LENA CLASS POLAR SHIPS

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aukepalmhof
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LENA CLASS POLAR SHIPS

Post by aukepalmhof » Mon Jun 30, 2014 3:58 am

Hungary issued 6 stamps for the International Geophysical Year 1957-1959 of which only the 20 Fi stamp depict a research ship, in an e-mail from Mr Sitnikov he suggested that she is the OB by comparing the stamp with a photo of the ship, and after conformation from Mr. Crichton that she is one of this class, I searched the net and found that six ships of this class were built in Holland by the Kon. My de Schelde in Vlissingen (Flushing). between 1954 and 1957 the LENA, OB, YENISEY, ANGARA, BAYKAL and INDIGIRKA and only two visited around this time the Antarctic, the OB and LENA which of the two is depict is doubtfully but the stamps were issued in 1959 most probably the OB is depict she was the only of the two which was used in the third expedition 1957-1959.
Wikipedia has on this expeditions: The First Soviet Antarctic Expedition was led by Mikhail Somov; his scientific deputy was V. G. Kort. The expedition lasted from 30 November 1955 to 1957 and involved 127 expedition members and 75 crew members.
Three diesel-electric ships were used to transport the expedition. They were RV "OB" (flagship; captain I. A. Man), RV "LENA” (Captain A. I. Vetrov) and the refrigerator ship No. 7 (Captain M. A. Tsygankov) (she was later renamed in ZVAYGZNE). The final ship was used only for transporting perishables. OB and LENA were icebreakers 130m long and displacing 12,600 tons.
On the 30 November 1955 the first ship ("OB") left port at Kaliningrad.
The principal task of the expedition was to organise the main base, Mirny, and perform limited scientific observations. Other tasks were reconnaissance of sites for the inland bases Vostok and Sovetskaya; and oceanography of the Indian Ocean.

The Second Soviet Antarctic Expedition was led by Aleksei Treshnikov on the continent; the marine expedition on the "OB" was led by I. V. Maksimov. The "OB" left Kaliningrad on 7 November, 1956.
Three ships were used to transport the expedition, all diesel-electric. The two main ships were as for the first expedition: RV OB (flagship; captain I. A. Man) and RV "LENA” (Captain A. I. Vetrov). The third ship was KOOPERATSIYA (Captain A. S. Yantselevich), used mainly as a transport vessel.
The tasks of the expedition were:
Relief of the first expedition
Full scale scientific work for the International Geophysical Year (IGY)
Organisation of two IGY scientific stations near the south geomagnetic pole and pole of relative inaccessibility
An inland tractor-sledge traverse for glaciology
Oceanography


The Third Soviet Antarctic Expedition (1957–59) was led by Yevgeny Tolstikov on the continent; the marine expedition on the OB was led by I V Maksimov.
Two diesel-electric ships were used to transport the expedition. RV Ob (flagship; captain I A Man) and KOOPERATSIYA (captain A S Yantselevich), used mainly as a transport vessel. The ships arrived in Antarctica in November – December 1957. Together with the ships crews the expedition consisted of 445 men, of whom 183 were scheduled for wintering.
The tasks of the expedition were:
Relief of the 1956–1958 continental expedition and continuation of the IGY programme
Organisation of the Sovetskaya station at the pole of relative inaccessibility
Continuation of tractor-sledge traverses in central Antarctica
Oceanographic work on the OB in the southern oceans, and cartography of the coast from Mirny to the Bellingshausen Sea
The programme included 6 stations: (Mirny; Vostok; Sovetskaya; Oasis; Pionerskaya and Komsomol'skaya).
The first tractor-train to the interior left on 26 December, with 32 men. On 2 January 1958 the train arrived at Pionerskaya, and left again on the 8th. On the 17th they reached Komsomol'skaya; conditions of travel were difficult. A portion of the train (7 tractors and sledges) left on the 20th to relieve Vostok, arriving on the 27th, and delivering over 100 tons of cargo. On the 28th the train left for Komsomol'skaya, arriving on the 31st. On 3 February the train, with 27 men, left to found Sovetskaya; they reached 78° 24′ S, 87° 35′ E on the 10th, at an altitude of 3570 m. The station was rapidly constructed, and the train left on the 18th, returning to Mirny on 4 March, having completed a round trip of 4,000 km (2,500 mi).
After spending the Antarctic winter at Mirny, the Expedition undertook a second set of tractor traverses starting in September 1958. One team reached the pole of inaccessibility and established The Pole of Inaccessibility station there on 14 December.
Hungary 1959 20 fi sg1553, scott?
Russia 1956 40k sg2026, scott
1957 Prestamped envelope LENA and OB seen from behind. Lena is the ship on the left of the envelope.
1978 prestamped card
Attachments
1957 361 «ü£ ½àìÇ.jpg
1978 «íý.jpg
1956b.jpg
1959 1572 1213 1267.JPG

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