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Russian destroyer Pobeditel
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Russian destroyer Pobeditel
Pobeditel (Russian: Победитель, lit. 'Victor') was one of eight Orfey-class destroyers built for the Russian Imperial Navy during World War I. Completed in 1915, she served with the Baltic Fleet and participated in raids into the Baltic Sea in 1915 and 1916 to attack German shipping or lay minefields before the Baltic iced over. The ship participated in the Battle of Kassar Wiek in October 1917 when the Germans invaded the West Estonian Archipelago (Operation Albion). Her crew joined the Bolshevik Red Fleet during the October Revolution of 1917. The ship had to be towed from Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, to Kronstadt in early 1918 during the "Ice Cruise".
The destroyer was renamed Volodarsky (Володарский) in 1922 and spent much of the 1920s either in reserve or under repair. She played a minor role during the Winter War of 1939–1940. When the Axis powers invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 (Operation Barbarossa), the ship participated in the early stages of the Gulf of Riga campaign. Volodarsky was part of the rear guard during the Soviet evacuation of Tallinn, Estonia, and sank with the loss of all hands after striking a mine on 28 August.
The Orfey-class ships were designed as an improved version of the Derzky class. Pobeditel normally displaced 1,260 metric tons (1,240 long tons) and 1,568 t (1,543 long tons) at full load. She measured 98 meters (321 ft 6 in) long overall with a beam of 9.34 meters (30 ft 8 in), and a draft of 3 meters (9 ft 10 in). The Orfeys were propelled by two Curtiss-AEG-Vulcan steam turbines, each driving one propeller using steam from four Normand boilers. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 32,000 metric horsepower (24,000 kW) for an intended maximum speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) using forced draft. On Pobeditel's sea trials, she only reached 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph). The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 1,680 nautical miles (3,110 km; 1,930 mi) at 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Their crew numbered 150.
The Orfey-class ships were originally intended to have an armament of two single 102-millimeter (four-inch) Pattern 1911 Obukhov guns, one gun each on the forecastle and stern, and a dozen 450-millimeter (17.7 in) torpedo tubes in six double mounts. The Naval General Staff changed this to four triple mounts once they became available in 1914. Pobeditel was completed to this configuration with one triple torpedo mount between the forward funnels and three mounts aft of the rear funnel. She carried three reload torpedoes and was also equipped with a pair of 7.62-millimeter (0.3 in) Maxim machine guns on single mounts. The ships could carry 80 M1912 naval mines or 50 larger ones. They were also fitted with a 2.7-meter (9 ft) Barr and Stroud rangefinder and two 60-centimeter (24 in) searchlights.
Pobeditel was laid down at the Metal Works in Petrograd in November 1913 and launched on 23 October 1914. The ship was towed to Helsinki for fitting out. Her sea trials began on 29 August and she was commissioned on 25 October 1915. Pobeditel made two sorties into the Baltic Sea that year in unsuccessful attempts to interdict the German supply of high-quality Swedish iron ore either by combat or the laying of minefields. These operations were carried out before the Gulf of Finland was iced over late in the year. During the second of these, Pobeditel, together with the destroyer Novik and her sister ship Zabiyaka, laid 150 mines off the Latvian coast between Ventspils and Lyserort on 16 December. The following day, the German torpedo boat SMS V191 struck one of the mines and began to sink. The light cruiser SMS Bremen attempted to rescue the torpedo boat's survivors, but struck two mines herself and sank. The minefield also claimed the torpedo boat SMS S177 on 23 December.
Based on a battle between the destroyer Novik and two German destroyers in August 1915, the Naval General Staff decided to exchange the rearmost torpedo mount for two more four-inch guns, although the modification was not made until Pobeditel was refitting in early 1916. Both of these guns were mounted on the stern, aft of the torpedo tubes. The final configuration of the Orfeys' torpedo suite was one mount between the forward funnels and two mounts aft of the rear funnel. A 40-millimeter (1.6 in) anti-aircraft (AA) gun was ordered to be fitted on a platform between the rear torpedo mount and the stern guns on 8 March.
During 1916, Pobeditel made nine sorties into the Baltic to either lay mines or attack German convoys. During one of these missions on the night of 13 June 1916, she led her sister Grom and her half-sister Novik in search of German iron ore convoys sailing along the Swedish coast. They found a convoy of ten freighters escorted by four auxiliary patrol boats near Häfringe Island. The freighters fled for Swedish waters while the escorts turned to engage the Russians. The Russians sank the auxiliary cruiser Hermann, even though they refused to close the escorts believing them to be far stronger than they actually were, but the freighters escaped and no other damage was inflicted. Another of these was on the night of 29/30 June when Pobeditel and her sisters Grom and Orfey were searching for a German convoy off the Swedish coast near Bråviken in thick fog. They encountered a group of eight German destroyers and retreated back towards the armored cruiser Gromoboi and the light cruiser Diana. The Germans pursued the destroyers until they spotted the cruisers and attacked with torpedoes. All of them missed and both sides disengaged without suffering any casualties. The ship was part of a force of five destroyers that laid 200 mines off the coast of Steinort, Germany (modern Gleźnowo, Poland), on the night of 18/19 October. The merchantman SS General Kutuzov that the Germans had salvaged in Ventspils, Latvia, was sunk by one of those mines a few days later. The minesweeper T 64 sank while clearing the minefield. While undergoing a refit in early 1917, the ship had her forecastle strengthened and a 63-millimeter (2.5 in) AA gun aft of the stern guns replaced her 40 mm AA gun.
Following the capture of Riga, Governorate of Livonia, in September, the Germans began planning amphibious landings on the islands of the West Estonian Archipelago, codenamed Operation Albion. Their objective was to deny Moon Sound to the Imperial Russian Navy and to capture the islands of Muhu and Saaremaa so that it no longer had bases from which to threaten the supply lines through the Gulf of Riga. The main thrust of the operation was to consist of landings on the northwestern coast of Saaremaa, with follow-on objectives to capture the coast-defense artillery positions that blocked German access into the Gulf of Riga and to seize Muhu before the Russians could reinforce the troops there. Kassar Wiek is the shallow western portion of Moon Sound, between the islands of Saarema, Muhu, and Hiiumaa, that lies north of the Gulf of Riga. Soela Strait separates Saaremaa and Hiiuma. The Germans initiated their attack with landings on the northwestern coast of Saaremaa during the morning of 12 October.
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Russian destroyer Pobeditel
Pobeditel (Russian: Победитель, lit. 'Victor') was one of eight Orfey-class destroyers built for the Russian Imperial Navy during World War I. Completed in 1915, she served with the Baltic Fleet and participated in raids into the Baltic Sea in 1915 and 1916 to attack German shipping or lay minefields before the Baltic iced over. The ship participated in the Battle of Kassar Wiek in October 1917 when the Germans invaded the West Estonian Archipelago (Operation Albion). Her crew joined the Bolshevik Red Fleet during the October Revolution of 1917. The ship had to be towed from Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, to Kronstadt in early 1918 during the "Ice Cruise".
The destroyer was renamed Volodarsky (Володарский) in 1922 and spent much of the 1920s either in reserve or under repair. She played a minor role during the Winter War of 1939–1940. When the Axis powers invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 (Operation Barbarossa), the ship participated in the early stages of the Gulf of Riga campaign. Volodarsky was part of the rear guard during the Soviet evacuation of Tallinn, Estonia, and sank with the loss of all hands after striking a mine on 28 August.
The Orfey-class ships were designed as an improved version of the Derzky class. Pobeditel normally displaced 1,260 metric tons (1,240 long tons) and 1,568 t (1,543 long tons) at full load. She measured 98 meters (321 ft 6 in) long overall with a beam of 9.34 meters (30 ft 8 in), and a draft of 3 meters (9 ft 10 in). The Orfeys were propelled by two Curtiss-AEG-Vulcan steam turbines, each driving one propeller using steam from four Normand boilers. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 32,000 metric horsepower (24,000 kW) for an intended maximum speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) using forced draft. On Pobeditel's sea trials, she only reached 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph). The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 1,680 nautical miles (3,110 km; 1,930 mi) at 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Their crew numbered 150.
The Orfey-class ships were originally intended to have an armament of two single 102-millimeter (four-inch) Pattern 1911 Obukhov guns, one gun each on the forecastle and stern, and a dozen 450-millimeter (17.7 in) torpedo tubes in six double mounts. The Naval General Staff changed this to four triple mounts once they became available in 1914. Pobeditel was completed to this configuration with one triple torpedo mount between the forward funnels and three mounts aft of the rear funnel. She carried three reload torpedoes and was also equipped with a pair of 7.62-millimeter (0.3 in) Maxim machine guns on single mounts. The ships could carry 80 M1912 naval mines or 50 larger ones. They were also fitted with a 2.7-meter (9 ft) Barr and Stroud rangefinder and two 60-centimeter (24 in) searchlights.
Pobeditel was laid down at the Metal Works in Petrograd in November 1913 and launched on 23 October 1914. The ship was towed to Helsinki for fitting out. Her sea trials began on 29 August and she was commissioned on 25 October 1915. Pobeditel made two sorties into the Baltic Sea that year in unsuccessful attempts to interdict the German supply of high-quality Swedish iron ore either by combat or the laying of minefields. These operations were carried out before the Gulf of Finland was iced over late in the year. During the second of these, Pobeditel, together with the destroyer Novik and her sister ship Zabiyaka, laid 150 mines off the Latvian coast between Ventspils and Lyserort on 16 December. The following day, the German torpedo boat SMS V191 struck one of the mines and began to sink. The light cruiser SMS Bremen attempted to rescue the torpedo boat's survivors, but struck two mines herself and sank. The minefield also claimed the torpedo boat SMS S177 on 23 December.
Based on a battle between the destroyer Novik and two German destroyers in August 1915, the Naval General Staff decided to exchange the rearmost torpedo mount for two more four-inch guns, although the modification was not made until Pobeditel was refitting in early 1916. Both of these guns were mounted on the stern, aft of the torpedo tubes. The final configuration of the Orfeys' torpedo suite was one mount between the forward funnels and two mounts aft of the rear funnel. A 40-millimeter (1.6 in) anti-aircraft (AA) gun was ordered to be fitted on a platform between the rear torpedo mount and the stern guns on 8 March.
During 1916, Pobeditel made nine sorties into the Baltic to either lay mines or attack German convoys. During one of these missions on the night of 13 June 1916, she led her sister Grom and her half-sister Novik in search of German iron ore convoys sailing along the Swedish coast. They found a convoy of ten freighters escorted by four auxiliary patrol boats near Häfringe Island. The freighters fled for Swedish waters while the escorts turned to engage the Russians. The Russians sank the auxiliary cruiser Hermann, even though they refused to close the escorts believing them to be far stronger than they actually were, but the freighters escaped and no other damage was inflicted. Another of these was on the night of 29/30 June when Pobeditel and her sisters Grom and Orfey were searching for a German convoy off the Swedish coast near Bråviken in thick fog. They encountered a group of eight German destroyers and retreated back towards the armored cruiser Gromoboi and the light cruiser Diana. The Germans pursued the destroyers until they spotted the cruisers and attacked with torpedoes. All of them missed and both sides disengaged without suffering any casualties. The ship was part of a force of five destroyers that laid 200 mines off the coast of Steinort, Germany (modern Gleźnowo, Poland), on the night of 18/19 October. The merchantman SS General Kutuzov that the Germans had salvaged in Ventspils, Latvia, was sunk by one of those mines a few days later. The minesweeper T 64 sank while clearing the minefield. While undergoing a refit in early 1917, the ship had her forecastle strengthened and a 63-millimeter (2.5 in) AA gun aft of the stern guns replaced her 40 mm AA gun.
Following the capture of Riga, Governorate of Livonia, in September, the Germans began planning amphibious landings on the islands of the West Estonian Archipelago, codenamed Operation Albion. Their objective was to deny Moon Sound to the Imperial Russian Navy and to capture the islands of Muhu and Saaremaa so that it no longer had bases from which to threaten the supply lines through the Gulf of Riga. The main thrust of the operation was to consist of landings on the northwestern coast of Saaremaa, with follow-on objectives to capture the coast-defense artillery positions that blocked German access into the Gulf of Riga and to seize Muhu before the Russians could reinforce the troops there. Kassar Wiek is the shallow western portion of Moon Sound, between the islands of Saarema, Muhu, and Hiiumaa, that lies north of the Gulf of Riga. Soela Strait separates Saaremaa and Hiiuma. The Germans initiated their attack with landings on the northwestern coast of Saaremaa during the morning of 12 October.
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