Airstrike on Zonguldak
Part ofWorld War I
Date February 6, 1916 (old style) Location Zonguldak,Ottoman Empire Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russian Empire	Ottoman Empire  German Empire
Strength
1battleship 1cruiser 4destroyers 2seaplane tenders 14 aircraft	AA guns 1submarine
Casualties and losses
None	1 cargo ship sunk 1 sailing ship burned

Theairstrike on Zonguldak was a 1916military strike by thenaval aviation of the RussianBlack Sea Fleet on the Turkish port of Zonguldak. It was the first naval airstrike of the Russian Navy, and the first usage ofcarrier battle group in combat.

DuringWorld War I the city ofZonguldak housed coal mines, important for the war effort of theOttoman Empire. As such, it was repeatably bombarded by the RussianBlack Sea Fleet.^[1] After bombardments failed to destroy mines, it was decided to use naval aviation.

For this mission, the fleet put together acarrier battle group, designated "1st maneuver group", consisting of battleshipImperatritsa Mariya, cruiserKagul (ex-Ochakov), two destroyers (Zavetnyy andZavidnyy), and two seaplane tenders -Imperator Nikolai I andImperator Alexandr I, each with sevenGrigorovich M-5 seaplanes^[2] on board. The group leftSevastopol on February 5, 14:00. Two more destroyers,Pospeshnyy andGromkiy, were dispatched at dawn, to provideweather reconnaissance.^[3]

On February 6, at 10:20, the battle group stopped 15 miles (24 km) off Zonguldak, and started loweringseaplanes on the sea. Three aircraft failed to reach the bombardment area due to technical problems. The remaining eleven planes managed to reach the city, but due to heavy overcast and Turkish anti-aircraft fire could not drop their load with precision. However, one pilot managed to hit a German cargo ship, SSIrmingard, that was moored in the port, and sink it. One sailing vessel was also destroyed by fire.^[4]

Planes started returning to the battle group by 11:20, during whichImperator Alexandr I was torpedoed by German submarineSM UB-7. However, the ship managed to dodge it, and the boat was driven away by artillery fire. By 13:30 destroyers have found and towed to carriers the last seaplane, and the group returned to Sevastopol by the afternoon of February 7.^[3]

Damage toIrmingard turned out to be relatively light, and the vessel was repaired by February 25. It would be later damaged by Russiansea mines and destroyed by the Russian submarineNarval in October 1916.^[5]

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