Russian gunboat Korietz

''Korietz'' (russian: Кореец, Koreyets; literally meaning " Korean person") was a gunboat in Russian Imperial Navy. She was the lead vessel in a class of eight ships in her class (including the ''Mandzhur'' served also on the Pacific, ''Donets'', ''Zaporozhets'', ''Kubanets'', ''Terets'', ''Uralets'' and ''Chernomorets'' on the Black Sea.) The etymology of the names of this class of ships was: Korietz is a Russian word for "Korean man", Mandzhur - "Manchuria man", Donets - "Don Cossack" (literally "Cossack from Don"), Kubanets - "Kuban Cossack" ("Kuban man"), Terets - "Terek Cossack" (" Terek man"), Uralets - "Ural Cossack" ("Ural man"), Chernomorets - " Black Sea Cossack" ("Black Sea man") and Zaporozhets - "Zaporozhian Cossack".

Operational history

''Korietz'' was laid down in Stockholm, Sweden at the Bergsund Mekaniska shipyards in December 1885, launched on August 7, 1886, and commissioned in 1888.

Assigned to service with the Russian Pacific Fleet in 1895, she was a frequent visitor to ports in Korea, Japan and northern China. During the Boxer Rebellion, she participated in the Eight-Nation Alliance attack on Taku Forts in June 1900. During this battle, she was hit six times by shells fired by the Chinese defenders, and suffered nine crewmen killed and 20 wounded.

Together with the cruiser , ''Korietz'' was dispatched from Port Arthur to the main Korean port of Chemulpo (modern-day Incheon) in early 1904 to protect Russian interests, as diplomatic tensions continued to increase between Russia and the Empire of Japan. After the Russian transport ''Sungari'' arrived at Chemulpo on 7 February 1904, reporting the sighting of a large Japanese force approaching, ''Korietz'' (under the command of G. P. Belyaev) was ordered to return to Port Arthur to report and request instructions. In the early morning of 8 February 1904, ''Korietz'' spotted outside the Chemulpo roadstead, and mistaking it for a fellow Russian ship, loaded its guns for a salute. On closing in, the crew of the ''Korietz'' realized their mistake and in the ensuing confusion the guns were discharged. ''Chiyoda'' responded by launching a torpedo. Both sides missed, but this was the first actual exchange of fire in the Russo-Japanese War, and it is highly unclear which side actually opened fire first. ''Korietz'' retreated back to Chemulpo harbor.

In the subsequent Battle of Chemulpo Bay, Captain Vsevolod Rudnev of the ''Varyag'' refused an ultimatum by Imperial Japanese Navy admiral Uryū Sotokichi to surrender, and on February 9, 1904 attempted to break through the Japanese squadron from Chemulpo to the open sea. Vastly outnumbered and outgunned, ''Korietz'' fired 52 rounds at the Japanese ships, but was at a distance that most of its shots did not even reach the Japanese fleet. ''Varyag'' took heavy damage; ''Korietz'' suffered from only light damage from shrapnel with no casualties. Unable to break past the Japanese squadron by mid-afternoon, ''Korietz'' and ''Varyag'' returned to Chemulpo harbor, where both took refuge near the neutral warships. At 1600 the same day, ''Korietz'' was scuttled by its crew by blowing up two ammunition magazines. The crew was taken aboard a French cruiser ''Pascal'', taken to Saigon, French Indochina, and returned to Russia. In St. Petersburg all the officers were awarded the Order of St. George (4th class), the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire.

After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the wreckage of ''Korietz'' was raised by Japanese engineers, and scrapped.

Second gunboat

There was a second gunboat named ''Korietz'', laid down in 1906 at the Putilov Plant in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She was of the ''Gilyak'' class. At the end of the First World War she participated in the Battle of Moon Sound, but was blown up by her crew on August 8, 1915 to avoid surrendering to German forces.

Other

The Grisha III class corvette ''Koreyets'' (Russian Кореец) of the modern Russian Navy was named after the Russo-Japanese War gunboat ''Korietz'' at the request of the Association of Koreans in Russia.

References

External links

Encyclopedia article for Korietz


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080424050717/http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/ince/698/rurik/taku.html Taku Forts May-June 1900
battleships-cruisers.co.uk
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Korietz
Ships of the Imperial Russian Navy
1886 ships
Gunboats of the Imperial Russian Navy
Ships built in Stockholm
Russo-Japanese War naval ships of Russia
Maritime incidents in 1904
Shipwrecks of the Russo-Japanese War
Shipwrecks of Korea
Scuttled vessels