''Delfin'' (russian: Дельфин, lit=Dolphin) was the first combat-capable Russian

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 ...

. She was commissioned in 1903 and decommissioned in 1917, having served during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During a test dive in 1904, 25 crew were killed.

Design

''Delfin'' was designed by

Naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Architecture, Occupations ...

Senior Assistant Ivan Grigoryevich Bubnov, Lieutenant M.N. Beklemishev and Lieutenant I.S. Goryunov of the Construction Commission for Submarines (later the

Rubin Design Bureau Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering ( Russian: Центральное конструкторское бюро "Рубин", shortened to ЦКБ "Рубин") in Saint Petersburg is one of three main Russian centers of submarine desi ...

). The design was of a single-hull type submarine with saddle tanks whose outer plating was covered with teak to prevent damage in the case of grounding.Gardiner and Gray, p.312 She was ordered in July 1901 laid down by Baltic Works at

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 ...

, launched in 1902, and entered service in 1903, training officers and sailors. Initially the vessel was classed as a torpedo boat and only given a number instead of a name.

General characteristics

''Delfin'' displaced 113 tons surfaced and 126 tons submerged. She was long with a beam of and a draught of . The submarine was powered by one gasoline/electric motor that created 300

bhp BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

and 120 hp respectively that drove one shaft. This gave ''Delfin'' a speed of surfaced and submerged. The ship was crewed by 22 men, including officers.

Armament

''Delfin''s main armament was two external torpedoes in

Drzewiecki drop collar The Drzewiecki drop collar was an external torpedo launching system most commonly used by the French and Imperial Russian Navies in the first two decades of the 20th century. It was designed by Stefan Drzewiecki, a Polish engineer and inventor ...

s. The boat was also equipped with one machine gun.

Service history

While undergoing her first sea trials, ''Delfin''s ballast tanks were faulty and it took 12 minutes to complete her dive. This foreshadowed future events for the vessel. On 29 June 1904 the submarine sank in the

Neva River The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it i ...

by the wall of the

Baltic Shipyard The OJSC Baltic Shipyard (''Baltiysky Zavod'', formerly Shipyard 189 named after Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze) (russian: Балтийский завод имени С. Орджоникидзе) is one of the oldest shipyards in Russia and is part of ...

during a test dive. The captain and 24 crewmen were killed, and 12 men were rescued. The vessel was raised 3 July and transferred to the

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

n flotilla, arriving in

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 ...

in late 1904. ''Delfin'' returned to service in February 1905. In May 1905, ''Delfin'' sank again after suffering an explosion due to petrol vapours. She returned to service after the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

had ended. During World War I ''Delfin'' was transferred to Murmansk in October 1916 and served in the Northern flotilla. She was found to be unsuitable for combat operations and was deleted in August 1917. While awaiting disposal in Murmansk, she was sunk. The remains were scrapped in 1920. The centenary of ''Delfin''’s sinking - the first Russian submarine accident - was marked by the St. Petersburg Submariners Club with wreath-laying, a mourning service, and by guards of honor and an orchestra marching at the Smolenskoye Orthodox cemetery.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delfin 1902 ships Russo-Japanese War naval ships of Russia Ships built at the Baltic Shipyard Submarines of the Imperial Russian Navy World War I submarines of Russia Russian submarine accidents