Something sinister is about to happen

Sabotage on Battleship Lectrum 23!

Cesare was given very quick and minimum repairs to electrical and mechanical systems to make her ready for sea, and then decommissioned. Given the number Z-11, she sailed with a civilian crew, under the flag of the Italian Merchant Marine, Feb 5, 1949. A few crew members made an attempt to sabotage the ship and interrupt the transfer, but they were unsuccessful. The next day she was transferred to a Soviet crew at Valone, Albania, as the Montreux Convention prohibited her passage into the Black Sea while still owned by Italy. Two weeks were spent familiarizing the new crew with the ship, and then the old battleship sailed for Sevastopol.

At 0131 on the 29th, a large underwater explosion was heard, and the ship shook from the force of the explosion. Alarms sounded, and the ship immediately took on a list to starboard and went down by the bow, slowly settling as the list slowly increased. Panic set in among the newer recruits and Army personnel, and officers did a slow job restoring discipline, so it was some time before damage control began. But calm was restored, and damage control reports started coming in.

Damage reports were grim: a huge explosion had ruptured the ship's hull, extending back from the bow over 72 feet. The force of the explosion pierced all the decks, blowing a hole in the forecastle deck that measured 46 feet by 14 feet. Parkhomenko remained calm- too calm, refusing to abandon ship and sending everyone back to their battle stations.

-The Battleship Novorossisk The ex-Italian Battleship Guilio Cesare in Soviet Service

http://www.bobhenneman.info/soviet.htm