Russia's Forgotten Dreadnought Disaster #history #ww2rebuilder #sovietarmedforces

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]As the Empress Maria was in Sevastopol in late October 1916, something was amiss. To quote Russian and Soviet Battleships by Stephen McLaughlin, at 6:20 a.m. on October 20th, 1916, a sailor passing by the forward turret heard a hissing sound. Within seconds, smoke and flames began issuing from hatches and ventilators near the turret and from the embrasures of the turret itself.

[00:00:23]The alarm was sounded and fire hoses were unreeled, but before anything more could be done, the ship suffered a powerful explosion. Flames were observed shooting almost 1,000 ft into the air.

[00:00:34]The conning tower, foremast, and forward funnel were all blown over to the side, and the forward turret was displaced.

[00:00:40]Perhaps as many as 100 men were killed or wounded by the blast. Through the shattered upper decks, fires could be seen raging below.