11-03 at theWayback Machineat russo-japanese war research society;retrieved 3 July 2018
- ^Woodman p48
- ^Woodman p59
- ^abcHutson, ch4 (p53 et seq)
- ^Walling pp235-241
References
[edit]- Hutson, Harry.Arctic interlude: Independent to North RussiaMerriam Press (1997)ISBN978 1 57638 059 8
- Walling, Michael.Forgotten SacrificeOsprey (2012)ISBN978 1 84908 718 6
- Woodman, Richard.Arctic Convoys 1941-1945Murray press (1994)ISBN0 7195 6617 7
External links
[edit]- Dekabristat wrecksite.eu; retrieved 3 July 2018
- DekabristatLloyds Register,1942; retrieved 3 July 2018
- Merchant ships of the Soviet Union
- 1902 ships
- Ships sunk by German aircraft
- World War II shipwrecks in the Arctic Ocean
- Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness
- Maritime incidents in November 1942
- Russo-Japanese War naval ships of Russia
- Ships of the Gulag
- World War I merchant ships of Russia
- World War II merchant ships of the Soviet Union