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Ex-German heavy Cruiser Lützow commissioned
incomplete in the Russian Navy as Tallin. This ship had a number of
names, including Project 53, Petropavlovsk and Dnepr. The story of
this ship below is provided by Carl
Proctor |
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German
Heavy Cruiser /Russian Light Cruiser
1939-60
Lützow
Laid down on the 2nd
August 1937, the Lützow was the last of five of the
Hipper/Prince Eugen class of heavy cruisers. She was launched on the 1st
July 1939. As part of the
Russian/German pact signed on the 23rd August 1939, Lützow
was sold to the USSR on the 11th February 1940.
On the 15th April 1940 she was towed to the
Ordzhonikidze ship Yard at Leningrad. The agreement was for her to be
completed under German guidance no later than 1942.
Petropavlosk / Tallin /Dnepr
The
ship (the former Lützow)
was initially titled Project 53
but in September 1940 became the Petropavlosk.
By 1941 she began to look like a fighting ship, having main guns
in both A and D turrets.
With Germany secretly planning the invasion of
Russia (Operation Barbarossa), the technical support slowly dwindled,
leaving her around 75% complete by time of the German invasion.
Even at this stage, Petropavlosk was towed to Call harbour on the 15th August 1941 and used as a
floating battery, defending Leningrad against advancing German army
units. After firing over
600 rounds she became disabled (after receiving 53 hits) on the 17th
September 1941, subsequently she flooded and settled in shallow water.
After exactly one year the Petropavlosk was raised in darkness,
in the early hours of the 17th September 1942 and towed to
Neva, so repairs could be started. By January 1944 she possessed only
three serviceable 8in guns, which she put to use to bombard retreating
German units (firing over 1000 rounds) during the break out of
Leningrad. In September
1944 she was renamed the Tallin, moving to the Baltic so her
planned construction could be completed.
Post war, the Tallin was redesigned, but by 1948 the
expense of the modifications was equal to a newly built Sverdlov
cruiser. This was
unjustifiable and all further work on her was stopped.
She next became a static training ship under the name of Dnepr
before ending her days as the accommodation ship PKZ-112.
The ship was removed from Russian Naval listings in 1958 and
broken up in 1960 at
the Vtorchermet
yards, Leningrad.
Contributed
by Carl Proctor |
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