“Oriol” – the Russian/ USSR steamship

In 1878 the Volunteer Fleet was founded by Emperor Alexander III in order to have steamships, suitable for military needs, that could be armed and used as auxiliary cruisers, hospital ships or ships for transporting troops. One of the sources of funds for the construction of ships was donations from Russian cities. On July 6, 1908 Emperor Nicholas II approved the decision to allocate funds for the creation of shipping communications in the Far East, which was the basis for ordering five new steamships abroad by the Volunteer Fleet. The order for the building was issued to the German company F. Shihau. According to the contract, the company was obliged to build 5 single-screw first-class postal and passenger steamers of the spardeck type. Since the ships were planned to be used for special service in wartime, mounts were provided for installing 3 120-mm guns, a place for laying rails on the deck for transporting mines from the holds to the stern. The interiors were designed to carry 600 troops. The number of civilian passengers was planned in cabins of the 1st class - 62 passengers, 2nd class - 20 passengers, 3rd class - 100 passengers. The ship's staff included 95 people. On April 13, 1909 the ships under construction were given names: three large ones - "Oriol", "Poltava", "Ryazan"; others - "Simbirsk", "Penza". On August 1, 1909 the “Oreil” steamship went on trials and at the end of the year began to operate voyages in the Far East, along with the “Poltava”. With the outbreak of World War I, the “Oriol” became part of the Siberian Flotilla as an auxiliary cruiser and was equipped with combat guns: two 120 mm, two 75 mm and four 47 mm. Later it was used as a training ship. In 1922 it was sold to an English company, which gave it the name "Silvia". In 1934 the ship was taken over by a shipping company from Hong Kong and was renamed "Haitan"; during World War II he was mobilized and included in the British Navy. In June 1946 it was returned to the owner and in 1950 it was cut into metal in Hong Kong.

Model of the ship "Oriol" of medium complexity, well-designed and richly detailed, for intermediate and experienced modelers. But, working under the supervision of a more experienced colleague, this model can be glued together by both an advanced beginner and an inexperienced modeler. But it won't be easy. There are sheets with double-sided printing, some details are printed with “metallic” type bronze paint.