¹1 1880
|
Names |
¹1-50 later 2 were rebuilt as: Êåòà [Keta] ×åëèì [Chelim] |
|
Builders |
Nevsky Wks, St. Petersburg: ¹1-50 |
|
Completed |
1880-1881: ¹1-50 4/1905: Keta |
|
Losses |
none |
|
Transfers |
none |
|
Discarding |
1891: ¹1 - 50 10/1908: Keta |
| Data variant | as completed |
|
Displacement standard, t |
|
|
Displacement normal, t |
/ 6 |
|
Length, m |
5.7 - 6.0 |
|
Breadth, m |
1.20 |
|
Draught, m |
1.10 |
|
No of shafts |
1 |
|
Machinery |
muscle |
|
Power, h. p. |
2 men |
|
Max speed, kts |
0.5 / 2.5 |
|
Fuel, t |
food only :) |
| Endurance, nm(kts) | 175 (0.5) / 25(1) |
|
Armament |
2 mines |
|
Complement |
3 |
| Diving depth operational, m |
10 |
Project history: This midget submarine series of 52 boats were built to 3 designs by the Polish engineer Stefan Drzewiecki. The prototype boat was of twin hull construction (upper part housed the operator, the lower one - ballast tank) and built as one of the Russian measures to counter the Turkish Fleet during the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War. The armament of 2 dynamite mines was to be fixed to the bottom of a target ship with a rubber suction cup in the operator's hands which were covered with watertight rubber sleeves. After successful trials in which a lighter was destroyed, the Naval Authority refused to fund further experiments after the conclusion of hostilities with Turkey. The idea was however approved by the Army Authority which ordered the Type II boat. After a series of successful trials and presentation to the Czar an order was placed for 50 boats (Type III) with some changes incorporated. The iron hull of oval section had a small bridge positioned centrally, 2 pockets (one forward, one aft) for stowage of mines and 2 hook eyes at both ends to hoist the boat ashore or on to the davits of a mother vessel. The mines were operated with the help of air-filled rubber cushions. The whole series was built in great secrecy and the boats were to be used in the close defence of coastal fortresses; 16 boats were attached to Kronstadt, 32 were divided between Sevastopol and Odessa and 2 were used for further trials.
Modernizations: Two Type III boats were converted in 1884 for experiments with electric propulsion. One was fitted with 1hp motor and water jet propeller thus enabling her to develop 3kts while the second one received a 1.8hp electric motor and 1 screw which gave a speed of 4kts and battery capacity enough for 10 hrs.
Keta was one of the Type III Drzewiecki midget submarines converted into a low profile patrol submersible by the Lessner Wks, St. Petersburg in 1905 and transferred to the Far East. Her data were as given in the table.
| Data variant | Keta |
|
Displacement standard, t |
|
|
Displacement normal, t |
8 |
|
Length, m |
7.50 |
|
Breadth, m |
1.00 |
|
Draught, m |
1.00 |
|
No of shafts |
1 |
|
Machinery |
1 petrol engine |
|
Power, h. p. |
14 |
|
Max speed, kts |
|
|
Fuel, t |
petrol |
| Endurance, nm(kts) | / 0.4 |
|
Armament |
1 x 1 - 7.6/94, 2 - 450 TC |
|
Complement |
3 - 4 |
| Diving depth operational, m |
8 (for 3 - 5 minutes) |
1905, Keta: petrol engine was replaced by 24hp; + 1 x 1 - 37/20 Hotchkiss
One more boat was rebuilt as Chelim (Chilim) with data as given in the table.
| Data variant | Chelim |
|
Displacement standard, t |
|
|
Displacement normal, t |
/ 14 |
|
Length, m |
8.70 |
|
Breadth, m |
1.98 |
|
Draught, m |
1.10 |
|
No of shafts |
1 |
|
Machinery |
1 gasoline engine |
|
Power, h. p. |
14 |
|
Max speed, kts |
4 - 7 |
|
Fuel, t |
gasoline |
| Endurance, nm(kts) | |
|
Armament |
2 - 381 TC (stern) |
|
Complement |
3 |
| Diving depth operational, m |
3 |
She was completed and in September 1905 arrived Vladivostok by railway but never was commissioned by Navy. She was used for food transportation.
Naval service: When defence of coastal installations became a responsibility of the Naval Authority in 1886 all the Drzewiecki boats were deleted and most of them convened to buoys later on. Keta was employed in the Amur estuary she even had the opportunity of attacking a Japanese destroyer but beached when approaching the target. She was deleted on 19 June 1908.
© Ivan Gogin, 2014