Vanzetti (steamboat)

Vanzetti is one of the first steamboats created in the Soviet Union. Built in Leningrad at the Baltic Shipyard in 1928 .

History

The “Vanzetti” steamboat under the command of Captain V. M. Veronda at the end of December 1942 went on a voyage from the port of Arkhangelsk to Iceland . But already on January 5, 1943 at 14:30 the ship was attacked by a German submarine, presumably U-553 . The boat fired three torpedoes at the Vanzetti in one gulp, one of which turned out to be malfunctioning and, not keeping the set depth, went towards the target on the sea surface . The steamboat made maneuvers of dodging torpedoes. After that, “Vanzetti” opened fire from a machine gun on a boat. An alarm and an urgent dive were announced. .

In the flight report, Captain V.M. Verond indicated: the first shell gave a flight and a large splash of water . The second shell hit the bottom of the cabin, and did not give a splash of water. The gap was with lots of fire and a sharp metallic sound . The third shell hit the submarine’s hull under the cannon and also gave a gap with a lot of flame. The fourth unitary cartridge misfired, the lock was opened and the shell thrown overboard . During the manipulation of the fourth shell, the submarine sank under water . The last three shells were fired at her dive site. . The last three shells were fired at her dive site. . The U-553 boat was damaged, plunged into the sea and was considered missing. .

The version with the sinking of the Vanzetti of a submarine is disputed by some researchers, believing that the U-553 was sunk later or the steamer hit another submarine - U-354 .

On January 18, 1943, the Vanzetti safely entered the port of Akureyri, and on January 24 it anchored in the roads in the port of Reykjavik . The Soviet attache and representatives of the British naval forces, who arrived aboard, congratulated Captain W. Verond and the whole crew on the victory. As a sign of maritime prowess, a strip of red paint appeared on the barrel of the stern gun, meaning that a submarine was sunk from this gun.

Only on January 18, 1943, the Vanzetti safely arrived at the port of Akureyri, then followed to New York , where major repairs were carried out, and from there with full load through the Panama Canal to Vladivostok .

1975 was the last year of the service of this ship as part of the NSR. He was solemnly carried out on the last flight. Relics from the ship remained in the Kholmsk Museum and the FESCO Museum of Vladivostok, Sakhalin television made a documentary about the ship and its captain.

Vanzetti (steamboat)

History

Sources

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