10 Jun 2009:
WWI Russian U-boat found on the seabed of Gulf of Finland
WWI Russian submarine called Unicorn was found on the seabed of Gulf of Finland by Estonian scientists.
Such boats were made during WWI in Tallin on the Noblessner factory. Three of them were destroyed in Baltic Sea but only one was found in the waters off Sweden. After the war all boats of this type were disassembled.
One of the Estonian scientists Velo Mjass thinks that it is necessary to make a dive and explore the wreck making movies and photos of this found.
Unicorn's history:
It was built on the Noblessner factory on the 1st of August in 1915 and was ready for war on the 22 of December 1916. She participated in two battles but at the beginning of the third one due to orientation mistake the submarine hit stones on the seabed. Unicorn received a leak in the bow and lost screw propellers. After such severe damage the U-boat was taken off the stones by a towboat but during that operation she hit the rock again and sunk completely after few hours. 13 days later it was picked up by rescue vessel and shipped to Noblesser factory for repair. In February 1918, only partly repaired, the U-boat was taken away from Tallin in order to prevent it from hijacking by Germans. During the trip she hit drifting ice floe and received cracks in the hull which caused sinking off Kocksher Lighthouse.
