An item dated St.
Petersburg, Russia the 26 reported that two days earlier the Russian battleship
Gangut with low speed an unknown reef off the island Rondoe struck causing a
huge hole in her bottom. Despite all efforts to keep her floating rushed the
water inside the hull with such a speed that she capsized to her left side and
sunk in 15 fathoms deep water. Her crew was saved and measures were taken to
salvage her. She was of the newest and best ships of the Russian navy.(1)
Note
1. Laid down at
the shipyard New Admiralty in 1886, launched in October four years later
according to Conway;s All the world’s fighting ships 1860-1905 although
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_battleship_Gangut_(1888)
reports that she was laid down on 29 October 1888 and launched on 3 July 1893
and completed in 1894. With a displacement of 6.590 tons were her dimensions
88,32 (waterline0 x 18,90 x 6,40 (maximum) metres or 289’6” x 62’x 21’. Her armament consisted of
1-12: gun, 4-9” guns, 4-6” guns, 4-3pdr guns, 10-1pdr
guns, 6-1pd revolver guns and 6-15”
torpedo tubes. Her name is the Russian translation of the Swedish name Hangö.
She sunk on 12 June 1897.
