Exotic tours / 12.12.2023

The Commune is the oldest warship in the world. The world's oldest surviving sailing ship. America-class universal landing ships

July 16th, 2012 , 09:03 am

How many years do ships last? The exact answer to this question most likely will not be found in textbooks on maritime affairs.
Then you can try to find the oldest operating ship in the fleet.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is based in Sevastopol, includes the oldest vessel of the Russian Navy - the rescue catamaran ship "Kommuna", which has been in service for 99 years.

2. The rescue catamaran ship "Kommuna" is the oldest ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. November 12, 2012 will mark the 100th anniversary of the ship's keel. The design of the first specialized double-hull submarine rescue vessel in Russian history was developed back in 1911 by order of the Naval General Staff. The German rescue catamaran "Vulcan" was used as a prototype. The original name of the court was "Volkhov", and the name "Commune" was received in 1922.

3. "Commune" has a displacement of 3100 tons, its length is 81 m, width - 13.2 m, draft - 3.7 m.
The full speed is 8.5 knots, and the cruising range is 4000 miles.
There are no weapons. Specialist. equipment: ship lifting equipment - left hull for 80 tons, right hull for 30 tons. Crew: 23 people.
It is worth noting that the ship’s hull is made of Putilov steel and is, of course, not in perfect, but in quite working condition. The ship is constantly undergoing routine repairs, because, of course, even by human standards, it is no longer even at pre-retirement age, but at deep retirement age.

4. Let's go up the ramp to the "Commune" to get to know the veteran better.

5. A plaque with a brief history of the ship..

6. There is another sign in the wardroom. It was minted in the year the ship was launched - in 1915.
It is interesting that (and this is noticeable from the plaque) the coat of arms of the Putilov plant was changed much later.

7. "Commune" is a catamaran-type vessel, with a movable platform with a descent module moving between its sides.
It is driven by four cable drives located in pairs on the sides of the vessel in the front and rear parts.

8. View of the platform from the upper truss

9. Huge drums with cables allow the descent vehicle to be immersed to a depth of up to 1 kilometer

10. Drive cables for the platform of the descent underwater vehicle

11. The main object of the "Commune" is a working remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle RTNPA. Allows you to work at depths of up to 1 km (limited by the length of the cable). Designed for searching and detecting underwater objects using sonars, lifting loads up to 150 kg, cutting cables, etc.

12. RTNPA is equipped with 4 video cameras, as well as a pair of manipulators. Replaceable manipulators are designed for various purposes - capturing an object, installing a radio beacon, grabbing a cable, biting or cutting.
The device is equipped with 10 engines, allowing for exceptional maneuverability of the device.

13. A manipulator with a cutting disc, allowing cutting of metal and cables at depths of up to 1 km

14. Yellow capsules contain all electronic systems. When diving, all the air is forcibly pumped out of there. This ensures complete sealing of the capsules due to compression by water pressure

15. Control bridge of the descent underwater vehicle. Equipment and equipment produced in Norway

18. The ship's navigation bridge.

19. The steering wheel and some elements have been preserved since the date the ship was launched - since 1915

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22. The ship "Kommuna" is based in Streletskaya Bay of Sevastopol on leased berths of the Ukrainian Navy.
Here the warships of Russia and Ukraine stand side by side

23. Spotlight on the upper bridge

24. The topmost cabin is located at an altitude of more than 20 meters above sea level

25. Spare screws

26. Anchor chain length indicators

27. The chain goes into the sea...

28. Engine room. Two six-cylinder diesel engines from the Riga plant "Felzer" with a power of 600 hp each were initially installed as the main engines on the "Commune". (310 rpm). Subsequently, they were replaced by diesel engines with similar characteristics from the Kolomensky Plant.

29. Emergency sound system in case of emergency

30.

31. There is also a woman here...

32. Galley sign

33. The team will have lunch soon

34. Piano in the officer's wardroom. It was installed during the construction of the ship. At present it is not possible to remove it due to the difference in dimensions and doorways

35. Heading indicator

36. In some places on the “Commune” there are still pre-revolutionary signs

37. Ammeters

38. Storm ladder

39. On Russian Fleet Day, which will be celebrated on July 29, 2012, the ship will perform the task of escorting Neptune. In this regard, the team is painting lifeboats for the parade in honor of the holiday

40. The rescue vessel was first used for its intended purpose in the summer of 1917, when the AG-15 submarine sank with its hatch open in the Åland skerries during a training dive. Despite the fact that the rescue work was hampered by a strong storm, on June 16 (29) at 00:50 the boat was raised by the Volkhov forces. The crew of the “rescuer” repaired the boat within a month, and it was put back into operation. On September 24 (October 7), 1917, the rescue ship "Volkhov" successfully raised the submarine "Unicorn", which sank during a navigation accident, from a depth of 13.5 meters.

41. From May 15 to September 13, 1928, “Commune” carried out work to raise the English submarine L-55, sunk on June 4, 1919 in the Koporskaya Bay of the Gulf of Finland. The boat was raised to the surface from a depth of 62 meters using a stepwise method on July 21, 1928. And again everyday work: raising the sunken marine border guard boat and tugboat KP-7, ensuring testing of new submarines and repairing the ships of the Baltic Fleet. "Commune" raised from the depths the submarines "Bolshevik", M-90, a torpedo boat and an aircraft that crashed...

42. Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the rescue ship "Commune" is based in Leningrad. Since March 1942, 32 Kommuna divers have been working on the Ladoga Road of Life. Part of the crew participated in landing operations on the Neva (and this was with a 40% shortage). During this time, the sailors of the "Commune" raised four KV tanks, two tractors and 31 cars from the bottom. "Kommunartsy" trained 159 light divers for the fleet, repaired six M-type submarines. Despite the difficult situation at the front, rescuers raised the sunken ones from the water: submarine Shch-411, tug "Austra", schooners "Trud", "Vodoley-2", The floating base of the OVR "TsO "Pravda", two "pike" and several "small hunters" were docked...

43. In 1944, "Commune" raised 14 sunken objects with a total displacement of 11,767 tons, and provided assistance to 34 emergency ships and vessels. The entire crew of the ship was awarded medals "For the Defense of Leningrad".
Only in 1954 was the veteran ship able to undergo a major overhaul, during which the main diesel engines were replaced with Dutch-made engines. At the end of November 1956, the catamaran again took up combat duty: the M-200 submarine, rammed by a destroyer, was lifted from a depth of 45 meters. In October 1957, the submarine M-256 was raised from a depth of 73 meters, and in August 1959, a torpedo boat that sank at a depth of 22 meters was raised. In total, during its service, the Commune provided assistance to more than a hundred ships and submarines.

44. In 1967, the veteran ship successfully made an inter-base transition from the Baltic to the Black Sea, arriving safely in Sevastopol, circumnavigating Europe. In Sevastopol, at the Sevmorzavod, the Kommuna was converted into a carrier vessel for deep-sea vehicles. The re-equipment project was completed by the end of 1969 at the Sevastopol Central Design Bureau "Chernomorets". By the time work at the SMZ was completed (April 27, 1973), the cost of work to re-equip the vessel amounted to about 11 million rubles

45. At the moment, the rescue ship "Komunna" has undergone dock repairs, and, despite its age, is actively participating in various activities of the fleet's emergency rescue service with access to the sea.

This report was prepared with the assistance of the command of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation

My previous photo reports and photo stories:

The construction contract was signed on January 16, 1625, and work on building the ship began in the spring of 1626. For this purpose, an entire oak forest was cut down: about 16 hectares or a little more than a thousand trees. Construction of the future flagship was carried out at the Blasienholmen shipyard near Stockholm.

About 400 people took part in the creation of “Vasa”. These were the best carpenters, blacksmiths, joiners, woodcarvers, sailmakers and many others. The ship was supposed to be a real work of art. The king himself took part in all this action, he also approved the dimensions of the future ship and its armament. The construction of the Vasa was followed not only by the residents of Sweden, but also by neighboring countries. At that time, the Vasa was truly a large ship. Its length was 65 meters, width - 12 meters.

In 1627, the Vasa shipbuilder Henrik Hybertsson died and his work was continued by Hein Jacobsson. For almost the entire 1628, the best craftsmen were busy finishing the sailboat, which was supposed to amaze the enemy not only with its military might, but also with its artistic beauty. In the fall of 1628, the flagship Vasa was launched.

The ship was decorated with numerous carved figures of ancient gods and mythical heroes, the bow figure was made in the form of a gilded four-meter lion with an open mouth, ready to jump.

On August 10, 1628, the ship Vasa set off on its first voyage to the naval base of Elvsnabben

Sefring Hansson was appointed captain of the ship. The day was warm and sunny, with a light southwest wind blowing. First, the ship was moved using an anchor, throwing it over and pulling the ship up. When the sailboat approached the exit from the bay, 4 sails were raised (there were 10 sails in total): the foresail, the foresail, the main topsail and the mizzen, which were immediately caught by a gust of wind. "Vasa" tilted to leeward, but managed to right itself. Then it went about another 1,300 meters, and a new gust of wind tilted the ship again. This time it was not possible to level the ship, water poured through the open gun hatches, the Vasa fell on board and sank in a matter of minutes with sails and flags raised.

It sank off the island of Bäckholmen at a depth of about 30 meters, so only the tops of the masts were visible from the water (the height of the Vasa grotto was about 50 meters). Fortunately, most of the sailors and passengers of the ship were rescued by sailors from the boats accompanying the ship.

The surviving captain of the Vasa, Sefring Hansson, was immediately handed over to the court. In addition to him, the shipyard owner and shipbuilder Hein Jacobsson, who supervised the completion of the work after Hybertsson's death, were put on trial. As a result of the investigation, the court found that the main cause of the disaster was the improper design of the vessel - the Vasa was too narrow and unstable. But since the dimensions of the ship were approved by the king himself, and all construction was carried out strictly according to his instructions, there was no one to blame, and the case was closed.

On August 25, 1956, the sunken ship was discovered! Work to prepare the sailboat for lifting was carried out until 1961

The most difficult task after raising the Vasa to the surface was how to preserve a tree that had lain on the seabed for three hundred years. A special boathouse was built around the sailboat, in which the Vasa’s hull was continuously irrigated for 17 years with a solution of polyethylene glycol, which replaced water. In addition to the hull itself, leather goods, ship papers and documents, a Bible, dishes, preserved barrels of gunpowder, and personal belongings of the crew were recovered from the bottom of the Baltic. Time has not been kind to the iron, but everything else was quite well preserved. Even six sails were preserved, which were never raised on the yards. These are the oldest sails in the world! Over 700 carved gilded sculptures that decorated the ship were removed from the ship.

Griffins, dolphins, mermaids, mythical heroes and gods - all of them are now exhibited in a specially built museum, along with the main attraction - the Vasa ship itself. The official opening of the Vasa Museum took place in 1990, 29 years after the ship was raised! This unique museum is located on the island of Djurgarden and is one of the most popular attractions in Stockholm, visited by several million people from all over the world every year.

Archaeologists found an ancient ship at the bottom of the Black Sea. Presumably, the ancient Greek ship was found at a depth of just over a mile. There is little oxygen here, so the ship is well preserved. The rudders, mast and benches for rowers survived.

Small fragments of the find have been sent to the University of Southampton for analysis. The research team plans to leave the vessel in the same place on the seabed off the coast of Bulgaria where it was discovered.

Over the course of three years, an international group of scientists studying changes in sea level during the prehistoric period in the Black Sea made more than six dozen finds. Archaeologists will show a two-hour film about their work at the British Museum.

Today in the Times

Remains of the world's oldest shipwreck discovered in the Black Sea

Time Traveling Odysseus Found

Ben WEBSTER.

The world's oldest intact shipwreck, complete with mast, rudders and benches for rowers, was found at the bottom of the Black Sea, where it lay for more than 2,400 years.

The 23-metre merchant ship was discovered lying on its side using a remote-controlled submarine. British scientists from the Black Sea Maritime Archaeological Project, who discovered the shipwreck, say its location - about 50 miles off the Bulgarian coast - showed how far from shore ancient Greek traders ventured.

It also showed the accuracy of the Siren Artist (the name given to an ancient Greek artist living in Attica who decorated but did not sign the so-called red and black vases. His real name is unknown, as is the date of his birth and death. - Note aprosh), who painted wine vessels: in the one now in the British Museum, Odysseus is tied to the mast of a surprisingly similar ship.

The rowers' benches lying on the wreckage are also similar to those on which the sailors of Odysseus sat, plugging their ears with wax so as not to hear the sweet-voiced sirens - demonic half-women, half-birds who lured them to the rocky shore of the island.

“No one could say how accurate the image on the vase with the sirens was and whether the artist painted what he imagined or what he saw"said John Adams, professor of archeology at the University of Southampton and chief scientist on the team that found the wreck. — Now we see archaeological evidence confirming that the ship on the vase is very close in detail, right down to the shape of the rudder, to the original. The artist was probably familiar with ships.".

He explained that the lack of oxygen in the Black Sea deeper than 490 feet (150 meters) ensured the safety of wooden shipwrecks, whereas in other seas they would have long been consumed by marine organisms.

The ship on the Vase with Sirens resembles a ship that crashed in the Black Sea.

“We have very few parts of ships of this age, and certainly nothing like this remains from the ancient Greek world.”, he added.

The scientist said that the ships, designed to be both oared and sailed, were mainly used for trade, but sailors could also participate in “small raids” on the coastal settlements of the Black Sea.

The ship was probably based in one of the ancient Greek settlements on the coast of modern Bulgaria. Professor Adams said the location of the shipwreck, located 50 miles from land, showed that “ancient sailors did not huddle close to the shore, timidly moving from port to port, but setting sail on the open sea”.

The ship found is one of 67 shipwrecks discovered over the past three years as part of a project involving remotely operated submarines operating on vessels commonly used in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Other shipwrecks found include a Roman merchant ship from 200 BC, on which the team managed to restore a broken amphora. They also discovered 1,200-year-old shipwrecks from the Byzantine Empire, a medieval Italian ship and several from the Ottoman Empire from the 16th to 18th centuries.

“These sunken ships indicate that all the settlements around the Black Sea were connected by intense maritime traffic from the earliest times.”, - emphasized Professor Adams. He added that even older shipwrecks will be discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea, since less than 5 percent of the area most used by ancient ships has been examined so far.

It is not yet known whether the ancient Greek ship was carrying any cargo because it is covered in silt inside, which scientists hope to remove if funding for the next expedition can be found.

The project, funded by Julia and Hans Rausing-Trust, is not designed to find shipwrecks, but to map the ancient landscape of the Black Sea, which was inundated for thousands of years by rising waters created by melting ice after the end of the last ice age.

(average: 5,00 out of 5)

How many years do ships last? The exact answer to this question most likely will not be found in textbooks on maritime affairs. But you can try to find the oldest operating ship in the fleet.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is based in Sevastopol, includes the oldest ship of the Russian Navy - rescue catamaran vessel, which has been in service for 99 years.

The rescue catamaran ship “Kommuna” is the oldest ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. November 12, 2012 will mark the 100th anniversary of the ship's keel. The design of the first specialized double-hull submarine rescue vessel in Russian history was developed back in 1911 by order of the Naval General Staff. The German rescue catamaran Vulcan was used as a prototype.

“Commune” has a displacement of 3,100 tons, its length is 81 m, its width is 13.2 m. There are no weapons. Crew: 23 people.

The ship's hull is made of Putilov steel and is, of course, not in perfect, but in quite working condition. The ship is constantly undergoing routine repairs, because, of course, even by human standards, it is no longer even at pre-retirement age, but at deep retirement age.

Let's go up the stairs to the "Commune" to get to know the veteran better.

A plaque with a brief history of the ship. It says here that the ship took part in the First World War, the Revolution and was saved by raising 10 submarines to the surface.

There is another sign in the wardroom. It was minted in the year the ship was launched - in 1915:

“Commune” is a catamaran-type vessel; a movable platform with a descent module moves between its sides. It is driven by four cable drives located in pairs on the sides of the vessel in the front and rear parts:

View of the platform from the upper truss:

Huge drums with cables allow the descent vehicle to be immersed to a depth of up to 1 kilometer:

The main object of the “Commune” is a working remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle. It allows you to work at depths of up to 1 km (limited by the length of the cable). Designed to search and detect underwater objects, submarines:

Thick cables for the drives of the platform of the descent underwater vehicle:

This is where the underwater vehicle is controlled. The place was clearly not equipped 99 years ago:

Navigation bridge of the ship:

The helm and some elements have been preserved since the ship was launched in 1915:

The ship "Commune" is located in Streletskaya Bay of Sevastopol. Here the warships of Russia and Ukraine stand side by side.

Spare screws:

Engine room:

There is also J...

Piano in the officer's wardroom. It was installed during the construction of the ship. At present it is not possible to remove it due to the difference in dimensions and doorways.