Minelayer Crab
Submarine Crab, the world's first underwater minelayer, designed by M.P. Naletov, a communications engineer by education, a talented inventor, an energetic and enterprising designer.
The idea of creating an underwater minelayer came from M.P. Naletov on the day of the death of the battleship Petropavlovsk, which exploded on a Japanese mine on March 31, 1904. M.P., who was at that time in Port Arthur. Naletov decided to build a submarine - a minelayer for laying mines off enemy coasts. Naletov built this submarine with his own savings; the local naval authorities were distrustful of Naletov's idea, but allowed him to use workshops and "free machines".
The displacement of the underwater minelayer under construction was supposed to be about 25 tons, it was supposed to place 4 mines or 2 Schwarzkopf torpedoes on it. It was supposed to lay mines through a hatch in the lower part of the hull - “under itself”.
The minelayer's hull was built, cast-iron ingots (ballastins) were laid on the deck for diving, and they were removed by a floating crane for ascent. In connection with the surrender of Port Arthur to the Japanese, the unfinished minelayer was blown up.
In 1906 M.P. Naletov presented to the Marine Technical Committee a project for an underwater minelayer with a displacement of about 300 tons. The project had a number of shortcomings and was not accepted. After reviewing the comments, Naletov developed the second version of the underwater minelayer with a displacement of 450 tons and the third with a displacement of 470 tons.
The fourth, last version of the minelayer was developed by Naletov in 1907. On 10/02/1907, the specification with drawings and the draft contract were submitted by the Nikolaev plant Naval for approval by the Naval Ministry. In 1908, the Naval Ministry issued an order to the Naval plant for the construction of an underwater mine layer.
In the summer of 1909, after testing the submarine models in the Experimental Basin, the plant presented the final drawings of the underwater mine layer, which, together with the specification, were approved on 07/11/1909. By the end of 1909, the hull assembly was started. M.P. Naletov was appointed as a consultant in the construction of the submarine.
In parallel with the construction of the underwater minelayer, the manufacture and testing of mines designed by M.P. Naletov, which were supposed to have zero buoyancy, while a dispute arose between Naletov and the mine department of the Marine Technical Committee about the priority in the invention of mines of this type.
A number of shortcomings were discovered in the submarine project, the main of which was the excessive volume of the aft ballast tank. The adjustment of the project continued until 1912, when a new contract was signed for the construction of one underwater mine layer with a displacement of about 500 tons when on the surface.
The mines were located in a permeable superstructure in two rows in corridors occupying approximately 2/3 of the ship's length. There were guide rails on the side walls of each corridor. and at the bottom was a conveyor chain.
Diagrams from the book Russian submarines.
Tactical and technical data:
Displacement: surface - 510 tons
underwater - 720 tons
Dimensions: length - 52.7 meters
width - 4.3 meters
draft - 4.0 meters
Power plant: 5 groups batteries 17 elements and 1 group of 8 elements
4 kerosene engines with a total power of 1,320 hp
2 electric motors with a total power of 660 hp
2 screws
Speed: maximum (surface / underwater) - 10.8 / 8.3-8.6 knots
economic (surface / underwater) - 8.5 / 5.5-5.9 knots
Cruising range: surface - 1,200 / 2,000 miles (10.8 / 8.5 knots)
underwater - 82/138 miles (8.2/5.9 knots)
Fuel capacity: 13.5 tons (kerosene)
Immersion depth: maximum - 30 meters
dive time - 7 min 38 sec
ascent time - 4 min
buoyancy reserve - 14%
Artillery armament: 1x1 37mm gun, 2x1 7.62mm machine gun
Mine-torpedo armament: 1x1 457-mm bow torpedo tube (ammunition - 1 torpedo)
2x1 Drzewiecki torpedo tubes (ammunition load - 2 torpedoes)
60 mine barrier
2 periscopes
spotlight with a diameter of 30 cm
Crew: officers / conductors / lower ranks - 3/2/24 people
Crab in construction.
Crab at the shipyard Russud, Nikolaev, 1913.
Crab on the roads of Sevastopol.
Loading min. Crab.
Loading min. Crab.
Judging by the camouflaged destroyers of the type Novik, photo taken in 1916.
Built at the shipyard of the Naval plant in Nikolaev.
Enrolled in the lists of ships Black Sea Fleet 08/09/1912,
laid down at the end of 1909,
launched on 08/12/1912
In June 1913, factory tests began Crab, and on June 22, 1913, the first test dive took place. First commander Crab was appointed senior lieutenant A.A. Andreev. During acceptance tests, insufficient stability of the submarine was discovered, which required the installation of a lead keel weighing 28 tons and the installation of boules (onboard "displacers") to compensate for its weight. Alterations were completed in the autumn of 1914, the tests ended only in July 1915. The first military campaign Crab committed 06/25/1915 with 58 mines and 4 torpedoes Crab went out escorted by submarines Walrus, Seal and Seal to the Bosphorus. On June 27, 1915, mines were laid in the area of the Anatoli-Fener and Rumeli-Fener lighthouses. The barrier was discovered by the Turkish fleet by floating mines, after which trawling began; however, a Turkish gunboat Isa-Reis. The second setting of mines was carried out in the same area on 07/18/1916, the third on 09/01/1916. The hull and mechanisms were overhauled from 09/19/1916 in the Sevastopol military port with rearmament. On 12/16/1917, it became part of the Red Black Sea Fleet, but on 05/01/1918 it was captured by German troops, and on 11/24/1918 - by the Anglo-French invaders. 04/26/1919 Crab, in the left side of which a hole was made with a size of approx. 0.5 square meters. meters, was flooded in the outer roads of the Sevastopol Bay. In 1934 Crab discovered during preparatory work for lifting a submarine Whale. Crab lay at a depth of 57-59 meters without a roll. The stern part went deep into the ground and the trim to the stern was 12 degrees. The bow hatch was open, the conning hatch was closed. In May 1935, ship-lifting work began. It was planned to raise the underwater mine layer in several stages. The task of the first stage was to extract Crab from the ground. To do this, it was supposed to raise the bow by 12 meters with pontoons, bring towels under the stern and lower the boat to the ground. At the second stage, two 200-ton pontoons, two 80-ton pontoons and two 40-ton soft pontoons were to be sharpened above the boat, and the boat was raised in a stepped way and transferred to Streletskaya Bay to a depth of 17 meters. At the third stage, it was planned to sharpen 200-ton pontoons directly to the sides of the boat, and then raise it to the surface. This project was not strictly sustained. When lifting the nose of the stern Crab plunged into the ground even more and it was not possible to bring towels under it. Attempts to raise the bow continued several times, while the trim of the boat to the stern reached 50 degrees, but the result remained the same. In this situation, the entire burden of further work at the first stage fell on the divers. By the end of September, they had washed away a foundation pit 9-10 meters deep under the stern. Repeatedly, its walls collapsed on divers, but, fortunately, each time they managed to safely get out of the rubble. After the propeller shafts appeared from the ground, the excavation of the pit was stopped. Two 80-ton pontoons were attached to the shafts and the boat was pulled out of the ground. Further work went exceptionally quickly. From 04.10 to 07.10.1935, the boat was successively raised by 12, 15 and 17 meters and brought into Streletskaya Bay, and a month later Crab was brought to the surface. Having closed the hole and drained the compartments, the Epronovites handed over the mine layer to the Black Sea Fleet. Learning about the rise Crab, M.P. Naletov came up with a project of restoration and modernization Crab. The project was rejected Crab not restored and was sold for scrap.
Submarine (mine layer) "Crab" The project of the underwater mine layer was developed by the railway engineer M.P. Naletov. In December 1906, it was considered by the Marine Technical Committee. Naletov took into account the comments of the Marine Technical Committee and drew up 3 options for an improved project, one of which was later the project of the Crab submarine.
Its final development was carried out by specialists from the Naval plant. In the summer of 1909, after testing the submarine models in the Experimental Basin, the plant presented the final drawings of the underwater mine layer, which, together with the specification, were approved on July 11, 1909. By the end of 1909, the assembly of the hull began. M.P. Naletov was appointed as a consultant in the construction of the submarine.
"Crab" was the world's first underwater mine layer. The mines were located in a permeable superstructure in two rows in corridors occupying approximately 2/3 of the ship's length. On the side walls of each corridor there were guide rails, and in the lower part there was a conveyor chain. A number of shortcomings were discovered in the submarine project, the main of which was the excessive volume of the aft ballast tank. The adjustment of the project continued until 1912, when a new contract was signed for the construction of one underwater minelayer with a displacement of about 500 tons when surfaced.
The submarine "Crab" was laid down at the end of 1909 at the shipyard of the Naval plant in Nikolaev, launched on August 25, 1912. On August 23, 1912, she was included in the lists of ships of the Black Sea Fleet. In June 1913, factory tests of the Crab began, and on June 22 the first test dive took place. During acceptance tests, insufficient stability of the submarine was discovered, which required the installation of a lead keel weighing 28 tons and the installation of boules (onboard "displacers") to compensate for its weight. Alterations were completed in the autumn of 1914, the tests ended only in the summer of 1915. The submarine "Crab" entered service on July 8, 1915.
During the First World War, the Crab took part in minefield operations in the Bosphorus and near the port of Varna, carried out positional and sentinel services off the coast of Crimea.
The first combat campaign was carried out by the underwater minelayer "Crab" on June 25, 1915. With 58 mines and 4 torpedoes, the "Crab" went out, accompanied by the submarines "Walrus", "Nerpa" and "Seal" to the Bosphorus. On June 27, mines were laid in the area of the Anatoli-Fener and Rumeli-Fener lighthouses. The barrier was discovered by the Turkish fleet by floating mines, after which trawling began, but the Turkish gunboat Isa-Reis was blown up on the exposed mines. The second setting of mines was made in the same area on July 18, 1916, the third on September 1, 1916. In September 1916, the "Crab" was put into repair with re-equipment in the workshops of the Sevastopol port.
December 29, 1917 the submarine became part of the Red. Black Sea Fleet. On May 1, 1918, it was captured by German troops, and on November 24, 1918, by Anglo-French troops. On April 26, 1919, without the knowledge of the command of the Russian Volunteer Army, by order of the allied command, it was taken out of the port by tugboats and flooded with explosive cartridges (in the left side of which a hole of about 0.5 square meters in size was made in the area of the cabin and the bow hatch was opened) on the outer raid of Sevastopol.
In 1934, the "Crab" was discovered during preparatory work to raise the submarine "Kit". During the search for sunken boats, the metal detector gave a deviation indicating the presence of a large amount of metal in this place. "Crab" lay at a depth of 57-59 meters without a roll. The stern of the underwater mine layer entered the ground deeply and the trim to the stern was 12 degrees. The bow hatch was open, the conning hatch was closed.
In May 1935, ship-lifting work began. Due to the depth of flooding, which was large for that time, it was decided to lift the submarine in stages, that is, gradually transferring it to ever shallower depths. The task of the first stage was to extract the "Crab" from the ground. To do this, it was supposed to raise the bow by 12 meters with pontoons, bring towels under the stern and lower the submarine to the ground. At the second stage, two 200-ton pontoons, two 80-ton pontoons and two 40-ton soft pontoons were to be sharpened above the submarine, and the boat was to be raised in a stepped way and transferred to Streletskaya Bay to a depth of 17 meters. At the third stage, it was planned to sharpen 200-ton pontoons directly to the sides of the boat, and then raise it to the surface. The project was not strictly sustained. When lifting the nose of the Crab feed, it sank even more into the ground and it was not possible to bring towels under it. Attempts to raise the bow continued several times, while the submarine trim to the stern reached 50 degrees, but the result remained the same. In this situation, the entire burden of further work at the first stage fell on the divers. By the end of September, they had washed away a foundation pit 9-10 meters deep under the stern. This work was very difficult, since bringing the entire system of suction pipes upstairs is very difficult, and swell could turn this entire system into scrap. In addition, due to the great depth, divers could work on the ground for only 30 minutes. Repeatedly the walls of the pit collapsed on the divers, but, fortunately, each time they managed to safely get out of the rubble.
After the propeller shafts appeared from the ground, the excavation of the pit was stopped. Two 80-ton pontoons were attached to the shafts and the submarine was pulled out of the ground. Further work went exceptionally quickly. From October 4 to October 7, the submarine was successively raised by 12, 15 and 17 meters and brought to Streletskaya Bay, and a month later the Crab was brought to the surface. Having closed the hole and drained the compartments, EPRON handed over the minelayer to the Black Sea Fleet.
The creator of the world's first underwater minelayer M.P. Naletov at that time lived in Leningrad. Having learned that his offspring - "Crab" - was raised, he drew up a project for the restoration and modernization of the minelayer. But over the years, the Navy has gone far ahead in its development. Dozens of new, advanced submarines of all types appeared in its composition, including underwater minelayers, and the need to restore the Crab, an already outdated submarine, disappeared. Therefore, the "Crab" after lifting it from Sevastopol was scrapped.
Tactical and technical data of the submarine "Crab"
Speed: maximum (surface / underwater) - 10.8 / 8.3-8.6 knots
economic (surface / underwater) - 8.5 / 5.5-5.9 knots
Cruising range: surface - 1,200 / 2,000 miles (10.8 / 8.5 knots)
Underwater - 82/138 miles (8.2/5.9 knots)
Fuel capacity: 13.5 tons (kerosene)
Dive time - 7 min 38 sec
Ascent time - 4 min
Buoyancy reserve - 14%
Armament: 1 47 mm and 1 37 mm gun, 1 7.62 mm machine gun
(since 1916: 1 75/50 mm gun, 2x1 7.62 mm machine guns),
2 457 mm torpedo tubes (bow),
4 Dzewiecki torpedo tubes,
60 min barriers, 2 periscopes, searchlight with a diameter of 30 cm
Diving depth (working): 50 m.
Crew: officers - 3 people, conductors - 2 people
lower ranks - 24 people.
N. A. Zalessky
"Crab" - the world's first underwater minelayer
Underwater minelayer "Crab"
FROM THE EDITOR OF THE FIRST EDITION
The creation and combat operations of the world's first underwater minelayer "Krab" - a completely original ship of the Russian Navy - were covered in our literature very sparingly, and sometimes inaccurately. So, incorrect information was reported about the construction in the besieged Port Arthur of a small submarine for laying mines - the prototype of the "Crab".
The author of this book, shipbuilding engineer, candidate of technical sciences, graduated from the Naval Engineering School. F. E. Dzerzhinsky and the shipbuilding department of the Naval Academy. He not only raised a huge archival and literary material, but also conducted a genuine study in order to recreate, on the basis of far from complete, and sometimes contradictory information, a true picture of the entire epic of the construction of the Crab.
N. A. Zalessky objectively illuminates the thorny path traveled by the inventor and builder of the "Crab" M. P. Naletov, the path that ultimately led to the assertion of the priority of Russian technical thought in creating the world's first underwater mine layer. The chapters on the combat operations of the "Crab" are written vividly and interestingly.
One can hope that N. A. Zalessky's book will be favorably received not only by specialists in the field of shipbuilding, but also by those who are interested in the history of the Russian Navy.
Konstantin Fedyaevsky
The creation of the world's first underwater minelayer "Crab" is one of the remarkable pages in the history of Russian military shipbuilding. The technical backwardness of tsarist Russia and a completely new type of submarine, which was the "Crab", led to the fact that the minelayer entered service only in 1915. But even in such a technically developed country as Kaiser's Germany was, the first underwater minelayers appeared only in the same year, and in terms of their tactical and technical data, they were significantly inferior to the "Crab".
Unfortunately, this event in domestic shipbuilding was very poorly covered in Soviet literature, not to mention the pre-revolutionary press. This prompted the author over 25 years ago to study the history of the creation of the world's first underwater minelayer, using mainly archival documents and to a much lesser extent - literary sources. The book about the "Crab" was published in 1967 in a relatively small edition - 14,000 copies, and by now has become a kind of bibliographic rarity. Therefore, the publisher undertook a second edition of the book.
As the first attempt to present the history of the Crab, the book, of course, was not without flaws, and although over the past twenty years since the publication of the book, the author has not received any comments or suggestions from readers to improve its content, the author considered himself obliged to clarify, correct and supplement the text of the first edition.
The author expresses his gratitude to the comrades who contributed to the success of the creation of the book. So, when identifying documents on the underwater minelayer "Crab" in the Central State Archive of the Navy (TsGAVMF), systematic assistance was provided to the author as its director I.N. Solovyov, and the staff of the archive L.N. Gusarova, I.A. Livshits, V.E. Nadvodsky, E.I. Zugman et al. Responded to the author's request and provided manuscripts, memoirs and photographs of M.P.'s relatives at his disposal. Naletova - prof. K.K. Fedyaevsky, E.A. Naletova, N.M. Bovin and V.V. Zolotnitsky. They also provided various materials or photographs of M.I. Bozhatkin (Nikolaev), N.A. Bykova (Leningrad), T.N. Bekova (Moscow), G.P. Kolenov (Nalchik), S.S. Kamensky (Odessa) and G.V. Stepanov (Leningrad).
The author also expresses his gratitude to the foreign historians of the fleet R.E. Gregor (Prague), P.A. Varnek (Brussels) and E. Pertek (Poznan) for the photographs needed for the book, which were not found in the USSR.
Documents and drawings of the TsGAVMF and photographs of the Central Naval Museum were used to illustrate the book. In addition, some drawings are borrowed from the articles by S. Glinka "The Submarine of Naletov" (illustrated supplement to the newspaper "New Time" dated August 10, 1905) and N.A. Monastyrev "Underwater minelayer" Crab "as a ship of an original Russian type" (Marine collection, Bizerte, 1922, No. 2), as well as from the reference book Henry Le Masson "Les Flottes de Combat" (Paris, 1947).
"A small submarine ... built by me
in the besieged Port Arthur, although it did not benefit him,
but she played the role of the fetus for the "Crab".
M. Naletov 1
M.P. raids
As you know, the Russo-Japanese War began with a treacherous attack by Japanese destroyers on the night of January 26-27, 1904. 2 on the ships of the Russian Pacific squadron stationed in Port Arthur. The ships of the squadron stood on the outer roadstead with the distinctive lights partially turned off, only the headquarters and tack lights were on. On patrol 20 miles from the raid were two destroyers with distinctive lights on. The Japanese destroyers, moving with their lights off, easily turned away from them and passed unnoticed. Despite the suddenness of the torpedo attack by these destroyers of the Russian squadron, the Japanese failed to destroy a single Russian warship and achieve decisive successes at the very beginning of the war. Of the sixteen torpedoes fired by Japanese destroyers, only three hit Russian ships, damaging two squadron battleships (Tsesarevich and Retvizan) and one cruiser (Pallada), temporarily putting them out of action. True, the situation was aggravated by the fact that there was no dock in Port Arthur to repair damaged battleships. Then they found another way out: special caissons were used to repair their underwater part.
After the attack by the Japanese destroyers, the squadron's combat operations were of a passive nature and were reduced mainly to repulsing the attacks of the Japanese fleet.
With the appointment of Vice Admiral S.O. Makarov and his arrival on February 23 in Port Arthur, the squadron intensified its operations. The ships began to go to sea and practice maneuvering and sailing together. Light forces were actively used. The repair of damaged ships was expedited. Upon their release from repair, S.O. Makarov intended to fight the Japanese fleet for dominance at sea. However, these plans of Makarov were not destined to come true. On the morning of March 31, the destroyer Terrible, returning from the sea to the base, was destroyed by Japanese destroyers. During the battle, the cruiser Bayan left Port Arthur to support the Terrible. Japanese battleships and cruisers suddenly appeared, then the entire Russian squadron came out to meet them.
Makarov held his flag on the squadron battleship Petropavlovsk. Deploying on the spot, Makarov intended to give battle to the Japanese fleet approaching Port Arthur. But "Petropavlovsk" exploded on mines laid by Japanese destroyers on the night of March 30-31, and died 3 . The most talented admiral of the Russian fleet of that time, Stepan Osipovich Makarov, died on it. The personnel of the squadron was very upset by the death of their beloved admiral. Many understood that now all hopes of victory over the Japanese fleet had collapsed. Survived the death of S.O. Makarova and all the patriots of Russia, and among them - the communications technician Mikhail Petrovich Naletov, who was at that time in Port Arthur.
Possessing a clear mind and seething energy, Mikhail Petrovich, like many, thought about how to eliminate the numerical superiority of the Japanese fleet over the Russian Pacific squadron. He came to the conclusion that such a task can best be performed by an underwater mine layer. Here is what M.P. himself wrote about this. Strikes:
"The first idea to arm a submarine with mines came to my mind on the day of the death (March 31) of the Petropavlovsk battleship, which exploded on a Japanese mine, which I witnessed. The explosion of two Japanese battleships on May 4, 22 on our mines set at Port Arthur , once again showed the power of mine weapons and finally strengthened in me the idea of the need to create a new type of warship - an underwater mine layer. Such a ship solved the problem of setting mines off enemy coasts even when we did not own the sea "5.
At the same time, according to Naletov, sailors and conductors from the ships of the squadron were interested in his boat. They often came to the construction of the boat and even asked to be included in the minelayer team. Mikhail Petrovich was greatly assisted by Lieutenant N.V. Krotkov and mechanical engineer P.N. Tikhobaev (squadron battleship "Peresvet"). The first one helped to get the necessary mechanisms for the boat from the port of Dalniy, and the second one released specialists from his team who, together with the workers of the dredging caravan, worked on the construction of the minelayer. Despite all the difficulties, Mikhail Petrovich successfully built his boat.
Submarine (mine layer) "Crab"
From book
"Thirteen submarines,
flooded in the roadstead of Sevastopol "
The project of the underwater mine layer was developed by the railway engineer M.P. Naletov. In December 1906, it was considered by the Marine Technical Committee. Naletov took into account the comments of the Marine Technical Committee and drew up 3 options for an improved project, one of which was later the project of the Crab submarine.
Its final development was carried out by specialists from the Naval plant. In the summer of 1909, after testing the submarine models in the Experimental Basin, the plant presented the final drawings of the underwater mine layer, which, together with the specification, were approved on July 11, 1909. By the end of 1909, the assembly of the hull began. M.P. Naletov was appointed as a consultant in the construction of the submarine.
"Crab" was the world's first underwater mine layer. The mines were located in a permeable superstructure in two rows in corridors occupying approximately 2/3 of the ship's length. On the side walls of each corridor there were guide rails, and in the lower part there was a conveyor chain. A number of shortcomings were discovered in the submarine project, the main of which was the excessive volume of the aft ballast tank. The adjustment of the project continued until 1912, when a new contract was signed for the construction of one underwater minelayer with a displacement of about 500 tons when surfaced.
The submarine "Crab" was laid down at the end of 1909 at the shipyard of the Naval plant in Nikolaev, launched on August 25, 1912. On August 23, 1912, she was included in the lists of ships of the Black Sea Fleet. In June 1913, factory tests of the Crab began, and on June 22 the first test dive took place. During acceptance tests, insufficient stability of the submarine was discovered, which required the installation of a lead keel weighing 28 tons and the installation of boules (onboard "displacers") to compensate for its weight. Alterations were completed in the autumn of 1914, the tests ended only in the summer of 1915. The submarine "Crab" entered service on July 8, 1915.
During the First World War, the Crab took part in minefield operations in the Bosphorus and near the port of Varna, carried out positional and sentinel services off the coast of Crimea.
The first combat campaign was carried out by the underwater minelayer "Crab" on June 25, 1915. With 58 mines and 4 torpedoes, the "Crab" went out, accompanied by the submarines "Walrus", "Nerpa" and "Seal" to the Bosphorus. On June 27, mines were laid in the area of the Anatoli-Fener and Rumeli-Fener lighthouses. The barrier was discovered by the Turkish fleet by floating mines, after which trawling began, but the Turkish gunboat Isa-Reis was blown up on the exposed mines. The second setting of mines was made in the same area on July 18, 1916, the third on September 1, 1916. In September 1916, the "Crab" was put into repair with re-equipment in the workshops of the Sevastopol port.
December 29, 1917 the submarine became part of the Red. Black Sea Fleet. On May 1, 1918, it was captured by German troops, and on November 24, 1918, by Anglo-French troops. On April 26, 1919, without the knowledge of the command of the Russian Volunteer Army, by order of the allied command, it was taken out of the port by tugboats and flooded with explosive cartridges (in the left side of which a hole of about 0.5 square meters in size was made in the area of \u200b\u200bthe felling and the bow hatch was opened) in the outer roadstead Sevastopol.
In 1934, the "Crab" was discovered during preparatory work to raise the submarine "Kit". During the search for sunken boats, the metal detector gave a deviation indicating the presence of a large amount of metal in this place. "Crab" lay at a depth of 57-59 meters without a roll. The stern of the underwater mine layer entered the ground deeply and the trim to the stern was 12 degrees. The bow hatch was open, the conning hatch was closed.
In May 1935, ship-lifting work began. Due to the depth of flooding, which was large for that time, it was decided to lift the submarine in stages, that is, gradually transferring it to ever shallower depths. The task of the first stage was to extract the "Crab" from the ground. To do this, it was supposed to raise the bow by 12 meters with pontoons, bring towels under the stern and lower the submarine to the ground. At the second stage, two 200-ton pontoons, two 80-ton pontoons and two 40-ton soft pontoons were to be sharpened above the submarine, and the boat was to be raised in a stepped way and transferred to Streletskaya Bay to a depth of 17 meters. At the third stage, it was planned to sharpen 200-ton pontoons directly to the sides of the boat, and then raise it to the surface. The project was not strictly sustained. When lifting the nose of the Crab feed, it sank even more into the ground and it was not possible to bring towels under it. Attempts to raise the bow continued several times, while the submarine trim to the stern reached 50 degrees, but the result remained the same. In this situation, the entire burden of further work at the first stage fell on the divers. By the end of September, they had washed away a foundation pit 9-10 meters deep under the stern. This work was very difficult, since bringing the entire system of suction pipes upstairs is very difficult, and swell could turn this entire system into scrap. In addition, due to the great depth, divers could work on the ground for only 30 minutes. Repeatedly the walls of the pit collapsed on the divers, but, fortunately, each time they managed to safely get out of the rubble.
After the propeller shafts appeared from the ground, the excavation of the pit was stopped. Two 80-ton pontoons were attached to the shafts and the submarine was pulled out of the ground. Further work went exceptionally quickly. From October 4 to October 7, the submarine was successively raised by 12, 15 and 17 meters and brought to Streletskaya Bay, and a month later the Crab was brought to the surface. Having closed the hole and drained the compartments, EPRON handed over the minelayer to the Black Sea Fleet.
The creator of the world's first underwater minelayer M.P. Naletov at that time lived in Leningrad. Having learned that his offspring - "Crab" - was raised, he drew up a project for the restoration and modernization of the minelayer. But over the years, the Navy has gone far ahead in its development. Dozens of new, advanced submarines of all types appeared in its composition, including underwater minelayers, and the need to restore the Crab, an already outdated submarine, disappeared. Therefore, the "Crab" after lifting it from Sevastopol was scrapped.
Tactical and technical data of the submarine "Crab"
Speed: maximum (surface / underwater) - 10.8 / 8.3-8.6 knots
economic (surface / underwater) - 8.5 / 5.5-5.9 knots
Cruising range: surface - 1,200 / 2,000 miles (10.8 / 8.5 knots)
Underwater - 82/138 miles (8.2/5.9 knots)
Fuel capacity: 13.5 tons (kerosene)
Dive time - 7 min 38 sec
Ascent time - 4 min
Buoyancy reserve - 14%
Armament: 1 47 mm and 1 37 mm gun, 1 7.62 mm machine gun
(since 1916: 1 75/50 mm gun, 2x1 7.62 mm machine guns),
2 457 mm torpedo tubes (bow),
4 Dzewiecki torpedo tubes,
60 min barriers, 2 periscopes, searchlight with a diameter of 30 cm
Diving depth (working): 50 m.
Crew: officers - 3 people, conductors - 2 people
lower ranks - 24 people.
The submarine "Crab", the world's first underwater mine layer, was designed by Mikhail Petrovich Naletov, a communications engineer by education, a talented inventor, an energetic and enterprising designer.
The idea of creating an underwater minelayer came from M.P. Naletov on the day of the death of the battleship Petropavlovsk, which was blown up by a Japanese mine on March 31, 1904. M.P., who was at that time in Port Arthur. Naletov decided to build a submarine - a minelayer for laying mines off enemy coasts. Naletov built this submarine with his own savings; the local naval authorities were distrustful of Naletov's idea, but allowed him to use workshops and "free machines".
The displacement of the underwater minelayer under construction was supposed to be about 25 tons, it was supposed to place 4 mines or 2 Schwarzkopf torpedoes on it. It was supposed to lay mines through a hatch in the lower part of the hull - "under oneself".
The minelayer's hull was built, cast-iron ingots (ballastins) were laid on the deck for diving, and they were removed by a floating crane for ascent. In connection with the surrender of Port Arthur to the Japanese, the unfinished minelayer was blown up.
In 1906 M.P. Naletov presented to the Marine Technical Committee a project for an underwater minelayer with a displacement of about 300 tons. The project had a number of shortcomings and was not accepted. After reviewing the comments, Naletov developed the second version of the underwater minelayer with a displacement of 450 tons and the third with a displacement of 470 tons.
The fourth and last version of the minelayer was developed by Naletov in 1907. On October 2, 1907, the specification with drawings and the draft contract were submitted by the Nikolaev plant "Naval" for approval by the Naval Ministry. In 1908, the Naval Ministry issued an order to the Naval plant for the construction of an underwater mine layer.
Submarine "Crab"
In the summer of 1909, after testing the submarine models in the Experimental Basin, the plant presented the final drawings of the underwater mine layer, which, together with the specification, were approved on July 11, 1909. By the end of 1909, the assembly of the hull began. M.P. Naletov was appointed as a consultant in the construction of the submarine.
In parallel with the construction of the underwater minelayer, the manufacture and testing of mines designed by M.P. Naletov, which were supposed to have zero buoyancy, while a dispute arose between Naletov and the mine department of the Marine Technical Committee about the priority in the invention of mines of this type.
Trial laying of mines from the submarine "Crab"
A number of shortcomings were discovered in the submarine project, the main of which was the excessive volume of the aft ballast tank. The adjustment of the project continued until 1912, when a new contract was signed for the construction of one underwater minelayer with a displacement of about 500 tons when surfaced.
On August 9, 1912, the underwater minelayer was given the name "Crab", on August 12, 1912, the "Crab" was launched.
Launching of the submarine "Crab"
In June 1913, factory tests of the Crab began, and on June 22 the first test dive took place. The first commander of the "Crab" was appointed Senior Lieutenant A.A. Andreev.
Rebuilding the submarine "Crab" on the slipway in Sevastopol
During acceptance tests, insufficient stability of the submarine was discovered, which required the installation of a lead keel weighing 28 tons and the installation of boules (on-board "displacers") to compensate for its weight. Alterations were completed in the autumn of 1914, the tests ended only in July 1915.
"Crab" after installing a lead keel and displacers
The first combat campaign was carried out by the underwater minelayer "Crab" on June 25, 1915. With 58 mines and 4 torpedoes, the "Crab" set out, accompanied by the submarines "Walrus", "Nerpa" and "Seal" to the Bosphorus. On June 27, mines were laid in the area of the Anatoli-Fener and Rumeli-Fener lighthouses. The barrier was discovered by the Turkish fleet by floating mines, after which trawling began; however, the Turkish gunboat "Isa-Reis" was blown up by exposed mines.
Loading mines on the "Crab"
The second setting of mines was made in the same area on July 18, 1916, the third on September 1, 1916. In September 1916, the "Crab" was put into repair in the workshops of the Sevastopol port.
In June 1918, the "Crab" fell into the hands of the German, and then the Anglo-French naval command. April 26, 1919 "Crab", in the left side of which a hole was made about 0.5 square meters in size. m, was flooded in the outer roadstead of the Sevastopol Bay.
In 1934, the "Crab" was discovered during preparatory work to raise the submarine "Kit". "Crab" lay at a depth of 57-59 meters without a roll. The stern of the underwater mine layer entered the ground deeply and the trim to the stern was 12 degrees. The bow hatch was open, the conning hatch was closed.
In May 1935, ship-lifting work began. It was planned to raise the underwater mine layer in several stages. The task of the first stage was to extract the "Crab" from the ground. To do this, it was supposed to raise the bow by 12 meters with pontoons, bring towels under the stern and lower the boat to the ground. At the second stage, two 200-ton pontoons, two 80-ton pontoons and two 40-ton soft pontoons were to be sharpened above the boat, and the boat was raised in a stepped way and transferred to Streletskaya Bay to a depth of 17 meters. At the third stage, it was planned to sharpen 200-ton pontoons directly to the sides of the boat, and then raise it to the surface.
This project was not strictly sustained. When the nose of the Crab's feed was raised, it sank even more into the ground and it was not possible to bring towels under it. Attempts to raise the bow continued several times, while the trim of the boat to the stern reached 50 degrees, but the result remained the same.
In this situation, the entire burden of further work at the first stage fell on the divers. By the end of September, they had washed away a foundation pit 9-10 meters deep under the stern. Repeatedly, its walls collapsed on divers, but, fortunately, each time they managed to safely get out of the rubble. After the propeller shafts appeared from the ground, the excavation of the pit was stopped. Two 80-ton pontoons were attached to the shafts and the boat was pulled out of the ground. Further work went exceptionally quickly. From October 4 to October 7, the boat was successively raised by 12, 15 and 17 meters and brought to Streletskaya Bay, and a month later the "Crab" was brought to the surface. Having closed the hole and drained the compartments, the Epronovites handed over the mine layer to the Black Sea Fleet.
Having learned about the rise of the "Crab", M.P. Naletov came up with a project for the restoration and modernization of the Crab. The project was rejected, "Crab" was not restored and was handed over for scrap.
Tactical and technical elements
| Length, m | about 53 |
| Width, m | 4,3 |
| Draft, m | 4,0 |
| Surface / underwater displacement, t | 533 / 736 |
| Power of surface / underwater engines, h.p. | 4x300 / 2x330 |
| Surface/underwater speed, knots | 11,8 / 7,07 |
| Surface/underwater cruising range, miles | 2500 / 30 |
| Immersion depth, m | 50 |
| Armament | |
| 37 mm artillery piece (installed at the beginning of the World War) | 1 |
| machine guns | 2 |
| Torpedoes in tubular bow torpedo tubes caliber 45 mm | 2 |
| Spare torpedoes | 2 |
| mines | 60 |