The Report of the Russian Naval Agent in the Italian Kingdom About Whiteheads Self-Propelled Mines

The article deals with the report of the naval agent in the Italian Kingdom of October 9, 1874 and in particular the issue of Whiteheads self-propelled mines. This report is unique and useful for science because in one of his first reports Ivan Alexeyevich Shestakov, as a naval agent in Italy, points out to the Maritime Ministry the necessity to pay attention to Whiteheads self-propelled mines. By the time this report was written, it was a difficult situation for the Russian naval commanders to resolve the question of arming the fleet with torpedoes. Russia was on the eve of the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878). Fighting the Russian fleet this time was to begin in extremely unfavorable conditions. After the end of the Crimean War Russia was almost completely deprived of the Black Sea Fleet, which under the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty (1856) had only a few small ships. It began to revive only in 1871. In October 1875, a special "Committee on the acquisition of Whiteheads self-propelled mines and their application to fleet vessels" was established, which included Ivan Alexeyevich Shestakov, a naval agent in the Italian Kingdom. In November 1875 a draft contract with Whitehead was urgently worked out.