Krim-class cargo liner

Last updated
Class overview
Operators Black Sea State Shipping Company
SubclassesAbkhazia
In service1928–1966
Completed6
Lost4
Scrapped2
General characteristics as per MS Krim
Type Ocean liner
Tonnage
Length115.9 m (380 ft 2 in)
Beam15.6 m (51 ft 1 in)
Draught5.8 m (19 ft)
Depth7.7 m (25.3 ft)
Decks2
Installed power1,163 nhp
Propulsion2 screw propellers; 2 diesel engines
Speed13 or 15 knots (24 or 28 km/h; 15 or 17 mph)
Capacity450 passengers

The Krim-class ocean liners consisted of six ships built during the late 1920s for service in the Black Sea. The first two ships were built in Germany, but the rest were built in the Soviet Union. Four ships were sunk during the Second World War, while the other two survived the war.

Contents

Background

In 1928 the Sovtorgflot (Soviet Commercial Fleet) ordered two ships from the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel, Germany and procured a license to build four more at the Baltic Works in Leningrad. The latter ships were virtually identical with their half-sisters, but differed slightly in some respects. The Krim-class ships were intended for service in the Black Sea with the Black Sea State Shipping Company.

Description

The German-built ships, MS Krim and MS Gruziya, had an overall length of 115.9 metres (380 ft 2 in), with a beam of 15.6 metres (51 ft 1 in) and a draught of 5.8 metres (19 ft). [1] They had two decks and a depth of hold of 7.7 metres (25.3 ft). The ships were assessed at 4,867  gross register tons  (GRT), 2,683  net register tons  (NRT), [2] and 1,520 tons deadweight (DWT). [1] Krim and Gruziya had a pair of six-cylinder, two-stroke diesel engines, each driving a screw propeller, and the engines were rated at a total of 1,163 nominal horsepower. [2] [3] Sources differ about their maximum speed, quoting speeds of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) [1] or 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). [4] The ship had a designed capacity of 450 passengers. [4]

Ships

Construction and service data
NameBuilder [1] Construction [4] Fate
MS Abkhazia Baltic Works, Leningrad 1928Sunk by German aircraft, 10 June 1942 [5]
MS Adzharistan Sunk by German aircraft, 23 July 1941
MS Armenia Sunk by a German torpedo bomber, 7 November 1941
MS Gruziya Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel, GermanySunk by German aircraft, 13 June 1942 [5]
MS Krim Converted into a training ship, 1966 [4]
MS Ukraina Baltic Works, LeningradSunk by German aircraft, 2 July 1942 [6]

Service

After completion, they were assigned to the Black Sea State Shipping Company with their port of registry at Odessa. [2] [1]

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MS Krim was the lead ship of her class of six cargo liners built for the Soviet Union in the late 1920s. The ship was the sole ship of her class to survive the Second World War. She was converted into a training ship in 1966.

MS Abkhazia was one of six Soviet Krim-class cargo liners during the late 1920s built for the Black Sea State Shipping Company. During the Second World War, she participated in the Siege of Odessa in 1941 and the Siege of Sevastopol in 1942. She was sunk by German aircraft in the port in June.

MS Adzharistan was one of six Soviet Krim-class cargo liners built for the Black Sea State Shipping Company during the late 1920s. The first pair were built in Weimar Germany, but the other four, including Adzharistan, were built in the Soviet Union and varied slightly from the German-built ships. A month after the invasion of the Soviet Union by the Axis powers in June 1941, she was destroyed by German aircraft.

MS Ukraina was one of six Soviet Krim-class ocean liners during the late 1920s built for the Black Sea State Shipping Company. During the Second World War, she participated in the Siege of Odessa in 1941 and the Siege of Sevastopol in 1942. She was sunk by German aircraft in July.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Jordan, p. 376
  2. 1 2 3 Lloyd's Register of Shipping (PDF). Vol. II: Steamers and Motorships of 300 Tons Gross and over (1937–1938 ed.). London: Lloyd's of London. 1937. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  3. Lloyd's Register of Shipping (PDF). Vol. II: Steamers and Motorships of 300 Tons Gross and over (1937–1938 ed.). London: Lloyd's of London. 1937. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Wilson, p. 20
  5. 1 2 Jordan, p. 573
  6. Jordan, p. 574

Bibliography