Soviet Battleship Novorossiysk

Novorossiysk was a Conte di Cavour-class battleship operated by the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1955. Originally the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) battleship Giulio Cesare, she was awarded to Russia as part of war reparations.

Operated mainly as a training ship, she underwent several refits, which included replacing her lights Italian anti-aircraft guns with 37 mm 70-K AA guns. On the night of 28/29 October 1955 an explosion ripped a 4-by-14-meter (13 by 46 ft) hole in the forecastle forward of ‘A’ turret. The flooding could not be controlled, and she capsized with the loss of 617 men, including 61 men sent from other ships to assist. The most likely cause of the explosion was determined to be a World War Two German mine.