Dmitrii Ilin

Il’in, Dmitrii Sergeevich

 

Born 1738; died July 19(31), 1803, near Novgorod. A hero of the Battle of Cesme (Chesme), captain first class. Graduated from the Naval Cadet School in 1764.

On the night of June 26 (July 7), 1770, during the Battle of Ce§me against the Turkish fleet, Lieutenant Il’in volunteered to command the fire ship Grom. Il’in’s ship was the only one of four fire ships to succeed in nearing the Turkish squadron, and it set a Turkish battleship on fire; this success played a great role in the course of the battle. In 1771–72, Il’in commanded a corvette in actions in the Greek archipelago. Il’in retired from service in 1777 for reasons of health (he had epilepsy) and died in poverty. Leitenant Il’in was the name of a mine cruiser in the Baltic Fleet from 1886 to 1910.