Russian battleship Petropavlovsk (1897)
| Petropavlosk | |
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Petropavlosk |
| Builder: | Galerniy Yard, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Laid down: | January 1893 |
| Launched: | 1 November 1894 |
| Completed: | 1897 |
| Commissioned: | 1897 |
| Fate: | Sunk by mine off Port Arthur, 13 April 1904 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Petropavlovsk class battleship |
| Displacement: | 11,354 long tons (11,536 t) |
| Length: | 112.5 m (369 ft 1 in) |
| Beam: | 21.3 m (69 ft 11 in) |
| Draught: | 8.6 m (28 ft 3 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 shaft triple expansion steam engines 14 cylindrical coal-fired boilers 10,600 shp (7,900 kW) 1,310 tons coal |
| Speed: | 16.8 knots (19.3 mph; 31.1 km/h) |
| Range: | 3,790 nmi (7,020 km) |
| Complement: | 662 |
| Armament: |
• 4 × 12 in (300 mm) guns • 12 × 6 in (150 mm) guns • 10 × 47 mm (1.9 in) guns • 28 × 37 mm (1.5 in) guns • 6 × torpedo tubes |
| Armour: |
Harvey armour Belt: 8–12 in (200–300 mm) Turrets: 10 in (250 mm) Secondary turrets: 5 in (130 mm) Conning tower: 9 in (230 mm) Deck: 3 in (76 mm) |
The Petropavlovsk (Петропавловск) was the lead ship of the Petropavlovsk class of battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy. During the Russo-Japanese War, Petropavlovsk was a flagship of the First Pacific Squadron, taking part in battles against the Imperial Japanese Navy. On March 31, 1904, the battleship was sunk after striking two mines near Port Arthur. The sinking of the ship and the death of Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov who was on board, were losses that affected Russia greatly in the Russo-Japanese War.[1]
Contents
Name
New battleships in the Imperial Russian Navy got their names from famous land and naval battles of the 18th and 19th centuries. Petropavlovsk and her sister ships Poltava and Sevastopol received their names in this manner. The name Petropavlovsk refers to the Siege of the port of Petropavlovsk during the Crimean War. A wooden destroyer leader built by Admiralty Shipyard in Saint Petersburg with 58 guns and a displacement of 6175 tons had been given the same name earlier in 1858.[2] After being refitted with 22 guns, the ship was part of the Baltic Fleet's active fleet and a flagship of admiral Butakov's squadron. On 4 January 1892 the old destroyer leader was stricken from the navy list and its name transferred to the new battleship.
Construction
Background
In a response to a build up of the Imperial German Navy, the Russian navy initiated a program to expand its Baltic Fleet in 1890. The program included a plan to build 10 battleships, 3 armored cruisers, 3 gunboats and 50 torpedo boats. The battleship Sissoi Veliky was the first of the ships to be constructed. It was later decided to build a class of 3 ships.[3]
Design
The design of the Petropavlovsk was approved in January 1891. It was an improved version of the Imperator Nikolai I, but with supplementary barbettes, including four with 203 mm guns. Armor protection consisted of the full belt below the waterline, with a tumblehome shaped hull above the waterline. The Imperator Nikolai I was chosen to be used as a basis for the ship because of its notable ocean-going and seakeeping qualities.
However, the initial design was changed later and the armour protection was entirely redesigned. The armament was changed after construction had already started. Barbettes of main and secondary calibre were replaced with wing turrets, and 203 mm guns were replaced with contemporary canet guns. As a result, the new battleships did not resemble the Imperator Nikolai I either in appearance or in characteristics.[3]
Trials
The Petropavlovsk was laid down in 1892 in Galernij island, Saint Petersburg, and launched in 1894. She was completely equipped by early 1899, after the full fitting-out was delayed due to unavailability of guns and armour. The battleship cost 9,225,309 rubles.[3] In October, 1897 Petropavlovsk was put to sea for the first time. However, her guns and torpedo tubes were not operational. During trials, it became clear that one of the engines couldn't attain the required power and she returned to port. New trials took place a year later. On October 14, 1898 she cruised to speeds of 16.86 knots (31.22 km/h).
Specifications
Hull
The Petropavlovsk, like all the other ships of her class (Petropavlovsk class battleships) had a tumblehome hull above the waterline, resembling French vessels of that period. It had a straight stempost and a round stern with three decks; the lower, the main (the battery) and the upper. The elevation of guns under the water was 7.9 m. The length of the ship at the waterline was 112.5 m and its width in the midship section was 21.3 m. The vessel had three masts.
Armor protection
The typical scheme of armor protection for battleships of that time were used on the Petropavlovsk. The foundation of this scheme was a main armor belt at the waterline. The armor belt of the Petropavlovsk was 73.15 m in length, comprising 65% of the hull. Its height was 2.29 m, with 1.39 m normally under the water. The thickness of the main armor belt was 406 mm. The quality of the armor protection varied on different sections. The main part of vertical armor protection was made of steel-nickel armor, produced by Izhorsky Zavod. The main armor belt was made of armor which had been bought from the Bethleham Iron company's plant in United States.
Armament
The initial design intended the Petropavlovsk to carry an armament of four 305/35 (gun's calibre/length of gun's tube in calibers) and eight 203/35 guns. In 1893, plans changed to a new system with 305/40 and 152/45 weapons. The new guns had higher muzzle velocity and rate of fire, which improved the ship's firepower. However, it delayed the commissioning.[3]
The main armament was four guns of 305/40 caliber, placed in pairs on forward and aft turrets. The maximum elevation level was 15°, with the rate of fire being one shot in 2-2.5 minutes. It was considerably higher than the rate of fire of foreign ships of that time. The main guns and turrets came from the Obukhov State Plant. Ammunition allowance was fifty eight shells for each gun.
The Secondary armament consisted of twelve 152/45 сanet guns. Forward turrets' had a fire angle of 0-130°, and the after turrets 45-180°. They could elevate to a maximum level of 15-18°, and fire at a rate of 5 shots per minute. However, lack of safety mechanisms required a reduction to only one shot in a minute in practice. The ships carried 200 shells for each gun, stored in cellars under the turrets.
Anti-mine armament consisted of ten 47/43.5 and twenty eight 37/22.8 Gochkin's guns, placed throughout the ship. For boarding and landing purposes, the vessel was equipped with two 63.5/19 Baranovsky's guns.
Mine and torpedo armament consisted six torpedo tubes and two mine launchers, the ship also had six searchlights with diameters of 75 cm.
Propulsion characteristics
The ship had two vertical steam engines with a general power of 10,600 horse power (in practice 11,255 horse power).
The Petropavlovsk had a crew of 750 officers and men. After construction, the ship had black hull and straw-coloured smokestacks. The painting scheme was changed many times afterwards. By the beginning of combat operations, all ships of Port Arthur's squadron were painted with an olive green scheme.[3]
Comparisons
The Petropavlovsk was well balanced with an optimal combination of armament, armor protection, speed and navigability. She was one of the most powerful ships compared to similar ship classes in the world by the time of launching. However, the prolonged time taken for fitting-out of the ship resulted in her being commissioned when more technologically advanced, modern ships began to appear.[3]
The guns of the main calibre met all requirements except that all had a low rates of fire. The secondary guns, which had excellent characteristics, were placed a bit abortively. This caused the turret mountings to be unreliable, and to have a low speed of horizontal aiming and a low rate of fire.[3] Anti-mine artillery was almost useless because of the increased size of new torpedo boats. By this time, 75 mm guns had become the standard of anti-mine guns. The majority of torpedo tubes were under water, which increased the targeting capability of the battleship. The storage of shells in the compartments located in the forward and hull areas without armor protection, increased the ship's vulnerabilities to internal explosions subsequently played an important role in her eventual sinking. The speed and navigability of the ship were satisfactory.
The layout of the armor protection reflected the conceptions of 1880's which foresaw the protection of the engines, boilers and foundations of the turrets by the maximum thickness of armor. The Petropavlovsk's main armor belt was almost invulnerable to armor-piercing shells, but explosive shells could cause considerable flooding to the forward and hull areas of the battleship, decrease in speed and handling. In such a condition, ship would not be able to follow the squadron.
Contemporary Japanese battleships such as the Mikasa, Asahi, Shikishima and Hatsuse all had a full armor belt at the waterline; the defence of all secondary guns (furthermore they had two more 152 mm guns), better antimine artillery consisting of 20 76-mm guns and better speed. Naval publisher "Jane" estimated that the Petropavlosk had a combative force 0.8 to 1 to that of Japanese battleships.[3] Japanese battleships Fuji and Yashima which were constructed approximately at the same time as the Petropavlosk had a more powerful main armor belt (457-mm) but was shorter than the Petropavlovsk's. The upper armor belt of Japanese battleships was less thick (102-mm) but had a bigger length. Japanese artillery had a weaker defence.[3] The armor protection of turrets was weak and it almost led to the wreck of the Fuji during Battle of Tsushima.[4] The defence from underwater mines was not better, Yashima sunk after striking a Russian mine.
Service Life
Early years
In October 1897, Petropavlovsk sailed from Saint Petersburg to Kronstadt to be outfitted. In 1898 the guns were fitted, later the battleship moved to Liepāja returning to Kronstadt in 1899. On October 5, 1899 Petropavlovsk was transferred to the Far Eastern, East Asia Squadron. Aleksandr Kolchak who was the chief of the watch on aboard, was to have conducted hydrology experiments in the northern Pacific ocean. However, when the ship arrived in the Mediterranean, Kolchak accepted Eduard Toll's proposal to take part in his expedition and left the vessel. Petropavlovsk reached Port Arthur on April 28, 1900, becoming the flagship of vice admiral Skrydlov and the East Asia Squadron. In 1900—1901, the ship took part in the suppression of the Boxer rebellion in China. In particular note, she transported troops and artillery from Port Arthur to Taku. In October, 1902, Rear admiral Stark took command of the East Asia Squadron and raised his flag on the Petropavlovsk. During 1903, the she participated in all cruises of squadron to Chemulpo and Vladivostok.[3]
Russo-Japanese War
On the night of February 8, 1904, the Petropavlovsk like the majority of ships of the East Asia Squadron was anchored in the outer harbor. The squadron was attacked by Japanese torpedo boats with 16 torpedoes. The Russians were not prepared for the attack which caused confusion amongst the fleet. The Petropavlovsk was not damaged, but three ships; the (Tsesarevich, the Retvizan and Pallada) suffered heavy damage. The inactivity of the Russian fleet in the following months and other events led to Admiral Stark's resignation and appointment of Stepan Makarov as a commander of the squadron. However, before the arrival of the new commander, the battleship had already been committed to battle.
The following day, the main Japanese fleet consisting of six battleships and nine cruisers under the command of Admiral Togo engaged the Russian fleet in battle, this lasted for nearly forty minutes. The Japanese ships broke away and Russians didn't pursue them. The battle didn't give considerable results to any of the opponents but some ships suffered damage.[5] The Petropavlovsk fired 20, 305 mm and 68, 152 mm shells and was struck by 3 shells (2-305 and 1-152). One crewman was killed and four were wounded, the damages to the ship were insignificant.[3]
As a result of the battleship Tsesarevich undergoing repairs, Makarov chose the Petropavlovsk to be his flagship.[1] During the following month the battleship made five sorties, in order to practice manoeuvring.
Sinking
Having failed to blockade or bottle up the Russian squadron at Port Authur using fire ships, the Japanese under Admiral Togo formulated a new plan. Ships were to mine the entrance from the harbour and then to lure the Russians into the minefield in the hopes of sinking a number of Russian warships. The minelayer Koru-Maru on the night March 31, under cover of four detachments of torpedo boats, began to lay mines near the entrance to Port Arthur. The Japanese were spotted by Admiral Makarov who thought that they were Russian torpedo boats whom he had ordered to patrol that area.[3] In the evening the commander decided to make a night sortie and in the hope of finding the enemy and attacking him with torpedo boats. Soon after the departure, the torpedo boats Smelij and Strashnij straggled from the main squadron. The Russian ships reached Elliot island, they did not spot any Japanese vessels in the area and successfully returned to Port Arthur.
The Strashnij during the night, stumbled upon the Japanese squadron which was covering the torpedo boats. The Strashnij, having mistaken the Japanese ships for the Russian squadron, followed them. The Japanese also mistook her for one of their ships, however at dawn the Strashnij was attacked and sunk by the Japanese. The Russian cruiser Bayan which sailed to help Strashnij was attacked by Japanese cruisers and after having saved five sailors from the torpedo boat returned to Port Arthur. At 7.00, Admiral Makarov led the battleships Petropavlovsk, Poltava and four cruisers to the site of Strashnij's sinking. The squadron successfully sailed over the minefield. The Russians opened fire and the Japanese, who did not want to risk their ships, changed course to the East where their main force stood. The Russian ships then turned back to Port Arthur; this, however, set the Russians on a path right in to the minefield.
At 9:30 am, the Petropavlovsk's approached Port Arthur, when an explosion rocked the ship. By the force of the explosion, the 305 mm turret and smokestacks were thrown overboard. In a minute the Petropavlovsk began to sink by the bow.[2] After 15 minutes another explosion occurred and the battleship broke in two while sinking to the bottom. The striking of the mine caused the explosion of ammunition and the boilers.
Lifeboats from other ships rushed to rescue the crew swimming in the water. About 80 were saved, including captain Yakovlev and Cyril Vladimirovich who was the cousin of Nicholas II). Admiral Makarov, was not found, he is believed to have died with ten other personnel from the command staff. A total of 18 officers and 620 men were lost, including renown war artist Vasily Vereshchagin who was famous for making naval and military paintings.
The wreck of the Petropavlovsk had a very negative impact on morale and the fighting capabilities of the East Asia Squadron(becoming the First Pacific Squadron on April 17). The fleet not only lost one of its best battleships, but also a talented leader and tactician, Vice-Admiral Stephan Makarov, who was respected and loved by both officers and men alike.[2] There was no adequate replacement for him until the end of the war.[6]
Investigation of the wreck
In 1909, a Japanese businessman, Sakuraya Tserinosuke, bought the hull of the sunken ship in the hope of finding money or other valuables. In October, 1911, the first news about the discovery of the remains of sailors reached the Russians, however this was later denied. In 1913, the remains of four of the Russian crew were found, but only one of them was identified; the chief of staff of the First Pacific Squadron, Mihail Molas. His remains were taken to Saint Petersburg and re-buried there. Five other Russians were buried by the Japanese with military honors in the Russian war cemetery in Port Arthur on June 24, 1913.
Memorials
On June 24, 1913 a monument to Stepan Makarov was dedicated in Kronstadt. One of its pedestals illustrates the wreck of the Petropavlovsk.
Upon the sinking's centennial, a brass commemorative plaque honoring the men was placed at the Naval Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Petrograd.
Popular culture
- The battleship can be seen in PC strategy game Distant Guns: The Russo-Japanese War at Sea.
- A Cardboard model of the Petropavlovsk, on a scale of 1:200, is produced by the Polish company Modelik.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gribovskij, V.. "The catastrophe of March, 31 of 1904 (the wreck of battleship Petropavlovsk)". Gangut 4: 49.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Berezhnoj, Ammon (1990). Heroic ships of the Russian and Soviet fleet. Moscow: Military publishing house. pp. 240.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Suliga, S. (1993). "Battleships of Poltava type". Technika Molodezhi: 32.
- ↑ Suliga, S. (1995). Ships of Russo-Japanese War. Yakutsk. ISBN 5-85259-077-0.
- ↑ Balakin, S. (2004). Sea battles of Russo-Japanese war. Sea collection.
- ↑ "Военная литература (Militera project)". Russia and Japan. The history of war conflicts. http://militera.lib.ru/h/shihsov_av/04.html. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
Books
- Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905, 1979
External links
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