HMS Aladar Youssanoff[a] was a Russian cargo-tanking steel steamship for the transportation of dry cargo, as well as oil and kerosene in bulk which was seized by the British Royal Navy and used as seaplane tender in 1919 alongside HMS Orlionoch.
 HMS Aladar Youssanoff before 1905
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Russian Empire | |
| Name | Aleydar Useynov |
| Namesake | Aliheydar Huseynov |
| Port of registry | Baku |
| Builder | Sormovo Machine Works |
| Launched | 1905 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Aladar Youssanoff |
| Acquired | January 1919 |
| Stricken | August 1919 |
| Caspian Flotilla of the White Movement | |
| Name | Volga (October 1919) |
| Acquired | August 1919 |
 USSR | |
| Name | Alyosha Japaridze |
| Acquired | 18 May 1920 |
| Fate | scrapped in 1950s |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Seaplane carrier |
| Displacement | 2,070.68 long tons (2,103.91 t) |
| Length | 303 ft 82 in (94.44 m) |
| Beam | 36 ft 44 in (12.09 m) |
| Draft | 21 ft 00 in (6.40 m) |
| Armament | |
History
editOriginally named Aleydar Useynov (Russian: Алейдаръ Усейновъ), it belonged to Mammad Baghir Huseynov, an Azerbaijani merchant and oil baron from Baku[1] who named it after his youngest son Aliheydar Huseynov. Build by Sormovo Machine Works in 1905, Nizhny Novgorod it was a private oil tanker until 1918.
Russian Civil War
editDuring the Russian Civil War, it was seized by No. 266 Squadron RAF in 1919[2] who placed 2 Short Type 184 on its board and converted to seaplane carrier.[3] Becoming a part of British Caspian Flotilla, it participated in the Battle of Alexandrovsky Fort in May 1919 against a Bolshevik flotilla.[4][5] It soon encountered technical problems and constant sabotage by Russian mariners, therefore it was decided to transfer planes to HMS Orlionoch for further operations.[6] The ship along with seaplanes, was also transferred to the Denikin Army in August 1919,[7] who in October 1919 gave it a new name Volga.
USSR
editAfter the Soviet invasion of Azerbaijan, it was seized by Bolshevik forces on 18 May 1920 near Enzeli and was renamed Alyosha Japaridze after Prokofy Dzhaparidze, a member of 26 Baku Commissars. On 26 May 1935 steamer Japaridze unsuccessfully participated in rescue operation of tanker Soviet Azerbaijan (Russian: Советский Азербайджан), which exploded during the run Krasnovodsk-Astrakhan with 27 men being lost while ship sunk. Which caused a huge legal process involving Procurator General of the Soviet Union Andrey Vyshinsky.[8]
During World War II, it was given callsign UNSL. It towed lighter No.3032 from Baku to Astrakhan in July 1943, and lighter sank during the storm while all crewmembers were saved by Japaridze. It was used up until 1950s by Soviet Caspian Flotilla.[9]
Notes
edit- ^ Also known as Aladir Useynov or Yusanoff
References
edit- ^ Русский торговый флот - Список судов к 1 января 1913 г [Russian merchant fleet - List of ships by January 1, 1913] (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Russian Empire Ministry of Finance, Department of Trade and Manufacture. 1913. pp. 74–75.
- ^ "WWI auxiliary patrol vessels". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ "British Military Aviation in 1918". RAF Museum. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ Guard, John. "The Royal Navy in the Caspian Sea 1918-1920". www.gwpda.org. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ Grehan, John; Mace, Martin (2014-11-28). The Royal Navy and the War at Sea, 1914–1919. Pen and Sword. pp. 152–153. ISBN 978-1-4738-4645-6.
- ^ "849 - 'An hour later, machine turned upside down. Kingham and I clung..." spink.com. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ The Naval Review 1920 - The Royal Navy on the Caspian, 1918-1919, p. 218.
- ^ Vyshinsky, Andrey. "Дело о гибели парохода "Советский Азербайджан"" [The case of the sinking of the steamship "Soviet Azerbaijan"]. Project "Historical Materials" (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ Wilkinson, Paul (2019). Red Star and Roundel. A Shared Century. Fonthill Media. ISBN 978-1781557334.