PORT FACILITIES AND NAVAL VESSELS IN POTI

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A038200160001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 16, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: November 5, 1957
• Content Type: REPORT

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Port facilities; description and identi-
fication of minesweepers and two destroyers.
r
INFORMATION REPORT INFORMATION REPORT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.B.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
-N-T-I-A-L 50X1-HUM"
COUNTRY USSR (Georgian SSR)
SUBJECT Port Facilities and Naval Vessels DATE DISTR. November 1957
in Poti
NO. PAGES 1 50X1-HUM
REQUIREMENT
NO.
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE AC
concerning the port of Po i
Att. No. Subject
Unidentified naval vessels
with sketches of vessels, their electronic
gear, and a depth charge; POL facilities.
STATE X ARMY I X NAVY X JAIR
X FBI I IAEC
(Note: Washington distribution indicated by "X"; Field distribution by
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INFORMATION R~PORT
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v?PTt c)*FfR E
. TIL
pEPTA c.H4ARGE.
TO C-4MMS
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EIkcTronic te0.Y recenTly insTofled
A rXeh va.
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Uri
ffn
NMI, Ravi
_SKFTCH-
ATtonal
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a L .
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.SOVte-T- Cru %ser
GET
SAY eT t ?aA
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vaS' op
12 miles
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I., ORGANIZATICi
s , 1 INFORMAT ION
1. A signal station was observed in this area located above the first house which is
found to the right of the and mole, A SILO was located to the left of the above mentioi
ed house. 50X1-HUM
2> A square building with a triangular roof was observed in this area, east of where
the light is located. The building has glass sidelights.
=the above is either a factory which makes automobiles or ships, He observad an-
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proximately 10 trucks on a freight car with their chassis, In any cases no flashes
from welding were observed during the night. A telescope was observed in this area
having two lenses. It was being guarded.
3- A small grid similar to the one at Perama was observed in this area which is used
for hoisting small ships. A drydock having a hoisting power of 6000 tons was also ob-
served in this area. It was grey and it had one crane, I long, rectangular:.parallelo-
grammed ship was observed on it. It was flat of the stern and it looked more like a
water tanker or tank. A, shipbuilding factory was observed on the sternside and east
of the drydock and approximately 100 meters away from the above mentioned drydockD
an electric hammer in operation day and night. At approximately 300
meters beyond the drydoek., there was a factory with two which emitted black
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smoke.
A petroleum tank was observed in area No. 3 near the drydock. i 20000 ton tanker
was observed unloading part of its cargo into it.
II- WARSHIPS S S
Lk t
Minesweeper no. 434 was observed outside the harbor, It had no other distinguishii
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marks at the prow. The characteristics of this vessel haor as follows:
The minesweeper was approximately 50 meters long. It had a vertical prow with a spheric
base for sound mines. The stern was slightly curved, It had a low and open bride at
the upper part with port holes whose upper and lower sides had an ovoid shape. The
mast was on the sternwide of the bridge which had three legs which formed. into a small
mast. A direction finder antenna was observed at the middle of the pole of the mast.
X4 A -.J MIA, J/o ce! .~, s "
The utmost top of the pole had a radar whose plate was rectangular and it had a whiter
ted above and sternwise to this one. It was painted black and it was probably an anti-
aircraft gun because it loltted like the POM POMS (sic)*
the deck. There were two davits at the stern which are used for hoisting craft(s)1
A derrick wrapped around with an electric cable was located sternwise to the prow's
turret. The derrick wrapped with an electric cable is used for negtralizing magnetic
mines,
ARMATURE
A turret with two 4..5 inch guns was located at the prow. Another turret was loca
The was 5 meters away from the bridge with an inclination towards the
stern.. It was grey and it had a black painted. band at its upper end. The space between
bridge and smokestack was empty. The deck was continuous and at one level from the
prow on, for :~1.5 meters. Then., it became lower towards the stern. There were covered
lanes on deck , right and left of the base of the bridge as far as the lowest part of
curved' parallel surface.
Another turret was located sternwise to the smokestack. It had two guns like the
ones at the prow,
Anti aircraft (double-barrelled) guns were located to the right and left
of the bridge. They looked like machine guns.
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served anchored and moored in this area.
T following were observed in the same areas
J I They were rather larger than the previous ones both in length and in
width. The characteristics of these two vessels haaeas follows:
They had a low bridge where 4 W/ antennae were located. A semi spherical, evrvee-
turret was located between the bridge and the mast. It had a spherical shaped base.
The upper part was curved and it was horizontal at the bottom part, and.,it had a man
hole.at the stern. This turret turns left and right on its spherical base. It may be
stern
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A high prow without a forecastle, similar to the American destroyers, It had a low
an emplacement for a radar or a searchlight.
below.
Al. siren was observed on top of the main mast. It has a netted surface like that
of the American warships with its corners out. it curves outwardly and it ends up into
two V-shaped plates. A rod protrudes from the middle of the outside surface. It passes
too
through and its lower lips and supports itself on the base? It is probablyA a revolving
Towards the stern and at the upper part of the main mast., there is a small mast
which has a small, horizontal pole. A direction finder was observed on top of this
pole.
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They had one mast with four legs. It is has interlaced connections as in sketch
They had one fft=~ A sternwise to the mast. The upper part towards the stern
was low. It was painted dark grejy AM, a k band at its upper and,
7_1 , 1 BAFT
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ARMATURE
There. are two turrets at the prow. That is# one gun which had a disproportinate
length of 6.8 inches. The other turret which was located above and sternwise to the
prow' had 4-5 inch guns.
The above mentioned warships were painted dark gary towards the blue.
The following were observed in area number 34 A very old submarine having a high
prow. I he submarine was probably disarmed` An tanker was being repaired near tha
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above mentioned submarine. 1t is an auxiliary vessel belongAtb the Fleet. There were
three other warships there
destroyer type vessel. This vesse's deck was high up to
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the middle. It becomes lower towards the stern. The prow had two 4-5 inch guns at the
turret. All the above mentioned ships were being repaired.
5.. A ten-meter I.-mg torpedo boat was located here, it had a shpere on its mast.
This torpedo boat had a low prow and its prow was vertical, It had two torpedo
launchers to the left and right of the deck. They were 4-6 meters (long). They were
oh
located 4on each sides6rft1 There was a gun on the bridge.
6- Many small ships were observed at this location. They were auxiliary ships to the
Fleet, There were also many buoys here ready to be placed,
III.. PROTECTION
beror_d the warships there., was a wireless antenna having many rows
of wire and many
tower at bearing B 200 A at a distance of approximately' 2000 meters
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The tower was 20-30 meters high and it had the shape of a lighthouse. It was painted
light gray with oblique lines. The tower had a circular walk around it at a distance
approximately 4 meters from its uppermost point., The tower commutes with a house vhteh
there , probably by means of a staircase.
During the night, the searchlights , one at the northern part of the city and the
other at the southern part, flash their beam towards the sea in intervals,
At night, the port is closed by means of two rows of barbed wire which are held
up by buoys. The two of them unite at the middle of the entrance. They are moved about
with the aid of a small craft. The port remains open during the day, No activity was
observed at the southern part of the harbor where the river is.
1.IRPLANFxS
A twin motor pine was observed patroling the city area. It looked like a hydro
plane.. Its rudder had two circular nLates, like spheres (probably). The plane trrivoiled
at a great speed,.
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Naval Surface Activity
1. Two cruisers were sighted sailing in line astern from Poti to Batum approxi-
mately 15 miles from the coast on 3 November 1956.
2. From Poti harbor a partially submerged submarine was observed two miles at
sea on a southerly course. 50X1-HUM
3. repaired in a floating dry dock
in early November. This destroyer
had a single stack and two masts with a large radar the forward mast.1
he square panels on the Tanta' are shown in
Sketch #1, as "two flaps 60 x 45 centimeters in size could open and
close.' Moored near the dry dock was a vessel with a large crane aboard. It
was armed with one gun and equipped with radar.2 Two mine-sweepers were being
repaired near this vessel.
4. Five "destroyers of the 500 class", two submarines, a naval supply vessel and two
motor torpedo boats were moored stern to in the naval base. Another MTB was on
a slipway near the center of North Mole. 50X1-HUM
5. o 'led toward the Crimea
after having completed firing practise at sea. They were sailing in
line astern and were followed by a tug towing a target with three radar reflec-
tors. At 1300 hours they turned toward Sevastopol.3
6. Naval gunnery practise exercises were conducted off Poti on the nights of 5
and 11 November. On 5 November six volleys of three reports each were heard.
The three reports were not precisely simultaneous. The volleys were two minutes
apart. During the last volley the third report followed the first and second
by two or three seconds.
7. On 11 November five volleys were fired with a two minute spacing between volleys.
During the fourth volley one report was two seconds behind the other two. No
searchlights or flares were employed in either of these exercises.
FORM NO. 51.58
FEB 1948
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LUF-NI luVII L!L
Five seaplanes with twin pontoons and reciprocating engines circled ovet
Poti from 0900 to 1000 hours and from 1500 to 1600 hours on 8 January 1957.
Their speed was estimated at 150 km/hr. These aircraft approached Poti from
the direction of Batum and returned in that direction.
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D,T
-~~ uu mt;.E- a,t, nauum aria tnat gasoline for local consumption in Poti
is trucked up from Batum. No gasoline storage tanks were seen in Poti.
Apparently Poti and Batuni are not connected by a POL pipeline.
Pomments:
-- ,...~ ...a011 tUIUVIutEbe 50X1-HUM
2. This vessel is shown in Sketch #3.
3. The silhouettes of one of these cruisers and a drawing of the target are in
Sketch 4. The position, course, speed and distances involved at time of
observation are shown in Sketch #5.
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