The Krim-class cargo liners had 518 passenger berths in three classes plus room for an additional 462 passengers on the decks. They had a cargo capacity of 2,820 cubic metres (100,000 cu ft).[1] The ships were assessed at 4,727 gross register tons (GRT), 2,583 net register tons (NRT),[3] and 1,480 tons deadweight (DWT).[1]
Adzharistan was originally named Adzharia and was renamed sometime in the 1930s. She was one of the four ships in the class that were constructed in 1928. After completion in 1930, the ship was assigned to its regional subsidiary, the Black Sea State Shipping Company by Sovtorgflot, the national merchant fleet, with its port of registry at Odessa.[3][2][1]
After the invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 (Operation Barbarossa) by Nazi Germany and its allies, Adzharistan was used for military tasks. After being damaged and set on fire by German aircraft on 23 July near Odessa, the liner was run aground and subsequently burnt out.[1] The only German aircraft known to have attacked the Odessa area on that date were Heinkel He 111H bombers of II./Kampfgeschwader 27 (2nd Group, Bomber Wing 27).[4][5]
^ abcdLloyd's Register of Shipping(PDF). Vol. II: Steamers and Motorships of 300 Tons Gross and over (1937–1938 ed.). London: Lloyd's of London. 1937. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
Bernád, Dénes; Karlenko, Dmitriy & Roba, Jean-Louis (2007). From Barbarossa to Odessa: The Luftwaffe and Axis Allies Strike South-East, June-October 1941. Hinckley, UK: Midland. ISBN978-1-85780-273-3.
Bollinger, Martin J. (2012). From the Revolution to the Cold War: A History of the Soviet Merchant Fleet from 1917 to 1950. Windsor, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN978-0-9560769-4-6.
Budzbon, Przemysław; Radziemski, Jan & Twardowski, Marek (2022). Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939–1945. Vol. III: Naval Auxiliaries. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-3990-2281-1.
Jordan, Roger W. (1999). The World's Merchant Fleets, 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 ships. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN1-86176-023-X.
Waiss, Walter (2003). Aus Dem Boelcke-Archiv 3 Chronik Kampfgeschwader Nr. 27 Boelcke Teil 2: 01.01.1941 - 31.12.1941. Neuss, Germany: Waiss. OCLC1106565000.
Further reading
Wilson, Edward A. (1978). Soviet Passenger Ships, 1917–1977. Kendal, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN0-905617-04-5.