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Lithuanian warship Prezidentas Smetona

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History
German Empire
NameSMS M59
BuilderDeschimag-Werk Seebeck
Launched31 October 1917
FateSold to Lithuania, 1927
Lithuania
NamePrezidentas Smetona
NamesakeAntanas Smetona, President of Lithuania
Acquiredpurchased, 1927
Commissioned2 August 1935
HomeportKlaipėda, later Šventoji
FateSeized by the Soviet Union, 1940
Soviet Union
NamePirmūnas (Пирмӯнас)
Acquired15 June 1940
RenamedKorall (Коралл)
FateSunk, 11 January 1945
General characteristics
Class and typeM57-class minesweeper
Displacement525–586 tons
Length
  • 56 m (183 ft 9 in), wl
  • 59.3 m (194 ft 7 in), oa
Beam7.4 m (24 ft 3 in)
Draught2.2–2.3 m (7 ft 3 in – 7 ft 7 in)
Propulsion2 Schulz coal-fired boilers
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement48
Armament

The Lithuanian warship Prezidentas Smetona was the only warship of the Lithuanian Navy during the years of the First Republic of Lithuania from 1918 to 1940. It was named after the first President of Lithuania, Antanas Smetona. The ship was originally built with the name SMS M59 as a M1916 Type minesweeper for the Imperial German Navy during the First World War.

After the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940, the ship joined the Soviet Navy, serving as Pirmūnas (Пирмунас), Korall (Коралл) and T-33. It was sunk on 11 January 1945.

Design and construction

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The M1916 Type minesweeper was an improved and slightly enlarged derivative of the M1914 and M1915 Type minesweepers which the German Empire 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.[1][2]

M59 was 59.28 metres (194 ft 6 in) long overall and 57.78 m (189 ft 7 in) at the waterline, with a beam of 7.30 m (23 ft 11 in) and a draught of 2.20 m (7 ft 3 in). The ship had a design displacement of 506 tonnes (498 long tons) and a deep load displacement of 535 t (527 long tons).[3] Two coal-fired water-tube boilers fed steam to two sets of three-cylinder triple expansion steam engines, rated at 1,750 indicated horsepower (1,300 kW), which in turn drove two propeller shafts. Speed was 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). 130 tons of coal was carried, sufficient for a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).[1][4]

As built, M59 had a main gun armament of two 10.5-centimetre (4.1 in) SK L/45 naval guns,[a] while 30 mines could be carried.[1][6] The ship had a crew of 40.[1]

M59 was laid down at the shipbuilder Deschimag-Werk Seebeck's Geestemünde (now part of Bremerhaven) shipyard as yard number 402.[7] She was launched on 31 October 1917 and entered service on 30 November that year.[8]

Service

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Germany

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At the end of 1917, M59 was a member of the 3rd half-flotilla of the 2nd Minesweeping Flotilla.[9] On 23 April 1918, the German High Seas Fleet launched a large-scale sortie into the North Sea, aimed at attacking one of the convoys running between Norway and Britain. Early on 24 April, the battlecruiser Moltke suffered a machinery breakdown and had to be taken into tow by the battleship Oldenburg.[10] The 3rd half-flotilla were deployed to sweep for naval mines ahead of Oldenburg and Moltke as they returned to Germany, and at about midday on 25 April, they had into a minefield. The minesweeper M67 struck one of the mines, which badly damaged the minesweeper, which quickly began to settle. M59 went alongside M57 and took off the minesweeper's surviving crew before M67 sank. Seven of M67's crew were killed in the explosion.[11] M59 remained part of the 3rd half-flotilla of the 2nd Minesweeping Flotilla at the end of the war.[12]

M59 was struck from the German naval lists on 24 October 1921, and on 2 August 1922 was sold to a French company for 1 million Mark.[8]

Lithuania

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In 1927 the vessel was purchased by Lithuania for 289,000 litas.[13] It was used to safeguard Lithuanian shores against smugglers and as a training facility for the navy. In 1939–1940 Lithuania ordered more ships, including submarines, from France.[13]

The 525–586-ton Prezidentas Smetona was 60 metres (196 ft 10 in) in length and was powered by two Schulz coal-fired boilers providing a top speed of 16 knots. A complement of 48 manned two 3-inch (76 mm) guns and three machine guns. The ship was reconstructed and was officially launched as a warship on 2 August 1935 by Captain Antanas Kaškelis.[13]

Soviet Union

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After the German ultimatum to Lithuania in March 1939, Lithuania lost the port of Klaipėda and Prezidentas Smetona had to be docked in Šventoji.[14] Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union on 15 June 1940 and the vessel became part of the Soviet Navy. Prezidentas Smetona was renamed first as Пирмӯнас (Pirmūnas, Пирмунас) and later as Коралл (Korall). The warship was reconverted in 1943 to a minesweeper and on 29 August 1944 renamed as T-33.[15] It was sunk on 11 January 1945 when it departed from the port of Helsinki.[15] Circumstances of the sinking are unclear: some claim that it was sunk by the German submarine U-745,[16][15] others argue that it hit a naval mine, or, according to the diary of a German sailor, was hit by a German torpedo.[13]

Estonian researchers had announced several times in the press that they have located the wreckage in the Gulf of Finland.[17] In 2018, a large original flag of the warship was handed to the Lithuanian Sea Museum by Lithuanian descent collector Henry Gaidis.[18]

Notes

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  1. ^ SK stood for Schnellfeuerkanone (quick-firing gun).[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Gardiner & Gray 1985, pp. 186–187
  2. ^ Lenton 1975, p. 336
  3. ^ Gröner, Jung & Maass 1983, p. 159
  4. ^ Gröner, Jung & Maass 1983, pp. 159, 162
  5. ^ Gröner, Jung & Maass 1983, p. 17
  6. ^ Gröner, Jung & Maass 1983, p. 162
  7. ^ Gröner, Jung & Maass 1983, pp. 159, 162
  8. ^ a b Gröner, Jung & Maass 1983, p. 164
  9. ^ Gladisch 1965, pp. 33–35
  10. ^ Halpern 1994, pp. 418–419
  11. ^ Gladisch 1965, pp. 223–223
  12. ^ Stoelzel 1930, p. 19
  13. ^ a b c d Stanišauskas, Gediminas (12 December 2007). "Suomijos įlankos dugne aptiktas "Prezidentas Smetona"" (in Lithuanian). Balsas.lt. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  14. ^ "Estai rado nuskandintą "Prezidentą Smetoną"". Lietuvos rytas (in Lithuanian). 2 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ a b c Platonov, Andrey (2002). Entsyklopediya sovyetskih nadvodnyh korabley 1941-1945 (in Russian). Petersburg: Poligon. pp. 315–316. ISBN 5-89173-178-9.
  16. ^ "T-76 Korall". Ships hit by U-boats. uboat.net. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  17. ^ Nikitenka, Denisas (4 July 2017). "Suomijos įlankoje aptiktas "Prezidentas Smetona"" (in Lithuanian). Lietuvos žinios. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  18. ^ Bikauskaitė, Dalia. "Klaipėdą pasieks unikali Trispalvė". Lzinios.lt. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • Gladisch, Walter, ed. (1965). Der Krieg in der Nordsee: Band 7: Vom Sommer 1917 bis zum Kriegsende 1918. Der Krieg zur See: 1914–1918 (in German). Frankfurt: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn.
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1983). Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815–1945: Band 2: Torpedoboote, Zerstörer, Schnellboote, Minensuchboote, Minenräumboote [German warships 1815–1945: Torpedo boats, Destroyers, Speedboats, Minesweepers, Minesweeper Boats] (in German). Vol. II. Koblenz: Bernard & Graef Verlag. ISBN 3-7637-4801-6.
  • Halpern, Paul G. (1994). A Naval History of World War I. London: UCL Press. ISBN 1-85728-498-4.
  • Lenton, H. T. (1975). German Warships of the Second World War. London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 0-356-04661-3.
  • Stoelzel, Albert (1930). Ehrenrangliste der Kaiserlich Deutschen Marine 1914–1918 (in German). Berlin: Thormann & Goetsch. Retrieved 13 April 2025.

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