The Russian submarine ''AG-12'' was an AG-class

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 o ...

, designed by the American Holland Torpedo Boat Company/ Electric Boat Company, built for the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

during World War I. The submarine was fabricated in Canada, shipped to Russia and reassembled for service with the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

. She was scuttled by the Russians at Hanko in April 1918. Attempts were made by the Finns to salvage the vessel: She was raised in 1918 and transferred to

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; 1 ...

for repair, but this proved too costly and she was scrapped.

Description

''AG-12'' was a single-hulled submarine, with a pressure hull divided into five watertight compartments. The submarine had a length of

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

, a beam of and a draft of . She displaced on the surface and submerged. The AG-class submarines had a diving depth of and a crew of 30 officers and enlisted men. The submarine had two 3-bladed propellers, each of which was driven by a

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-cal ...

as well as a

electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate force ...

s. This arrangement gave ''AG-22'' a maximum speed of while surfaced and submerged. She had a range of at while on the surface and at while submerged.Polmar & Noot, p. 240 Her fuel capacity was of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...

. The AG-class submarines were equipped with four

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s in the bow and carried eight torpedoes. For surface combat they had one

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

Construction and service

The Holland 602 design was widely exported during World War I and the Imperial Russian Navy ordered a total of 17, in three batches, of a version known as the ''American Holland''-class (AG in Russian for ''Amerikansky Golland'' (American Holland)). The submarines were to be built in Canada as

knock-down kit A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then exported to another country or region ...

s for assembly in Russia. Components for the first batch of five submarines were assembled in Barnet, near

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. T ...

, Canada, and shipped to

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 Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

. There they were loaded onto the Trans-Siberian Railroad and transported to

Saint 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 ...

where they were assembled by the Baltic Works by June 1916. During World War I Russian and British submarines operated from bases in Finland. The Russian submarines of ''Holland'' type (''AG-11'', ''AG-12'', ''AG-15'' and ''AG-16'') were scuttled in the harbor of Hanko on 3 April 1918 just prior to the German landing there.Polmar & Noot, pp. 239–40 ''AG-12'' and ''AG-16'' seemed to be in relatively good shape and the Finns decided to salvage them. The submarine was transferred to Ab Vulcan shipyard in

for repairs, although it proved to be hopeless, and she was soon scrapped.

Notes

Bibliography

* ''Building Submarines for Russia in Burrard Inlet'' by W.Kaye Lamb published in ''BC Studies'' No.71 Autumn, 1986 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:AG-12 American Holland-class submarines Ships built in Groton, Connecticut Ships built in Russia 1916 ships World War I submarines of Russia Submarines of the Finnish Navy Maritime incidents in 1918 Scuttled vessels Shipwrecks of Finland Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Finland World War I shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea