“Rusalka” – the Russian armored artillery ship

Two armored artillery ships – “Rusalka” ("Mermaid") and “Charodiejka” ("Enchantress”) - were launched on September 12, 1867. Their hulls had a double bottom, the side armor reached 114 mm, and the turrets - 140 mm. The actual displacement of the ship was 2100 tons. The first summer campaign of the “Rusalka” in 1869 almost ended in the death of the boat: she stumbled on an underwater stone on the side, as a result, a leak formed, which was eliminated with the help of divers. The ship became a coastal defense battleship. On the morning of September 19, 1893 the crew of the “Rusalka” received an order to proceed from Revel (now Tallinn) to Helsingfors (Helsinki), and then to Bjerka (now Primorsk). Accompanying the artillery ship was the seaworthy gun ship of the imperial fleet “Tucha” ("Cloud"). That day there was heavy fog, the two ships lost sight of each other, as a result, contrary to the order, the commander of the "Tucha" N. Lushkov decided to follow to Helsingfors on his own and arrived there after lunch. In his first telegram, addressed to the commander of the artillery training detachment Contr - Admiral P. Burachek, Captain Lushkov reported on his arrival at the port, but did not mention the absence of the “Rusalka”. The next day he sent a new telegram, where he asked if it was worth waiting for the arrival of the artillery ship, but this message did not reach the addressee. Burachek, who arrived in Bjerka with other ships of the artillery training detachment, did not immediately become interested in the affairs of the “Rusalka” and “Tucha”. As a result, due to all this confusion, the loss of the ship was noticed only on September 22. Burachek reported the disappearance of the battleship to the Main Naval Headquarters, but they learned about the incident a little earlier. Late in the evening of September 21, the chief of police of Helsingfors reported to the port of Sveaborg, that a boat with the body of sailor I. Prunsky, who served on the “Rusalka”, had been found on one of the islands of Kremare. The next day several broken boats, ship wreckage and various items from an armored ship were found on a neighboring island at once. It became clear, that a disaster had occurred. The naval court concerning the death of the “Rusalka” was held in January next year. As a result P. Burachek was reprimanded, and the commander of "Tucha" Lushkov was removed from his post. Loss of control due to a storm or a hole was cited as the cause of the disaster. Later it was suggested, that not a single person escaped, since they all hid from the storm inside the battleship, it was impossible to be on the deck. Divers discovered the remains of the ship only in 1932. After more than 70 years, the find was confirmed by an Estonian research vessel: the “Rusalka” rests vertically at a depth of 74 meters, 25 kilometers south of Helsinki. In Tallinn in memory of the catastrophe there is a bronze monument in the form of an angel, with a cross standing on a granite pedestal. "Russians do not forget their martyr heroes," the inscription on it reads.

The “Rusalka” armored artillery ship model is quite complex due to the large scale, well-designed and richly detailed, for intermediate and experienced modelers. There are sheets with double-sided printing.