British Ship "armenian"

[DominO123]

Did anyone heard of this British ship used in World War I, that was titled: "Armenian"?

 

From a material of 1917 i am reading, the Ship was torpedoed in June 28, 1915. I wasn't able to find much about it. I may try the British records, but thought that maybe someone knew about it.

[Nakharar]

I don't know if it's the same one, but I think it's the ship that was used as an ammunition depot in the Caspian Sea. I faintly remember it from one of Peter Hopkirk's books, which was about a British intelligence officer and the defense of Baku. When the British military left Baku before the fall of the city they passed along the Armenian (if it is the same one you are mentioning). I can't really remember the details, so I better check the book.

[Arpa]

Here are two of several sites in re the ship.

To see more use "british ship armenian torpedoed" as the search phrase.

http://myindianahome.net/gen/switz/records...WWI/causes.html

 

"Twenty American negro muleteers on the Leyland steamship Armenian were killed on June 28, 1915, by shell fire and drowning when the Armenian failed to escape with her cargo of army mules from a submersible near the Cornwall coast."

 

 

http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/whitestar.html

 

As to the one in the Caspian, it is a different story.

See next.

[Arpa]

I don't know if it's the same one, but I think it's the ship that was used as an ammunition depot in the Caspian Sea. I faintly remember it from one of Peter Hopkirk's books, which was about a British intelligence officer and the defense of Baku. When the British military left Baku before the fall of the city they passed along the Armenian

style_images/master/snapback.png

 

 

As to the steamship in the Caspian. It is named "Seuan", not "Armenian". Perhaps "Armenian" by description I spelled the name using "U" instead of "V" because, oddly enough the name is spelled in the classical form, with "hyun" not "ve".

 

The story is hidden in the chapter; "Bakvi 26 Comissarner", who were shot by the British on Sept. 20, 1918.

 

"On the night of Aug. 14, hours before Baku was invaded by the Turkish bandits the commissars were freed and the Turks ran away in panic before the British landed . The Commissars were to be evacuated to Astrakhan aboard the ship Sevan that had moored at the harbor. Because the said ship was under the threat of the nearby Turkish artillery it had sailed away from the shore into the open sea. Hence there was a change of plan and instead the ship "Turkmen" was used. The commissars were transported to Kransnodovsk which was under British occupation. ON Sept. 16, with the aid of informers the British arrested them and they were prompltly shot...."

 

BTW. Of the 26 commissars 6 were of Armenian origin. Besides Stepan Shahumain there were also these, Amirian, Hovsepian, Avagian, Borian, Kostandian.

 

Note: I had always wondered who Amirian was that the street radiating from the hraparak, next to Hotel Armenia wa named after ( for a short time the street was renamed "Vramshabuh Tagavor" to once again be relabeled as Amirian), not to mention the Marz that once was known as Azizbekov, Vayots Dzor at the present, was named after.

[Nakharar]

Thanks for the info Arpa. The book I mentioned is "On Secret Service East of Constantinople: The Plot to bring down the British Empire". Peter Hopkirk writes mainly about the Great Game in Central Asia, Caucasus, the Silk Road, etc. I'm always intrigued by adventure stories of this kind from the 19th or early 20th century. They do not give a romanticized and warped outlook like the "travelogues" of today and novelists such as Amin Maalouf.

[DominO123]

Thanks for the info Arpa. The book I mentioned is "On Secret Service East of Constantinople: The Plot to bring down the British Empire". Peter Hopkirk writes mainly about the Great Game in Central Asia, Caucasus, the Silk Road, etc. I'm always intrigued by adventure stories of this kind from the 19th or early 20th century. They do not give a romanticized and warped outlook like the "travelogues" of today and novelists such as Amin Maalouf.

style_images/master/snapback.png

 

I will get that book, thanks.

[DominO123]

Here are two of several sites in re the ship.

To see more use "british ship armenian torpedoed" as the search phrase.

http://myindianahome.net/gen/switz/records...WWI/causes.html

 

"Twenty American negro muleteers on the Leyland steamship Armenian were killed on June 28, 1915, by shell fire and drowning when the Armenian failed to escape with her cargo of army mules from a submersible near the Cornwall coast."

http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/whitestar.html

 

As to the one in the Caspian, it is a different story.

See next.

style_images/master/snapback.png

 

Thanks for the link. I havn't checked the web, because I thought I would find nothing. The first link you provide seems to be the same list as the one in the book: "America's Case against Germany" by Lindsay Rogers; E. P. Dutton & Company, 1917, the second is clearer though.

 

I think I will check in British records.

Edited March 16, 2005 by QueBeceR

[Nakharar]

Passage from the book "On Secret Service East of Constantinople: The Plot to bring down the British Empire":

 

pg. 346

 

Last to leave would be the 1,000-ton Kruger, which was to carry the bulk of the troops, and a fourth vessel, the 200-ton Armenian, which was earmarked to serve as a floating ammunition dump, carrying away as much of their unspent arsenal as could be saved. One direct hit by a shell on this, it need hardly be said, would be enough to flatten most of the town, and very likely blow the Kruger out of the water too.

 

pg. 349

 

Of the Armenian there was no sign. Nor had anything been seen of her from the bridge of the Kruger as she sailed south from Baku. Fears for her safety now deepened. 'As the hours slipped by,' wrote Dunsterville, 'I despaired of her ever being seen again.' Then suddenly, just twelve hours after the Kruger's arrival, smoke was spotted on the horizon. To everyone's relief, it was the missing ammunition ship. She had taken six direct hits from shells, yet had remained afloat.

 

Yes the ship in question was the Turkmen. The two ships that are quoted above were used to evacuate the British troops from Baku.

According the book the Social Revolutionaries (Mensheviks) were responsible for the deaths of the 26 Commissars. The ship they embarked turned to Krasnodarsk, which was controlled by the SR, instead of the original route to Astrakhan. The circumstances for this are not really known and the Soviets always blamed the British for this. But this is not surprising since there is a contemptuous British undertone in the book, justifying every British action and finding an excuse for each indiscretion.

 

I'm currently reading another book on the Caucasus written by the journalist Yo'av Karny: "Highlanders: A Journey to the Caucasus in Quest of Memory" All in all the book is interesting, but not extensive in scope. The author included marginally less space on the Armenians and Azeris and none on Georgia. Instead nearly half the book is concentrated on such cutthroat "nations" as the Chechens and Circassians, who can hardly be classified as civilized and are more like a conglomeration of primitive tribes. He must prefer them over the Georgians I assume.