World's oldest warship damaged in Ukraine missile strike

On the night of April 19 to April 20, 2024, Ukrainian forces launched cruise missiles at the Russian port in Sevastopol. Reports indicate that the "Kommuna," the oldest warship still in service worldwide, sustained damage during the attack.

The "Kommuna" is a rescue vessel originally ordered in 1911 and launched the following year. It has withstood World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution, World War II, the Cold War, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and continues to serve with the Black Sea Fleet, thanks to its unique capabilities.

The extent of the damage is currently unknown, and it remains to be seen if the "Kommuna" can be repaired or if it will be decommissioned after 111 years of service. The attack was likely conducted by Ukrainians using Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which had previously targeted the submarine "Rostov-on-Don," Ropucha-class landing ships, and a Yuri Ivanov-class reconnaissance ship.

Commissioned as "Volkhov" in 1915, the rescue ship "Kommuna" features a distinctive catamaran design with two hulls linked by massive trusses. The vessel is about 315 feet long, displaces approximately 3,400 tons, and can lift smaller submarines from the sea.

With a lifting capacity of 1,102 tons, the "Kommuna" has been used for various recovery missions, including lifting the British submarine HMS L-55 from the Baltic Sea and retrieving the wreck of a Su-24 strike aircraft from a depth of approximately 1.06 miles. The ship has also been involved in recovering the bodies and parts of the cruiser "Moskva" and participating in the search for the wreck of the American drone MQ-9A Reaper, shot down by the Russians over the Black Sea.

In recent years, the Russians have also utilized "Kommuna" as a floating base for the Panther Plus type underwater robots and AS-28 deep-sea rescue submersibles. It seems that the Russian invasion of Ukraine marked the latest conflict in which "Kommuna" has been involved.