Mahan's Corner

Well, Captain, let's get ready for the...

...w-what’s all of this?!

Adorable, Refreshing and a touch Rebellious...Nerpa!

Mahan, Kapitan, please come in.

Why are there… buckets of water, just sitting in the middle of the room?

Those are not buckets of ordinary water!

They contain the pure water of Lake Baikal. Have you heard of it? It’s found in Irkutsk Oblast and the Buryat...Soviet...Autonomous? No, that’s not right. I can never remember- it’s just too long.

Anyway, it's in Siberia.

Of course I know it! That's where the caviar used to come from!

Oh it still comes from there, you just don't get any of it. Anyway, all these buckets do have a purpose!

I brought them because I heard about Lampo’s interview - how is the ship, by the way?

Repairs are… underway.

I’m happy to hear it. Still, after such a stressful experience, I thought I’d keep things simple and refreshing to the spirit.

Let us weave baskets!

Weave… baskets.

Da! Idi syuda, come here.

Take a seat, Mahan. You too, Kapitan.

Now, I know it probably doesn’t sound incredibly interesting - not compared to some of the other activities you’ve done during these interviews. But I find working with my hands to be quite relaxing, and thought you might feel the same.

Here, this is the base…

Why were you keeping it in a bucket of water?

The water keeps the material pliable.

So, you’ll take one of these reeds here, see? And you’ll weave it in and out of the spokes on the base.

Like this, understand?

Hmm! To be honest, I’ve never given much thought to the construction of baskets. I find this quite… interesting…

Ona ponimaet! I can’t say I’m surprised, Kapitan - basket weaving is soothing.

Since Mahan seems at ease, why don’t I start with my introduction?

My name is Nerpa, although my proper name is Shchuka-205. I am one of the series V-bis 2 submarines, in service to the Soviet Navy - or, if you wished to sound quite formal, the Military Maritime Fleet of the USSR.

Quite the mouthful, isn’t it?

I hail from the city of Nikolaev and, together with my thirteen sisters, have served the Soviet Navy for three years, more or less. I’m less experienced than some of the other Soviet ships you’ve met by this point, but I’m doing my best to learn as much from them as possible!

I’ve heard about some of the other Belles’ namesakes, and although they’re very interesting, or inspiring, they aren’t very cute are they?

I, Nerpa, am named after something so lovable it will make you jump out of pants!

In English, I am named after the delightful, playful and friendly Baikal seal.

Do you know them, Kapitan? They are not just any cute seal!

The Nerpa is native to - I’m sure you’ve already guessed - Lake Baikal. No one actually knows how they came to inhabit the lake - there is no connection between Lake Baikal and the ocean, where most seals reside. It’s a bit of a magical mystery!

I hope one day to learn how they managed the journey, so that I - a sea-dwelling creature to be sure! - might visit Lake Baikal.

Prosti, I’ve gotten a bit off topic, haven’t I? I’m capable of focusing, but if I spend too much time thinking about the outdoors, I can find myself off track. Never mind, I will dance from the stove. Isn't that what you say about starting from the beginning?

My commissioning date was 17 November 1936, and...

Nerpa! Nerpa, I think I messed up.

What did I do? I haven’t ruined it, have it?

Nyet! You’re doing wonderfully.

You just missed a spoke, but it’s easily remedied. I’ll just unwind the reed, and… da, see here?

Oh, I did miss it, didn’t I?

Do not worry! Soon you will be shoeing fleas. Carry on!

And you might try singing a song while you work - I find that it always helps me. Have you ever heard the song Po dikim stepyam Zabaikalya? It goes likes this:

Bezhal iz tyurmy tyomnoi nochyu,

V tyurme on za pravdu stradal.

Idti dalshe net uzhe mochi –

Pred nim rasstilalsya Baikal.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

You sing beautifully!

I must say, this is the most relaxed I’ve been during an interview for some time…

One day I will ask all my crew to sing it for you.

Now, what next?

Ah, da, my speed and armament!

Naturally, my speed is affected by whether I’m surfaced or submerged. While surfaced, I can reach a maximum speed of 12.3 knots, and at a set speed of 8.5 knots, can travel 4,500 miles. While I’m submerged, my fastest speed is 8.5 knots, while I’m capable of going 100 miles at a set speed of 2.5 knots. Like the seals of Baikal, I like to stay by the shore!

My armament is, like most submarines, not large. I possess two 45mm/46 21-K semi-automatic guns and four 533mm torpedo tubes. But, as I always remind others, a submarine’s success has far more to do with her accuracy than it does with the number of guns she has on board.

Kapitan, are you, perhaps, a fan of… jokes? I've just heard this one today:

Imagine that Stalin, all the members of the Politburo, and their entourage board a steamer on the Volga.

Suddenly, the steamer begins to sink!

If the steamer were to go down in an instant, without a single survivor, who would be saved?

....

The answer?

All the peoples of the USSR!

HA!

Splendid, isn’t it?

Mahan? What are you staring at?

Oh nothing, nothing… I was just a little surprised that...

*Ahem* Is this a basket you made, Nerpa?

Oh, that little one? Da, I was just playing around, before you and the Kapitan arrived.

Is that… a blue reed you used?

Ah, you saw that, did you? I’ll have to go check my supplies, but I think I might have one on board you could use, if you’d like.

If you… wouldn’t mind…

Da! I’ll be back in just a moment.

Well, Captain, I'm not really sure about that joke. Isn't that the kind of thing that they...*Ahem* send you to Siberia for?

Anyway, look at my basket! It looks a little odd, doesn’t it, with the spokes sticking up like they are?

But. Look. At. It.

I made it. Maybe I’ll keep my pens and pencils in here, once I’m done. Or, you could take it as a gift, if...

*Ahem*

It would be time for Nerpa’s service history, wouldn’t it?

Well… she was built in Nikolaev, Ukraine, as one of the Pike-class submarines. They were a series of 86 medium-sized, relatively cheap, diesel-electric submarines, designed for maneuverability.

Nerpa was commissioned into the Soviet Navy on 17 November 1936. Five of her V-bis 2 sisters served in the Pacific, five in the Baltic Fleet, and three joined her in the Black Sea Fleet. With the designation of Shch-205, she entered service as a member of the 3rd Division of the 1st Brigade submarines in the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol on 24 December 1936.

After participating in fleet maneuvers, Nerpa began her first war patrol on 22 June 1941, leaving Sevastopol for Cape Olinka, Romania. Her commander kept her far away from the enemy’s strong anti-submarine defenses and when she returned to Sevastopol in July, he forged reports of their mission and was... ...hmmm.

It says that he was replaced. Replaced? Knowing the Soviets, I’m willing to guess he met a fate a little more unpleasant than simply being replaced. Now I'm getting a bit more concerned about Nerpa's joke, sir!

She underwent months of modifications before returning to duty, and was transferred to Tuapse on the northeast shore of the Black Sea in December 1941. During her second war patrol, she hit two mines, damaging her torpedo tubes, stern hydroplanes, and cracking her pressure hull. She continued her patrol until she was forced to return to Tuapse for emergency repairs, which lasted until spring 1942.

She traveled between the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi until she began her third war patrol on 8 May 1942 from Cape Kuru-Burnu. She was ordered to disrupt a transport of Turkish chrome ore, purchased by Germany and sent through Bulgarian ports, bypassing the Anglo-Turkish trade agreement. It was also suspected that the transport was smuggling weapons to German forces in southern Ukraine.

She opened fire on the Turkish schooners Duatepe and Kaynarca near Igneada with a barrage of armor piercing shells and torpedoes. Her torpedoes sank the Duatepe while the Kaynarca was sunk by her deck guns.

On the morning of 23 May 1942, Nerpa fired her torpedoes on the Turkish transport ship Safak, who was also suspected of smuggling arms to German troops. Her first attack missed the ship, hitting the shore, but her second barrage, fired from a closer range, sunk the transport. She then unsuccessfully attempted to fire on three Bulgarian torpedo boats, who responded by dropping depth charges against their attacker. Nerpa escaped, returning to Batumi on 28 May.

Goodness… when Nerpa decides to engage her enemies, the results can certainly be quite dramatic!

In late June 1942,she set off from Novorossiysk to transport ammunition, gasoline, and food to the besieged Sevastopol. After evacuating fifty people from the city, she was attacked by enemy aircraft and torpedo boats, damaging her diesel engine valve and stern hydroplane. She survived the attack and arrived back in Novorossiysk the next day.

Nerpa began her fourth war patrol near Constanta, Romania on 22 July 1942, attacking an enemy convoy. Her torpedoes missed the German tanker Le Progrès, but she was able to damage the Romanian cargo ship Arkadia.

In September 1942, her fifth war patrol brought her back to Cape Olinka. Due to a fierce storm and floating mines, Nerpa was forced to keep 30-40 miles from the shore, rendering her ineffective. She returned to Poti for repairs and an overhaul in October.

Nerpa was awarded the title of "Guard" on 1 March 1943, the first submarine of the Black Sea Fleet to receive the honor. She was eventually transferred to Novorossiysk in 1944, making it out of the war alive.

She was retired and later disarmed in 1954.

Look what I’ve found, Mahan!

A blue reed and a red reed. You could be quite patriotic, if you so chose.

This is wonderful. While I'm putting the finishing touches on my basket, do you have any other words for the Captain?

Of course. Kapitan, as you might have gathered already, I’m rather simple...is that the word?

I don’t need very much to feel happy. All I desire is to make the people around me happy as well. The Morganas don’t have any true joy in them, and so I feel it’s my responsibility to stand up to them, as best as I’m able.

I truly hope you feel the same way, Kapitan.

Nerpa? How… does my basket look?

It looks wonderful, Mahan! I hope you will use it in good cheer, and remember our first meeting.

Now, I suppose I should be going… although, I do have one more joke for you!

Two girls, one American and one Soviet, meet on a pleasant afternoon to have a conversation.

“In America, we have lots and lots of chocolate,” the American girl boasts.

The Soviet girl thinks quite hard, and then responds: “And we have Stalin.”

The American, of course, will not be out done: “We could have Stalin, too!”

The wise Russian girl then retorts: “But then you wouldn’t have any chocolate!”

HA!

You know, Captain, I'm becoming genuinely concerned about her health.

Well, as always, the Captain's Association voting is on our official forums:

http://academagia.invisionzone.com/index.php?showforum=32

...be sure to vote, sir!

Sincerely, USS Mahan