''Admiral Ushakov'' (Адмирал Ушаков) was a

cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...

that was built in 1939 as ''Neidenfels'' by

Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (abbreviated Deschimag) was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen. History The Deschimag was founded in 19 ...

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft "Hansa", Bremen. She was seized in May 1945 by the British at

Eckernförde Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is ...

, Germany, passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed ''Empire Dee''. In 1946, she was transferred to 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 ...

and renamed ''Admiral Ushakov''. She served until 1975, when she was scrapped at Split,

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Description

The ship was built in 1939 by

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

. She was yard number 950. The ship was long, with a beam of . She had a depth of and a draught of . She was assessed at , . Her DWT was 10,540. The ship was propelled by two 6-cylinder double-acting

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s, producing a total of 7,600

nhp Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

. The engines drove a single screw

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. They were built by

Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg MAN SE (abbreviation of ''Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg'', ) was a manufacturing and engineering company based in Munich, Germany. Its primary output was commercial vehicles and diesel engines through its MAN Truck & Bus and MAN Latin Ame ...

, Augsburg and could propel her at .

History

''Neidenfels'' was built for the Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft "Hansa", (DDG Hansa)

. The third DDG Hansa ship of that name. She was launched in October 1938, completed in January 1939 and delivered on 18 March 1939. As built, the ship had accommodation for 12 passengers and 43 crew. Her port of registry was Bremen and the

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...

DOUT were allocated. She was equipped with one 50-ton derrick, one 15-ton derrick, six 10-ton derricks, two 6-ton derricks and thirteen 5-ton derricks. On 7 March 1940, ''Neidenfels'' was requisitioned by the ''Kriegsdienstellen'', Bremen. In April 1940, she participated in '' Operation Weserübung''. ''Neidenfels'' was only lightly armed, unlike her sister ships and . In August 1940, ''Neidenfels'' was designated as "Transporter A4". It was intended that she would participate in ''

Operation Seelöwe Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...

'', operating out of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, Belgium. In May 1941, she participated in ''Operation Blaufuchs'', transporting German troops to Finland. In 1942. ''Neidenfels'' was used to transport materials to Finland. In 1945, she was delivering goods to

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

in support of the '' Heeresgruppe Kurland''. On 8 May 1945, ''Neidenfels'' was seized by British Forces at

, Germany. She was passed to the Ministry of War Transport and renamed ''Empire Dee''. On 7 June, she was delivered to

Methil Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. She was declared to be a prize of war. ''Empire Dee'' was placed under the management of William Thompson & Co Ltd and her port of registry was changed to London. The United Kingdom

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

180594 and Code Letters GDNS were allocated. Her port of registry was changed to London. (Enter GDNS or Empire Dee in relevant search box) ''Empire Dee'' arrived at Suez, Egypt on 6 May 1946 for transfer to the

. She was renamed ''Admiral Ushakov'' (Адмирал Ушаков). Her port of registry was

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

and the Code Letters UKTB were allocated. In February 1948, ''Admiral Ushakov'' was the second Russian ship to deliver grain to the United Kingdom following the signing of a trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. of barley were delivered to the Alexander Dock, Liverpool, Lancashire. In May 1951, ''Admiral Ushakov'' towed a

floating dock Floating may refer to: * a type of dental work performed on horse teeth * use of an isolation tank * the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched * ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes * Floating (psychological phe ...

from Vladivostok to Odessa via Singapore, assisted by the

tug 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, suc ...

''Vasley Beslaev''. With the introduction of IMO Numbers. ''Admiral Ushakov'' was allocated IMO 5003021. In 1972, her port of registry was changed to

Illichivsk Chornomorsk ( uk, Чорномо́рськ, ), formerly Illichivsk (, Romanization of Ukrainian, translit. ''Illichivs'k''), is a city in Odesa Raion, Odesa Oblast (Oblast, province) of south-western Ukraine, dependent on the Port of Chornomorsk ...

(in Russian Ilyichovsk, today

Chornomorsk Chornomorsk ( uk, Чорномо́рськ, ), formerly Illichivsk (, translit. ''Illichivs'k''), is a city in Odesa Raion, Odesa Oblast (province) of south-western Ukraine, dependent on the Port of Chornomorsk. The city is located around the S ...

). ''Admiral Ushakov'' arrived at Split,

on 8 October 1975 for scrapping.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Admirak Ushakov 1938 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Merchant ships of Germany Cargo liners World War II merchant ships of Germany Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of the Soviet Union Ships of Black Sea Shipping Company Ships of the Soviet Union