Russian submarine Tyulen
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The Russian submarine Tyulen (Russian: Тюлень, lit. 'seal') was the third and last boat in the Morzh class of submarines of the Imperial Russian Navy. It was laid down in August 1913 and was launched in November 1913, though it did not enter service until March 1915. Built for the Black Sea Fleet, it saw action during World War I and became the most successful Russian submarine in the Black Sea, credited with sinking over 40 ships for a total tonnage of 8,973 gross register tons (GRT). It was also the second most successful Russian submarine in the war overall, after Volk.
Tyulen in Sevastopol in 1915. | |
History | |
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Russian Empire and the Provisional Government | |
Name | Tyulen |
Builder | Nikolayev branch of the Baltic Yard[1] |
Laid down | 16 August 1913[2] |
Launched | 1 November 1913[1] |
Completed | 19 March 1915[2] |
Fate | Captured by Germany and Britain before entering the White Russian fleet, and evacuating to France.[1] Sold for scrap in 1930.[2] |
General characteristics [1][3] | |
Type | Submarine |
Displacement | |
Length | 67 m (219 ft 10 in) |
Beam | 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) |
Draft | 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | 2,500 nmi (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) |
Complement | 47 (4 officers and 43 enlisted sailors)[4] |
Armament |
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In early 1915, Tyulen made several failed attempts to sink the German cruisers in the Black Sea, Goeben and Breslau. After that it focused on Ottoman merchant shipping, which transported coal to Constantinople from other parts of Anatolia, and sank many sailing ships and schooners. In July 1916 the submarine entered the Gulf of Varna to carry out reconnaissance on the Bulgarian naval base there, and in October, some of its crewmen boarded and captured a Turkish transport ship before bringing it back with them to Sevastopol. In May 1918, the German Army advanced into Crimea and took control of much of the Black Sea Fleet, including Tyulen. The British later acquired the submarine after Germany's surrender, and gave it to the White Army forces in September 1919. Tyulen was among Wrangel's fleet of ships that evacuated from Crimea in late 1920 during the Russian Civil War, and ended up in French Tunisia, where the submarine was eventually sold for scrap in 1930.