Russian yacht Standart

The Standart was an Imperial Russian yacht serving Emperor Nicholas II and his family, being in her time (late 19th/early 20th century) the largest Imperial Yacht afloat. After the Russian Revolution the ship was placed in drydock until 1936, when she was converted to a minelayer. During World War II, she participated in the defence of Leningrad.

Standart arriving at Yalta, Crimea
History
Russian Empire
Name: Standart
Namesake: Emperor's Naval Standard
Owner: Imperial Russian Navy
Ordered: 19 June 1893
Builder: Burmeister & Wain, Copenhagen, Denmark
Yard number: 183
Laid down: 1 October 1893
Launched: 10 March 1895
Commissioned: September 1896
Decommissioned: 1918
Soviet Union
Name: Marti
Owner: Soviet Navy
Reinstated: 1936 (as minelayer)
Fate: Scrapped, 1963
General characteristics (as Royal yacht)
Displacement: 5557 tons standard
Length: 128 m (420 feet)
Beam: 15.8 m (52 feet)
Draught: 6.00 m (19' 8)
Propulsion: 2 Triple Expansion Steam Engines
Speed: 21.18 knots
Complement: 355
Armament: 8 - 47 mm (1.9 in) guns (Hotchkiss)
General characteristics (as Marti)
Displacement: 5665 tons standard, 6198 tons deep load
Length: 122.30 m (401' 3)
Beam: 14.4 m (47' 3)
Draught: 6.80 m (22' 4)
Propulsion: 2 shaft, 2 Triple Expansion Steam Engines, 4 boilers
Speed: 18,85 knots
Complement: 400
Armament:

History

Imperial Yacht

The Imperial Yacht Standart (Штандартъ) was built by order of Emperor Alexander III of Russia, and constructed at the Danish shipyard of Burmeister & Wain, beginning in 1893. She was launched on 21 March 1895 and came into service early September 1896.

Standart was fitted out with ornate fixtures, including mahogany paneling, crystal chandeliers, and other amenities that made the vessel a suitable floating palace for the Russian Imperial Family. The ship was manned and operated by a crew from the Russian Imperial Navy. During the reign of Nicholas II, Standart was commanded by a naval Captain, although the official commander was a Rear Admiral. Her commander in 1914 was Nikolai Pavlovich Sablin.

Standart in 1909

In 1907, Standart ran aground on an uncharted rock off the Finnish coast. Although damaged, the ship did not sink and was repaired and soon returned to service. The Russian Imperial Family was vacationing on the Standart during the summer of 1914, when they received the news of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo. With the outbreak of World War I, Standart was placed in drydock.

Soviet minelayer Marti
Minelayer Marti in 1942

After the fall of the Romanov Dynasty, Standart was stripped down and pressed into naval service. The ship was renamed 18 marta (18 March), and later Marti (in honor of André Marty). In 1932-1936, Marti was converted into a minelayer by the Marti yard in Leningrad. During the Second World War, Marti served in the Baltic, laying mines and bombarding shore positions along the coast. On 23 September 1941, Marti was damaged in an air attack at Kronstadt, but later repaired and continued service until the end of the war. A mine laid off Hanko by Marti sunk the German submarine chaser UJ.117/Gustav Kroner on 1 October 1941.

After the war, Marti was converted into a training ship and renamed Oka in 1957. She continued serving in that role until she was scrapped at Tallinn, Estonia, in 1963.

Specifications
  • Displacement: 5557 tons
  • Length: 370 feet (112,8 m) between perpendiculars
  • Length Overall: 420 feet (128 m)
  • Width: 50 feet 8 inches (15,8 m)
  • Depth: 20 feet (6 m)
  • Maximum Speed: 21.18 knots

Previous Imperial Yachts

Notes

    References
    • Frampton, Viktor (2012). "Question 25/46: Imperial German Yachts". Warship International. XLIX (3): 225–226. ISSN 0043-0374.
    • Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946
    • McBride, Keith; Robinson, Richard; Sturton, Ian & Trimbath, Kevin (1991). "Question 12/90". Warship International. International Naval Research Organization. XXVIII (4): 399–402. ISSN 0043-0374.
    • Twardoski, Marek & Johnson, Harold (1993). "Question 23/90: Imperial Russian Yacht Standart". Warship International. XXX (3): 314–317. ISSN 0043-0374.

    Media related to Standart (ship, 1895) at Wikimedia Commons

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