Pilot (icebreaker)

Stamp with a picture of the pilot

The pilot (Russian Пайлот, German transcribed Pailot ) was a Russian tugboat, which was rebuilt in 1864 for icebreakers. The ship is considered to be the world's first iron icebreaker of modern design.

History

After the Kronstadt businessman Mikhail Britnew showed dissatisfaction with the annual financial loss due to the freezing of the sea route between Saint Petersburg and Kronstadt, he was operated by him tugboat pilot converted to an icebreaker. The ship was equipped with the construction of a rear screw drive instead of its usual time still Schaufelradantriebs, which greatly favored the later operation. The foredeck with its sharply cut Steve mold was reinforced with additional iron plates, which were inclined to allow the emergence on the ice. Despite the extremely low engine power of 62.5 kW, the icebreaker for its owner to a great success was. The positive experiences led in 1868 to a subsequent new building on the principle of the pilot, with 183 kW of power considerably stronger Boi. Despite the successes and the attentive interest in some Baltic countries, the two ships had initially no direct imitators. In ice winter 1869/70 the freezing of nine steamers on the Elbe, however, led to an attempt to acquire the pilot for Hamburg, but this failed. Only the subsequent and again significantly more severe ice winters resulted in Hamburg for the construction of the icebreaker Comité, which was put into service in December, 1871.

The pilot was operated until 1890, to extend the winter navigation period.