 1977 Soviet stamp depictingSadko | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Newfoundland | |
| Name | SSLintrose |
| Owner | Reid Newfoundland Company |
| Port of registry | St. John's |
| Route | Port aux Basques–North Sydney |
| Builder | Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd.,Low Walker |
| Yard number | 898[1] |
| Laid down | 1912 |
| Launched | 21 January 1913[1] |
| Completed | 14 March 1913 |
| Acquired | 29 March 1913 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sold, 1915 |
 Russian Empire | |
| Name | Sadko |
| Namesake | Sadko |
| Owner | Russian Empire |
| Operator | Russian Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| Acquired | 1915 |
| Fate | Sank 20 June 1916 |
 Soviet Union | |
| Name | Sadko |
| Owner | Soviet Union |
| Acquired | Refloated 14 October 1933 |
| In service | 9 July 1934 |
| Fate | Sank after grounding 11 September 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Icebreaker |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 3,800 tonnes |
| Length | 77.7 m (255 ft)[2] |
| Beam | 11.4 m (37 ft)[2] |
| Height | 6.9 m (23 ft)[2] |
| Installed power | 587nhp[2] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | |
Sadko (Russian:Садко) was aSovieticebreaker known for its role in scientific expeditions in theArctic. Built asSSLintrose in 1913 for ferry service inNewfoundland, she was sold to the government of theRussian Empire in 1915 and renamedSadko. In Russia, she was used as a freighter in the Arctic before sinking in 1916.
She was refloated in 1933 by the Soviet government and put back into service as an Arctic science and exploration vessel. She participated in two particularly notable expeditions: one attempting to reachKvitøya in 1935 and another attempting to locate the mythicalSannikov Land in 1937–38.Sadko ran aground and sank for a second time in 1941 during an expedition in theKara Sea.
Sadko was built bySwan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd. at the Neptune Yard inLow Walker,England in 1912–13, as an icebreaking passenger and freight steamer.[1] Launched on 21 January 1913, the vessel was originally constructed for theReid Newfoundland Company, which was the main ferry operator in theDominion of Newfoundland from 1901 to 1923. The ship was a part of theAlphabet Fleet, the company's ferry fleet. The vessel was named the SSLintrose in line with the fleet's eponymous naming convention, in which each ship was named after a location inScotland starting with a different letter of the alphabet. The vessel was a part of the last group of ships ordered directly by the company, alongside theSSKyle and the secondSSBruce.
On 16 March 1913,Lintrose embarked on its journey across the Atlantic toNewfoundland. The transit proved to be unexpectedly long due to poor weather. The ship first sustained damage near theIsle of Wight, where waves damaged woodwork on thebridge deck and upper bridge. The following day, another wave flooded the vessel'sforecastle and destroyed the bunks of the cooks andfiremen.Lintrose finally arrived at its future home port ofSt. John's on 29 March 1913.[3][4] While in Reid service,Lintrose plied the ferry route betweenPort aux Basques,Newfoundland andNorth Sydney,Canada.[5]
In 1915, after the outbreak ofWorld War I,Lintrose was sold to theRussian Empire for use by theMinistry of Commerce and Industry as an icebreaker and cargo ship in the Arctic, along with her sister ship, the newSSBruce. She was renamedSadko, after the hero of a Russianbylina. On 20 June 1916,[1] she sank in theKandalaksha Gulf with a payload for the construction of theKandalaksha–Murmansk railroad.
In 1932–33,Sadko was salvaged by theEPRON team led by Timofey Ivanovich Bobritsky, chief engineer. Refloated on 14 October 1933, she underwent repair and a complete refit atArkhangelsk, emerging on 9 July 1934 on a trial voyage. Artur Karlovich Burke (1891–1942) was her captain. Burke also tookSadko on her first expedition to theKara Sea, which lasted from 22 July to 25 September 1934, confirming the excellent work that had been done in restoring the ship to service.
The next season, in 1935, she took part in an expedition led byGeorgy Ushakov (1901–1963) with N.M. Nikolaev as captain ofSadko and Nikolay N. Zubov (1885–1960) as scientific director, engaging in deep-sea research and an attempt to reachKvitøya in theArctic Ocean.[6]
In the summer of 1937,Sadko sailed fromMurmansk with Nikolay Ivanovich Khramtsov as expedition leader, N.M. Nikolaev as captain ofSadko, andVladimir Vize (1886-1954) as scientific director. Also taking part in this expedition was aPolikarpov U-2SP floatplane capable of landing on and taking off from the ice. The original goal was to sail to Henrietta, Zhokhov and Jeanette Islands in theDe Long group, search forSannikov Land and carry out scientific research.[7] The purpose of the expedition was also to find out how theNorthern Sea Route could be used for regular shipping. But the Soviet naval authorities changed the plans and the ice-breaker was sent instead to help ships in distress in theKara andLaptev Seas.
Sadko, however, became itself trapped in fast ice at 75°17'N and 132°28'E in the region of theNew Siberian Islands. Other two Soviet icebreakers,Sedov andMalygin, in the same area researching the ice conditions, became trapped by sea ice as well and drifted helplessly.
Owing to persistent bad weather conditions, part of the stranded crew members and some of the scientists could only be rescued in April 1938. They were evacuated using ANT-6-4M-34RAviaarktika aircraft (a specialized Arctic variant of the TupolevTB-3 four-engine bomber) under the command of the famed Soviet Arctic aviator Anatoly Dmitrievich Alekseev (1902-1974). It was only on 28 August 1938 that the icebreakerYermak could free two of the three ships stuck at 83°4'N and 138°22'E,Sadko andMalygin. The third ship,Sedov, had to be left to drift in its icy prison and was transformed into a scientificPolar Station.
Sadko sank on 11 September 1941 in theKara Sea, after running aground on an unchartedreef nearFranz Josef Land.[1] Her crew were rescued by the icebreakerLenin. Captain A.G. Korelsky was accused of sabotage and shot. Owing to the lack of information about the vessel's loss, as late as 1949Sadko was still pictured and described inJane's Fighting Ships.[8]
An island in theNordenskiöld Archipelago was named afterSadko.
In 1977 a Soviet postage stamp honoringSadko was issued, with the first day of issue postmarked atMoscow on 27 July 1977. A Russian postage stamp honoring Nikolay N. Zubov in 2010 included a portrait of Zubov with an illustration ofSadko at sea.
There is a scale model ofSadko in the Museum of theMurmansk Shipping Company inMurmansk.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in June 1916 | |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in September 1941 | |
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