Part 1
THE FIRST BATTLE TRAVEL OF THE UNDERWATER MINING PROTECTOR "CRAB"
When the First World War broke out, the Russian Black Sea Fleet was clearly superior in power to the Turkish Navy. However, 12 days after the start of the war (Turkey still remained neutral), two German ships came to Constantinople (Istanbul) - the battle cruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau, which broke through into the Eastern Mediterranean past the ships of Great Britain and France, and then entered through the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus to the Black Sea. The Goeben was a modern battle cruiser armed with 10 280mm guns and a speed of 28 knots.
At the same time, the Black Sea Fleet included only outdated battleships, each of which was armed with four 305-mm guns (and the battleship Rostislav - four 254-mm guns), their speed did not exceed 16 knots. The entire Russian brigade of armored ships in the number of large-caliber guns surpassed the artillery armament of the battle cruiser "Goeben", but, taking advantage of her superiority in speed, he could always avoid a meeting with the Russian squadron. Modern Russian ships were still under construction in Nikolaev, and none of them was ready by the beginning of the war. Therefore, the interest of the Russian command of the Black Sea Fleet in replenishing the fleet with these ships is understandable.
In the summer of 1915, the first of these battleships, the Empress Maria, was to be commissioned (12 305-mm guns and 20 130-mm guns). But the ship had to make the first transition from Nikolaev to Sevastopol with untested main-caliber gun turrets. Naturally, its passage could be considered secured only if the meeting of the battleship "Empress Maria" with the German battle cruiser "Goeben" was excluded. In order to ensure this passage for the "Empress Mary" to Sevastopol, the idea arose to block the "Gebena" from entering the Black Sea. For this, it was necessary to secretly place a minefield near the Bosphorus. The most suitable for such laying of mines near the enemy coast could be an underwater minelayer. That is why the execution of this task was entrusted to the submarine "Krab", which had not yet completed its tests.
On June 25, 1915, at 07.00, the Crab, flying a commercial flag with 58 mines and 4 torpedoes on board, took off from mooring.
On the minelayer, in addition to the personnel, were: the head of the Submarine brigade, captain 1st rank V. E. Klochkovsky, the flagship navigator of the brigade, Lieutenant M. V. Parutsky, and the commissioning captain of the plant, mechanical engineer Lieutenant V. S. Lukyanov (the latter went on a campaign on his own desire). The minelayer was accompanied by new submarines "Morzh", "Nerpa" and "Seal".
According to the instructions received, the submarine "Krab" was supposed to lay a minefield, if possible, on the line of the Bosphorus lighthouses (Rumeli-Fener and Anatoli-Fener), 1 mile long. Submarine "Nerpa" was supposed to blockade the Bosphorus from the east (east), being in the area of the Shili lighthouse (on the Anatolian coast of Turkey, east of the Bosphorus); Submarine "Seal" was supposed to keep to the west (west) of the Bosphorus, and submarine "Morzh" - to occupy a position opposite the Bosporus itself.
At 09.20, being on the parallel of Cape Sarych, the submarine "Krab" headed for the Bosphorus. Submarines "Morzh", "Nerpa" and "Seal" were sailing in a wake column, and the lead submarine "Seal" was on the left traverse of the "Crab". The weather was clear. Wind 2 points. Submarine "Crab" was under two kerosene engines on the starboard side. After several hours of work, it was supposed to switch to the left shaft motors in order to inspect the first ones and put them in order.
From 10 to 11 o'clock, artillery and rifle exercises were carried out: a 37-mm gun and machine guns were tested. At noon, by order of the submarine brigade chief, a military flag and a pennant were raised. At 20.00, the submarines began to disperse, so as not to hinder each other in maneuvering in the dark. In the morning they were to meet again.
Submarine "Crab", possessing a higher speed than other submarines, arrived at the rendezvous point on the morning of June 26 earlier than the submarines accompanying him. Therefore, in order to use free time, the motors stopped and dived and trimmed the minelayer "Crab". Upon submersion, it was found that the "Crab" loses its buoyancy astern. As it turned out, the aft trim tank was filled with water due to the fact that the neck of this tank was leaking water from the setting. I had to surface and change the rubber on the neck of the tank. The damage was repaired and again started trimming.
During trimming, it was found that it was impossible to pump water from one trim tank to another due to the low power of the pump. When the minelayer surfaced, the water remaining in the superstructure was lowered through pipes
Into the hold, but it turned out that this was happening very slowly, so it was necessary to open the neck of the aft trim tank and lower part of the water into it, and then pump it overboard with a cannon.
At 10.50 all submarines were assembled. After the Crab was deferred, the Nerpa and Seal submarines headed for the assigned positions, and the Morzh submarine, since its position was planned against the Bosphorus, followed along with the Crab. The Bosphorus was 85 miles away. Captain 1st Rank Klochkovsky planned to lay a mine in the evening twilight, so that in case of possible failures and malfunctions of the minelayer at the time of setting or immediately after it, some reserve of time would remain at night. Therefore, he decided to lay a mine in the evening of the next day, i.e. 27th of June.
At 14.00, the motors were started, and then they were set in motion and at the same time began to charge the battery. At 20.00 the submarine "Morzh" left, having received an order to meet the next morning against the Bosphorus, but out of sight of the submarine from the shore. On June 27, at 00.00, the battery charging was finished (3000 A-hours were accepted), the motors stalled, and the "Crab" stood still until 04:00, after which it went at a low speed. At 06.30 the coast opened up the bow, and at 07.35 the submarine "Morzh" appeared on the right along the traverse. At 09.00, the coast almost disappeared into a light haze. The Crab was 28 miles from the Bosphorus. The motors were stopped, and then at 11.40, in the afternoon, they were started up again, but this time for the propeller and for charging, so that the batteries were fully charged for the upcoming mine laying. At 16.15, 11 miles from the Rumeli-Fener lighthouse, the motors stopped, and at 16.30 they began to dive, and 20 minutes later the underwater course of 4 knots was given. The head of the submarine brigade decided to place a minefield from the Anatoli-Fener lighthouse to the Rumeoli-Fener lighthouse, and not vice versa, because in the latter case, with an error in speed, the submarine "Crab" could jump out onto the Anatolian coast.
The location of the submarine was determined using the periscope. But in order not to find himself, the head of the submarine brigade, who was in the wheelhouse, took bearings with a periscope, exposing it to the surface for only a few seconds, then he passed the countdown in a circle to the flagship navigator, who was plotting the course.
At 18.00, the minelayer was 8 miles from Anatoli-Fener. He walked at a depth of 50 feet (15.24 m), counting from the keel of the submarine to the surface. The dive depth was then increased to 60 feet (18, 29 m). At 19.00, when determining the location of the minelayer (periscope), a Turkish patrol steamer was discovered opposite the strait, located 10 cables from the minelayer. However, the captain of the 1st rank Klochkovsky refused to attack this steamer, fearing to find himself and thereby disrupt the setting of the minefield. Increasing its depth to 65 feet (19.8 m) to pass under the keel of the Turkish steamer, the Crab lay down on a 180-degree course.
At 19.55, the minelayer was at 13, 75 cab from the Anatoli-Fener lighthouse. At 20.10, mines began to be set. After 11, 5 minutes, the minelayer slightly touched the ground. Since the head of the submarine brigade sought to place a minefield as close to the lighthouses as possible, he assumed that the Rumeli shoal had been touched. Therefore, Klochkovsky immediately gave the order to put the rudder right on board, stop the mine elevator and blow out the high-pressure tank. At that moment, the last mines had not yet been placed according to the signpost.
At 20.22 a strong jolt followed, followed by several others. The minelayer floated to 45 feet. (13, 7 m), having a large trim on the nose, but did not float further, apparently hitting something with the nose. Then the middle tank was blown through and the course was stopped to enable the submarine to free itself and not to wind the minrepes on the propeller (if the minelayer hit the minefield). A minute later, the "Crab" surfaced to half of the cabin, heading for the north. In the porthole of the wheelhouse, from the left side, the Rumeli-Fener lighthouse could be seen in the twilight …
At 20.24 the minelayer sank again, increasing the speed to 5, 25 knots.
A minute later, when trying to put the "last mine", it turned out that the pointer worked inaccurately: this mine was put in its place just before touching the ground. The minelayer's speed was reduced to 65 feet (19.8 m) in order to pass freely under the keel of oncoming ships and under a possible minefield.
At 20.45 the "Crab" increased its speed to 4.5 knots in order to move away from the Bosphorus as soon as possible, since large trims appeared and it was assumed that the submarine received damage to the hull. At 21.50, Captain I Rank Klochkovsky gave the order to surface. After surfacing, the head of the submarine brigade, together with the commander, went upstairs to the bridge. It was dark. Nothing was visible around: only on the black strip of the coast, near the strait, there were flashes of fire, and to the west of it - a faint flickering light … kerosene engines … This is what the commander of the submarine st. Lieutenant LK Fenshaw: “Due to the lack of time left before diving in sight of the Bosphorus, I could not properly cool the kerosene engines and went under water with hot engines.
From the high temperature emanating from them and from the heating up of the electric motors during the long 6-hour underwater course, significant emissions of kerosene and oil vapors appeared, so strong that not only in the aft part of the submarine, where most of the crew were burned out, but even in the wheelhouse, where they were the head of the submarine brigade, the flagship navigator, the vertical helmsman and the submarine commander, eyes were very watery and breathing was difficult, as a result of which, after the submarine surfaced, part of the team went to the deck, and so on. senior mechanical engineer, midshipman Ivanov, was carried out in a semi-conscious state."
At 23.20 the starboard kerosene engines were launched, and 25 minutes later - the port side kerosene engines. The head of the brigade was supposed to give the commander of the submarine "Morzh" an agreed radiogram, but this could not be done, because during the underwater movement of the minelayer, the antenna broke.
The further voyage of the submarine "Krab" to Sevastopol took place without incident. They only feared that there would not be enough lubricating oil. its consumption turned out to be more than expected. The latter was not unexpected, since Back on April 8, when testing the minelayer on the surface, the commission found it necessary to change the device for lubricating the thrust bearings and put a refrigerator to cool the flowing oil, which, however, they did not have time to do by the present campaign.
When approaching Sevastopol on June 29 at 07.39, the minelayer "Crab" parted with the Black Sea Fleet squadron that had left Sevastopol. The head of the submarine brigade reported to the commander of the fleet about the fulfillment of the combat mission by the minelayer. At 0800 the commercial flag was raised again, and at 0930 Crab moored at the base in the South Bay.
The first trip showed that the minelayer had a significant number of design flaws, for example: the complexity of the immersion system, as a result of which the immersion time reached 20 minutes; clutter of the submarine with mechanisms; high temperature in the premises during the operation of kerosene engines and harmful fumes from them, which made it difficult for the personnel of the minelayer. In addition, it should be noted that the personnel did not have time to properly study the structure of such a complex ship as a minelayer before the campaign. Only an urgent and important task forced the command to send another, in fact, not completely completed construction of the minelayer on such a crucial campaign.
Thanks to the resourcefulness and complete calmness, as well as the hard and selfless work of the submarine personnel, who eliminated many shortcomings, it was possible to carry out the specified operation. Indeed, when on the evening of June 27, during a mine setting, 4 strong blows to the bow of the minelayer followed and the current of the mine elevator motor increased significantly, there was a fear that the auxiliary circuit fuses would blow out and all auxiliary mechanisms would stop, and when the minelayer stopped and the elevator continued to operate, the mines will be placed under the stern of the submarine. Lieutenant V. V. Kruzenshtern immediately stopped the elevator, thereby avoiding this danger. At the same time, during the strikes, the maximum switch of the horizontal rudders stopped working. The helmsman N. Tokarev, immediately realizing what the rudders were not shifting from, turned on the open maximum switch, which kept the minelayer from large and dangerous trims. Warrant officer N. A. Monastyrev, fearing that the torpedo tubes and ballast tank could be damaged from the blows, took the necessary measures: ordered to keep compressed air and a pump ready for pumping water. Despite severe fatigue and headache - signs of burnout - the mechanical engineer, midshipman M. P. Ivanov, was among the team all the time and encouraged everyone.
The delivery agent of the plant, mechanical engineer V. S. Lukyanov, appearing at the right time in the compartments and giving instructions, contributed to the normal operation of the minelayer's mechanisms.
For the successful completion of a combat mission to lay mines near the Bosphorus, the officer corps was promoted or awarded. The commander of the submarine "Krab" L. K. Fenshaw was promoted to the rank of captain of the 2nd rank, the flagship navigator of the submarine brigade M. V. Parutsky was promoted to the rank of senior lieutenant, N. A. Monastyrev was promoted to lieutenant, M. P. Ivanov was promoted to engineer - mechanic - lieutenant.
Awarded orders: V. E. Klochkovsky - the Order of Vladimir 3rd degree with swords, V. V. Kruzenshtern - the Order of Anna 3rd degree, MP Ivanov - the Order of Stanislav 3rd degree. Later, by order of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet from September 26, 1915, etc. senior minelayer officer lt. V. V. Kruzenshtern was awarded the St. medal - 10 people, medal "For diligence" - 12 people.
The next day after laying mines, the Turks found a barrage put up by the submarine "Krab" on the surfaced mines. Having raised one of them, the Germans realized that the mines had been placed by the submarine. The minesweeper division immediately began trawling, and on July 3 the commandant of the Bosphorus reported that the minefield had been eliminated.
However, this conclusion was rather hasty: the Turkish gunboat "Isa Reis" was blown up by the bow of the "etched" obstacle. She was towed to the shore and rescued.
On July 5, 1915, the cruiser "Breslau" went out to meet 4 Turkish steamers with coal. 10 miles northeast of Cape Kara-Burnu Vostochny, it was blown up by a mine, taking 642 tons of water inside (with a displacement of 4550 tons). This minefield was exposed in December 1914.minelayers of the Black Sea Fleet - "Alexei", "Georgy", "Konstantin" and "Ksenia". Under the protection of minesweepers, the cruiser Breslau entered the Bosphorus and docked in Stenia. Its repair took several months, and only in February 1916 it entered service. This was a significant loss for the German-Turkish fleet, considering that only the low-speed Hamidie remained in its composition of light cruisers. The battle cruiser "Goeben" during this period did not go out to the Black Sea, tk. it was decided to use it only in extreme cases. The reason for this decision is the lack of coal, caused by the hostilities of Russian ships in the coal region of the Anatolian coast.
On July 23, 1915, the battleship "Empress Maria" safely arrived from Nikolaev to Sevastopol.
After the return of the minelayer "Crab" to Sevastopol, until August, it was repaired and eliminated imperfections that remained due to an urgent launch on a military campaign.
After the completion of the repairs on August 20-21, 1915, he went to sea. In early December, an order was received from the commander of the Black Sea Fleet that the "Crab", in case of favorable weather, go to mine laying, and after that - block the port of Zunguldak.
On December 10, the minelayer "Krab" went to sea to carry out the order of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, but due to stormy weather on December 12 he was forced to return to Sevastopol. Thus, in the last months of 1915, the "Crab" did not conduct mines. In August, Captain 2nd Rank L. K. Fenshaw was appointed ID. chief of the 1st division of the submarine, which included "Crab", "Walrus", "Nerpa" and "Seal". In October 1915, the commander of the "Crab" was appointed Art. lt. Mikhail Vasilyevich Parutsky (born in 1886, graduated from the diving course in 1910) - the flagship navigator of the Submarine Brigade, who previously held the position of submarine commander, and in 1912 - the position of deputy chief of the submarine division for technical matters. Instead of mechanical engineer lt. MP Ivanov was appointed to the "Crab" mechanical engineer, warrant officer PI Nikitin, who served as senior mechanical engineer from February to October 1916.
In February 1916, the "Crab" was ordered to lay mines near the Bosphorus. On February 25 at 17.10, he left Sevastopol under the braid pennant of the head of the Submarine Brigade, Captain 1st Rank Klochkovsky. However, due to stormy weather two days later, on February 27 at 20.45, "the minelayer was forced to return to Sevastopol.
On June 28, 1916, Vice-Admiral A. V. Kolchak was appointed commander of the Black Sea Fleet (instead of Admiral A. A. Eberhardt), on whom the Headquarters and the Tsar had pinned great hopes.
In pursuance of the Stavka directive, it was decided to set up a minefield near the Bosphorus. The minelayer "Crab" and 4 newest destroyers of the 1st division - "Restless", "Wrathful", "Daring" and "Piercing" were planned for the task. The first was to set the mines "Crab", and then on the near approaches to the strait - the destroyers. The last obstacle was supposed to be placed 20-40 cabs from the entrance to the Bosphorus in 3 lines. In June, before the military campaign to the Bosphorus, the "Crab" made 6 exits to the sea, and in July, just before the campaign, two exits (July 11 and 13). July 17 at 06.40 an underwater minelayer "Crab" under the command of Art. lt. M. V. Parutsky and under the braid pennant of the head of the Submarine Brigade, Captain 1st Rank V. E. Klochkovsky left Sevastopol for the Bosphorus, having on board 60 mines and 4 torpedoes. The duties of the senior mechanical engineer were performed by the machine conductor J. Pusner. The weather was clear. Wind from nord-ost with a force of 1 point. In the afternoon, the batteries were recharged. As always, the minelayer's march was accompanied by accidents: on July 18 at 00.30 the shirt of the second cylinder of the starboard aft kerosene engine burst. Under Pusner's direction, the damage was repaired and all 4 motors were started at 0300 hours. After 2 hours, new damage was revealed: mine-machine conductor P. Kolenov discovered that the lashing of the steel cable of the bow mine branches had burst. Kolenov grabbed these bends on the move, and thus this damage was repaired. The minelayer was approaching the Bosphorus. Its shores opened at 12.30. When 18 miles remained to the strait, Captain 1st Rank Klochkovsky decided to continue sailing in a positional position. The kerosene engines were stalled. The submarine was ventilated. At 13.45, the minelayer sank under the water and got out of the way. Horizontal rudders were tested and control of the submarine in a submerged position was tested.
At 14.10, the middle tank was blown through and moved to the positional position. After 5 minutes, the right-hand kerosene engine was started. When it was 12 miles to the Bosphorus, the engine was stalled again; The PL was re-ventilated. The motors were cooled down, and at 16.00 an underwater passage was given at a depth of 12 m. The time of mine laying was approaching. The weather was favorable: northeast wind 3 - 4 points, white scallops. At 19.50, when the minelayer was at 4, 5 cabs from Rumeli - Fener, Klochkovsky ordered to start laying a mine, and the submarine gradually left with the expectation of demolition to the right, tk. a weak current was found to the west.
By 20.08, setting of all 60 minutes was completed. The fence was placed south of the line connecting the Yum-Burnu and Rodiget capes, i.e. on the way of enemy warships, the fairway of which, according to the latest data, passed from the north to Cape Poyras. The barrier touched the western wing of the Rumeli shoal, and the eastern one did not reach 6 cabs to the Anatolian coast. Only the fairway of the enemy's commercial ships remained open. The mines were deployed at a depth of 6 m from the surface.
After laying the mine, the Crab lay down on a return course, going underwater. At 21.30, when it was dark enough, the middle tank was purged, and the minelayer switched to a positional position, and at 22.15, 7 miles from Anatoli-Fener, all the main ballast was purged, and the Crab switched to cruising position. In 15 minutes the kerosene engines were started. On July 19, at 06.00, they started charging the batteries, and at 13.00 there was an accident: the shirt of the fourth cylinder of the starboard kerosene engine burst. I had to stop the starboard motors and stop charging the batteries. But the misadventures did not end there: at 21.00 at the bow motor on the left side, the circuit of the circulating pump burst.
The motor began to be cooled by an autonomous pump. On July 20, at 08.00, the kerosene engines stalled: water came out of the fuel tanks … I had to send a radiogram to the fleet headquarters with a request to send a tug. However, an hour later it was possible to start up the stern motor on the left side, and the submarine "Crab" went on its own. The coast finally opened up along the bow. A new radiogram was sent to the headquarters of the fleet stating that the minelayer would reach the base on its own. At 11.30 "Crab" headed for the Chersonesos lighthouse. Thanks to the quick repair of the damage, the second kerosene motor was started up.
In 10 minutes the port ship "Dneprovets" approached the minelayer (acting as the submarine's escort), which followed him to the Chersonesos lighthouse. At 14.45 the "Crab" moored at the submarine base ship in Sevastopol. Thus ended the second military campaign of the world's first underwater minelayer.
On August 18, 1916, preparations began for the "Crab" for a new campaign. By 13.00, 38 mines were loaded, but unexpectedly one of the mines skewed and jammed in the mine elevator. Because of this, part of the elevator had to be disassembled. During the night, the elevator was reassembled, and by 08.00 the next day, the loading of mines continued. By 13.00 all 60 mines were loaded onto the minelayer.
On August 20, 1916 at 00.50 the "Crab" left Sevastopol and headed for Varna. At first, the weather was calm, but by the evening it became fresher, and by midnight a storm broke out. Waves crashed into the minelayer, the propellers began to bare. As always, the kerosene motors began to fail. At 01.40, the starboard kerosene motor had to be stopped for inspection and repair of damage. Meanwhile, the wind increased to 6 points. The PL put a lag to the wave. By 04.00 the roll was reaching 50 degrees. Acid began to pour out of the batteries, the insulation resistance in the batteries decreased and a number of electrical mechanisms failed. In the wardroom a table was ripped from its place. The team began to feel sick. People worked at the motors in difficult conditions: high temperature, kerosene vaporization and the smell of burnt oil … Due to the uneven load during rolling, the circuit of the circulating pump weakened. I had to go under electric motors. At 05.35, the kerosene engines were restarted. However, at 06.40 the circuit of the circulating pump burst - the starboard kerosene motor was completely out of order. The submarine went at a low speed under the action of the stern motor on the left side. At this time, the submarine "Crab" was 60 miles from Constanta.
At 09.00, due to a clogged oil line, the thrust bearing of the left shaft overheated. A radiogram was sent to the battleship Rostislav, stationed in Constanta, asking for help. The wind reached 8 points. At noon, the Crab was 11 miles from Cape Shabla. The mine installation had to be abandoned, and a second radiogram was sent to Rostislav that the minelayer was going to Constanta for repairs. At 13.00, despite the increased cooling, the left side kerosene motors heated up. I had to turn them off. The submarine went under electric motors. At 15.30 near the Tuzla lighthouse, the "Crab" met with the EM "Zavetny" sent to help him and, following him in the wake, passed the Romanian minefield and entered the port of Constanta.
During the stay of the "Crab" in the port on Constanta, enemy seaplanes were raided. The first raid took place on the morning of August 22 between 08.00 and 09.00. "Crab" managed to submerge under water and lay on the ground during the raid. However, during a raid on August 25, 1916, the minelayer did not have time to submerge. Fortunately, everything turned out well.
On August 27, the "Crab" was ordered to lay a minefield in the southern approach to Varna (closer to the Galata lighthouse). Experience has shown that kerosene engines can fail at any time, so they decided: "Crab" will be towed by a torpedo boat to a point 22 miles offshore. Then he will independently follow to the mine laying site with the expectation of arriving there by sunset. After laying the mine, the minelayer, first in a submerged position, and then, with the onset of darkness, will go to the meeting point with the destroyer. EM "Angry" was assigned to tow the Crab.
On August 28, 1916, the minelayer "Crab" was undifferentiated in the harbor and by 22.30 it was ready to receive a tug with an EV. In view of the fact that there was no towing device on the Crab, the tug was brought through the anchor hawse of the submarine.
On August 29 at 01.00, the submarine "Krab" in tugboat EM "Gnevny", accompanied by minesweepers, left Constanta. At 05.30 the minesweepers were released, and the minelayer and the destroyer followed independently to their destination. It was a beautiful sunny day. The weather was favorable for the campaign. At 06.00, the commander of the minelayer "Crab" st. Lieutenant M. V. Parutsky asked the destroyer to stop the vehicles in order to drop the tow rope. When the PL team was choosing the cable, "Wrathful" unexpectedly gave full speed. The tow rope jerked, it stretched itself tight and cut through the deck of the superstructure for 0.6 m. The destroyer opened fire. It turned out that 2 enemy seaplanes appeared in the air. One of them went to the "Crab" and tried to descend, but the destroyer "Wrathful" did not allow him to do so with her fire.
However, the "Crab" could not submerge, as this was prevented by the cable hanging on the bow of the submarine. The seaplane dropped 8 bombs near it, but none of them hit the minelayer. Thanks to the accurate fire of the destroyer Wrath, one of the planes was hit. The seaplanes flew away, using up their bombs. The attack of enemy aircraft failed, but the mine installation was also disrupted, tk. the enemy found our ships. Now the "Crab" was on its own. Having accepted a new supply of bombs, the enemy planes again appeared over the minelayer, but the Crab managed to submerge, and the enemy's attack was again unsuccessful.
At 15.30, the minelayer safely moored in Constanta.
By 16.30 by the port forces, the superstructure of the minelayer "Crab" was repaired and a large hook was installed on it for towing. In order not to be subjected to further attacks by planes, it was decided to leave Constanta in the evening. Now the minelayer accompanied the older destroyer Zvonky. When on August 31 at 17.50 the "Crab" approached the "Zvonkom" to start the tugboat, it did not succeed. The hook broke. The hike was postponed until the next day.
On September 1, at 18.30, the "Crab", now in tugboat EM "Gnevny", left Constanta. At 20.00, the ships sailed at a speed of 10 knots 2 miles from the Tuzla lighthouse. Beginning to freshen up. At 21.00 the towing cable burst. After 2, 5 hours it was started up again.
By 06.00 on September 2, the wind died down. We gave up the towing rope. Having agreed on a rendezvous with the minelayer, EM "Wrathful" left. At noon, the Crab approached Cape Emine. At 15.00 we got ready to dive. The weather turned bad again: a fresh north-north-west blew, which made a shallow wave with scallops. Submerged, "Crab" went under the periscope at a speed of 3.5 knots. At 4.30 pm, in order to shorten the way, v. Lieutenant Parutsky decided to go under the enemy's minefield, which, according to available data, was placed. This he did not succeed. At 19.10 the "Crab" was in cab 16 from the Galata lighthouse. The coast began to hide in the evening gloom. Approaching the 5 cab lighthouse, the minelayer began laying mines. After the mine elevator started working, suddenly a clang of iron was heard in the superstructure, and the elevator stood up. They turned it on in the other direction, and then again for setting mines. At first, the load increased sharply - up to 60 A (instead of the usual 10 A), and then the elevator began to work normally. At 19.18, when the pointer showed that 30 minutes had been set, the setting was interrupted, and after 30 minutes they resumed again.
At 19.28, all the mines, according to the index, were exposed. The air in the submarine has completely deteriorated. It became hard to breathe. Therefore, the high-pressure tank was blown through, and the submarine was ventilated through the conning tower. It was completely dark all around.
At 21.15, 3 miles from the coast, the tanks of the main ballast began to drain, the minelayer began to surface, but at the same time its roll increased all the time and reached 10 degrees. When clarifying the reasons for the occurrence of this roll, it was established that the right store of mines remained in place, since the mine of this store, when exiting the superstructure at the door of the aft embrasure, was jammed. Therefore, due to the accident of the right elevator, not all mines were exposed, as the sign showed, but only 30 minutes. The mines were placed in 2 lines at 61 m (200 ft) intervals. Instead of the 30.5 m (100 ft) relied on. A 10 degree roll to starboard and overflowing water in the superstructure forced the Crab commander to fill the port displacer. It was decided not to touch the mine jammed in the right elevator until dawn. Under kerosene engines at a speed of 6 knots, the minelayer moved away from the coast and headed for a rendezvous with the EM "Wrathful". At dawn, the mine in the right elevator was wedged with great precautions and the door of the aft embrasure was closed.
On September 3, at 06.00, the "Crab" met EM "Wrathful" and took a towing rope from it. Seven miles from Constanta, the Crab attacked enemy seaplanes, dropping 21 bombs, but they did not cause any harm.
On September 4, at 18.00, both ships arrived safely in Sevastopol.
Assessing the last mine setting made by the underwater minelayer "Crab", the Black Sea Fleet commander in his report on the actions of the fleet from September 1 to September 15, 1916, wrote: one mile, and in the event of a malfunction of the submarine mechanisms, I consider the execution of the task assigned to him by the Crab commander, despite a number of previous failures, an outstanding feat."
For laying mines near the Bosphorus on July 18, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, by order of November 15, 1916, awarded the commander of the minelayer st. Lieutenant M. V. Parutsky with the St. George cross of the 4th degree, and the acting senior officer, Lieutenant N. A. Monastyrev, by order of November 1, 1916, with the St. George weapon. Acting mine officer, midshipman M. F. Pzhisetsky was promoted to lieutenant and awarded the Order of Vladimir, 4th degree with swords and a bow. By an earlier order of June 27, 1916, the chief of the submarine brigade, Captain 1st Rank V. E. Klochkovsky, was awarded the St. George weapon.
By the order of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet of October 6, 1916, 26 people of the minelayer "Crab" team were awarded: 3 people with the Cross of St. George, 3rd degree. 7 people with the cross of St. George, 4th degree. 3 people with the St. George medal of the 3rd degree, 13 people with the St. George medal of the 4th degree. Earlier, the fleet commander awarded by his order 3 people with the medal "For diligence" and 9 people with a medal on the Stanislavskaya ribbon.
After this campaign, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet ordered "to begin overhaul and alteration of the system of laying mines of the minelayer" Crab "" due to damage to the mechanisms and many design flaws that create an insecurity of the combat mission of the submarine."
On this, as we see, the combat activity of the world's first underwater minelayer "Crab" ended.
In the autumn and winter of 1916, there were some changes in the officers of the minelayer. Machine conductor Yu. Pusner was promoted to second lieutenant in the Admiralty and by order of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet was appointed a ship mechanic of the minelayer, and a mechanical engineer, warrant officer PI Nikitin was assigned to the new submarine "Orlan". On September 28, Lieutenant N. A. Monastyrev, who was serving as a senior officer, was appointed to the submarine "Kashalot" for the same position. After sailing on it, he received the command of the submarine "Skat".
During the civil war, Monastyrev served in the white navy and shared the fate of other former officers who opposed his people: he ended up in distant Bizerte. Here in 1921 -1924. Monastyrev published "Bizertsky Marine Collection" and began to study the history of the Russian fleet. His service in the White Navy ended in November 1924 after the recognition of the USSR by France. During his emigration, N. A. Monastyrev wrote a number of books and articles on the history of the Russian fleet, submarines, Arctic research and other issues.
Undoubtedly, the last commander of the submarine "Krab" Captain 2nd Rank (promoted to this rank in 1917) MV Parutsky was also an outstanding submarine officer, but he also later found himself in exile.
It should also be noted the head of the Submarine Brigade, Captain 1st Rank (since 1917 Rear Admiral) Vyacheslav Evgenievich Klochkovsky, who served in the submarine fleet since 1907. He commanded the submarine, and then the submarine formations. Like Monastyrev, Klochkovsky served in the White Navy, and then transferred to the navy of bourgeois Poland, where in the last years of his service he was the Polish naval attaché in London. In 1928 he retired.
The success of the minelayer "Crab" was also facilitated by the selfless, courageous and skillful service of sailors, non-commissioned officers and conductors of the minelayer during the most difficult military campaigns. Convincing evidence of this is the awarding of St. George's crosses and medals.
"CRAB" BECOMES REPAIR
To resolve the issue of the necessary repair of the underwater minelayer "Krab", by order of the head of the Black Sea Submarine Brigade, Captain 1st Rank V. E. Klochkovsky, and under his chairmanship on September 7, 1916, a Technical Commission was convened. The composition of this commission included: captain 2nd rank L. K. Fenshaw, senior lieutenants M. V. Parutsky and Yu. L. Afanasyev, lieutenant N. A. Monastyrsky, midshipman M. F. Pzhisetsky, mechanical engineer st. Lieutenant V. D. Brod (flagship mechanical engineer of the Submarine brigade), mechanical engineer Warrant officer P. I. Nikitin, captain of the KKI S. Ya. Kiverov (flagship ship engineer of the Submarine brigade).
Representatives of the Sevastopol port also took part in the meeting of the commission: ship engineer Lieutenant Colonel V. E. Karpov, mechanical engineer st. Lieutenant F. M. Burkovsky and mechanical engineer Lieutenant N. G. Golovachev.
The commission concluded that the minelayer needs a major overhaul due to its inherent shortcomings:
1) the operating time of kerosene engines is limited, becausequite often you have to completely disassemble them;
2) the small capacity of the storage batteries leads to a limitation of the underwater cruising range of the minelayer;
3) the electrical wiring is unsatisfactory;
4) the submarine's immersion time is long (up to 20 minutes, but not less than 12 minutes), for the reason that the large superstructure of the minelayer is slowly filling up. In addition, the nasal trim tank is completely unsuccessfully located - above the waterline;
5) short service life of the trap body due to the thin plating of the displacers, which, due to rusting, will fail before the plating of the strong body.
It was proposed to eliminate these shortcomings:
1) replace 4 kerosene meters with diesels of appropriate power;
2) instead of two main high voltage electric motors, install electric motors of the voltage usually used on the submarine;
3) change the wiring;
4) replace the worn-out storage battery with a new battery with a larger capacity due to weight savings when installing diesel engines instead of kerosene engines;
5) to alter the devices for filling the main ballast tanks and replace the bow trimmed tank with bow propellers.
The commission believed that with the timely delivery of new mechanisms, the repair of the minelayer would approximately take at least one year. At the same time, she was aware that even with such a long repair, only some of the shortcomings of mechanisms and devices would be eliminated. The main disadvantages - low surface and underwater speeds, small underwater cruising range, as well as a long dive time - will be eliminated only partially. Taking into account the need for the participation of the minelayer in a real war, the commission, however, considered it possible to limit itself to only some corrections that ensured the combat activity of the underwater minelayer.
These fixes included:
1) replacement of a worn-out storage battery with a new one, manufactured at that time at the factory;
2) repair of existing electrical wiring, and it is imperative to make boxes with fuses accessible for inspection;
3) replacement of main electric motor stations with simpler and more reliable ones;
4) a complete bulkhead of the kerosene engines with the replacement of unusable parts with new ones, with the removal of four cylinders from each bow engine (in this case, the speed of the minelayer would decrease to approximately 10 knots); checking shafts and correcting thrust bearings; use the space freed up after removing part of the cylinders to install the Sperry gyrocompass on the submarine and improve household amenities;
5) a decrease in the stock of kerosene by 600 poods (9, 8 tons), because part of the kerosene engine cylinders will be removed;
6) the use of two nasal displacers instead of the nasal trim tank removed from the submarine;
7) further development of the scallop superstructure on the deck and an increase in the number of air valves to improve its filling;
8) elimination of defects in manual control of the vertical rudder.
9) According to the proposal of the commission, it will take about 3 months to complete this reduced volume of repairs.
On September 20, 1916, the act of the Technical Commission was reported to the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, who emphasized the fact that the commission did not pay enough attention to the most important part of the underwater minelayer - the mine elevator. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet set the task of bringing the mine elevator "to a state in which the incidents during the last operation could not be repeated."
He did not allow removing part of the kerosene engine cylinders, believing that the surface course of the minelayer was already insufficient.
When calculating the time required for the repair, the commission proceeded from the fact that the repair of mechanisms would be reduced to their bulkhead and that in connection with the removal of the 8 cylinders of the nasal kerosene engines, it would be possible to use the assemblies of the removed cylinders to replace the unusable parts. However, the decision of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, which prohibited the removal of some of the cylinders, increased the volume of work. In addition, when the motors were disassembled, it turned out that it was necessary to grind 13 cylinders and make 20 pistons anew.
The last work was especially difficult for the workshops of the Sevastopol port, because pistons were manufactured by the Kerting brothers' plant from cast iron of a special composition - very viscous and fine-grained. Since there was no such cast iron in stock, the workshops had to spend a month and a half in order to select cast iron of the appropriate quality from the available types of cast iron. And then the entry of the minelayer into the dock, which was occupied by other ships, was delayed, and the Crab was introduced there instead of the 20th of October only on November 26, 1916. Subsequently, in 1917, when replacing the engines of the Crab, it was again brought into the dock. …
Thus, the repair of the minelayer could not be completed on the previously scheduled date - December 20, 1916 (the beginning of the repair on September 19). Therefore, the chief mechanical engineer of the Sevastopol port set a new deadline for the completion of the repair at the end of March 1917. But this deadline, as we will see, was not met. Later, another event occurred that delayed the repair of the submarine: on December 17, when the Crab was put into dry dock and the dock began to fill with water, without taking appropriate precautions, the minelayer went on board and water began to flow into it through the detached hatches. This accident required additional time for the submarine repair. By the way, the "Tudor" plant also delayed new storage batteries, and they were not delivered on the contract date (in September).
On January 1, 1917, the head of the Black Sea Submarine Brigade, Captain 1st Rank V. E. Klochkovsky, addressed the head of the diving department of the GUK with a letter.
In this letter, he pointed out that due to an accident at the dock, the repair of the electrical part of the minelayer could be completed only in 4 months, if the batteries arrive on time. The repair of Kerting's motors presented great difficulties for the Sevastopol port, and besides, there was no guarantee of a satisfactory quality of repair, and leaving these motors on the minelayer was inappropriate for the following reasons:
1) these motors are unreliable in operation;
2) repairing them in the Sevastopol port, which does not have the means to carry out such special work as, for example, casting cast-iron pistons, will not improve the basic qualities of the motors and, finally, 3) the motors have served for several years, are worn out, therefore, their already low quality will be so deteriorated that overhaul will only become a waste of time and money.
For this reason, Klochkovsky proposed replacing the Kerting kerosene engines with 240 hp diesels installed on AG-type submarines. If we assume that in this case the submarine "Crab" will give 9 knots of full speed and about 7 knots of economic speed, then such a decision can be considered quite acceptable.
Naval Minister Admiral I. K. Grigorovich on the report of the head of the Main Directorate agreed with this proposal, and on January 17, 1917, the chairman of the commission for monitoring ships under construction in Nikolaev was instructed to send two diesel engines with a capacity of 240 liters to Sevastopol for the minelayer "Crab".s., intended for the first batch of submarines of type AG, arrived in Nikolaev for assembly. These submarines were built by order of Russia by Holland's company in the amount of 6 units (previously, 5 such submarines were bought for the Baltic Fleet). They arrived in Nikolaev from America in batches of 3 PLs each.
In January 1917, the foundations for the kerosene engines were dismantled and removed from the submarine. Even earlier, the main electric motors, stations and battery fans were sent for repair to Kharkov to the plant of the "General Electricity Company" (VEC). On the minelayer there was a bulkhead of torpedo tubes and air compressors. In order to eliminate the defects discovered during combat operation, the mine elevator was repaired.
So, the lower guide shoulder straps, between which the rollers rolled along the worm shaft, turned out to be of insufficient thickness, due to which the rollers slipped off them; the squares, between which the side guide rollers moved, were placed outward, as a result of which sometimes these rollers touched the beds, etc.
By the end of October 1917, foundations for diesel engines were installed on the barrier, as well as the diesel engines themselves, except for gas exhaust pipes with valves manufactured by the workshops of the Sevastopol port, and compressed air cylinders and their pipelines. The installation of the left main electric motor on the submarine was carried out a little later than the planned date, since the electric motor was received from Kharkov with a great delay: only in late July - early August 1917. The second main electric motor was not ready by that time, as were the battery fans and stations. The reasons for this delay at the VKE plant are visible from the report of the observer on the electrical part in Kharkov on June 19, 1917.
Only on November 6 - 7, 1917, the repair of the right main electric motor, both stations and one battery fan was completed (the second fan was altered due to a defect discovered during reception). To this it should be added that the Tudor plant did not fulfill its obligation by supplying only half of the batteries.
Thus, the repair of the underwater minelayer "Krab" was not completed by January 1, 1918.
This delay in the repair of the minelayer, of course, cannot be explained only by technical reasons, apart from the political events that were taking place in Russia at that moment.
The February revolution overthrew the autocracy. The war continued, bringing to the people only innumerable casualties, hardships and the bitterness of new defeats at the fronts.
And then the October Revolution burst out. The Soviet government immediately invited all the belligerents to immediately conclude an armistice and begin negotiations for a peace without annexations and indemnities.
In February 1918, a decree of the Council of People's Commissars was issued stating that the fleet was declared disbanded and a socialist workers 'and peasants' Red Navy was organized … on a voluntary basis.
On March 3, 1918, the Brest Peace Treaty was signed. It is quite understandable that in these conditions the question of completing the repair of the underwater minelayer "Crab" disappeared by itself, because there was no need for it, and even less an opportunity, at least for the first time.
END OF "CRAB"
At the end of April 1918, German troops approached Sevastopol. To save their ships from being captured
The teams of destroyers, submarines and patrol ships, and then the teams of battleships, decided to leave for Novorossiysk. However, at the last moment, the PL teams changed their mind and the PL remained in Sevastopol. Outdated and repaired ships remained there. In July 1918, the German command presented an ultimatum to the Soviet Government, demanding by July 19 to return the fleet to Sevastopol and transfer the ships "for storage" until the end of the war. Some of the Black Sea Fleet ships were sunk in Novorossiysk, some were blown up in Sevastopol. On November 9, a revolution took place in Germany and German troops soon left Ukraine and Crimea, and a squadron of allies (ships of Great Britain, France, Italy and Greece) came to Sevastopol. Power passed into the hands of whites. But in January-March 1919 the Red Army, having gone over to the offensive, won a number of victories. She liberated Nikolaev, Kherson, Odessa, and then the whole Crimea. The White Guard troops of General Wrangel and the Entente left Sevastopol. But before leaving, they managed to withdraw the warships and transports, destroying the aircraft and other military property, and blew up the cylinders of the machines on the remaining old ships, rendering these ships completely unusable.
On April 26, 1919, the British took the remaining 11 Russian submarines to the outer roads with the help of the Elizaveta tugboat. Having made holes in them and opened hatches, they flooded these submarines.
The twelfth submarine - "Crab" was sunk in the Northern Bay. Among the submarines sunk by the British were: 3 submarines of the "Narwhal" type, 2 submarines of the "Bars" type, completed in 1917, the submarine "AG-21", 5 old submarines and, finally, the underwater minelayer "Krab." For the sinking of this submarine on the left side in the area of its cabin, a hole of 0.5 square meters was made. m and the bow hatch is open.
The last volleys of the civil war died down. The Soviet power went over to peaceful construction. As a result of two wars, the Black and Azov seas turned into graveyards of sunken ships. These ships became of great value for Soviet Russia, because some of them, maybe a small one, could be repaired and replenished with them for the military and merchant fleet of Soviet Russia, and some could be melted down for metal, which is so necessary for the country's reviving industry..
At the end of 1923, the Special Purpose Underwater Expedition (EPRON) was created, which for many subsequent years was the main organization that carried out the recovery of sunken ships. In the mid-1920s, work began on the search and recovery of the submarine, sunk by the British near Sevastopol on April 26, 1919. As a result, the submarines "AG-21", "Losos", "Sudak", "Nalim" and others were found and raised.
In 1934, while searching for submerged submarines, the metal detector gave a deviation indicating the presence of a large amount of metal in this place. At the first examination, it was found that this is a SP. And at the beginning it was decided that this was the submarine "Gagara" (of the "Bars" type) built in 1917; assumed that there could not be another submarine in this place. However, as a result of a subsequent, more thorough examination the following year, it turned out that it was an underwater minelayer "Crab". He lay at a depth of 65 m, buried astern deep into the ground, in a solid hull on the left side there was a hole measuring 0.5 square meters. m; the guns and periscopes were intact. Work on lifting the minelayer began in the summer of 1935. transferring it gradually to a shallower depth. The first attempts to lift the minelayer were made in June 1935, but it was not possible to tear off the stern from the ground, and therefore they decided to first erode the soil in the stern of the submarine. This work was very difficult because the removal of the entire system of suction pipes upward was very difficult, and the swell could turn this entire system into scrap. In addition, due to the great depth, divers could only work on the ground for 30 minutes. Nevertheless. By October 1935, the soil was washed out and from October 4 to October 7, 3 successive lifts were carried out, a minelayer was introduced into the port and raised to the surface. MP Naletov drew up a project for the restoration and modernization of the minelayer.
But over the years, the Soviet navy has gone far ahead in its development. It included dozens of new, advanced submarines of all types, including underwater minelayers of the "L" type. The need to restore the "Crab" - submarine is already obsolete, of course, disappeared. Therefore, after lifting it near Sevastopol, the "Crab" was scrapped.
CONCLUSION
More than 85 years have passed since the underwater minelayer "Crab" set out on the first mine setting to the Bosphorus … 62 years have passed since the heart of the remarkable Russian patriot and talented inventor Mikhail Petrovich Naletov stopped beating. But his name cannot be forgotten.
Among foreign powers, Germany was the first to appreciate the importance of MP Naletov's invention, which German specialists and sailors undoubtedly learned about during the construction of the "Crab" in Nikolaev from their representative of the factories Krupp Kerting, who often visited the Russian Maritime Ministry.
During the First World War, 212 submarine minelayers were ordered and built in Germany. Each of them had from 12 to 18 minutes. Only the large underwater minelayers "U-71" - "U-80" had 36 minutes each and "U-117" - "U-121" 42 - 48 minutes each, but the displacement of the latter (surface) was 1160 tons, i.e. e. 2 times more displacement submarine "Crab".
Even the German submarine minelayers ordered already in the year of the end of the war, the displacement of which did not differ much from the displacement of the "Crab", were inferior to the Russian minelayer.
In Germany, they did not know Naletov's device and created their own, which consisted of 6 special wells located with a slope to the stern of the submarine at an angle of 24 degrees. Each of these wells contained 2 - 3 mines. The upper and lower ends of the wells were open. During the underwater course of the minelayer, water jets pushed the mines to the lower openings of the wells, which made it easier to place mines. Consequently, the German submarine minelayers laid mines "for themselves." Because of this, they sometimes became victims of their own mines. So the minelayers "UC-9", "UC-12", "UC-32", "UC-44" and "UC-42" died, and the last minelayer was killed in September 1917, i.e. 2 years after the entry into service of the first minelayers of this type.
By that time, the personnel, undoubtedly, should have already mastered the device for laying mines well. For this reason, the number of German submarine minelayers killed was probably more than 5, tk. some of the minelayers "went missing", and the possibility is not excluded that some of them died on their own mines when they were set.
Thus, the first German device for laying mines turned out to be very unreliable and dangerous for the submarines themselves. Only on large underwater minelayers (UC-71 and others) this device was different.
On these submarines, mines were stored in a solid case on horizontal racks, from where they were introduced into 2 special pipes ending in the aft part of the minelayer. Each of the pipes contained only 3 mines. After setting these mines, the procedure for introducing the next mines into the tubes was repeated.
Naturally, with such a device for setting mines, special tanks were additionally required, since the introduction of mines into the pipes and their setting caused a shift in the center of gravity of the submarine and a trim, which was compensated by the intake and pumping of water. From this it is clear that the last system for laying mines, adopted on some German underwater minelayers, is much more complicated than the system of M. P. Naletov.
Unfortunately, for a long time the valuable experience of creating the first underwater minelayer was not used in the Russian navy. True, as mentioned, back in 1907 at the Baltic Shipyard, 2 variants of an underwater minelayer with a displacement of only 250 tons with 60 mines were developed. But none of them was implemented: it is clear that with such a small displacement, it was impossible to supply the minelayer with 60 mines, although the plant claimed otherwise. At the same time, the experience of war and the combat use of the "Crab" minelayer showed that underwater minelayers are very necessary for the fleet. For this reason, in order to obtain submarine minelayers for the Baltic Fleet as soon as possible, it was decided to convert 2 of the Bars-class submarines being completed in 1916 into submarine minelayers. On June 17, 1916, in a letter to the Chief of the Naval General Staff, the Assistant to the Minister of the Sea wrote: “Such alterations can take place only on the Trout and Ruff submarines built by the Baltic Shipyard, only because the plant undertakes to carry out this work on the Crab submarine system., while the Noblessner plant offers its own system, the drawings of which are far from being developed."
Let us recall that 9 years before this, the Baltic plant had undertaken to install its own mine device and mines ("systems of the captain of the 2nd rank of Schreiber"), and not those proposed by MP Naletov, now that the mine device and mines were carried out on the "Crab", they were recognized by the Baltic Shipyard … In addition, it should be emphasized that the projects of the mine device and mines were carried out for the underwater minelayer by the Noblessner plant undoubtedly not without the participation of the plant's consultant, and it was the largest shipbuilder Professor Ivan Grigorievich Bubnov, according to whose designs they were built almost all submarines of the "Russian type" (including the submarine "Bars").
And if, nevertheless, preference was given to the "system of MP Naletov" (which, however, was not called that way), then the value and uniqueness of MP Naletov's invention become even more obvious.
Despite the fact that the Ruff and Trout submarines were larger than the Crab, the Baltic Shipyard was unable to place the same number of mines on them as Naletov managed to place.
Of the two underwater minelayers for the Baltic Fleet, only Yorsh was completed, and even then by the end of 1917.
In connection with the need during the war to lay mines at shallow depths in the southern part of the Baltic, the MGSh raised the question of building small underwater minelayers, which, moreover, could be built in a short time (it was assumed by September 1917). This issue was reported on February 3, 1917 to the Minister of the Navy, who ordered 4 small submarine minelayers to be ordered. Two of them ("Z-1" and "Z-2") ordered the Baltic plant and two ("No-3" and "Z-4") - the Russian-Baltic plant in Revel.
These minelayers were somewhat different from each other: the first had a displacement of 230/275 and took 20 minutes, and the second had a displacement of 228, 5/264 tons and took 16 minutes. The minelayers were not completed until the end of the war.
Despite the fact that Naletov was removed from construction shortly after the launch of the Crab, his priority in creating the world's first underwater mine layer was quite obvious.
Of course, in the process of building the minelayer, both the officers and workers of the Nikolaev plant made many different changes and improvements to the initial project. So, the captain of the 1st rank N. N. Schreiber, in particular, proposed replacing the chain elevator with a more advanced screw one, and the technical design of it was carried out by the designer of the plant S. P. Silverberg. further, at the suggestion of naval engineers who monitored the construction of the minelayer, the aft tank of the main ballast was divided into two, tk. it was much larger than the nasal cistern, which led to trimming during the ascent and submersion of the submarine; the bow trim tank, as you know, was removed from the bow tank of the main ballast, where it was placed; removed as unnecessary anchoring links between bulkheads limiting the middle tank, etc.
All this is quite natural, since the expediency of many parts of the ship was tested during its construction and especially during operation. For example, during the repair of the minelayer, the bow trimmed tank was going to be replaced with the forward compartments of the displacers, since positioning it above the waterline proved to be impractical. But such an arrangement of this tank during the construction of the minelayer was proposed by the ship engineer V. E. Karpov, a man, undoubtedly, technically competent and experienced. Thus, despite all the changes and improvements made to the minelayer during its construction, it should be recognized that both the mines and the mine device were made on the basis of those physical principles and technical considerations that were originally laid down in the project by the inventor himself - M. P.. The raids, and the minelayer "Crab" was built as a whole according to his project. Despite the shortcomings (for example, the complexity of the immersion system), the underwater minelayer "Crab" was in all respects an original design, not borrowed from anywhere and never before implemented.
When they say that the underwater minelayer "Crab" was an unusable submarine, they forget that although the "Crab" was essentially an experimental submarine, it nevertheless participated in the war and completed a number of important combat missions for laying mines near enemy shores, and such tasks could only be performed by an underwater minelayer. In addition, the "Crab" is the world's first underwater minelayer, and could not but have flaws, like any ship of a completely new type, which had no analogues of its kind. Recall that the first German UC-class submarine minelayers were fitted with very imperfect mine-laying devices, as a result of which some of these submarines were killed. But the shipbuilding equipment of Germany was much higher than the shipbuilding equipment of tsarist Russia!
In conclusion, we present an assessment given by the inventor himself to the world's first underwater minelayer "Crab": "Crab", with all its advantages and novelty, both I put into his ideas and the designs that shaped this idea, had … quite natural flaws that they had the first copies of even great inventions (for example, Stephenson's steam locomotive, the Wright brothers' airplane, etc.) and submarines of that time ("Cayman", "Shark") …"
Let us also cite the opinion of the same N. A. Monastyrev, who wrote about the "Crab": "If he possessed many … shortcomings, it was the result of the first experience, and not of the idea itself, which was perfect." One cannot but agree with this fair assessment.
