Russian submarine Krab (1912)
Krab, c. 1913
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Russian Empire | |
| Name | Krab |
| Ordered | 1908 |
| Builder | Naval yard in Nikolayev, Ukraine |
| Laid down | 1909 |
| Launched | 19 August 1912 |
| Commissioned | 25 June 1915 |
| In service | 1915 - 1917 |
| Fate | Scuttled, 26 April 1919, raised 7 October 1935 and scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minelaying submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 52.73 m (173 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 4.33 m (14 ft 2 in) |
| Draft | 3.96 m (13 ft 0 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | |
| Test depth | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Complement | 53 |
| Armament |
|
Krab (Russian: Краб, lit. 'Crab') was a submarine minelayer built for the Imperial Russian Navy during the 1910s. Completed in 1915, she served with the Black Sea Fleet during the First World War.
Design and description
Krab was designed by Mikhail Petrovich Nalyotov as the world's first submarine minelayer in 1907, although due to construction delays the German UC submarines entered service earlier. The single-hulled boat displaced 512 metric tons (504 long tons) surfaced and 722 t (711 long tons) submerged. She had an overall length of 52.73 meters (173 ft), a beam of 4.33 meters (14 ft 2 in), and a draft of 3.96 meters (13 ft). Krab had a diving depth of 50 m (160 ft). Her crew numbered 53 officers and crewmen.[1][2][3][4]
For surface running, Krab was powered by four gasoline engines, one pair per propeller shaft. The engines produced a total of 1,200 brake horsepower (1,217 PS; 895 kW), enough to give her a speed of 11.8 knots (21.9 km/h; 13.6 mph). When submerged each shaft was driven by a 330-brake-horsepower (335 PS; 246 kW) electric motor for 7.1 knots (13.1 km/h; 8.2 mph). The boat had a surface endurance of 1,700 nautical miles (3,100 km; 2,000 mi) at 8.6 knots (15.9 km/h; 9.9 mph) and 82 nmi (152 km; 94 mi) at 4.13 knots (7.65 km/h; 4.75 mph) submerged.[3]
Krab was armed with a total of four 450-millimeter (17.7 in) torpedoes. Two of these were internal bow tubes and the others were in external rotating Drzewiecki drop collars, one on each broadside. She carried 60 PL-100 mines in two horizontal tunnels above the pressure hull. They were laid through the stern using an electrically powered chain conveyor. The boat was fitted with a 75 mm (3 in) deck gun and two 7.62 mm (0.300 in) machine guns in 1916.[3][1]
Service
Krab was ordered in October 1908 and laid down in late 1909 at the Naval yard in Nikolayev (now Mykolaiv, Ukraine). She was launched on 19 August 1912 and completed on 25 June 1915. The boat was assigned to the Black Sea Fleet. She laid several minefields which accounted for the sinking of the Turkish gunboat Isa Reis and the Bulgarian torpedo boat Shumni as well as several merchant ships. Krab may have laid the minefield that damaged the Ottoman light cruiser Midilli on 18 July 1915. Her crew joined the Ukrainian Navy in April 1918, but was captured by the Germans on 1 May who then transferred her to the British intervention force on 24 November. They scuttled the boat near Sevastopol on 26 April 1919 to prevent her capture by the Bolsheviks. The wreck was raised on 7 October 1935 and scrapped.[1][3][2]
Citations
References
- Apalkov, Yu. V. (1996). Боевые корабли русского флота: 8.1914-10.1917г [Combat Ships of the Russian Fleet: 8.1914-10.1917] (in Russian). Saint Petersburg, Russia: ИНТЕК. ISBN 5-7559-0018-3.
- Breyer, Siegfried (1992). Soviet Warship Development: Volume 1: 1917–1937. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-604-3.
- Budzbon, Przemysław (1985). "Russia". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Polmar, Norman & Noot, Jurrien (1991). Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718–1990. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-570-1.