Krassin (1916 icebreaker)
Icebreaker Svyatogor (renamed Krassin) as completed in 1917
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History | |
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Russia | |
Name | Svyatogor then Krassin or Krasin |
Namesake | Svyatogor then Leonid Krasin |
Owner | Imperial Russian Navy, then Soviet Navy |
Builder | Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle upon Tyne |
Yard number | 904 |
Launched | 3 August 1916 |
Completed | February 1917 |
Status | Museum ship in Saint Petersburg |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Icebreaker |
Tonnage | |
Length | 99,80 m |
Beam | 21,65 m |
Draft | 7,5 m |
Armament | (in World War II) four 76mm guns, seven 20mm AA guns, 10 large caliber machine guns |
Notes | [1] |
The first icebreaker Krassin, or Krasin,[2][3] (Russian: Красин) was built for the Imperial Russian Navy as Svyatogor. She had a long, distinguished career in rescue operations, as well as a pathfinder and explorer of the Northern Sea Route. She has been fully restored to operating condition and is now a museum ship in Saint Petersburg.
History
The icebreaker was built by Armstrong Whitworth in Newcastle upon Tyne under the supervision of Yevgeny Zamyatin.[4] The vessel was launched as the Svyatogor on 3 August 1916 and completed in February 1917.[4] Up to the beginning of the 1950s she remained the most powerful icebreaker in the world.[5]
During the
Svyatogor was returned to the USSR under the Krasin trade agreement in 1921.[4] In 1927 she was renamed by the Soviet government to honor a recently deceased early Bolshevik leader and Soviet diplomat Leonid Krasin.
Perhaps the most famous duty the Krassin performed was rescuing General
In 1933 Krassin became the first vessel to reach the inaccessible northern shores of Novaya Zemlya in the history of navigation. In 1938, the Krassin rescued the icebreaker Lenin and her convoy, trapped in ice at the end of the previous summer.[6]
During
She continued her journey through the Panama Canal to Great Britain, where she was armed with surface and anti-aircraft guns and proceeded to Reykjavik, Iceland to join convoy PQ-15. She escorted the convoy through the North and Barents Seas, around the Kola Peninsula and into Murmansk.[7] In 1942 the Krassin and Lenin were spotted at the Mona Islands in the Kara Sea by a Kriegsmarine plane during Operation Wunderland. The heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer rushed to find them, but providential bad weather, fog and ice conditions saved the icebreakers from destruction.[citation needed]
Between August 1953 to June 1960, under the East German war reparations program, Krassin was extensively reconstructed at
Today
After the war, the historic icebreaker took an active part in research expeditions in the Polar Ocean and led Soviet cargo convoys through the polar region. Rather than being destroyed (like the Icebreaker Yermak) to make way for more modern ships, the Krassin was preserved and restored. The vessel is now a museum ship in Saint Petersburg, the only icebreaker maritime museum commemorating the Arctic convoys.[9] She has been fully restored to operating condition[10] and there are plans to sail her to various European ports.
An island in the Nordenskiöld Archipelago was named after this icebreaker. Postage stamps and a coin have been issued in her honor.
See also
References
- ^ "Krasin: Ships particulars and potted history". SCS Shipping. Archived from the original on 2008-05-08. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ "Official museum website". Ледокол Красин (in Russian and English). Russian Federation, Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
Uses both spellings in English
- ^ a b c d "Krassin" (PDF). US Coastguard. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
- ^ Slavonic and East European Review)
- ^ "The Icebreaker Krasin". krasin.org. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- . Retrieved 2008-07-26.
- ^ "Icebreaker Krasin". Historic Naval Ships Association. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ "Historical notes about Krassin". Museum "Ice-breaker Krasin". Archived from the original on 15 February 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2008.
- ^ "Icebreaker Krasin". saint-petersburg.com. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ "The Icebreaker "Krasin" Museum".
External links
- "Legendary "Krasin" departures on scrap metal". Rus News Journal. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
- «Sankt-peterburgskie vedomosti» 13.09.91 г. «„Krasin“ is sinking down» [1]
- «Kommersant» Num. 035 от 02-09-91 The legendary Krasin is floating to metal [2]
- The history of the icebreaker «Krasin» [3]
- Federal investigation bearou [4]