Suur Tõll (icebreaker)

The icebreaker Suur Tõll in Tallinn

Волынец / Volymits (1941-1988) Suur Tõll (1922-1941) Väinämöinen (1918-1922) Волынец / Volymits (1917-1918) Царь Михаилъ Феодоровичъ / Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich (1914-1917)

IMO: 8640351

Suur Tõll is a 1914 -built icebreaker, which is today in Tallinn ( Reval German ) as a museum ship.

History

The ship was 1913/14, built under the hull number 345 at the " Vulcan shipyard " in Szczecin and baptized by the name Czar Michael I. Mikhail Fedorovich ( altruss. Царь Михаилъ Феодоровичъ ). The 75.40 meters long, 17.40 meters wide and 2391 -ton icebreaker received three triple expansion engines of 4500 hp together with whom he reached a speed of 13.5 knots.

1914, the ship was delivered to Reval, then part of the Russian Empire. In the coming years, the steamer stopped during the winter months the sea routes in the northern Baltic Sea open and was subordinated to the Russian Navy. After the October Revolution the ship belonged to the Soviet Navy and was renamed Volymits ( Волынец, German transcription Wolynez ). Already the end of February 1918 was the icebreaker, despite adverse weather conditions exceptionally involved in the evacuation of Russian naval units from Reval to Helsingfors before this advancing German units could fall into the hands. From 6 to April 11, 1918 Volymits enabled along with the icebreaker Yermak, the laying of the Baltic Fleet from Helsingfors to Petrograd, the so-called Eismarsch of the Baltic Fleet. Short it revolted the largest parts of the Finnish crew including the captain against the Soviet - Finnish or crew members and forced them to leave the ship. Subsequently, the Finnish flag was raised and moved to Reval. On April 28, 1918, the ship was named after the Finnish legendary hero Väinämöinen and in particular the Baltic Division was then to transport German troops used.

In 1920 the vehicle was handed over to the Republic of Estonia and in 1922 renamed after a hero of the Estonian mythology in Suur Tõll. After the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in 1940 to rename the following in Volynets. Under this name, the ship took part in the evacuation of Tallinn.

His last years witnessed the use of steamers in the port of Lomonosov at Kronstadt, where he was used as a supply ship. 1988 returned the ship to Tallinn and was handed over to the Estonian Maritime Museum. Since the restoration of Estonia's independence, the icebreaker again bears the name Suur Tõll.