The Ships of the Russian Weapons of Victory Series

Four ship stamps were issued in 2013 by the Russian Postal Authority to commemorate weapons that helped contribute to the "Russian" victory in WWII.  

The first stamp in the set depicts the minesweeper Mina.

The Mina was built as a fast coastal minesweeper for the Soviet Russian Navy at Sevastopol.   Completed in the same year construction started she was launched on August 20, 1937. 

Mina's particulars are:

Displacement 410 ton standard, 503 ton full load. Dim. 62.0 x 7.2 x 2.26m (draught); Powered by two 42-BMRN-6 diesel engines producing 2,000 hp; twin shafts; speed 18.5 knots.

Armament 1 – 100mm gun B-24; 1 – 45mm gun 21-K; 3 – 12.7mm MG (Machine Guns); 2 DCR (Depth Charge Racks) (20); 31 mines and sweeps.  The Mina was designed to have a Crew 44

She was delivered to the Russian Navy on August 28, 1938 and served in the Black Sea.  Through the four years of WWII, she sailed 47 000 miles through mine infested waters and was responsible for escorting numerous ships.  Through her service during the war she had come under air attack no less than 300 times.  In July 1944 the Mina was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

The next stamp features the patrol boat Metel. This ship was constructed in sections that were shipped via train and sent to the Soviet Far East and assembled at the  Dalzavod Shipyard in Vladivostok.

Metel's particlars are: 

Displacement 450 ton standard, 530 ton full load, dim. 71.5 x 7.4 x 2.6m. (draught); Powered by Curtiss geared steam turbines, 6,290 hp, speed 24 knots, economical 14 knots; Range by a speed of 14 knots, 1,200 mile.

Armament 2 – 102mm; 3 – 37mm guns; and 3 – 12.7mm MG.; 3 – 450mm torpedo tubes; 2 – mortars; carried 48 mines and 30 depth charges. Fitted out with mine sweeping equipment.  She had a crew compliment of 108.

Throughout WWII the Metel escorted ships through minefields.  During the battle of Chongjin, in Northern Korea  the ship and crew distinguished themselves through expert fire support shooting down enemy aircraft, destroying an armoured train, taking out enemy coastal batteries and searchlight installations, destroying eight concreted fortifications and gun positions, and causing serious damage to an enemy landing craft.

64 of the Metel's crew were awarded with orders and medals.  Her Captain was conferred with the title "Hero of the Soviet Union".

The river armoured craft BKA-75 is the next stamp in the set.  She was built at Zelenodolsk and completed in December 1941.  

The particulars of the BKA-75 are: 

Displacement: 49.75 standard, 52.16 full load, dim. 25.3 x 4.04 x 0.87m (draught); Powered by engines of 1,800 hp, maximum speed 37.4 km/h, economical speed 23 km/h; Range up to 680 km.

Armament 2 – 76.2mm guns; 2 – 12.7 and 2 – 7.62mm MG. The BKA-75 had a crew 17.

Through out WWII BKA-75 served along side Russian army units and participated in the defence of Stalingrad and worked on the Volga river until September 1943 when she was loaded on a rail car and transported to the Azov Sea.  After suffering serious damage and repairs she joined the Danube Flotilla where she took part in the liberation of: Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Austria.  She also particpated in the liberation of Belgrade.

The last stamp in this set displays the gunboat Usyskin.  Orinally built as a paddle steamer tug for service on rivers, she was converted to a gun boat in July 1941. 

The Usyskin's particulars are: 

Displacement 400 tons, dim. 56.4 x 17.1 x 1.2m;

One 480 hp steam engine , speed 8.5 knots.

Armament: 2 – 45mm guns; 1 – 7.62mm MG.

The Usyskin participated in the defence of Stalingrad as a unit in the Volga River Flotilla.  In February of 1943 she received the Order of the Red Banner.

In April of 1943 the Usyskin was severely damaged as a result of a mine.  In July 1943, she was converted back to a tug.

References:

http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12938&p=14161&hilit=Mina#p14161

http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12942&p=14169&hilit=Metel#p14169

http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12941&p=14167&hilit=BKA+75#p14167

http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12939&p=14165&hilit=Usyskin+Russia#p14165

the Battle of the Saintes

In 1975 the postal authority of the island of Barbuda issued a set of four stamps commemorating the Battle of the Saintes. The stamps were issued on the 30th of May, 1975 and are perforated 13.5 x 14.

This was an important naval battle that was fought between the British under Admiral Sir George Rodney and the French under the Comte de Grasse between April 9th, 1782 and April 12th, 1782, during the Anglo-French War. The Battle was fought off the Island of Dominica and was named after the group of islands between Gaudeloupe and Dominica which were collectively known as the "Saintes".

This battle was important to the British forces as the fleet was responsible for the blockade of Yorktown and was responsible in part for the British surrender.  With the British surrender at Yorktown, the next phase of the French/Spanish plan was to invade Jamaica.

On April 7, 1782 the French left Martinique to rendezvous with 12 Spanish ships of the line and to embark 15,000 troops.  On hearing this Admiral Rodney left in pursuit of the French fleet the next day.

April 9th saw the British fleet catch the French fleet and the two sides sailed in line for the next few days while repairing damage to their respective ships.

At 7:40 am on the 12th, the British began to engage the French fleet and the two sides engaged each other in broadsides.  Due to shifting winds, the British ships broke the line and delivered a devastating attack on the French fleet.  Eventually with the French fleet in disarray, the Ville de Paris, struck her colours and the Comte de Grasse surrendered to the British.

Ships of the Line.

The strength of the British fleet was 36 ships of the line, the French fleet consisted of 33 ships of the line.

H.M.S. Ramillies.

 At the conclusion of the battle the total casualties for the British were 243 dead and 816 wounded with no loss of ships.  In contrast the French suffered 3,000 dead or wounded. 5,000 captured, 4 ships of the line captured and 1 destroyed.

Bonhomme Richard firing broadside. 

As a result of the loss, the French/Spanish plan to invade Jamaica was ruined and British dominance of the seas was again re-established.  

The French ship of the line L'Orient burning.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Saintes

HMS Barbados

The Barbado's issued the 35 cent HMS Barbados stamp on August 16th, 1994 as one of a set of fourteen ships stamps issued.

Originally ordered as a patrol gunboat by the US Navy as the USS Halsted, she was reclassified as a patrol frigate of the Tacoma class and laid down in May 1943 at the Walsh-Kaiser Company of Providence, Rhode Island. The ship was renamed HMS Barbados once it was intended to be transferred to the Royal Navy as a Colony class frigate. Launched on the 27th of August, 1943 she was officially transferred to the Royal Navy under a lend-lease agreement in December 1943.

HMAS Australia

An Indefatigable class battle cruiser, HMAS Australia, was commissioned June 21, 1913 and became the flagship of the Australian Navy.

Laid down on the 26th of June 1910 at John Brown and Company HMAS Australia was launched on October 25th 1911. Displacing a maximum 22, 130 long tons, She was 590 feet long with a beam of 80 feet. Her steam turbines produced 55, 000 shp and could propel Australia at a top speed just under 27 knots. She could travel 6,690 nautical miles at a speed of 10 knots. She carried a complement of 820 men

Australia was armed with 8 - 12 inch guns mounted in twin turrets (4 sets), 16 - 4 inch guns and 2 torpedo tubes located below the waterline. In 1915 and 1917 she was fitted with a anti aircraft guns. She was also used in the role of naval aviation, carrying two aircraft. There was 4 to 6 inches of armour around her Hull and between 4 to 10 inches on her conning tower.
HMAS Australia served in home waters and toured many Australian ports in her first year of service to 'advertise' the new Australian Navy to the widest possible audience. At the outbreak of war in 1914, Australia was to protect home waters but was given the freedom to search and engage any German warships. She pursued the Graf Spee and her crew were not happy that they did not get to engage any German battleships.
For the majority of the war, the Australia operated in the North Sea and served with the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron. This squadron was tasked with protecting the British Isles from German naval activity. The only time she fired her guns at the enemy while serving with this squadron was at a suspected enemy submarine on the 30th of December 1917.
At the end of the First World War, HMAS Australia was tasked with meeting, escorting and serving as guardship to the German fleet. On April 22, 1919 the Australia sailed for home waters and arrived at Fremantle on the 28th of May 1919. In 1920 she was used as a gunnery and torpedo training ship. In 1921 she was placed in reserve and as a result of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty she was scuttled.

This post originally appeared on my website on the 21^st of October 2012.

The Battle of Trafalgar 200th Anniversary

One of the most defining naval actions in history, the Battle of Trafalgar asserted the Royal Navy's and Great Britain's dominance of the seas.  Fought on the 21st of October 1805, off Cape Trafalgar between the combined French and Spanish Fleets against Britain's Royal Navy.


Battle of Trafalgar Bicentennary Stamps Issued by Great Britain October 18. 2005