Battleship Imperatritsa Mariya
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The Imperatritsa Mariya (Императрица Мария) was a Dreadnought Battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy, being a ship of the Imperatritsa Mariya class battleships.
The Imperatritsa Mariya was launched in 1913 and arrived in Sevastopol on 30 June 1915, where during the next few months it completed its fitting out and sea trials. From late 1915 onward the ship took part in combat operations. On 20 October 1916 the ship was sunk by an internal explosion while in Sevastopol harbor. Admiral Kolchak was the recently appointed head of the Black Sea fleet (he had taken over in August). The subsequent investigation determined that the explosion was probably accidental, though sabotage could not be completely ruled out. The sinking shook Russian public opinion, and immediate plans were made to raise the battleship and put it back into service. Following a complex salvage operation, the ship was eventually raised and placed in drydock in May 1918. However, in the chaos of the Russian Revolution and Civil War, no further repair work was done, and the ship was scrapped in 1927.
