 Taymyr andVaygach coaling from a freighter atEmma Harbor, 1913 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
  Soviet Union | |
| Namesake | Taymyr Peninsula |
| Owner | Russian Imperial NavySoviet Navy |
| Builder | Nevsky Shipyard inSaint Petersburg |
| Launched | 1909 |
| Out of service | 1950s |
| Fate | Scrapped |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Icebreaker |
| Tonnage | 1,200 tons |
| Displacement | 1,349 tons |
| Length | 60 m (196 ft 10 in) |
| Beam | 11.9 m (39 ft 1 in) |
| Speed | 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
Taymyr was anicebreaking steamer of 1,200 tons built for theRussian Imperial Navy atSaint Petersburg in 1909. It was named after theTaymyr Peninsula.
Taymyr and her sister shipVaygach were built for the purpose of thoroughly exploring the uncharted areas of theNorthern Sea Route. This venture became known as theArctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition.
The first of a series of surveys began in the autumn of 1910, whenTaymyr andVaygach leftVladivostok. They entered theChukchi Sea with scientists on board and began their exploration. For the next five years, these icebreakers went on sounding and carrying on vital surveys during the thaw. Before every winter, when ice conditions became too bad, they returned to Vladivostok and waited for the spring. In 1911 the scientists and crew aboardVaygach andTaymyr made the first Russian landing onWrangel Island.
In 1914,Boris Vilkitsky was both the captain ofTaymyr and the leader of the Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition. The purpose of the icebreakersTaymyr andVaygach was to force the whole Northern Passage in order to reachArkhangelsk. Severe weather and ice conditions, however, didn't allow them to cross theKara Sea and they were forced to winter atBukhta Dika, close to theFirnley Islands. Thus the sister icebreakers were able to complete the passage only in 1915. They were warmly welcomed in Arkhangelsk upon their arrival.
Some of the biggest successes of the expedition were the accurate charting of the Northern Sea Route and the discovery ofSevernaya Zemlya in 1913.Taymyr andVaygach were considered the best icebreakers in the world at the time.[by whom?]
The first scientificdrifting ice station in the world,North Pole-1 was established on 21 May 1937 some 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the North Pole by the expedition into the high latitudes Sever-1, led byOtto Schmidt. NP-1 operated for nine months, during which the ice floe passed 2,850 kilometres (1,770 mi). On 19 February 1938,Taimyr, along withMurman took off four polar explorers from the station, who immediately became famous in the USSR and were awarded titlesHero of the Soviet Union.
A nuclear icebreaker as well as a class of nuclear-powered river icebreakers was namedTaymyr in 1988.