Everyday life of Lithuanian navy sailors of the naval training warship "Prezidentas Smetona"
ENSoon after Lithuania regained the region and the port of Klaipėda in 1923, much attention was attributed to the protection of the seacoast. The few available police cutters could not deter smugglers. On 18 July 1927, the Lithuanian Government purchased a minesweeping vessel, M-59, from Germany for 289,000 litas. It had been built at G. Seebeck's shipbuilding yard in Geestemünde on 31 October 1917 and decommissioned in compliance with the Versailles Treaty after World War I. This steamship was 59 meters long, had water capacity of 525 tons, the maximum sailing speed of 17 knots, was fuelled by coal, and had the draught 2.2 m. After long discussions concerning the government jurisdiction to place it under, the decision was made to assign the ship to the Ministry of the Interior and use it for the protection of the seacoast and fighting against smugglers. Despite the shipís initial successes, it became clear that this type of ship was not very effective in fighting against smugglers on the Lithuanian seacoast. The shipís stokers needed an hour to get its boilers up to the required steam pressure in order for the ìPrezidentas Smetonaî to sail out of the harbour. In addition, once it sailed, the black smoke pouring out of its chimney easily gave away its position. As a result, the swift motorboats used by smugglers usually succeeded in slipping out of the coastal zone. In January 1933, the "Prezidentas Smetona" was decommissioned from the active service. Key words: Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuanian navy, warship "Prezidentas Smetona", everyday life of sailors. [Extract, p. 79]
