''Sadko'' (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: ''Садко'') was a

Soviet 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 ...

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

known for its role in scientific expeditions in the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

. Built as SS ''Lintrose'' in 1913 for ferry service in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, she was sold to the government of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1915 and renamed ''Sadko''. In Russia, she was used as a freighter in the Arctic before sinking in 1916. She was refloated in 1933 by the Soviet government and put back into service as an Arctic science and exploration vessel. She participated in two particularly notable expeditions: one attempting to reach

Kvitøya Kvitøya (English: "White Island") is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, with an area of . It is the easternmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. The closest Russian Arctic possession, Victoria Island, lies only to the ...

in 1935 and another attempting to locate the mythical

Sannikov Land Sannikov Land (, ) was a phantom island in the Arctic Ocean. Its supposed existence became something of a myth in 19th-century Russia. History Yakov Sannikov and Matvei Gedenschtrom claimed to have seen the land mass during their 1809–1810 ca ...

in 1937–38. ''Sadko'' ran aground and sank for a second time in 1941 during an expedition in the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all ...

Early history

Construction

''Sadko'' was built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd. at the Neptune Yard in

Low Walker Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: L ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1912–13, as an icebreaking passenger and freight steamer. Launched on 21 January 1913, the vessel was originally constructed for the

Reid Newfoundland Company The Reid Newfoundland Company was incorporated in September 1901 and was the operator of the Newfoundland Railway across the island from 1901 to 1923. For a time it was the largest landowner in the Dominion of Newfoundland, today the modern Canadi ...

, which was the main ferry operator in the

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...

from 1901 to 1923. The ship was a part of the

Alphabet Fleet The Alphabet Fleet was a fleet of vessels owned and operated by the Reid Newfoundland Company as part of the provisioning of the 1898 Railway contract between the Dominion of Newfoundland and the Reid Newfoundland Company. The vessels were named aft ...

, the company's ferry fleet. The vessel was named the SS ''Lintrose'' in line with the fleet's eponymous naming convention, in which each ship was named after a location in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

starting with a different letter of the alphabet. The vessel was a part of the last group of ships ordered directly by the company, alongside the SS ''Kyle'' and the second SS ''Bruce''.

Reid Newfoundland Company

On 16 March 1913, ''Lintrose'' embarked on its journey across the Atlantic to

. The transit proved to be unexpectedly long due to poor weather. The ship first sustained damage near the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

, where waves damaged woodwork on the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

deck and upper bridge. The following day, another wave flooded the vessel's

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is t ...

and destroyed the bunks of the cooks and

firemen A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as Dangerous goods, hazardous material incide ...

. ''Lintrose'' finally arrived at its future home port of St. John's on 29 March 1913. While in Reid service, ''Lintrose'' plied the ferry route between

Port aux Basques Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of Newfoundland fronting on the western end of the Cabot Strait. A Marine Atlantic ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newfou ...

and

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Russian service and sinking

In 1915, after the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, ''Lintrose'' was sold to the

for use by the

Ministry of Commerce and Industry A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

as an icebreaker and cargo ship in the Arctic, along with her sister ship, the new SS ''Bruce''. She was renamed ''Sadko'', after the hero of a Russian ''

bylina A (, ; ), also popularly known as a ''starina'' (), is a type of Russian oral epic poem. deal with all periods of Russian history. narratives are loosely based on historical fact, but greatly embellished with fantasy or hyperbole. or ...

''. On 20 June 1916, she sank in the

Kandalaksha Gulf The Kandalaksha Gulf (, , ) is located in the Republic of Karelia, and Murmansk Oblast in northwestern Russia. Forming the north-western corner of the White Sea, it is one of four large bays and gulfs of this sea, the others being the Onega Bay ( ...

with a payload for the construction of the Kandalaksha–Murmansk railroad.

Soviet service

Refloating and return to service

In 1932–33, ''Sadko'' was salvaged by the EPRON team led by Timofey Ivanovich Bobritsky, chief engineer. Refloated on 14 October 1933, she underwent repair and a complete refit at

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

, emerging on 9 July 1934 on a trial voyage. Artur Karlovich Burke (1891–1942) was her captain. Burke also took ''Sadko'' on her first expedition to the

, which lasted from 22 July to 25 September 1934, confirming the excellent work that had been done in restoring the ship to service. The next season, in 1935, she took part in an expedition led by

Georgy Ushakov Georgy Alexeyevich Ushakov () (17 (30) January 1901 – 3 December 1963) was a Soviet explorer of the Arctic. Ushakov broke new ground when he surveyed and explored Severnaya Zemlya, together with four other Arctic explorers, establishing that it ...

(1901–1963) with N.M. Nikolaev as captain of ''Sadko'' and Nikolay N. Zubov (1885–1960) as scientific director, engaging in deep-sea research and an attempt to reach

in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

Sannikov Land expedition

In the summer of 1937, ''Sadko'' sailed from

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

with Nikolay Ivanovich Khramtsov as expedition leader, N.M. Nikolaev as captain of ''Sadko'', and Vladimir Vize (1886-1954) as scientific director. Also taking part in this expedition was a Polikarpov U-2SP floatplane capable of landing on and taking off from the ice. The original goal was to sail to Henrietta, Zhokhov and Jeanette Islands in the De Long group, search for

and carry out scientific research. The purpose of the expedition was also to find out how the

Northern Sea Route The Northern Sea Route (NSR) (, shortened to Севморпуть, ''Sevmorput'') is a shipping route about long. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. Ad ...

could be used for regular shipping. But the Soviet naval authorities changed the plans and the ice-breaker was sent instead to help ships in distress in the

Kara Kara or KARA may refer to: Geography Localities * Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture * Kára, Hungary, a village * Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township * Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province * Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in ...

and

Laptev Sea The Laptev Sea () is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, the Taimyr Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya, and the New Siberian Islands. Its northern boundary passes from the Arctic Cape to a point with ...

s. ''Sadko'', however, became itself trapped in fast ice at 75°17'N and 132°28'E in the region of the

New Siberian Islands The New Siberian Islands (; ) are an archipelago in the Extreme North of Russia, to the north of the East Siberian coast between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea north of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, of whose Bulunsky District they ar ...

. Other two Soviet icebreakers, ''Sedov'' and ''Malygin'', in the same area researching the ice conditions, became trapped by sea ice as well and drifted helplessly. Owing to persistent bad weather conditions, part of the stranded crew members and some of the scientists could only be rescued in April 1938. They were evacuated using ANT-6-4M-34R ''Aviaarktika'' aircraft (a specialized Arctic variant of the Tupolev TB-3 four-engine bomber) under the command of the famed Soviet Arctic aviator Anatoly Dmitrievich Alekseev (1902-1974). It was only on 28 August 1938 that the icebreaker ''Yermak'' could free two of the three ships stuck at 83°4'N and 138°22'E, ''Sadko'' and ''Malygin''. The third ship, ''Sedov'', had to be left to drift in its icy prison and was transformed into a scientific

Polar Station Polar may refer to: Geography * Geographical pole, either of the two points on Earth where its axis of rotation intersects its surface ** Polar climate, the climate common in polar regions ** Polar regions of Earth, locations within the polar circ ...

Second sinking

''Sadko'' sank on 11 September 1941 in the

, after running aground on an uncharted

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

near

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land () is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited only by military personnel. It constitutes the northernmost part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of 192 islands, which cover an area of , stretching from east ...

. Her crew were rescued by the icebreaker ''Lenin''. Captain A.G. Korelsky was accused of sabotage and shot. Owing to the lack of information about the vessel's loss, as late as 1949 ''Sadko'' was still pictured and described in ''Jane's Fighting Ships''.McMurtrie, Francis E., and Raymond V.B. Blackman (1949), ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1949-50'', p. 297. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.

Legacy

An island in the

Nordenskiöld Archipelago The Nordenskiöld Archipelago or Nordenskjold Archipelago () is a large and complex cluster of about 90 islands in the eastern region of the Kara Sea. Its eastern limit lies west of the Taymyr Peninsula. The archipelago is part of the Taymyrsk ...

was named after ''Sadko''. In 1977 a Soviet postage stamp honoring ''Sadko'' was issued, with the first day of issue postmarked at

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

on 27 July 1977. A Russian postage stamp honoring Nikolay N. Zubov in 2010 included a portrait of Zubov with an illustration of ''Sadko'' at sea. There is a scale model of ''Sadko'' in the Museum of the

Murmansk Shipping Company Murmansk Shipping Company (), often abbreviated as MSCO, was a Russian shipping company based in Murmansk. It was one of the primary shipping companies operating in Arctic Russia and northern Europe, in 2014 the company had 303 vessels, with a to ...

References

External links

А. А. Киселев Работа ЭПРОНа по подъему судов в северных морях (Russian)

* ttp://www.polarpost.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=644 "Садко", ледокольный пароход (Russian)
S.S. Lintrose
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadko (1913) 1913 ships Ships built on the River Tyne Ships built by Swan Hunter Ferries of Newfoundland and Labrador Ferries of Nova Scotia Icebreakers of Russia Icebreakers of the Soviet Union Maritime incidents in 1916 Maritime incidents in September 1941 Shipwrecks in the Kara Sea