"Rus" is a seaworthy icebreaking rescue tug that took part in the Tsushima campaign and battle .
Content
Construction
- Displacement 610 tons
- Dimensions: 51.83 xx 9.17 x 4.75 × 4.25 m.
- Two three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines with a capacity of 1,400 and. l with.
- Two screws
- 13 knots speed
History
The Roland tugboat was laid at the German shipyard Schömer & Jensen on February 10, 1903 and launched on April 9, 1903. From April 21, 1903, it was operated by the Hamburg-based company Vereinigte Bugsir- & Frachtschiffahrts Ges. AG. During the first voyage, the three-mast freighter Dunsyre (2,140 tons) was towed from Hamburg to Cardiff and the four-mast barque Celticburn (2500 tons) from Cardiff to Hamburg .
June 8, 1904 sold to the Hamburg company Gläfcke & Hennings. On October 3, 1904 it was acquired by the Northern Shipping Company, renamed Rus and assigned to the port of Libava .
In September 1904, taking the ship to Libau, part of the German team (with the exception of 10 people) resigned. To replace them were recruited 17 sailors of the merchant fleet, natives of the Baltic provinces, who spoke German. Also in the crew included four sailors of the Russian military fleet [1] . The ship had two captains: Russian citizen Alexander Pasvik and German citizen Hugo Matts.
The tugboat with a freelance crew was rented by the Naval Department for 16 thousand rubles a month and under the command of the captain of the 1st category V. Pernitsa was included in the 2nd Pacific Squadron . During the Tsushima campaign served as the ship's messenger.
On May 14, 1905, following in the convoy of transports, the tug came under fire from the enemy and received two underwater holes, resulting in the stern compartment being flooded. The vessel has lost control. When trying to get closer to the column of the battleships Rus, it was rammed by the Anadyr transport, the stem of which pierced the coal pits near the left boiler. The dimensions of the holes did not allow her to be sealed, and the vessel sank [2] . By order of the captain, the team (with the exception of two sailors [3] ) moved into the only surviving metal boat, with 8 people who did not fit there, holding onto the logs that the boat was dragging in tow. Subsequently, the sailors took on board the tug Svir , which delivered them to Shanghai .
Notes
- ↑ Minyor Fyodor Magashev and Vlas Shishkin, stoker Alexander Rooz and signalman Nikolai Luzin.
- ↑ In the report of the commander of “Anadyr” this incident is described differently: “The steamer Rus, moving away from these shots, began to pass under the nose of the transport Anadyr, and despite the fact that the car of the latter had been stalled and that during the passage of the steamer Rus “A full back up was given, this steamer piled on the stem of the transport and spoiled the free beam. There were no other damages in the car, the hull and the screws, as reported by voice from the steamer. On the bridge of the steamer in the collision, neither the commander nor the assistant could be seen, and some lower rank was in charge of the vehicles. The freelance crew of the steamer Rus cut off the hoist and began to jump into the water and the boat. The ends were thrown from the side of the transport and one man managed to be pulled out, another let out the seized end and sailed farther; the others were picked up by a steamer boat. Seeing that the steamer "Rus" was intact, he made a move, trying not to separate from the squadron and keeping to the left of the battleships on a course parallel to them. The crew that remained on the steamer “Rus” tried to take people from the boat and gave them tips several times, as a result of which the ship was delayed, was subjected to fire by Japanese cruisers and sank ”.
- ↑ According to the captain’s testimony, Peter Lyuberg jumped aboard the Anadyr in a collision, and Johann Steinberg picked up the Bodry destroyer.
Literature
- Konev, Gunter. On “Rus” to Tsushima // News Today, May 5, 2015