“Rafail” (“Archangel Rafail” [3] ) is the 36-gun frigate of the Russian Black Sea Fleet , notorious for surrendering without a fight to the Turkish squadron during the war of 1828-1829 . The frigate's commanders were F.A. Yuryev ( 1828 ) and S.M. Stroynikov ( 1829 ).
| Raphael | |
|---|---|
| Service | |
 | |
| Class and type of vessel | Rank 5 ship |
| Type of sailing weapon | Frigate |
| Organization | Black Sea Fleet |
| Manufacturer | Sevastopol Admiralty , Sevastopol [1] |
| Ship master | I. Ya. Osminin |
| Construction started | April 20, 1825 [1] |
| Launched | May 8, 1828 |
| Withdrawn from the fleet | May 11, 1829 surrendered to the Turks, November 18, 1853 destroyed in battle |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement | 1200 t |
| Upper Deck Length | 41.8 m [2] |
| Midship Width | 11.8 m |
| Height | 4.0 m (board height) |
| Engines | sail |
| Crew | more than 200 sailors and officers |
| Armament | |
| Total number of guns | 36/44 (8 × 36 fnl., 26 × x24 fnl., 10 × 8 fnl.) [2] |
Content
Frigate History
The frigate "Raphael" was laid in the Sevastopol Admiralty on April 20, 1825 and three years later, on May 8, 1828, it was launched and included in the Black Sea Fleet .
In May 1828, as part of the squadron of Vice Admiral F.F. Messer , Rafail left Sevastopol to Cape Kaliakra to cover ships delivering supplies for the army to the ports of Rumelia.
After cruising in the Kovarna- Varna region on July 26, he arrived at the Varna raid, where at that time there was a squadron of Admiral A.S. Greig . From July 27 to 29, he participated in the bombing of the fortress, and from August 6 to September 12, as part of the detachment of captain 1st rank ND Kritsky, went on a cruise to the Bosphorus Strait. On August 17, the detachment approached the Inada fortress and, firing on Turkish batteries, landed a landing force that took the fortress.
On October 5, "Raphael" left the surrendered Varna in order to deliver the captured Yusuf Pasha with his retinue to Odessa. After that, on November 11, as part of Rear Admiral M.N. Kumani ’s detachment, Rafail sailed from Sevastopol to Varna-Bosphorus. On February 11, 1829, the ships of the detachment, taking the troops aboard, left Varna, on February 15 they approached the Sizopol fortress, fired at the coastal fortifications and landed the troops, which fired at the fortress. On February 21, “Raphael” left for Varna in order to deliver the keys to Sisopol, trophy banners and prisoners there. On March 11, Kumani detachment began shelling the Ankhialo fortress, but the rising wind forced them to withdraw to the sea. On March 13, Rafail went to Sevastopol for repairs and on April 24 returned to the squadron, which at that time was cruising off the Bosphorus Strait.
On May 1, the “Raphael”, at the head of the detachment, went to the port of Agatopol to take it, but because of the strong wind it could not land the landing. May 3, as part of a squadron, arrived in Sisopol, from where he left on May 10 and cruised off the Anatolian coast to the Sinop - Batum area .
On May 11, Rafail met with the Turkish squadron that left the Bosphorus Strait, which consisted of fifteen ships: six battleships , two frigates, five corvettes and two brigs . “Raphael” tried to hide from the superior enemy, but due to low winds he did not succeed and he was surrounded. On the council, the officers decided to fight “to the last drop of blood”, as required by the Maritime Charter of 1720, but when conversations with the sailors began, the negotiating officer reported that the team did not want to die and asked to surrender the ship [3] . As a result, captain of the 2nd rank Semyon Mikhailovich Stroinikov ordered to lower the flag and surrender the ship to the Turks.
Emperor Nicholas I, in his Highest Decree of June 4, 1829, ordered that the frigate be returned to burn it:
Hoping for the help of the Almighty, I am in the hope that the undaunted Black Sea Fleet, burning with the desire to wash away the ingloriousness of the frigate "Raphael", will not leave it in the hands of the enemy. But when he will be returned to our power, then revered this frigate is no longer worthy to wear the Flag of Russia and serve along with the other vessels of our fleet, I command you to put it on fire.
The “Raphael” was renamed by the Turks “Fazli Allah” (“Given by God”) and included in the Turkish fleet (according to other sources, “Raphael” was called “Nimetullah”, and the Turkish frigate “Fazli Allah” participated in the capture of the Russian ship ) [4] . By the middle of the 19th century, the frigate was withdrawn from the Turkish fleet and the new Fazli Allah frigate was destroyed in the Sinop battle on November 18, 1853, by the squadron of Vice Admiral P. S. Nakhimov : the ship Empress Maria took the spring against the frigate and defeated blowing up the remains [5] to its foundation, about which Nakhimov reported [6] to Nikolai:
The will of Your Imperial Majesty is fulfilled - the frigate "Raphael" does not exist.
The fate of the crew
After the conclusion of the peace treaty, the crew, which had previously been held captive, was returned to Russia, where a trial was held over the ship’s crew, presided by Admiral Greig . According to the court verdict, officers were sentenced to death. One of the officers - captain-lieutenant Kiselev - died on his return from captivity in Sisopol , not having reached the trial [5] . Emperor Nicholas I, having received the decision of the military court, on July 6, 1830 ordered: “Forgive. Lieutenant Brown, Midshipman Verdeman, doctor Dorogonevsky, skipper assistant Tsygankov and all lower ranks. Stroinikov, depriving the ranks, orders and noble dignity, to be exiled to Bobruisk to the arresting companies; to demote other officers to rank and file before service. ” On April 11, 1834, the fifty-four-year-old Stroynikov was released from prison and recorded as a sailor in the Black Sea Fleet (according to other sources, to the White Sea ). The further fate is unknown.
In Culture
The story of the delivery of the frigate was reflected in the novels by Vladislav Krapivin “ Bronze Boy ” and “Brig Artemis”. Heroes of the works cast doubt on the generally accepted assessment of the event and suggest in the course of the development of the plot that the cause of the surrender of the frigate was not the cowardice of Captain Stroinikov. The argument is the fact that Stroynikov had not previously shown himself to be a coward, he was a gentleman of several orders, undoubtedly knew the provisions of the Maritime Charter regarding the delivery of a warship to the enemy, and had an idea of what awaits him as a captain in case of such a change. [7] . The historian and writer [8] V. V. Shigin in his book “The Unknown War of Emperor Nicholas I” expresses his opinion on the assumptions made by the heroes of Krapivin: “ Only a person who is very far from military service can reason as Krapivin argues. and even more so from the navy. A warship is not a sanitary wagon, and people go into battle, so as not to figure it out, it is more profitable for them to surrender immediately or a little later, but in order to win or die ” [9] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Chernyshev A. A. Russian Sailing Fleet. Directory. - M .: Military Publishing, 1997. - T. 1. - S. 168. - 312 p. - (Ships and ships of the Russian fleet). - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-01788-3 .
- ↑ 1 2 The frigate "Raphael" . Date of treatment December 3, 2009. Archived June 7, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Russian Bulletin: 175 years of achievement. The story of an unprecedented battle . Date of treatment June 22, 2009. Archived June 7, 2012.
- ↑ Shame on the Russian fleet - the frigate "Raphael" . Date of treatment January 12, 2009. Archived June 7, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Necropolis: Chapter III Combat Operations (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment June 22, 2009. Archived June 7, 2012.
- ↑ Military History Forum . Date of treatment June 22, 2009. Archived June 7, 2012.
- ↑ Krapivin V.P. Bronze boy . - M .: Centerpolygraph, 2002. - ISBN 5-227-01631-3 .
- ↑ Vladimir Shigin . echo.msk.ru. Date of treatment November 27, 2016.
- ↑ Shigin V. The Unknown War of Emperor Nicholas I. - Moscow: Veche, 2015. - P. 384. - ISBN 978-5-4444-0706-6 .
Links
- Artyom Ermakov. To ignominy, and to whom immortality! // Heir : journal. - No. 16 .