Category Archives: History

The battle of Chesma and the Russo-Maltese relations

The battle of Chesma and the Russo-Maltese relations

by Joseph-Stephen Bonanno, B.A.(Hons) (Melit.)

During the 18th century Russia and Turkey were frequently at loggerheads, culminating in the Russo-Turkish war (1768-1774). One major battle in this war was the sea battle of Chesma (24-26 June 1770). The aim of this paper is to try to demonstrate the contribution, both direct and indirect, of the Maltese and the Order of St John in this Battle.

The Russo-Maltese Connection dates back to 1698 when the first Russian delegation reached Malta during Grand Master Ramon Perellos y Roccaful magistracy…

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HMHS Britannic: the sleeping giant

HMHS Britannic: the sleeping giant

HMHS Britannic. The third and largest Olympic-class ocean liner of the White Star Line still puzzles the explorers and lures for underwater visit. She is one of three sister ships (together with RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic), built as the transatlantic passenger liner. But the First World War broke out, changing her destiny. In 1915 Britannic was transferred into a hospital ship…

Unfortunately, Britannic's lifespan happened to be way too short. In just about a year after a launch (on 21 November, 1916) she was lost by an underwater mine, failing the attempt to pass the Kea Channel.

The ship sank in just 55 minutes, leaving one of the biggest mysteries in maritime history. How could such a giant, additionally reinforced after the loss of the Titanic, go down in less than an hour?.. Britannic was the biggest ship lost in the First World War. Fortunately, out of 1,066 people on board, 1,036 survived the shipwreck.

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