Russian ship Selafail (1840)
History | |
---|---|
Russian Empire | |
Name | Selafail |
Builder | V. Apostoli, Nikolaev |
Laid down | 28 August 1838 |
Launched | 10 July 1840 |
Fate | Scuttled, 11 September 1854 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Sultan Makhmud-class ship of the line |
Displacement | 3,790 metric tons (3,730 long tons; 4,180 short tons) |
Length | 196 ft (60 m) |
Beam | 53 ft 6 in (16.31 m) |
Draft | 26 ft 7 in (8.10 m) |
Armament |
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Selafail was a Sultan Makhmud-class ship of the line built for the Imperial Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet in the late 1830s and early 1840s. The ship had a relatively uneventful career, operating with the Black Sea Fleet in the early 1840s before being laid up in 1845; apart from brief periods of activity in 1847 and 1849, she remained out of service until 1852. After the outbreak of the Crimean War in October 1853, she was slated to join a squadron commanded by Pavel Nakhimov, but storm damage prevented her from taking part in the Battle of Sinop. The ship was eventually scuttled as a blockship in 1854 during the Siege of Sevastopol.
Design
The eight
Selafail was 197 feet 4 inches (60.15 m) long, with a
The ship carried a battery of twenty-six 36-pounder
Service history
Selafail was
The Russian attack on Sinop was perceived in Britain and France as an attack on Ottoman territory, and thus provided the pro-war factions of their governments justification to intervene in the Crimean War. France and Britain issued an ultimatum to Russia to withdraw its forces from Rumelia, the Ottoman territories in the Balkans, which the Russians initially ignored, prompting Anglo-French declarations of war in March 1854.[4][5] The Russians were surprised by the intervention and withdrew the fleet to Sevastopol, precluding any possibility of action with the British and French fleet that entered the Black Sea. Selafail was stationed in the roadstead outside Sevastopol in 1854 and was scuttled there on 11 September 1854 as a blockship to prevent the Anglo-French fleet from entering the port during the Siege of Sevastopol.[2][6]
Notes
References
- Badem, Candan (2010). The Ottoman Crimean War: (1853–1856). Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-18205-9.
- Bartlett, Christopher John (1993). Defence and Diplomacy: Britain and the Great Powers, 1815–1914. Manchester UP. ISBN 978-0-7190-3520-3.
- Lambert, Andrew (2011). The Crimean War: British Grand Strategy Against Russia, 1853–56. Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-4094-1011-9.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (2001). Naval Warfare, 1815–1914. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-21478-0.
- Tredrea, John; Sozaev, Eduard (2010). Russian Warships in the Age of Sail 1696–1860: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-058-1.