Historedia
EuropeEvent

Sinking of the Russian ship of the line Lefort

When
1857
Where
Between Gogland and Bolshoy Tyuters; Baltic coast of Russia; Investigation context
Episodes
3

On 22 September 1857, the Russian ship of the line Lefort sank in the Gulf of Finland during a sudden squall, resulting in the loss of 826 lives. The same storm wrecked approximately 30 other ships off the Baltic coast. A board of inquiry attributed the disaster to weakened ship ties, noting prior heavy load transport in 1856.

Episodes

  1. 1857 · Investigation contextBoard of Inquiry

    A board of inquiry identified weakened ties as the probable cause of the sinking.

  2. 22 September 1857 · Between Gogland and Bolshoy TyutersSinking of Lefort

    Lefort capsized during a squall in the Gulf of Finland, killing 826 people. One sailor survived by floating to Gogland.

  3. 22 September 1857 · Baltic coast of RussiaStorm Wrecking

    The same storm wrecked about 30 ships off the Baltic coast of Russia.

Background and detail

Background. Lefort was an Imperatritsa Aleksandra-class ship of the line, rated at 84 guns but armed with 94. Named after Admiral Franz Lefort, she joined the Russian Baltic Fleet upon commissioning. On the morning of 22 September 1857, she was en route from Reval to Kronstadt with other ships under Rear Admiral I.

Disaster. The squadron encountered a sudden squall. Lefort heeled over, righted, and capsized, sinking between Gogland and Bolshoy Tyuters. 826 people died, though one sailor survived by floating to Gogland. The storm also wrecked about 30 ships off the Baltic coast. A board of inquiry identified weakened ties as the probable cause, citing heavy load transport in 1856.

Investigation. A board of inquiry investigated the disaster. The most probable cause was recognized as the weakening of the ship's ties. This structural failure was linked to Lefort's use in transporting heavy loads on the gun decks during 1856, prior to the 1857 sinking.

Sources

  1. Russian ship of the line Lefort Wikipedia, revision of 2026-02-04

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.