Suur Tõll (icebreaker)
Suur Tõll at the Maritime Days in Tallinn on 27 May 2007. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Russian Empire | |
| Name | Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich (Царь Михаилъ Ѳеодоровичъ) |
| Port of registry | Tallinn, Estonia |
| Ordered | 1912 |
| Builder | Vulcan Werft, Stettin, Germany |
| Yard number | 345 |
| Launched | 26 December 1913 |
| Commissioned | 27 May 1914 |
| In service | 1914–1917 |
| Soviet Russia | |
| Name | Volynets (Волынец) |
| In service | 1917–1918 |
| Finland | |
| Name | Wäinämöinen |
| In service | 1918–1922 |
| Estonia | |
| Name | Suur Tõll |
| In service | 1922–1940 |
| Soviet Union | |
| Name | Volynets (Волынец) |
| In service | 1940–1985 |
| Estonia | |
| Name | Suur Tõll |
| Owner | Estonian Maritime Museum |
| Acquired | 13 October 1988 |
| Status | Museum ship in Tallinn, Estonia |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | Icebreaker |
| Tonnage | 2,417 GRT |
| Displacement | 3,619 tons |
| Length | 75.4 m (247 ft) |
| Beam | 19.2 m (63 ft) |
| Draft | 5.7 m (19 ft) |
| Boilers | Six coal-fired boilers with mechanical ventilation |
| Engines | Three triple-expansion steam engines, 2,300 ihp (1,700 kW) each |
| Propulsion | Three propellers; two in stern and one in bow |
| Crew | 62–65 |
| Armament |
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Suur Tõll is an Estonian steam-powered icebreaker preserved in the Estonian Maritime Museum in Tallinn. She was originally built for the Russian Empire in 1914 by AG Vulcan in Stettin, Germany, as Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich. In 1917, she was taken over by the Bolsheviks and renamed Volynets. However, in 1918 she was captured by Finland and served as Wäinämöinen until 1922, when she was handed over to Estonia according to the Treaty of Tartu and renamed Suur Tõll. When Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, the icebreaker rejoined the Soviet fleet and was again named Volynets. She remained in service until 1985.
The Soviet Navy decided to sell the decommissioned icebreaker for scrap, and she was purchased by the Estonian Maritime Museum in 1987. The ship was given back her original Estonian name and was extensively renovated; Suur Tõll, the largest preserved pre-war icebreaker in the world, is currently moored at Lennusadam, the historical seaplane harbour in Tallinn.