VIRSAITIS

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aukepalmhof
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VIRSAITIS

Post by aukepalmhof » Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:57 pm

Built as a minesweeper the yard of A.G. Neptun, Rostock, Germany for the German Navy.
1916 Keel laid down.
25 July 1917 launched as the M 68.
Displacement 500 ton standard, 630 ton full load, dim. 59.3 x 7.30 x 2.15m. (draught), length bpp 56.0m.
Powered by two 3-cyl.triple expansion steam engines, 1,850 hp, twin shafts, speed 16 knots.
Bunker capacity 120 ton coal. Range by a speed of 10 knots, 1,000 mile.
Armament: 2 – 8.8cm guns, 30 mines
06 October 1917 commissioned.

29 October 1917 she hit a mine and sunk at Dünamund (Daugavgriva) in the Gulf of Riga in position 57 04 N 24 01E.
1918 Was she raised by the Germans and towed to Riga for repairs. She was abandoned by the Germans.
01 January 1919 included in the fleet list of Soviet Latvia as SARKANA LATVIJA (Red Latvia)
Used as a dispatch vessel.
May 1919 captured by the Germans in Riga.
July 1919 renamed as VIRSAITIS.
10 November 1921 commissioned in the Latvia Navy as a minesweeper and escort vessel. She was the first vessel in the Latvian Navy.
1939 Refitted with 2 – 84/55 Skoda M27 and 2 – 47/44 Skoda guns, 4 MG. 40 mines, sweeps.
19 August 1940 included in the Soviet Baltic Fleet as minesweeper.
17 October 1940 renamed in T-297.
25 July 1941 reclassified as a guard ship and renamed again in VIRSAITIS.

02 December 1941she participated in the last evacuation convoy sailing from Hanko, Finland, the convoy with on board around 9000 Soviet troops and passengers left at 06.00 in the evening.
Is a full moon night and when the convoy reaches Porkkala peninsula after midnight, when passing the Finnish coastal forces at Mäkiluoto commences firing on the convoy.
Not much damage was sustained from the shelling on the convoy and the ships escaped mostly unharmed, only the JOSIF STALIN the largest ship in the convoy was hit and was drifting, two days later she was drifting on the Estonian coast and the crew and troops were captured by the Germans

The convoy after escaping the shelling was now running in a minefield and after midnight of 03 December the VIRSAITIS was running on a mine and she starts sinking, 96 evacuees and 70 crew were saved by the UDARNIK. The VIRSAITIS sank at 04.06 taken with her 130 people, 20 men were saved from the water under which the captain of the VIRSAITIS, captain Gaguan.

Latvia 2011 100lvl sg?, scott?, she is the vessel on the right topside of the stamp.

http://www.german-navy.de/hochseeflotte ... ships.html
http://diversofthedark.com/wrecks/
http://www.navypedia.org/ships/russia/r ... saytis.htm
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