HMS Kruger explained

HMS Kruger was the flagship of the British Caspian Flotilla during the Russian Civil War. It was originally a screw steamer with steel hull named President Kruger and used for oil cargo with limited facilities to accommodate passengers. It belonged to Caucasus and Mercury Partnership with home port of Baku. It was seized by David Norris on 14 August 1918 along other boats of Caspian basin.^[1] According to Lionel Dunsterville, Kruger was "a fine ship and as fast as anything on the Caspian, with the exception of the gunboats, and she had accommodation sufficient for my staff, the clerks, and the office, as well as about 300 men normally ; at a pinch she could carry 800 men by utilizing all deck space."

The initial armament consisted of four field guns (probably 102 mm 60 caliber Pattern 1911) placed on the forward cargo hatch, and attached to bales of cotton.^[2] However, they were later removed to be used during Battle of Baku.^[3]

The ship was commanded by a Russian captain.^[4] It participated in the victorious Battle of Alexandrovsky Fort on 21 May 1919 against Russian Bolshevik forces. It was handed over to Denikin on 2 September 1919. Following the defeat of White Russians and subsequent Sovietization of Azerbaijan, President Kruger was once again renamed to Fedya Gubanov under orders of Nariman Narimanov on 10 June 1920 after a Bolshevik sailor who illegally transported oil products to Astrakhan during Russian Civil War.^[5]

Bibliography

• Book: Dunsterville, L. C. . The Adventures of Dunsterforce . Edward Arnold . 1920 . London . 317431 . Lionel Dunsterville . 15 November 2015 . registration . Archive Foundation.
• Book: Osborne. Richard. Spong. Harry. Grover. Tom. Armed Merchant Cruisers 1878–1945. 2007. World Warship Society. Windsor, UK. 978-0-9543310-8-5.

Notes and References

1. Norris . David . 1923 . Caspian naval expedition, 1918–1919 . Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society . en . 10 . 3 . 216–240 . 10.1080/03068372308724841 . 0035-8789.
2. Web site: Guard. John. The Royal Navy in the Caspian Sea 1918–1920. The Great War Primary Documents Archive. Great War Primary Documents Archive, Inc.. 18 May 2015.
3. Book: Shirokorad, Aleksandr B. . Великая речная война, 1918–1920 годы . Вече . 2006 . 5-9533-1465-5 . 124–147 . ru.
4. Book: Halpern. Paul. The Mediterranean Fleet, 1919–1929. 2013. Ashgate Publishing.
5. Book: Hasanov, Musallim . Судоходство в Азербайджане: документальная история : посвящается 160-летию Азербайджанского Каспийского морского пароходства : 1858-2018 [ред. Э. Алиев ; пер. с азерб. яз. Л. Гусейнова] ]. MaxOfset Printing House . 2020 . Aliyev . Elshan . 66 . ru . Shipping in Azerbaijan: documentary history: dedicated to the 160th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company: 1858-2018.