MINESWEEPER T.252 «OLGA» OF THE BLACK SEA FLEET IN 1916-1918 (ACCORDING TO RUSSIAN DOCUMENTS FROM THE GERMAN ARCHIVE)

The article is devoted to the service of the minesweeper T.252 (T.352) «Olga» on the Black Sea during the First World War, the revolutionary events of 1917 and the beginning of foreign intervention in 1918. The publication is based on the minesweeper’s logbooks. In 1918, these documents were seized by the Germans and are currently stored in the military-history department of the Federal Archive of Germany. The article describes the process of work on the conversion of the mobilized steamship «Olga» into a minesweeper. Thanks to the logbooks, a chronology of the ship’s service, its execution of control trawling, transport operations, guard duty, installation of navigation support signs, etc. was built. The events of the 1917 Revolution in which the ship’s crew participated are described. The course and results of the elections of the command staff of the minesweeper in December 1917 are considered. A gradual decline in combat effectiveness can be observed. The ship’s service in the Russian fleet ends with the fact that in April 1918, «Olga» was captured by the German submarine UC-23.