Patrol Boat LKL Partizanas (P.1)

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Patrol Boat LKL Partizanas (P.1)

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TL;DR
Coastal vessel, early Lithuanian patrol boat, armed with some WW1 German guns.

History:
After the independence of Lithuania in WW1, the government created the Border Guard Corps to patrol its small coastline against smugglers, formed from 3 small boats. In 1933, the Border Guard received 4 new patrol boats, one of which was the Partizanas. Partizanas was built at the Lithuanian Memel-Lindenau & Cie shipyard in Klaipėda, and was armed with some WW1-era German weaponry, leftover in their warehouses after the German retreat, notably it had a 57mm Maxim-Nordenfelt, the same gun used on the A7V tank. It was considered the best ship in the Border Guard fleet (the larger Prezidentas Smetona had been transferred to the “Navy”), and regularly fought against smugglers. It underwent a small modernization in 1937 where a radio station was added. In 1939, Germany issued Lithuania an ultimatum to cede the region of Klaipėda, or Memel, which Lithuania conceded. With the loss of its largest port, the naval forces were forced to retreat to the small port of Šventoji, which was too shallow for commercial service. After a failed attempt to negotiate docking rights with Latvia, the Lithuanians worked to deepen the port at Šventoji to accommodate their ships. Ultimately, these port efforts came to naught, as in 1940 the Soviet Union occupied and annexed Lithuania and seized the Border Guard ships. Partizanas was transferred to the NKVD Border Guard, and later the Baltic Fleet after the German Invasion. It was given a unique designation, SPK, which means “high speed border boat”, as even its modest 12 knots was faster than many border patrol boats. However, during transfer to the Baltic Fleet, it ran aground off Osmussaar Island and was lost.

Specifications:

Armament:
1x1 57mm Maxim-Nordenfelt
1x1 20mm SEMAG
2x1 7.92mm MG08

Displacement:
60 tons full

Length: 21.5m

Beam: 4.5m

Draft: 1.3m

Propulsion: 1 Deutz-Humbolt diesel engine, 200 hp, driving 1 shaft

Speed: 12 knots (22.2 km/h)

Range: unknown

Crew: 13

Images:

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Drawings:
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Sources:
Budzbon , P. Radziemski, J. Twardowski, M. (2022) Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939–1945 Vol. II (pp. 138). Pen and Sword.
Ehlers, H. (2012). Litewskie Siły Morskie przed rokiem 1940. In Okręty Wojenne Vol. XIX, Nr 5/2012 (pp. 30-35).

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