IN THE OCEAN — RUSSIA ARMORED

Marine technical Committee (MTK) has decided to apply this principle not only battleships, but cruisers, before being built purely as individuals. But it is one thing to decide, and quite another to consistently implement. The head unit is essentially new to our fleet—class ocean cruisers—from the very beginning was “illegitimate”.

 

The project of the future “Rurik” was born in drawing workshops in the Baltic plant in Saint-Petersburg on the initiative and under the guidance of the ship’s engineer N. E.Rodionova—without obtaining the technical specifications from MTK. However, shipbuilders err: sanction the development of the ship gave personally the Minister of marine, Admiral N. M.Chikhachev.

 

The project from the beginning was distinguished by courage of the goals. Displacement increased more than on third in comparison with the predecessor — the “Memory of Azov”, reaching 9000 so the New cruiser had very high Board and the unusually large ratio of length to width that would allow to keep high speed—18.5 knots—almost any excitement and the wind—it was a significant advantage compared to a good in other respects, but “wet” the “Admiral Nakhimov”. Not less important features were the side armor belt for over 85 m and a huge cruising range—20,000 miles of economic progress!

 

Russian engineers wanted to take all the best from the world experience of construction of large passenger vessels and mail steamers of the time (superior to ships in speed, seaworthiness and coal), “crossed” their quality with powerful armor and weapons.

 

However, the pioneer decision seemed specialists from MTK too bold. They were afraid that the long ship is not strong enough, mainly referring to recognized tastemakers—British, very conservative in matters of shipbuilding. Case “shortened” by as much as 10 meters, the width of it, on the contrary, increased. The range fell by half, but the armor belt was saved. The developers were unable to insist on another innovation—the introduction of water-tube boilers, which allowed for faster to develop the course.

 

But even in this more modest version of the “Rurik” continued to be a very advanced ship. He became the first Russian cruiser with quick-firing artillery, consisting of just introduced on the fleet of 152 and 120-mm cartridge guns Kane. Because at least in theory, they were able to produce up to 5— 6 rounds per minute per gun, had to develop a new system of filing, which became a purely Russian know-how. We are talking about the gazebo—a kind baskets, in which he brought up from the cellars of “clusters” of several projectiles and charges in the cartridges. (In all the navies of the world ammunition for guns of medium caliber still fed alone.) Further pavilions were transported to the decks on the rails directly to the guns. This decision was a definite plus (just moved the stock in a few shots), but had its drawbacks. Empty gazebos had to pull back to the cellar, which required extra people, and rail tracks are often damaged in battle, hindering the delivery of missiles for continuous firing. However, all this still had to find out in the future.

 

Five years required for the construction of the “Rurik”, with all the innovations (and this is not only the artillery and supply, but also a powerful power plant, and ship telephone network, and more) can be considered a normal period. Despite the rapid progress of naval shipbuilding in those years, the first Russian ocean armored cruiser and after putting into operation the best and attracted everyone’s attention. In his first overseas voyage in June 1895 he participated in the celebrations in Germany, dedicated to the opening of the Kiel canal. Not particularly friendly British publications are not stingy with such epithets as “the pearl of the Kiel squadron”. Huge (11 600 t) vysokovoltny cruiser developed more than 19 knots and could be a terrible raider. Even the “mistress of the seas” was not a good “tamers”. I had to hurry to design and build a rather stupid giants”Powerful” and “Terrible”, followed by 8 more units of smaller size. And they are all really one definitely inferior to the “Rurik”—devoid of its thick side armor, up to 10 inches.

 

In General, the ship has certainly been, although just as certainly could have been better. Preservation is useless, but the heavy sailing mast and the high Board let the most rational location of the artillery. Instead of towers and deck installations gun is the old fashioned way—in battery. And it is in vain this battery was a huge room in the center of the ship, without any partitions and protection weapons, like the sailing ships of a century ago.

 

It is not surprising that after the British got acquainted with the “Russian giant”, was followed by bitter complaints about his own haste. Well-known naval authority of the Lord Brassey wrote in his Yearbook: “If we had occasion to consider the “Rurik” in the past, it is unlikely that “Powerful” and “Terrible” would be built. Board the “Rurik” bristled with guns, and until then, until you climb into his deck, he sounds scary. But only one projectile exploded in an open battery, half a dozen guns would be at once incapacitated”.

 

Unfortunately, I must admit that this assessment was largely correct. Although the real test of the fighting qualities had yet a decade later, during the Russo-Japanese war, the specialists understood the weakness of the design. Therefore, the following draft ocean cruiser, “Russia”, made changes that made three times to process most of the drawings. The main innovations was to strengthen the reservation, and basically not by thickness, but by increasing its area. At least some of the guns got to let incomplete, but cover across the housing, protecting the battery from trailing fire, was the top traverse a thickness of 102 mm and some thicker lower -127 mm In the battery between the guns mounted a short 37 mm bulkheads, limiting the spread of the fragments at the “hall”. More than respectable, perhaps even excessive protection received combat tower, the thickness of the walls which were now as many as 12 inches. Not every battleship was so heavily armored “control center”. Price was a decrease in the thickness of the belt to 203— 152 mm, but its ability to protect the mechanisms and cellars from enemy missiles has not diminished, but even increased. The reason was the new armor made of Nickel-steel treated by the method of Garvey instead of the Rurik fortress scalerelated “compound”.

 

 

 

Changed and artillery. 8-inch caliber was now new long-barreled guns. Six 120-millimetrovogo originally supposed to replace four additional six-inch, which was reached would have been more than impressive two dozen. But then, they chose a dozen 75-millimetrovogo, then seemed very important element weapons.