Ottomar Gern also known as Konstantin Borisovich Gern (16 November 1827 – 9 November 1882), was a Russian
fortification
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
engineer. Gern was born to a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
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* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
noble family of
German
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* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
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**Ger ...
origin in
Vitebsk Governorate
Vitebsk Governorate (russian: Витебская губерния, ) was an administrative unit ( guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting the Byelorussia Governorate and ...
, Russia. He studied war engineering at school and later became a lecturer in the field of construction of fortifications.
During the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
in 1854, Gern was sent to
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
to organise better protection for batteries. Gern built four
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s during his life. After the
Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), he made a comprehensive presentation of the protective construction operations of both sides. He was awarded the rank of Lieutenant-General.
Career
In summer 1854, Gern arrived in Tallinn to strengthen the local defence facilities. After a couple of months, the Crimean War (1853-1856) had reached a point where the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
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and French allies of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
has reached the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
, and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
announced a naval blockade. The British warships were stationed near
Naissaar
Naissaar ( sv, Nargö; german: Nargen) is an island in Estonia. It is situated in the Gulf of Finland, northwest of the capital city Tallinn, and is administratively part of the Viimsi Parish, Viimsi parish. The island covers an area of . It is ...
, blocking the exit route from Tallinn. Artillery fire from the shore could not reach them. To resolve this situation, Gern came up with the idea of constructing a submarine, which could reach enemy ships undetected and attack them unexpectedly. Gern got approval for his project and the first submarine was constructed in Tallinn in summer 1854. There were no large shipyards there at the time, so Gern had to do with the options available. In early autumn, the Tallinn military shipyard constructed a 5-metre wooden submarine. It had a crew of four. The weapon to attack enemy ships was located at the forward end.
The following year a second design was constructed by K. & A. Frikke shipyard in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. The second submarine was propelled by muscle power and displaced 8 tons. A third design displacing 10 tons and powered by a
petrol engine
A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...
was constructed by Izhorskiy yard in
Kolpino
Kolpino (russian: Ко́лпино; fi, Kolpina, ') is a administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, municipal city in Kolpinsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia, loc ...
in 1864.
Both designs carried a submarine mine as armament.
Gern's fourth design was a steam-powered submarine, the first to be armed with a self-propelled torpedo.
No.4 was constructed by I. F. Alexandrovskiy shipyard in St. Petersburg in 1864-1867. The long boat was launched in October 1867. In August 1871 the 25-ton boat was subjected to trials by the Imperial Russian war ministry. Although successful, the project was abandoned in 1872 after the war ministry had lost interest.
In 1872, Gern presented a 6-ton torpedo, powered by a compressed-air engine, but tests showed only modest results. According to
Edwyn Gray
Edwyn Gray (born 1927) is a British writer who specialises in naval writing although at times has written short stories.
He was born in London and educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe. He read economics at the University of London a ...
, this was "the largest and heaviest torpedo ever built".
Gern died on 9 November 1882, in
Menton
Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border.
Me ...
, France, and was buried in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
.
References
;Notes
;General references
*
*
External links
stating 1854: "On 5th of September, Russia’s first, wood-bodied submarine was tested in the harbour of Tallinn" (Google translate)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gern, Ottomar
1827 births
1882 deaths
People from Vitebsk Governorate
Engineers from the Russian Empire
Russian military engineers
Submarine pioneers
19th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire
Russian men