British 'Vittoria' Destroyer sunk by Russians found in the Gulf of Finland

Russian divers have discovered the English destroyer "Vittoria” sunk in 1919 by a Russian submarine in the Eastern part of the Gulf of Finland. 

The destroyer ship is bottom up and broken into several parts in Russian territorial waters at a depth of 30 meters, according to a report released by the Western Military District press service to Lenta.ru. The Russian “Panther,” a bars-type submarine, is believe to have sunk the ship.

English destroyer searches were conducted in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland in from September to October, initiated by St. Petersburg Submariners' Club and with Segnetics financial support. Searchers used information taken from the personal archives of the “Panther’s” captain, Alexendr Bakhtin, to locate the ship’s remains.

The club said it’s board has already informed the British Admiralty of the ship’s discovery.

"Vittoria" destroyer was built in 1917 and was disabled during the 1917-1923 Civil War in Russia. On August 31, 1919, the Baltic fleet "Panther" submarine discovered and torpedoed "Vittoria" destroyer.

"Judging by the explosion nature, booming and strong, and significantly different from subsequent shots, I consider it unquestionable that the attack was successful, and the British destroyer has been blasted," Bakhtin wrote in the “Panter” logbook at the time.

No searches of "Vittoria" destroyer had been conducted before 2013. The shipwreck area became the territorial waters of Finland after the end of the Russian Civil War and the formation of independent Baltic states. The region was returned to the Soviet jurisdiction after the end of World War II.

First published in Russian in Lenta.ru.

All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

This website uses cookies. Click here to find out more.

Accept cookies