Torpedoes and Torpedo Warfare: Containing a Complete and Concise Account of the Rise and Progress of Submarine WarfareSleeman, Charles William
History
Torpedoes and Torpedo Warfare: Containing a Complete and Concise Account of the Rise and Progress of Submarine Warfare
Sleeman, Charles William
Torpedoes
The No. 2 seems to have suffered severely, her funnel being bent, the
axle of the steering wheel damaged, sixteen rivets were started, and
the iron keel plate had dropped some 18 inches, and finally the lower
part of her rudder broken, and one of the blades of her screw bent aft;
part of this damage was no doubt the effect of the explosion of her
torpedo, which was probably not in position, but unless she ran over
some loose stones of the Soulina breakwater, the damage to her keel and
rudder cannot be accounted for.
The second group of boats had followed up the first, but on hearing the
noise of the explosions and roar of the guns and rifles they returned
to the _Constantine_.
That ship, on observing the firing, endeavoured to close the land, but
she grounded, and remained until daylight in a difficult position, but
at last got afloat, and returned to Odessa with five out of her six
torpedo boats.
Lieutenant Rojdestvenski, the Commander of the No. 2, received the 4th
Class of the Cross of Saint George, and three seamen the insignia of
the Order of Military Merit.
On the part of the No. 1 and No. 2, this was a most gallant affair,
though unsuccessful, but as regards the remainder of the boats the less
said the better.
Had the Turkish squadron slipped the instant the alarm was given, and
steamed full speed in the direction of Odessa, the _Constantine_ and
her convoy might have been cut off. Both the _Moorcademikhair_ and
_Feteh Bulend_ were 13 knot ships, and therefore considerably faster
than the enemy. But, as usual, the Turks were far too dilatory to take
advantage of the occasion.
4TH AFFAIR.
_The Rustchuk Attack._--The fourth torpedo attack was made on the
afternoon of the 20th of June, 1877, on a Turkish monitor off Rustchuk.
The only Russian torpedo boat sent to the attack on this occasion was
a Thornycroft named the _Choutka_, commanded by Lieutenant Skrydloff,
and accompanied by a celebrated Russian artist, Verechtckaguine by
name. The instant the torpedo boat was observed, so well directed and
steady a fire was kept up by the monitor that both the lieutenant and
the artist were badly wounded, and the electric wires of the torpedo
severed, thus obliging the _Choutka_ to beat a retreat. According to
the Russian account, the monitor was struck by the boat's torpedo
spar, but the above seems the more likely version. This was certainly
a most audacious attack, and had the Turks only succeeded in hitting
the _Choutka_ with her big gun, it would have ended fatally for the
Russians; as it was, the boat was struck by several bullets, but none
of the crew were wounded.
5TH AFFAIR.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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