 Kit before being launched in Nikolayev in 1915. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Russian Empire andRepublic | |
| Name | Kit |
| Builder | Nevsky Factory,Saint Petersburg[1] |
| Laid down | December 1911[2] |
| Launched | May 1915[2] |
| Completed | 27 October[a] 1915[2] |
| Homeport | Sevastopol[2] |
| Fate | Captured byGermany and thenBritain. Scuttled on 26 April 1919,[3] raised in 1934 and scrapped.[1] |
| General characteristics[3][1] | |
| Type | Submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 70.1 m (230.0 ft) |
| Beam | 6.5 m (21.3 ft) |
| Draught | 3.5 m (11.5 ft) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) |
| Complement | 35 |
| Armament |
|
Kit (Russian:Кит,lit. 'whale') was the second boat of theNarval class of submarines of theImperial Russian Navy. The submarine was laid down in December 1911 and launched in May 1915, though it was not completed until October 1915. Built for theBlack Sea Fleet, it carried out raids against Ottoman supply convoys along the coast of Anatolia and was responsible for sinking 24 ships, for a total of 1,270 gross register tons (GRT).
After theRussian Revolution, the submarine remained inSevastopol, where it was first captured by the Germans and then by theBritish and theWhite Army in theRussian Civil War. The British scuttledKit and several other submarines near Sevastopol in April 1919 to prevent theBolsheviks from acquiring them. Their location was found by the Soviets in 1934 andKit became the only one of them to be raised, though they decided not to restore the submarine and had it scrapped.
After being defeated in theRusso-Japanese War, theRussian Empire began rebuilding itsNavy. Initially the main focus of the naval arms programs was on theBaltic andPacific fleets, but as tensions increased withAustria-Hungary due to theBosnian crisis in 1908 and withOttoman Turkey after the expansion of itsnavy, theBlack Sea Fleet was given more attention. The 1911 naval program approved by theState Duma included the order of six submarines for the Black Sea Fleet, which ended up being threeNarval-class boats and threeMorzh class.[3][4] TheNevsky Factory [ru] inSaint Petersburg developed theNarval class on the basis of a foreign design, the popular Holland type made by the AmericanHolland Torpedo Boat Company.[3][5] But there was a dispute in the Imperial Russian Navy before 1911 on which submarine type to purchase, theNarval class or theMorzh class that was designed byIvan Bubnov, the chief submarine engineer of theBaltic Yard. Bubnov was supported by the Naval General Staff, while the foreign type was favored by members of the Naval Technological Committee, who argued that they needed to study foreign technological advancements. In the end, a conference led by Navy MinisterStepan Voevodskiy settled the matter by ordering three submarines of each class.[5][6]
TheNarval-class submarines were the most advanced Russian submarines at the time because unlike the rest they had crash-diving tanks for faster diving, internal bulkheads that provided more protection for the crew, and used natural flow to fill the mainballast tanks instead of pumps.[3][5] A problem that arose during their construction was that the twin 1,140 horsepower (850 kW)diesel engines to power each boat had been ordered fromGermany and were not delivered by the timeWorld War I broke out, so they had to be replaced by four American-built engines that each provided 210 horsepower (160 kW).[3][1][5] This meant that the designed 16-knot (30 km/h; 18 mph) surface speed could not be attained, and neither could the 12-knot (22 km/h; 14 mph) underwater speed.[1][7]Kit had slightly different weaponry from the other boats in its class, being equipped with twodeck guns, including one 75 mm (3 in) and one 57 mm (2 in), along with four 450 mm (18 in)torpedo tubes and eightDzhevetskiy torpedo-launching collars. After modifications done in 1917,Kit also received two 7.62 mmmachine guns and its artillery was changed for two Japanese 75 mm guns, though its external torpedo-launching collars were reduced to four.[3][1]
Construction of all threeNarval-class submarines began in Saint Petersburg, where they were laid down in December 1911, before being transferred to the shipyards inNikolayev for the final assembly.[2][1] The engines were not delivered from the United States until January 1915.[1]Kit began itssea trials in the fall of 1915, during which some engine problems were discovered, and it underwent modifications. The submarine was completed and entered service on 27 October [O.S. 14 October] 1915.[2]
At the time whenKit entered service with the RussianBlack Sea Fleet, it was focused on disrupting the Ottoman merchant convoys transporting coal from the area ofZonguldak toConstantinople, which was the main source of fuel for the Ottoman Navy. The new submarines that joined the fleet were tasked with patrolling the Anatolian coast and the entrance to theBosporus.[8][9] Despite issues with their engines,Kit and the other boats of its class became popular with Russian submarine crews.[5][7] The three boats became the 2nd Squadron of the Black Sea Submarine Brigade.[1]
From late 1915 until April 1916,Kit was given modifications, this time receiving more advanced communications equipment, and it returned to service by May 1916.[2][1] In that month, while on patrol,Kit was attacked by a German aircraft on the 12th, though it was able to escape without any damage.[1] The submarine carried out six patrols in the early summer of 1916.[7] During one of these, on 13 June 1916Kit sank a Turkishschooner that was transporting oil.[1] On 23 October it accompanied several other ships on a mission to lay mines near the Bosporus, and in mid-November the submarine participated in a reconnaissance mission along the Bulgarian coast nearVarna. The mission also included the cruiserPamiat Merkuria, the destroyerGromky, and severalminelayers andminesweepers.Kit assisted the other ships with navigation, but they did not find any minefields there to clear out.[10] On 13 December 1916 the submarine rammed and destroyed a Turkishsteamer near the Bosporus,[1][7] and in January 1917 it sank another seven ships in the same area.[7]
After theFebruary Revolution in 1917, the Black Sea Fleet and its submarines continued to be active as theRussian Provisional Government continued the war,[11] though in the autumn of 1917 all three of theNarval-class boats underwent repairs and were put into the reserve.[1] By theOctober Revolution,Kit was credited with sinking 24 ships[2] with a total tonnage of 1,270 GRT.[12]
After the October Revolution, on 9 February 1918 theCentral PowersrecognizedUkraine's independence and theGerman Army took control of Crimea by May 1918. The Central Powers wanted to divide up the ships of the Black Sea Fleet among themselves,[13] and they were also claimed by the Ukrainian People's Republic. The crews of some ships raised the Ukrainian flag,[14] including on theKit.[3] The submarine was then taken by the Germans, and after the end of the war in November 1918 the boat was acquired by theWestern Allies and theWhite Russian forces.[2][3] TheBritish scuttled all three submarines of theNarval class near Sevastopol on 26 April 1919 to prevent them from being taken by theBolsheviks.[3]
Between 1934 and 1935, the wreckage of the submarines was discovered andKit was the only one of them to be raised by the Soviets. They decided not to restore it and the boat was sent to be scrapped.[2][1]
