''Eisvogel'' was an

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

in the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, the ship served in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

until 1972.

Ship description

The ship was built for the navy in Aalborg Shipyard in Denmark, which has been occupied by Germany since April 1940, as a modified ship of the ''

Eisbär "Eisbär" (; ) is a 1980 cult hit composed by the Swiss Neue Deutsche Welle band Grauzone. It first appeared on the 1980 compilation album ''Swiss Wave - The Album''. The shorter single version was later collected on the Grauzone album ''Die Sunris ...

'' under construction on

Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstad Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstads AB was a Swedish shipbuilding company based in Gothenburg. It was founded in 1850 by Christian Barchman under the name ''Ericsbergs metall och tackjerns-gjuteri''. It delivered its last ship in 1979. History In ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. It was launched in 1942 and entered service on June 1, 1942. The ship was 61.40 m long and 15.30 m wide, had a draft of 5.90 / 6.30 m and a water displacement of 2090 t (standard) and 2913 t (fully equipped). Two standing triple expansion steam engines with a total of 3200 psi gave a top speed of 12.5 knots over two screws. The armament consisted of two 3.7 cm Flak 37 in single mounts. The crew consisted of 69 men.

Service history

Kriegsmarine

The Eisvogel served in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

as an icebreaker,

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

, escort boat and most recently in 1945 during the evacuation of German refugees from

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

and

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

. At the end of the war, the ship was sunk by its crew after its last arrival with refugees in

Wismar Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...

Soviet Union

Shortly after the end of the war it was lifted, repaired and delivered to the Soviet Union as spoils of war. Under the new name ''Alyosha Popovich'' (Russian Алёша Попович; named after the Russian Bogatyr Aljoscha Popowitsch) it served in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

until 1972. The ship was decommissioned in 1972 and laid up in the Novik Bay ("Buchta Novik") on the

Russky Island Russky Island (russian: Ру́сский о́стров, lit. ''Russian Island'') is an island in Peter the Great Gulf in the Sea of Japan, in Primorsky Krai, Russia. It is the largest island in the Eugénie Archipelago, separated from the M ...

near

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

. There it rusted along with numerous other decommissioned units until it came to the ship cemetery in Truda Bay. In 2003, only the largely rusted outer skin of its hull could be seen there.

References

{{Reflist

External links