First photos of the wreck of the Lithuanian flagship

The SubZone team conducted the first detailed documentation of the wreck of the Lithuanian navy warship “Prezidentas Smetona”. The almost 60-metre-long minelayer was the flagship of the Lithuanian navy at the time of the First Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940), and was named after the first president of Lithuania – Antanas Smetona.

The ship was built as a minesweeper of the type Minensuchenboot 1916 in 1917 in the shipyard Schichau Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven, and its recipient was the Kaiserlische Marine (German Empire Navy). The ship was launched on 31 October 1917 and for the next 10 years the M 59 sailed under the German flag.

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In August 1927 it was sold to Lithuania and renamed to “Prezidentas Smetona”, at the same time becoming the flagship of the Lithuanian Navy. This situation lasted until the Soviet occupation of Lithuania. After taking over the ship, the Soviets incorporated it into the Baltic Fleet under the name “Pirmūnas”, and then renamed it to “Koral”.

The ship was sunk in the waters of the Gulf of Finland on 11 January 1945, but the causes remain unknown. To this day it has not been possible to establish with certainty whether the vessel ran into a mine or was sunk by the German submarine U-745.

The wreck was found in 2008 by Estonian Maritime Museum workers and lies at a depth of 80 metres, 19 NM off Tallinn. Both the location of the wreck and the image obtained with the side scan sonar allowed to assume that it was the T-33 mine-layer “Koral”.

Last summer the wreck was documented for the first time by the SubZone team, led by Immi Wallin, well known in Poland. The whole project was carried out with the support of the Estonian National Heritage Board and the Estonian Maritime Administration, which helped to secure the dive (the wreck is located in a place where two sea lanes cross).

The data from the documentation and the details of the observation of the state of preservation of the wreck, have been provided to the National Heritage Council. The documentation made on this intact wreck is extremely important, in the context of future monitoring of it. T-33 “Koral” is under protection and has the status of a cultural heritage monument. The wreck is also a war grave and the final resting place of 28 sailors.

The team documenting the wreck: Rolandas Schoen, Linas Duoblys, Sabine Kerkau, Stefan Pape, Tom Baier and Immi Wallin.

Source: SubZone,
Photo: Stefan Pape and Sabine Kerkau