SMS M68
SMS ''M68'' was a M1916 type minesweeper built for the Imperial German Navy during the First World War. She entered service on 6 October 1917, but was mined and sunk off Latvia on 29 October 1917. The ship was salvaged by Latvia and entered service with the Latvian Navy on 10 November 1921 under the name ''Virsaitis'' as its first vessel. She was taken over by the Soviet Navy in August 1940 when the Soviet Union occupied Latvia in August 1940, serving as ''T-297'' and was sunk by a mine on 2 December 1941. Design and construction The M1916 Type minesweeper was an improved and slightly enlarged derivative of the M1914 and M1915 Type minesweepers which Germany had built since 1914. They were fleet minesweepers, seaworthy enough to operate in the open sea, and proved to be successful and reliable in service. ''M68'' was long overall and at the waterline, with a beam of and a draught of . The ship had a design displacement of and a deep load displacement of . Two coal-fired ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperial Germany, the Second Reich or simply Germany, was the period of the German Reich; . from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the German revolution of 1918–1919, November Revolution in 1918, when the German Reich changed its form of government from a monarchy to a Weimar Republic, republic. The German Empire consisted of States of the German Empire, 25 states, each with its own nobility: four constituent Monarchy, kingdoms, six Grand duchy, grand duchies, five Duchy, duchies (six before 1876), seven Principality, principalities, three Free imperial city, free Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City-state, cities, and Alsace–Lorraine, one imperial territory. While Prussia was one of four kingdoms in the realm, it contained about two-thirds ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Water-tube Boiler
A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-generating tubes. In smaller boilers, additional generating tubes are separate in the furnace, while larger utility boilers rely on the water-filled tubes that make up the walls of the furnace to generate steam. The heated water/steam mixture then rises into the steam drum. Here, saturated steam is drawn off the top of the drum. In some services, the steam passes through tubes in the hot gas path, (a superheater) to become superheated. Superheated steam is a dry gas and therefore is typically used to drive turbines, since water droplets can severely damage turbine blades. Saturated water at the bottom of the steam drum returns to the lower drum via large-bore 'downcomer tubes', where it pre-heats the feedwater supply. (In large utility boilers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Baltic Fleet
The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet was inherited by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR which then founded the Soviet Union in 1922, where it was eventually known as the Twice Red Banner(ed) Baltic Fleet as part of the Soviet Navy, as during this period it gained the two awards of the Order of the Red Banner. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Baltic Fleet was inherited by the Russian Federation and reverted to its original name as part of the Russian Navy. The Baltic Fleet is headquartered in Kaliningrad and its main base is in Baltiysk (Pillau), both in Kaliningrad Oblast, while another base is in Kronstadt, Saint Petersburg, in the Gulf of Finland. Imperial Russia The Imperial Russian Baltic Fleet was created during the Gre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet Union, it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country by area, extending across Time in Russia, eleven time zones and sharing Geography of the Soviet Union#Borders and neighbors, borders with twelve countries, and the List of countries and dependencies by population, third-most populous country. An overall successor to the Russian Empire, it was nominally organized as a federal union of Republics of the Soviet Union, national republics, the largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR. In practice, Government of the Soviet Union, its government and Economy of the Soviet Union, economy were Soviet-type economic planning, highly centralized. As a one-party state go ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Soviet–Latvian Mutual Assistance Treaty
The Soviet–Latvian Mutual Assistance Treaty (, ) was a bilateral treaty between the Soviet Union and Latvia, signed in Moscow on October 5, 1939. The treaty obliged both parties to respect each other's sovereignty and independence, while in practice allowed the Soviet government to establish military bases in Latvia, which facilitated the Soviet invasion of the country in June 1940. It was signed by Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vilhelms Munters and Soviet Commissar of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov. Ratifications were exchanged in Riga on October 11, 1939, and the treaty became effective on the same day. It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on November 6, 1939. Background On 23 August 1939 the Soviet Union asserted its control over the Baltic states with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The Soviets invaded Poland on 17 September, concluding operations on 6 October. After occupying eastern Poland, the Soviets pressured Finland and the Baltic states ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Latvian Provisional Government
The Latvian Provisional Government () was formed on November 18, 1918 by the People's Council of Latvia as the interim government of the newly-proclaimed Republic of Latvia during the Latvian War of Independence. The term encompasses three cabinets led by Kārlis Ulmanis, the leader of the Agrarian Union, who was chosen to be Prime Minister. The Ulmanis' government led the country until the formation of an elected cabinet after the elections to the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia in June 1920. History After the Proclamation of the Independence of the Republic of Latvia on November 18, 1918, the interim parliament – the People's Council of Latvia – chose Kārlis Ulmanis to form the country's first government. In December, the first ministries were created. From December 1918 until May 1919, the Latvian territories (that were not under German occupation) were invaded and controlled by a provisional Soviet Latvian government led by Pēteris Stučka. During these months, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Latvian War Of Independence
The Latvian War of Independence (), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invaded by Soviet Russia, and the signing of the Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty on 11 August 1920. The war can be divided into several stages: Soviet offensive, German-Latvian liberation of Kurzeme District, Riga, Kurzeme and Riga, Estonian-Latvian liberation of Vidzeme, West Russian Volunteer Army, Bermontian offensive, and Latvian-Polish liberation of Latgale. The war involved Latvia (its Latvian Provisional Government, provisional government supported by Estonia, Second Polish Republic, Poland and the Western Allies—particularly the navy of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom) against the Russian SFSR and the Bolsheviks' short-lived Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic. Germany and the Baltic nobility added another l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic
The Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic (, LSPR) was a short-lived socialist republic formed during the Latvian War of Independence. It was proclaimed on 17 December 1918 with the political, economic, and military backing of Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik government in the Russian SFSR. The head of government was Pēteris Stučka with Jūlijs Daniševskis as his deputy. History The LSPR armed forces, which consisted of the Red Latvian Riflemen and other units of the Red Army, quickly captured most of the territory of present-day Latvia, forcing Kārlis Ulmanis's provisional government into a small pocket of territory around the city of Liepāja. Stučka's government introduced sweeping communist reforms, resuming the radical policy direction from the abortive Iskolat government. Some reforms were initially popular, such as the expropriation of property from the bourgeoisie. The decision to unilaterally nationalise all agrarian land, however, had dire economic consequence ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ceremonial Ship Launching
Ceremonial ship launching involves the performing of ceremonies associated with the process of transferring a vessel to the water. It is a nautical tradition in many cultures, dating back millennia, to accompany the physical process with ceremonies which have been observed as public celebration and a solemn blessing, usually but not always, in association with the launch itself. Ship launching imposes stresses on the ship not met during normal operation and in addition to the size and weight of the vessel represents a considerable engineering challenge as well as a public spectacle. The process also involves Sailors' superstitions, many traditions intended to invite good luck, such as baptism#Boats and ships, christening by breaking a sacrificial bottle of champagne over the bow (ship), bow as the ship is named aloud and launched. Methods There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching". The ol ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Yard Number
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9144 meter. A distance of 1,760 yards is equal to 1 mile. The theoretical US survey yard is very slightly longer. Name The term, ''yard'' derives from the Old English , etc., which was used for branches, staves and measuring rods. It is first attested in the late 7th century laws of Ine of Wessex, wherein the "yard of land" mentioned is the yardland, an old English unit of tax assessment equal to hide. Around the same time the Lindisfarne Gospels account of the messengers from John the Baptist in the Gospel of Matthew used it for a branch swayed by the wind. In addition to the yardland, Old and Middle English both used their forms of "yard" to denote the surveying lengths of or , used in computing acres, a distance ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Neptun Werft
Neptun Werft (; ') is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Rostock. Since 1997, it has been part of the Meyer Neptun Group, together with Meyer Werft in Papenburg. History The company was founded as the "Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik von Wilhelm Zeltz und Albrecht Tischbein" in 1850 and their first iron steamship was launched in 1851. The shipyard developed quickly, and as early as in 1857 it had some 400 employees. In 1890, after several mergers and buyouts, it became the "Actien-Gesellschaft Neptun". After 1945 and the division of Germany, the shipyard focused on markets in Eastern Europe. At that time the "Schiffswerft Neptun Rostock" counted among the most renowned state-owned shipyards of the German Democratic Republic. The changing conditions of international competition following the German reunification brought about a time of change for the company. Productivity was not up to international standards, and due to European Union, EU restrictions it was no lon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Keel Laying
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a shipbuilding, ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one of the four specially celebrated events in a ship's life; the others are Ceremonial ship launching, launching, Ship commissioning, commissioning, and Ship decommissioning, decommissioning. Earlier, the event recognized as the keel laying was the initial placement of the central timber making up the backbone of a vessel, called the keel. As steel ships replaced wooden ones, the central timber gave way to a central steel beam. Modern ships are most commonly built in a series of pre-fabricated, complete hull sections rather than around a single keel. The event recognized as the keel laying is the first joining of modular components, or the lowering of the first module into place in the building dock. It is now often called "keel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |