Name SMS M59 Acquired purchased, 1927 Launched 31 October 1917 Builder Schichau Seebeckwerft | Name Prezidentas Smetona Commissioned August 2, 1935 Length 59 m | |
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Fate sold to Lithuania, 1927 Namesake Antanas Smetona, President of Lithuania | ||
Lithuanian warship Prezidentas Smetona was the only warship in Lithuanian Navy during the years of the First Republic of Lithuania from 1918 to 1940. It was named after the first President of Lithuania, Antanas Smetona.
Built by Deschimag-Werk Seebeck and launched on October 31, 1917 in Germany, the ship started its career as German minesweeper M59. In 1927 it was purchased by Lithuania for 289,000 litas. It was used to safeguard Lithuanian shores against smugglers and as a training facility for the navy. In 1939–1940 Lithuania ordered more ships, including submarines, from France.
The 525–586-ton Prezidentas Smetona was 60 metres (197 ft) in length and was powered by two Schulz coal-fired boilers providing a top speed of 16 knots. A complement of 48 manned two 3-inch (7.6 cm) guns and three machine-guns. The ship was reconstructed and was officially launched as a warship on August 2, 1935 by captain Antanas Kaškelis.
After the German ultimatum to Lithuania in March 1939, Lithuania lost the port of Klaipėda and Prezidentas Smetona had to be docked in Šventoji. Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union on June 15, 1940 and the vessel became part of the Soviet Navy. Prezidentas Smetona was renamed first as Pirmūnas and later as Koral. The warship was reconverted to a minesweeper and was sunk in January 1945 when it departed from the port of Helsinki. Circumstances of the sinking are unclear: some claim that it was sunk by German U-745, others argue that it hit a naval mine, or, according to the diary of a German sailor, was hit by a German torpedo. In 2007, Estonian authorities located the wreckage in the Gulf of Finland, 35 kilometres (19 nmi) from Tallinn at a depth of 80 metres (260 ft).