Ekaterina II class
Encyclopedia
The Ekaterina II-class were a class
of four pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy
in the 1880s. They were the first battleships built for the Black Sea Fleet
. Their design was highly unusual in having the main guns on three barbette
s grouped in a triangle around a central armored redoubt, two side-by-side forward and one on the centerline aft. This was intended to maximize their firepower forward, both when operating in the narrow waters of the Bosphorus and when ramming
. Construction was slow because they were the largest warships built until then in the Black Sea and the shipyards had to be upgraded to handle them.
All four ships were in Sevastopol
when the crew of the battleship mutinied
in June 1905. 's crew was considered unreliable and she was disabled to prevent her from joining the mutiny. 's crew was also considered unreliable, but she did escort Potemkin as towed her back to Sevastopol
from Constanța
, Romania
, where Potemkins crew had sought asylum. Sinop and both pursued Potemkin to Odessa
, but the crew of the latter mutinied themselves in sympathy with the crew of the Potemkin. However loyal members of the crew regained control of the ship the next day and grounded her.
A number of proposals were made in the 1900s to reconstruct them and replace their obsolete armor and guns, but none of these were carried out. Ekaterina II and Chesma were both eventually sunk as target ships after being decommissioned in 1907, but both Sinop and Georgii Pobedonosets were converted into artillery training ships before becoming guardships at Sevastopol
before World War I. There they spent most of the war and were captured by the Germans in 1918, who eventually turned them over to the British who sabotaged their engines when they abandoned the Crimea
in 1919. Immobile they were captured by both the Whites
and the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War
. Sinop was abandoned when Wrangel's fleet
sailed for Bizerte
, but Georgii Pobedonosets was towed there. Sinop was scrapped beginning in 1922 by the Soviets
while Georgii Pobedonosets was eventually scrapped in Bizerte beginning in 1930 by the French.
The Ekaterina II-class battleships were intended to support an amphibious assault on the Bosphorus and to oppose any attempt of the British Mediterranean Fleet to force the Bosphorus and enter the Black Sea
. This meant that they would have to engage Turkish
coastal artillery
batteries and warships in the narrow confines of the Turkish Straits
. This put a premium on forward-facing guns because ships might not be able to turn to bring their broadsides to bear on the enemy. Three gun mounts, two forward and one in the rear, were settled up on relatively early in the design process, but the number of guns and the choice between turret
s or barbette
s was the subject of much debate. The Russians had been impressed by the performance of the barbette-mounted disappearing gun
s of during the bombardment of Alexandria
in 1882 and began to seriously consider the use of this type of installation in their new battleships. The lighter weight of barbettes versus turrets allowed for the addition of several 9 inches (23 cm) guns, but it was later realized that they could be deleted in exchange for twin gun mounts in the barbettes for very little cost in weight.
Construction had already begun when the armor scheme was revised after a visit to France by two naval constructors. Upon their return they argued for a complete waterline armor belt
to preserve the ship's buoyancy and speed if it was hit fore and aft. The original armor scheme was very close to British practice with a short, very thick waterline belt that covered the machinery and magazines
, but left the ends unprotected other than by an armored deck. Their suggestions were incorporated in the ships, but the armor scheme had to be drastically revised to cater for the complete armor belt. The maximum thickness was reduced from 18 inches (46 cm) to 16 inches (41 cm) and the belt reduced to 8 inches (20 cm) at the bow and stern with a 6 inches (15 cm) strake on the upper side of the ram bow. The middle 12 inches (30 cm) redoubt was shortened from a length about 130 feet (40 m) to 100 feet (30 m), just enough to cover the ammunition hoists and the funnel uptakes to save weight. Even so the design displacement increased to 10190 long tons (10,354 t), which increased draft by 5 inches (13 cm).
Originally only three ships were going to be built in the class, but Georgii Pobedonosets was built to a modified Ekaterina II design when a more modern design could not be prepared in a timely manner after Sinop was launched. She mainly differed from her half-sisters
in her armor layout and composition.
of 68 in 11 in (21.01 m) and a draft
of 27.92 to 28.83 ft (8.5 to 8.8 m). They were significantly overweight and displaced 11050 to 11396 LT (11,227.4 to 11,578.9 t) at load, over 1000 LT (1,016.1 MT) more than their designed displacement of 10190 LT (10,353.5 t). The hull was subdivided by one centerline longitudinal bulkhead, extending from frames 17 to 65, and ten transverse watertight bulkheads. It also had a complete double bottom
. The only known stability figure is from Sinop in 1908 which had a metacentric height
of 4 feet (1.2 m).
. Sinop and Georgii Pobedonosets had vertical triple expansion steam engines, Sinop being the first large warship in the world to use them, with either fourteen (Sinop) or sixteen (Georgii Pobedonosets) cylindrical boilers providing steam. All of the engines were imported from either France or the United Kingdom, except for those of the Ekaterina II which were built by the Baltic Works
. Their total designed output ranged from 8500 ihp. On trials, the ships had top speeds of about 15 knots. They carried 900 long tons (914 MT) of coal at full load that provided a range of 2800 nautical miles (5,186 km) at a speed of 10 knots and 1367 nautical miles (2,532 km) at a speed of 14.5 knots.
s. In an arrangement very unusual for such large guns, two barbettes were placed forward side-by-side, while the third barbette was aft of the superstructure. Each of the forward mounts could traverse 30° across the bow and 35° abaft the beam, or a total of 155°. The rear mount could traverse 202°. The main guns were mounted very low, (only 4 in 6 in (1.37 m)) above the main deck, and caused extensive damage to the deck when fired over the bow or stern. Two different guns were used; Ekaterin II and Sinop had 30-caliber
Pattern 1877 guns while Chesma and Georgii Pobedonosets had 35-caliber Obukhov Pattern 1886 guns. Both guns had elevation limits of −2° to +15°. Their rate of fire was about one round every four to five minutes, including training time, and 60 rounds per gun were carried. Each ship had a different type of mount inside the barbette; Ekaterin II used bulky, hydraulically powered Moncrieff disappearing gun
mounts which proved to be larger than estimated and the outer edges of the armored redoubt had to be carried out over the ships' sides on sponson
s on the first two ships completed, Ekaterina II and Chesma, although Chesmas guns were not disappearing. By the time that Sinop and Georgii Pobedonosets were finished the gun mount had been reduced in size enough that the sponsons could be eliminated. But the new and smaller redoubt proved to be too small for the 12-inch 35-caliber gun and Sinop had to use the older 30-caliber weapon. In contrast the Georgii Pobedonosetss redoubt was designed to use the newer gun. Chesmas guns were mounted on unbalanced turntables and they caused her to list when the guns were trained to one side. Traversing all the guns as far as they could go to one side produced a list of 7.6° and made it very difficult for the turntable machinery to rotate the guns back to the fore-and-aft position. This problem had been anticipated and water tanks had been added to counteract the list, but they proved to be virtually useless because they took up to two hours to fill. The problem was partially cured in 1892 when the equipment was rearranged on the turntable to improve their balance, but more thorough solutions to the problem were either deemed to expensive or inadequate.
The Pattern 1877 gun fired a 731.3 pounds (331.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity
of 1870 ft/s (570 m/s) to a range of 5570 yards (5,093.2 m) at an elevation of 6°. The Pattern 1886 gun had a muzzle velocity of 2090 ft/s (637 m/s) with a 731.3 pounds (331.7 kg) shell. It had a range of 11600 yards (10,607 m) at maximum elevation. They also had a 'heavy' shell available that weighed 1003 lb (455 kg) that was fired at a velocity of 2000 ft/s (609.6 m/s) although the range is not available.
The seven 6 inches (152 mm) Model 1877
35-caliber guns were mounted on broadside pivot mounts in hull embrasures, except for one gun mounted in the stern in the hull. They were provided with 125 rounds per gun. These guns had a maximum elevation of 15° and could depress 5°. They fired a 'light' shell that weighed 277–280 lb (125.6–127 kg) or a 415 pounds (188.2 kg) 'heavy' shell. The muzzle velocity achieved depended on the shell weight and the type of propellant. A 'light' shell with brown powder
reached 2142 ft/s (652.9 m/s) while that same shell with smokeless powder
achieved 2326 ft/s (709 m/s). In contrast a 'heavy' shell with brown powder could only be propelled at a velocity of 1867 ft/s (569.1 m/s). A 277 lb 'light' shell had a maximum range of 10330 yards (9,445.8 m) when fired at an elevation of 15° with smokeless powder.
Six of the eight 47 millimetres (1.9 in) five-barreled revolving Hotchkiss gun
s were mounted in small sponson
s that projected from the hull with the aftermost pair mounted in embrasure
s in the hull in Ekaterina II and Chesma to defend the ship against torpedo boat
s. In Sinop they were all mounted in hull embrasures while Georgii Pobedonosetss eight single-barreled guns were mounted on the battery deck. They fired a 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1476 ft/s (449.9 m/s) at a rate of 30 rounds per minute to a range of 2020 yards (1,847.1 m). Georgii Pobedonosets also had ten 37 millimetres (1.5 in) single-barreled Hotchkiss guns in her fighting top
, but the older three ships mounted four 5-barreled guns. They fired a 1.1 pound (0.498951607 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1450 ft/s (442 m/s) at a rate of 32 rounds per minute to a range of 3038 yards (2,777.9 m). They all carried seven above-water 14 inches (356 mm) torpedo tube
s, three tubes on each broadside
plus a tube in the stern.
imported from Charles Cammell
of the United Kingdom. The maximum thickness of the belt was 16 inches which reduced, in 2 inches (5.1 cm) steps, to eight inches at the bow and stern. The belt was 8 feet (2.4 m) high, and tapered down to a thickness of six inches at the bottom edge for the 16-inch plates. The upper 3 foot (0.9144 m) of the belt was intended to be above the waterline, but the ships were overweight and much of the belt was submerged. For example Ekaterina II only had 13 inches (33 cm) above the waterline. The central citadel was above the belt, 100 feet (30.5 m) long and 8 inch high. It had 12-inch sides and was closed off by a 10 inches (25 cm) forward bulkhead (partition)
and a 9 inches (22.9 cm) rear bulkhead. The triangular redoubt was 9 inch high and protected the guns with plates 12 inches thick. Sinops redoubt was about 15 inches (38.1 cm) shorter to save weight. Armored hoods were fitted over the barbettes to protect the crews from small arms and splinters. Ekaterina IIs was 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) thick, but those of Chesma and Sinop were 1.5–2.5 in (3.8–6.4 ) thick. The 6-inch guns and torpedoes were completely unprotected. The thickness of the conning tower's sides varied between the ships; it was six inches on Ekaterina II, eight inches on Chesma and nine inches on Sinop. The armor deck was 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) thick over the citadel, but only 2.25 inches (5.7 cm) elsewhere.
In contrast to her half-sisters the armor used on Georgii Pobedonosets was steel. The belt armor
had a maximum thickness 12 inches which thinned, in two-inch steps, down to six inches forward and eight inches aft. Its height was reduced by 1 foot (0.3048 m) in comparison to the other ships of the class to 7 feet (2.1 m) to save weight. However this left only six inches of her belt above her loaded waterline as she was still overweight, a decrease of 7 inches (17.8 cm) from her half-sisters. The deck armor was 2.25 inches outside the citadel and 1.5 inches over it.
in Nikolayev. The other three ships were built in Sevastopol by the Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company
. The Admiralty Shipyard was not yet ready to build such a large ship and required additional preparations before it was ready to begin Ekaterina II. Some delays were caused by the necessity to send some equipment from St. Petersburg, but the primary reason for the lengthy six-year construction time were near-constant design changes after building had begun. The gun mountings were found to be larger than anticipated and the redoubt had to be carried out over the ship's sides on sponson
s to make enough room. The frontal armor thickness of the redoubt was reduced from 14 inches (36 cm) to 12 inches in compensation. The redoubt also had to be moved back about 10 feet (3 m) to prevent the ships from trimming by the head and the armor was rearranged as mentioned earlier.
s around the turn of the century during lengthy refit periods. Several different proposals were made during this period or later to reconstruct the ships and make them effective combatants again. These often involved replacing their compound or steel armor with modern Krupp armor, replacing their guns and barbettes with a pair of twin turrets mounting more powerful 12-inch guns and, most radically, to cut the ships down by one deck. None of these proposals were ever carried although the armor and new turrets were actually ordered for Chesma, but the Navy reconsidered the cost-effectiveness of the modernization and diverted both to the battleship then building.
. She was built by the Admiralty Dockyard
at Nikolaev
. She was laid down on 26 June 1883, launched on 20 May 1886, and completed in 1889. Her crew was considered unreliable when the crew of the battleship mutinied in June 1905 and her engines were decoupled from the propeller
s to prevent her from joining Potemkin. She was turned over to the Sevastopol
port authorities before being stricken on 14 August 1907. She was redesignated as Stricken Vessel Nr. 3 on 22 April 1912 before being sunk as a torpedo target.
in 1770. She was built by the Russian Steam Navigation Company (RoPIT)
at Sevastopol
. She was laid down in late June 1883, launched on 18 May 1886, and completed on 29 May 1889. Her crew was also considered unreliable when the crew of the Potemkin mutinied and she did not participate in the pursuit. She escorted Potemkin as towed her back to Sevastopol
from Constanța
, Romania
, where Potemkin had sought asylum. She was turned over to the Sevastopol port authorities before being stricken on 14 August 1907. Before she was fully dismantled the Naval Ministry decided to use her hull for full-scale armor trials. She was redesignated as Stricken Vessel Nr. 4 on 22 April 1912 before being used as a gunnery target. Afterwards she served as a torpedo target for the destroyer
s of the Black Sea Fleet
. During these attacks she settled to the bottom of Tendra Bay and was eventually scrapped during the mid-1920s.
in 1853. She was laid down at Sevastopol by RoPIT in late June 1883, launched on 1 June 1887, and completed in 1889 when she began her trials. She participated in the pursuit of the Potemkin and towed her back to Sevastopol from Constanța
, Romania
, where Potemkin had sought asylum. She was converted to a gunnery training ship in 1910 before she became a guardship at Sevastopol and had her 12-inch guns removed in exchange for four single 8 inches (20 cm) guns in turrets. She was refitted in 1916 with torpedo bulges to act as 'mine-bumpers' for a proposed operation in the heavily mined Bosphorus. Both the Bolshevik
s and the Whites
captured her during the Russian Civil War
after her engines were destroyed by the British in 1919. She was scrapped by the Soviets
beginning in 1922.
(Георгий Победоносец) was named after Saint George
the Victorious. She was laid down by RoPIT on 5 May 1891, launched in 9 March 1892, and completed in 1893, although her trials lasted until mid-1895. She was only a half-sister
to the others as her armor scheme was different and she was built much later than the earlier ships. She participated in the pursuit of the Potemkin, but her crew mutinied themselves. However, loyal crew members regained control of the ship the next day and they ran her aground when Potemkin threatened to fire on her if she left Odessa
harbor. She was relegated to second-line duties in 1908 and had her main guns removed later. She fired three rounds at the during her bombardment of Sevastopol
in 1914, the only shots fired in anger by any ship of this class, but spent most of the war serving as a headquarters ship in Sevastopol. She was captured by the Germans in 1918 and turned over by them to the British who sabotaged her engines when they abandoned the Crimea in 1919. She was captured by both sides during the Russian Civil War
, but ended up being towed to Bizerte
by the fleeing White Russians
where she was eventually scrapped by the French Government.
Ship class
A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....
of four pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
in the 1880s. They were the first battleships built for the Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
. Their design was highly unusual in having the main guns on three barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
s grouped in a triangle around a central armored redoubt, two side-by-side forward and one on the centerline aft. This was intended to maximize their firepower forward, both when operating in the narrow waters of the Bosphorus and when ramming
Ramming
In warfare, ramming is a technique that was used in air, sea and land combat. The term originated from battering ram, a siege weapon used to bring down fortifications by hitting it with the force of the ram's momentum...
. Construction was slow because they were the largest warships built until then in the Black Sea and the shipyards had to be upgraded to handle them.
All four ships were in Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
when the crew of the battleship mutinied
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
in June 1905. 's crew was considered unreliable and she was disabled to prevent her from joining the mutiny. 's crew was also considered unreliable, but she did escort Potemkin as towed her back to Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
from Constanța
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, where Potemkins crew had sought asylum. Sinop and both pursued Potemkin to Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, but the crew of the latter mutinied themselves in sympathy with the crew of the Potemkin. However loyal members of the crew regained control of the ship the next day and grounded her.
A number of proposals were made in the 1900s to reconstruct them and replace their obsolete armor and guns, but none of these were carried out. Ekaterina II and Chesma were both eventually sunk as target ships after being decommissioned in 1907, but both Sinop and Georgii Pobedonosets were converted into artillery training ships before becoming guardships at Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
before World War I. There they spent most of the war and were captured by the Germans in 1918, who eventually turned them over to the British who sabotaged their engines when they abandoned the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
in 1919. Immobile they were captured by both the Whites
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
and the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. Sinop was abandoned when Wrangel's fleet
Wrangel's fleet
Wrangel's Fleet, the last remnant of the Black Sea Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy, existed from 1920 until 1924. This squadron was a "White" unit during the Russian Civil War...
sailed for Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
, but Georgii Pobedonosets was towed there. Sinop was scrapped beginning in 1922 by the Soviets
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
while Georgii Pobedonosets was eventually scrapped in Bizerte beginning in 1930 by the French.
Design
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. This meant that they would have to engage Turkish
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
coastal artillery
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
batteries and warships in the narrow confines of the Turkish Straits
Turkish Straits
The term Turkish Straits refers to the two narrow straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, that connect the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea on one side and the Aegean arm of the Mediterranean Sea on the other. They are conventionally considered the boundary between the...
. This put a premium on forward-facing guns because ships might not be able to turn to bring their broadsides to bear on the enemy. Three gun mounts, two forward and one in the rear, were settled up on relatively early in the design process, but the number of guns and the choice between turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s or barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
s was the subject of much debate. The Russians had been impressed by the performance of the barbette-mounted disappearing gun
Disappearing gun
A disappearing gun is a type of heavy artillery for which the gun carriage enabled the gun to rotate backwards and down into a pit protected by a wall or a bunker after it was fired...
s of during the bombardment of Alexandria
Bombardment of Alexandria (1882)
The Bombardment of Alexandria, in 1882, by the British Mediterranean Fleet took place on 11–13 July 1882. Admiral Sir Frederick Beauchamp Seymour was in command of a fleet of fifteen Royal Navy ironclad ships which sailed to Alexandria...
in 1882 and began to seriously consider the use of this type of installation in their new battleships. The lighter weight of barbettes versus turrets allowed for the addition of several 9 inches (23 cm) guns, but it was later realized that they could be deleted in exchange for twin gun mounts in the barbettes for very little cost in weight.
Construction had already begun when the armor scheme was revised after a visit to France by two naval constructors. Upon their return they argued for a complete waterline armor belt
Belt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
to preserve the ship's buoyancy and speed if it was hit fore and aft. The original armor scheme was very close to British practice with a short, very thick waterline belt that covered the machinery and magazines
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
, but left the ends unprotected other than by an armored deck. Their suggestions were incorporated in the ships, but the armor scheme had to be drastically revised to cater for the complete armor belt. The maximum thickness was reduced from 18 inches (46 cm) to 16 inches (41 cm) and the belt reduced to 8 inches (20 cm) at the bow and stern with a 6 inches (15 cm) strake on the upper side of the ram bow. The middle 12 inches (30 cm) redoubt was shortened from a length about 130 feet (40 m) to 100 feet (30 m), just enough to cover the ammunition hoists and the funnel uptakes to save weight. Even so the design displacement increased to 10190 long tons (10,354 t), which increased draft by 5 inches (13 cm).
Originally only three ships were going to be built in the class, but Georgii Pobedonosets was built to a modified Ekaterina II design when a more modern design could not be prepared in a timely manner after Sinop was launched. She mainly differed from her half-sisters
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
in her armor layout and composition.
General characteristics
The Ekaterina II-class ships were 331 foot long at the waterline and 339 in 3 in (103.4 m) long overall. They had a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 68 in 11 in (21.01 m) and a draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 27.92 to 28.83 ft (8.5 to 8.8 m). They were significantly overweight and displaced 11050 to 11396 LT (11,227.4 to 11,578.9 t) at load, over 1000 LT (1,016.1 MT) more than their designed displacement of 10190 LT (10,353.5 t). The hull was subdivided by one centerline longitudinal bulkhead, extending from frames 17 to 65, and ten transverse watertight bulkheads. It also had a complete double bottom
Double bottom
A double bottom is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom of the ship has two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is somewhat higher in the ship, perhaps a few feet, which forms a...
. The only known stability figure is from Sinop in 1908 which had a metacentric height
Metacentric height
The metacentric height is a measurement of the static stability of a floating body. It is calculated as the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its metacentre . A larger metacentric height implies greater stability against overturning...
of 4 feet (1.2 m).
Propulsion
Ekaterina II and Chesma had two three-cylinder vertical compound steam engines, powered by fourteen cylindrical boilersBoiler (steam generator)
A boiler or steam generator is a device used to create steam by applying heat energy to water. Although the definitions are somewhat flexible, it can be said that older steam generators were commonly termed boilers and worked at low to medium pressure but, at pressures above this, it is more...
. Sinop and Georgii Pobedonosets had vertical triple expansion steam engines, Sinop being the first large warship in the world to use them, with either fourteen (Sinop) or sixteen (Georgii Pobedonosets) cylindrical boilers providing steam. All of the engines were imported from either France or the United Kingdom, except for those of the Ekaterina II which were built by the Baltic Works
Baltic Shipyard
The Baltic Shipyard is one of the oldest shipyards in Russia. It is located in Saint Petersburg in the south-western part of the Vasilievsky Island. It is one of the three shipyards active in Saint Petersburg...
. Their total designed output ranged from 8500 ihp. On trials, the ships had top speeds of about 15 knots. They carried 900 long tons (914 MT) of coal at full load that provided a range of 2800 nautical miles (5,186 km) at a speed of 10 knots and 1367 nautical miles (2,532 km) at a speed of 14.5 knots.
Armament
The main armament of the Ekaterina II-class ships consisted of three pairs of 12 inches (305 mm) guns mounted in twin-gun barbetteBarbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
s. In an arrangement very unusual for such large guns, two barbettes were placed forward side-by-side, while the third barbette was aft of the superstructure. Each of the forward mounts could traverse 30° across the bow and 35° abaft the beam, or a total of 155°. The rear mount could traverse 202°. The main guns were mounted very low, (only 4 in 6 in (1.37 m)) above the main deck, and caused extensive damage to the deck when fired over the bow or stern. Two different guns were used; Ekaterin II and Sinop had 30-caliber
Caliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....
Pattern 1877 guns while Chesma and Georgii Pobedonosets had 35-caliber Obukhov Pattern 1886 guns. Both guns had elevation limits of −2° to +15°. Their rate of fire was about one round every four to five minutes, including training time, and 60 rounds per gun were carried. Each ship had a different type of mount inside the barbette; Ekaterin II used bulky, hydraulically powered Moncrieff disappearing gun
Disappearing gun
A disappearing gun is a type of heavy artillery for which the gun carriage enabled the gun to rotate backwards and down into a pit protected by a wall or a bunker after it was fired...
mounts which proved to be larger than estimated and the outer edges of the armored redoubt had to be carried out over the ships' sides on sponson
Sponson
Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...
s on the first two ships completed, Ekaterina II and Chesma, although Chesmas guns were not disappearing. By the time that Sinop and Georgii Pobedonosets were finished the gun mount had been reduced in size enough that the sponsons could be eliminated. But the new and smaller redoubt proved to be too small for the 12-inch 35-caliber gun and Sinop had to use the older 30-caliber weapon. In contrast the Georgii Pobedonosetss redoubt was designed to use the newer gun. Chesmas guns were mounted on unbalanced turntables and they caused her to list when the guns were trained to one side. Traversing all the guns as far as they could go to one side produced a list of 7.6° and made it very difficult for the turntable machinery to rotate the guns back to the fore-and-aft position. This problem had been anticipated and water tanks had been added to counteract the list, but they proved to be virtually useless because they took up to two hours to fill. The problem was partially cured in 1892 when the equipment was rearranged on the turntable to improve their balance, but more thorough solutions to the problem were either deemed to expensive or inadequate.
The Pattern 1877 gun fired a 731.3 pounds (331.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of 1870 ft/s (570 m/s) to a range of 5570 yards (5,093.2 m) at an elevation of 6°. The Pattern 1886 gun had a muzzle velocity of 2090 ft/s (637 m/s) with a 731.3 pounds (331.7 kg) shell. It had a range of 11600 yards (10,607 m) at maximum elevation. They also had a 'heavy' shell available that weighed 1003 lb (455 kg) that was fired at a velocity of 2000 ft/s (609.6 m/s) although the range is not available.
The seven 6 inches (152 mm) Model 1877
6 inch 35 caliber naval gun 1877
6 inch 35 caliber naval gun 1877 was a 152 mm naval gun used by Russian Empire. The gun was used from 1887 as battleship secondary armament and cruiser armament. The gun was mostly replaced by newer 6 inch 45 caliber Canet gun 1892 by Russo-Japanese War, but was still used on some ships...
35-caliber guns were mounted on broadside pivot mounts in hull embrasures, except for one gun mounted in the stern in the hull. They were provided with 125 rounds per gun. These guns had a maximum elevation of 15° and could depress 5°. They fired a 'light' shell that weighed 277–280 lb (125.6–127 kg) or a 415 pounds (188.2 kg) 'heavy' shell. The muzzle velocity achieved depended on the shell weight and the type of propellant. A 'light' shell with brown powder
Brown powder
Brown powder or prismatic powder, sometimes referred as "cocoa powder" due to its color, is an explosive agent similar to black powder, but with a slower burning rate...
reached 2142 ft/s (652.9 m/s) while that same shell with smokeless powder
Smokeless powder
Smokeless powder is the name given to a number of propellants used in firearms and artillery which produce negligible smoke when fired, unlike the older gunpowder which they replaced...
achieved 2326 ft/s (709 m/s). In contrast a 'heavy' shell with brown powder could only be propelled at a velocity of 1867 ft/s (569.1 m/s). A 277 lb 'light' shell had a maximum range of 10330 yards (9,445.8 m) when fired at an elevation of 15° with smokeless powder.
Six of the eight 47 millimetres (1.9 in) five-barreled revolving Hotchkiss gun
Hotchkiss gun
The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch light mountain gun; there was also a 3-inch Hotchkiss gun...
s were mounted in small sponson
Sponson
Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...
s that projected from the hull with the aftermost pair mounted in embrasure
Embrasure
In military architecture, an embrasure is the opening in a crenellation or battlement between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes called a crenel or crenelle...
s in the hull in Ekaterina II and Chesma to defend the ship against torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
s. In Sinop they were all mounted in hull embrasures while Georgii Pobedonosetss eight single-barreled guns were mounted on the battery deck. They fired a 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1476 ft/s (449.9 m/s) at a rate of 30 rounds per minute to a range of 2020 yards (1,847.1 m). Georgii Pobedonosets also had ten 37 millimetres (1.5 in) single-barreled Hotchkiss guns in her fighting top
Top (sailing ship)
On a traditional square rigged ship, the top is the platform at the upper end of each mast. This is not the masthead "crow's nest" of the popular imagination – above the mainmast is the main-topmast, main-topgallant-mast and main-royal-mast, so that the top is actually about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way...
, but the older three ships mounted four 5-barreled guns. They fired a 1.1 pound (0.498951607 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1450 ft/s (442 m/s) at a rate of 32 rounds per minute to a range of 3038 yards (2,777.9 m). They all carried seven above-water 14 inches (356 mm) torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s, three tubes on each broadside
Broadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
plus a tube in the stern.
Armor
The Ekaterina II-class ships were originally designed with a short, heavily armored, central citadel, but this was changed during construction to a full waterline belt. The three older ships used compound armorCompound armour
Compound armour was a type of armour used on warships in the 1880s. By the end of the decade it had been rendered obsolete by nickel-steel armour.-Prior armours:...
imported from Charles Cammell
Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...
of the United Kingdom. The maximum thickness of the belt was 16 inches which reduced, in 2 inches (5.1 cm) steps, to eight inches at the bow and stern. The belt was 8 feet (2.4 m) high, and tapered down to a thickness of six inches at the bottom edge for the 16-inch plates. The upper 3 foot (0.9144 m) of the belt was intended to be above the waterline, but the ships were overweight and much of the belt was submerged. For example Ekaterina II only had 13 inches (33 cm) above the waterline. The central citadel was above the belt, 100 feet (30.5 m) long and 8 inch high. It had 12-inch sides and was closed off by a 10 inches (25 cm) forward bulkhead (partition)
Bulkhead (partition)
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an airplane. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads.-Etymology:...
and a 9 inches (22.9 cm) rear bulkhead. The triangular redoubt was 9 inch high and protected the guns with plates 12 inches thick. Sinops redoubt was about 15 inches (38.1 cm) shorter to save weight. Armored hoods were fitted over the barbettes to protect the crews from small arms and splinters. Ekaterina IIs was 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) thick, but those of Chesma and Sinop were 1.5–2.5 in (3.8–6.4 ) thick. The 6-inch guns and torpedoes were completely unprotected. The thickness of the conning tower's sides varied between the ships; it was six inches on Ekaterina II, eight inches on Chesma and nine inches on Sinop. The armor deck was 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) thick over the citadel, but only 2.25 inches (5.7 cm) elsewhere.
In contrast to her half-sisters the armor used on Georgii Pobedonosets was steel. The belt armor
Belt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
had a maximum thickness 12 inches which thinned, in two-inch steps, down to six inches forward and eight inches aft. Its height was reduced by 1 foot (0.3048 m) in comparison to the other ships of the class to 7 feet (2.1 m) to save weight. However this left only six inches of her belt above her loaded waterline as she was still overweight, a decrease of 7 inches (17.8 cm) from her half-sisters. The deck armor was 2.25 inches outside the citadel and 1.5 inches over it.
Construction and service
Ekaterina II was built at the Admiralty ShipyardShipyard named after 61 Communards
Shipyard named after 61 Communards is a major shipyard located in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. In modern times, the shipyard has been most commonly referred to as Nikolaev North Shipyard but was also known as Soviet Shipyard No. 200.- History :...
in Nikolayev. The other three ships were built in Sevastopol by the Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company
Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company
The Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company of Odessa was one of the biggest joint stock steamship companies in Imperial Russia. It was established in 1856 and ceased to exist in 1918 due to nationalization after the revolution in Russia...
. The Admiralty Shipyard was not yet ready to build such a large ship and required additional preparations before it was ready to begin Ekaterina II. Some delays were caused by the necessity to send some equipment from St. Petersburg, but the primary reason for the lengthy six-year construction time were near-constant design changes after building had begun. The gun mountings were found to be larger than anticipated and the redoubt had to be carried out over the ship's sides on sponson
Sponson
Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...
s to make enough room. The frontal armor thickness of the redoubt was reduced from 14 inches (36 cm) to 12 inches in compensation. The redoubt also had to be moved back about 10 feet (3 m) to prevent the ships from trimming by the head and the armor was rearranged as mentioned earlier.
Modernizations
The boilers of each ship were replaced by Belleville water-tube boilerWater-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s around the turn of the century during lengthy refit periods. Several different proposals were made during this period or later to reconstruct the ships and make them effective combatants again. These often involved replacing their compound or steel armor with modern Krupp armor, replacing their guns and barbettes with a pair of twin turrets mounting more powerful 12-inch guns and, most radically, to cut the ships down by one deck. None of these proposals were ever carried although the armor and new turrets were actually ordered for Chesma, but the Navy reconsidered the cost-effectiveness of the modernization and diverted both to the battleship then building.
Ekaterina II
(Екатерина II) was named after the Empress Catherine II of RussiaCatherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
. She was built by the Admiralty Dockyard
Shipyard named after 61 Communards
Shipyard named after 61 Communards is a major shipyard located in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. In modern times, the shipyard has been most commonly referred to as Nikolaev North Shipyard but was also known as Soviet Shipyard No. 200.- History :...
at Nikolaev
Mykolaiv
Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...
. She was laid down on 26 June 1883, launched on 20 May 1886, and completed in 1889. Her crew was considered unreliable when the crew of the battleship mutinied in June 1905 and her engines were decoupled from the propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
s to prevent her from joining Potemkin. She was turned over to the Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
port authorities before being stricken on 14 August 1907. She was redesignated as Stricken Vessel Nr. 3 on 22 April 1912 before being sunk as a torpedo target.
Chesma
(Чесма) was named after the Russian victory at the Battle of ChesmaBattle of Chesma
The naval Battle of Chesma took place on 5 -7 July 1770 near and in Çeşme Bay, in the area between the western tip of Anatolia and the island of Chios, which was the site of a number of past naval battles between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice...
in 1770. She was built by the Russian Steam Navigation Company (RoPIT)
Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company
The Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company of Odessa was one of the biggest joint stock steamship companies in Imperial Russia. It was established in 1856 and ceased to exist in 1918 due to nationalization after the revolution in Russia...
at Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
. She was laid down in late June 1883, launched on 18 May 1886, and completed on 29 May 1889. Her crew was also considered unreliable when the crew of the Potemkin mutinied and she did not participate in the pursuit. She escorted Potemkin as towed her back to Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
from Constanța
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, where Potemkin had sought asylum. She was turned over to the Sevastopol port authorities before being stricken on 14 August 1907. Before she was fully dismantled the Naval Ministry decided to use her hull for full-scale armor trials. She was redesignated as Stricken Vessel Nr. 4 on 22 April 1912 before being used as a gunnery target. Afterwards she served as a torpedo target for the destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s of the Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
. During these attacks she settled to the bottom of Tendra Bay and was eventually scrapped during the mid-1920s.
Sinop
(Синоп) was named after the Russian victory in the Battle of SinopBattle of Sinop
The Battle of Sinop, or the Battle of Sinope, took place on 30 November 1853 at Sinop, a sea port in northern Anatolia, when Imperial Russian warships struck and annihilated a patrol force of Ottoman ships anchored in the harbor...
in 1853. She was laid down at Sevastopol by RoPIT in late June 1883, launched on 1 June 1887, and completed in 1889 when she began her trials. She participated in the pursuit of the Potemkin and towed her back to Sevastopol from Constanța
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, where Potemkin had sought asylum. She was converted to a gunnery training ship in 1910 before she became a guardship at Sevastopol and had her 12-inch guns removed in exchange for four single 8 inches (20 cm) guns in turrets. She was refitted in 1916 with torpedo bulges to act as 'mine-bumpers' for a proposed operation in the heavily mined Bosphorus. Both the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s and the Whites
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
captured her during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
after her engines were destroyed by the British in 1919. She was scrapped by the Soviets
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
beginning in 1922.
Georgiy Pobedonosets
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
the Victorious. She was laid down by RoPIT on 5 May 1891, launched in 9 March 1892, and completed in 1893, although her trials lasted until mid-1895. She was only a half-sister
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
to the others as her armor scheme was different and she was built much later than the earlier ships. She participated in the pursuit of the Potemkin, but her crew mutinied themselves. However, loyal crew members regained control of the ship the next day and they ran her aground when Potemkin threatened to fire on her if she left Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
harbor. She was relegated to second-line duties in 1908 and had her main guns removed later. She fired three rounds at the during her bombardment of Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
in 1914, the only shots fired in anger by any ship of this class, but spent most of the war serving as a headquarters ship in Sevastopol. She was captured by the Germans in 1918 and turned over by them to the British who sabotaged her engines when they abandoned the Crimea in 1919. She was captured by both sides during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, but ended up being towed to Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
by the fleeing White Russians
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
where she was eventually scrapped by the French Government.