Imperatritsa Mariya class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Imperatritsa Mariya-class battleship
s were the first dreadnoughts built for the Black Sea Fleet
of the Imperial Russian Navy
. All three ships were built in Nikolayev
during World War I
; two of the ships were built by the Rossud Dockyard
and the third was built by the Associated Factories and Shipyards of Nikolayev
. Two ships were delivered in 1915 and saw some combat against ex-German
warships that had been 'gifted' to the Ottoman Empire
, but the third was not completed until 1917 and saw no combat due to the disorder in the navy after the February Revolution
earlier that year.
was sunk by a magazine
explosion in Sevastopol
harbor in 1916. , having been renamed Svobodnaya Rossiya in 1917, was scuttled in Novorossiysk
harbor in 1918 to prevent her from being turned over to the Germans as required by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
. The crew of Volia, as had been renamed in 1917, voted to turn her over to the Germans. They were only able to make one training cruise before they had to turn her over the victorious Allies
in 1918 as part of the armistice terms. The British took control of her, but turned her over to the White Russians
in 1920 who renamed her General Alekseyev. She only had one operable gun turret by this time and she provided some fire support for the Whites, but it was not enough. They were forced to evacuate the Crimea
later that year and sailed with Wrangel's fleet
to Bizerte
(Tunisia
) where she was interned by the French
. She was eventually scrap
ped there during the 1930s to pay her docking fees.
in 1910 when they learned that the Ottomans were on the verge of ordering dreadnoughts of their own from the British. This rumor proved to false, but the Russians had decided that they should continue the design process for the time when the Ottomans did procure dreadnoughts of their own. Preliminary specifications were issued on 12 August 1910All dates used in this article are New Style
for a design based on that of the s then being built for the Baltic Fleet
. 23 knots was thought to be excessive in the confined environs of the Black Sea
so the new design was capable of only 21 knots which allowed more weight to be devoted to more guns or heavier armor. A main armament of a dozen 12 inches (30 cm) guns in four triple turrets was specified in the same 'linear' non-superfiring
arrangements as the Ganguts. The sixteen 120 millimetres (4.7 in) anti-torpedo boat
guns of the Ganguts were replaced by twenty 130 millimetres (5.1 in)/55 B7 Pattern 1913 guns
to counter the ever-increasing size of torpedo boats. The maximum elevation of the 12-inch guns was to be increased to 35°, 10° more than in the Gangut-class ships, and turret armor was to be increased from 200 mm (7.9 in) to 250 mm (9.8 in).
A design competition was announced in July 1911, but there were not many contenders. The Naval Ministry favored the design from the Russud Works and gave preliminary orders for three ships on 2 September, even before the competition was concluded in November. Russud's design was unsurprisingly selected and the government transferred designers from the government-owned Baltic Works
as well as a complete set of drawings for the Gangut-class to speed up the detailed design process.
of 27.43 metre and at full load a draft of 8.36 metre. They displaced 23413 long tons (23,789 MT) at standard load. High-tensile steel was used throughout the hull with mild steel used only in areas that did not contribute to structural strength. The hull was subdivided by 18 transverse watertight bulkhead
s. The engine room was divided by two longitudinal bulkheads and a double bottom
was provided. Their designed metacentric height
was 1.76 metre.
Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya was slightly larger than her half-sisters
because ONZiV enlarged her in an effort to counter the usual problem Russian battleships had with weight. She was 168 metre long at the waterline and had a beam of 28.07 metre; 4 in 10 in (1.47 m) longer and 2 foot (0.6096 m) wider than her half sisters. Her exact draft is not known, but she had a draft of 8.7 metre on trials. Her displacement was 24644 long tons (25,040 MT) at load, over 900 LT (914 MT) more than her designed displacement of 23783 LT (24,165 MT).
Imperatritsa Mariya proved to be very bow-heavy in service and tended to ship large amounts of water through her forward casemates. The ammunition for the forward 12-inch guns was reduced from 100 to 70 rounds each while the 130 mm ammunition was reduced from 245 to 100 rounds per gun in an attempt to compensate for her trim. This did not fully cure the problem, but Imperatritsa Mariya was lost before any other changes could be implemented. This did not fully cure the problem so Volias, as she was known by then, forward pair of 130 mm guns were removed while she was fitting out. Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya did not suffer from the same degree of trim by the bow by virtue of her greater size and retained her forward guns.
-type steam turbines imported from John Brown & Company
of the United Kingdom
while Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikayas turbines were built by ONZiV with technical assistance from Vickers Limited
. They were designed for a total of 26000 shp (27000 shp in Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya), but produced over 33000 shp on trials. 20 mixed-firing triangular Yarrow
water-tube boiler
s powered the turbines at a working pressure of 17.5 atm (1,773 kPa; 257 psi). Their designed speed was 21 knots. Their maximum coal capacity ranged from 1700 to 2300 LT (1,727.3 to 2,336.9 MT) plus 420 to 630 LT (426.7 to 640.1 MT) of fuel oil
which gave them a range of approximately 1640 nautical miles (3,037 km) at full speed or 2960 nautical miles (5,482 km) at economical speed. All of their electrical power was generated by three main Curtis 360 kilowatt turbo generator
s and two 200 kilowatt auxiliary units.
The main armament of the Imperatritsa Mariya-class consisted of a dozen Obukhovskii 12 inches (305 mm) Pattern 1907 52-caliber
guns mounted in four triple turrets distributed the length of the ship. The guns were identical to those used in the Gangut-class ships, but the turrets were of a new and roomier design. The fore and aft turrets could traverse a total of 310° while the middle turrets covered an arc of 130° on each side. The guns could be depressed to −5° and elevated to 25° and could be loaded at any angle between −5° and +15°; their rate of fire was supposed to three rounds per minute up to 15° of elevation. The turrets could elevate at 3–4° per second and traverse at a rate of 3.2° per second. 100 rounds per gun were carried at full load. The guns fired 470.9 kilograms (1,038.2 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity
of 762 m/s (2,500 ft/s); this provided a maximum range of 23230 metres (25,404.6 yd).
The secondary armament consisted of twenty 130 millimetres (5.1 in)/55-caliber B7 Pattern 1913
guns mounted in casemate
s. They were arranged in two groups, six guns per side from the forward turret to the rear funnel and the remaining four clustered around the rear turret. Three guns per side were situated to fire ahead as that was the most likely direction of attack by torpedo boats as anticipated by the Naval General Staff. Their rate of fire ranged from five to eight rounds per minute and they were provided with 245 rounds per gun. They had a maximum range of about 15364 metres (16,802.3 yd) with a 36.86 kilograms (81.3 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 823 m/s (2,700.1 ft/s).
No anti-aircraft
(AA) armament was originally planned. In October 1916, the Naval Ministry specified that four 37-caliber 4 inches (102 mm) guns of a new design were to be fitted, but they never entered service. The two older ships had three or four 75 millimetres (3 in)/50-caliber Pattern 1892 guns mounted on turret roofs. The 75 mm gun had maximum elevation of 50°. It fired a 12.63 pounds (5.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2450 ft/s (746.8 m/s) at a rate of fire of 12–15 rounds per minute. It had a maximum ceiling of less than 16000 ft (4,876.8 m). Volia used four of the newer 30-caliber 76.2 millimetres (3 in) 'Lender' AA guns, mounted on the fore and aft turrets. This had a maximum depression of 5° and a maximum elevation of 65°. It fired a 14.33 pounds (6.5 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1929 ft/s (588 m/s). It had a rate of fire of 10–12 rounds per minute and had a maximum ceiling of 19000 ft (5,791.2 m).
Four underwater 17.7 inches (45 cm) torpedo tube
s were also fitted, two on each broadside in a compartment immediately abaft the forward magazine
. Imperatritsa Mariyas trials revealed problems with her magazine cooling systems where the heat generated by the ventilation system mostly negated the cooling effects of the refrigeration system. Her sisters shared this problem, which may have contributed to the magazine fire suffered by Imperatritsa Mariya that led to her loss in 1916.
The two older ships mounted Zeiss 5 metre rangefinder
s on each conning tower, but Volia was given four 18 feet (5.5 m) Barr and Stroud
rangefinders, one for each turret. These would provide data for the central artillery post to calculate, using the standard Geisler mechanical computer, and then transmit to the guns for the gun crew to follow.
of the old pre-dreadnought battleship greatly affected the armor protection of the Imperatritsa Mariya-class ships. The Krupp cemented armor plates were sized to match the frames to provide support for their joints and they were locked together by a type of mortise and tenon
joint to better distribute the shock of a shell's impact. The waterline belt
had a maximum thickness of 262.5 millimetres (10.3 in). It was continued forward and aft of the citadel by plates 217 millimetres (8.5 in) and 175 millimetres (6.9 in) thick. These reduced to 125 millimetres (4.9 in) and then to 75 millimeters just before the bow. Aft the belt thinned to 125 millimeters all the way to the stern. It had a total height of 5.25 metres (17.2 ft), 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) of which was above the design waterline and 1.75 metres (5.7 ft) below. It was backed by 75 millimeters of wood to make a better fit between the hull and the armor. The forward end of the citadel was protected by other armor and the transverse bulkhead was therefore only 25.4 millimetre (1 in) thick, barely enough to consider as splinter protection. However, the rear bulkhead had no other protection and was 100 millimetres (3.9 in) thick. These thin bulkheads left the end magazines very vulnerable to shells fired from bearings in front of or behind the ship. The upper belt was 100 millimetres (3.9 in) thick and had a height of 2.7 millimetre (0.106299212598425 in). It thinned to 75 mm forward of the casemates all the way to the bow. The casemates were also protected by a 25 millimetre (0.984251968503937 in) transverse bulkhead from axial fire as well as a 25 mm screen between each casemate. Behind the side armor was an inboard longitudinal splinter bulkhead that was 50 millimetres (2 in) thick, but the casemates had their own separate 25 mm splinter bulkhead.
The main gun turrets had sides 250 millimetres (9.8 in) thick with 125 mm roofs. 50 mm plates protected the gun ports and 25 millimetre (0.984251968503937 in) bulkheads separated each gun. The barbettes were 250 mm thick, but reduced to 125 mm below the upper deck, except in the forward and rear turrets which thinned only to 150 millimetres (5.9 in). The forward conning tower sides were 300 millimetres (11.8 in) thick with a 200 millimetres (7.9 in) roof and 250 mm supporting tube which reduced to 100 mm below the upper deck. The rear conning tower also had 300 mm sides and a 250 mm support tube, but the roof was only 100 mm thick. The funnel uptakes were protected by 75 mm of armor above the upper deck, but this reduced to 19 millimetre (0.748031496062992 in) below it. The upper deck
was 37.5 millimetres (1.5 in) thick while the middle deck was 25 mm thick over the armored citadel. Outside the citadel the middle deck was 37.5 mm thick and the lower deck was 25 mm thick. Underwater protection was minimal as there was only an unarmored watertight bulkhead behind the upwards extension of the double bottom.
s to her cost and delayed the start of her construction three months after her half-sisters. Despite the demanding schedule the ships suffered from a number of delays during construction. On 10 February 1914 changes were ordered by the Naval Ministry to incorporate the lessons learned from the full-scale armor trials conducted using the Chesma. This added almost 500 LT of weight to the ships and raised their cost by 220,000–250,000 rubles. Other delays were incurred after the war began as imported components took longer to reach the shipyards and factories switched over to war production. The construction of Imperator Aleksander III was deliberately delayed in order to accelerate the completion of her two sisters and some of her turrets were transferred to Imperatritsa Mariya as well.
Imperatritsa Mariya was launched on 19 October 1913 and arrived in Sevastopol on 13 July 1915, where she completed her fitting out during the next few months and conducted sea trials. She provided cover while the pre-dreadnought battleships conducted shore bombardment missions in October 1915. She encountered the ex-German
light cruiser
Midilli
twice during 1916, but the cruiser escaped with nothing more than splinter damage. On 20 October 1916, she capsized and sank in Sevastopol
harbor after a magazine fire and subsequent explosion. Following a complex salvage operation, she was eventually raised and placed in drydock in May 1918. However, in the chaos of the Russian Revolution
and subsequent Civil War
, no further repair work was done, and the ship was scrapped beginning in 1926. Her guns and their turrets, which had fallen out of the ship when she capsized, were later salvaged in 1931–33. Two of the guns were used in the 30th Coast Defense Battery defending Sevastopol during World War II
, also known as Maksim Gor'kii I by the Germans.
Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya was launched on 6 June 1914 and completed on 18 October 1915. She was originally named Ekaterina II until 27 June 1915 and was renamed Free Russia in 1917. She engaged the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben
while the latter was in Turkish service as Yavuz Sultan Selim only once, but failed to inflict anything more severe than splinter damage. She also encountered Midilli on 16 April 1916, but the cruiser used her higher speed to escape. She was scuttled on 18 June 1918 in Novorossiysk
to prevent her from being turned over to the Germans as required by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
. No attempt was made to salvage her during the 1920s, but the 12-inch shells were salvaged from her wreck until a magazine explosion was triggered in 1930 by the explosive charges used to gain access to the shells.
in Turkey
. In 1919 the British brought her back to the Black Sea and turned her over to the White Russian
forces, where she fought in the Russian Civil War against the Red Army
, mainly carrying out shore bombardments. With the collapse of the White Russian armies in Southern Russia in 1920, the battleship assisted in their evacuation to French
-owned Tunisia
, where she was interned in Bizerte
. She was eventually scrapped there to pay her docking fees.
The French stored her guns and later donated them to the Finns during the Winter War
, although they did not arrive until after the end of the war. The Germans captured four of these 12-inch and some 130 mm guns in transit in Narvik
harbor when they invaded Norway
in April 1940. Both the Finns and Germans used these guns as coastal artillery
. The Germans emplaced all four guns, after rebuilding them to accept German ammunition, in armored turrets in 'Batterie Mirus' on Guernsey
. The Finns used three of the 12-inch guns to repair railway gun
s that had fallen into their hands in 1941. They were used throughout the Continuation War
and the Finns were forced in 1944 to surrender them to the Soviets who used them until the 1990s.
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s were the first dreadnoughts 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....
of 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...
. All three ships were built in Nikolayev
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:...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
; two of the ships were built by the Rossud 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 :...
and the third was built by the Associated Factories and Shipyards of Nikolayev
Black Sea Shipyard
The Black Sea Shipyard is located in Mykolaiv, Ukraine and is the largest shipyard with near direct access to the Black Sea. It is most often referred to as the Nikolayev South Shipyard and was known as Soviet Shipyard No...
. Two ships were delivered in 1915 and saw some combat against ex-German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
warships that had been 'gifted' to the Ottoman Empire
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...
, but the third was not completed until 1917 and saw no combat due to the disorder in the navy after the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
earlier that year.
was sunk by a magazine
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:...
explosion 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....
harbor in 1916. , having been renamed Svobodnaya Rossiya in 1917, was scuttled in Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
harbor in 1918 to prevent her from being turned over to the Germans as required by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
. The crew of Volia, as had been renamed in 1917, voted to turn her over to the Germans. They were only able to make one training cruise before they had to turn her over the victorious Allies
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
in 1918 as part of the armistice terms. The British took control of her, but turned her over to the 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...
in 1920 who renamed her General Alekseyev. She only had one operable gun turret by this time and she provided some fire support for the Whites, but it was not enough. They were forced to evacuate 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...
later that year and sailed with 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...
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:...
(Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
) where she was interned by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. She was eventually scrap
Scrap
Scrap is a term used to describe recyclable and other materials left over from every manner of product consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has significant monetary value...
ped there during the 1930s to pay her docking fees.
Design and development
The Naval Ministry began planning a class of dreadnoughts for the Black Sea FleetBlack 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....
in 1910 when they learned that the Ottomans were on the verge of ordering dreadnoughts of their own from the British. This rumor proved to false, but the Russians had decided that they should continue the design process for the time when the Ottomans did procure dreadnoughts of their own. Preliminary specifications were issued on 12 August 1910All dates used in this article are New Style
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
for a design based on that of the s then being built for the Baltic Fleet
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
. 23 knots was thought to be excessive in the confined environs of the Black Sea
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...
so the new design was capable of only 21 knots which allowed more weight to be devoted to more guns or heavier armor. A main armament of a dozen 12 inches (30 cm) guns in four triple turrets was specified in the same 'linear' non-superfiring
Superfire
The idea of superfire is to locate two turrets in a row, one behind the other, but with the second turret located above the one in front so that the second turret could fire over the first...
arrangements as the Ganguts. The sixteen 120 millimetres (4.7 in) anti-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...
guns of the Ganguts were replaced by twenty 130 millimetres (5.1 in)/55 B7 Pattern 1913 guns
130 mm/55 B7 Pattern 1913
The 130mm/55 B7 Pattern 1913 naval gun was a 5.1-inch naval gun used predominantly on ships of the Imperial Russian Navy and later by the Soviet Navy. It was manufactured mainly by the Obukhov State Plant in St. Petersburg, as well as under licence by Vickers Limited in Great Britain...
to counter the ever-increasing size of torpedo boats. The maximum elevation of the 12-inch guns was to be increased to 35°, 10° more than in the Gangut-class ships, and turret armor was to be increased from 200 mm (7.9 in) to 250 mm (9.8 in).
A design competition was announced in July 1911, but there were not many contenders. The Naval Ministry favored the design from the Russud Works and gave preliminary orders for three ships on 2 September, even before the competition was concluded in November. Russud's design was unsurprisingly selected and the government transferred designers from the government-owned 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...
as well as a complete set of drawings for the Gangut-class to speed up the detailed design process.
General characteristics
The ships of the Imperatritsa Mariya-class were 168 metre long overall, 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 27.43 metre and at full load a draft of 8.36 metre. They displaced 23413 long tons (23,789 MT) at standard load. High-tensile steel was used throughout the hull with mild steel used only in areas that did not contribute to structural strength. The hull was subdivided by 18 transverse watertight bulkhead
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:...
s. The engine room was divided by two longitudinal bulkheads and a 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...
was provided. Their designed 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...
was 1.76 metre.
Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya was slightly larger than 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...
because ONZiV enlarged her in an effort to counter the usual problem Russian battleships had with weight. She was 168 metre long at the waterline and had a beam of 28.07 metre; 4 in 10 in (1.47 m) longer and 2 foot (0.6096 m) wider than her half sisters. Her exact draft is not known, but she had a draft of 8.7 metre on trials. Her displacement was 24644 long tons (25,040 MT) at load, over 900 LT (914 MT) more than her designed displacement of 23783 LT (24,165 MT).
Imperatritsa Mariya proved to be very bow-heavy in service and tended to ship large amounts of water through her forward casemates. The ammunition for the forward 12-inch guns was reduced from 100 to 70 rounds each while the 130 mm ammunition was reduced from 245 to 100 rounds per gun in an attempt to compensate for her trim. This did not fully cure the problem, but Imperatritsa Mariya was lost before any other changes could be implemented. This did not fully cure the problem so Volias, as she was known by then, forward pair of 130 mm guns were removed while she was fitting out. Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya did not suffer from the same degree of trim by the bow by virtue of her greater size and retained her forward guns.
Propulsion
The two Russud-built ships were fitted with four ParsonsParsons Marine Steam Turbine Company
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...
-type steam turbines imported from John Brown & Company
John Brown & Company
John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a pre-eminent Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm, responsible for building many notable and world-famous ships, such as the , the , the , the , the , and the...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
while Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikayas turbines were built by ONZiV with technical assistance from Vickers Limited
Vickers Limited
Vickers Limited was a famous British engineering conglomerate that merged into Vickers-Armstrongs in 1927.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
. They were designed for a total of 26000 shp (27000 shp in Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya), but produced over 33000 shp on trials. 20 mixed-firing triangular Yarrow
Yarrow Shipbuilders
Yarrow Limited , often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde...
water-tube boiler
Water-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 powered the turbines at a working pressure of 17.5 atm (1,773 kPa; 257 psi). Their designed speed was 21 knots. Their maximum coal capacity ranged from 1700 to 2300 LT (1,727.3 to 2,336.9 MT) plus 420 to 630 LT (426.7 to 640.1 MT) of fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
which gave them a range of approximately 1640 nautical miles (3,037 km) at full speed or 2960 nautical miles (5,482 km) at economical speed. All of their electrical power was generated by three main Curtis 360 kilowatt turbo generator
Turbo generator
A turbo generator is a turbine directly connected to an electric generator for the generation of electric power. Large steam powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also used by steam powered turbo-electric ships.Smaller turbo-generators with gas turbines...
s and two 200 kilowatt auxiliary units.
Armament
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....
guns mounted in four triple turrets distributed the length of the ship. The guns were identical to those used in the Gangut-class ships, but the turrets were of a new and roomier design. The fore and aft turrets could traverse a total of 310° while the middle turrets covered an arc of 130° on each side. The guns could be depressed to −5° and elevated to 25° and could be loaded at any angle between −5° and +15°; their rate of fire was supposed to three rounds per minute up to 15° of elevation. The turrets could elevate at 3–4° per second and traverse at a rate of 3.2° per second. 100 rounds per gun were carried at full load. The guns fired 470.9 kilograms (1,038.2 lb) projectiles 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 762 m/s (2,500 ft/s); this provided a maximum range of 23230 metres (25,404.6 yd).
The secondary armament consisted of twenty 130 millimetres (5.1 in)/55-caliber B7 Pattern 1913
130 mm/55 B7 Pattern 1913
The 130mm/55 B7 Pattern 1913 naval gun was a 5.1-inch naval gun used predominantly on ships of the Imperial Russian Navy and later by the Soviet Navy. It was manufactured mainly by the Obukhov State Plant in St. Petersburg, as well as under licence by Vickers Limited in Great Britain...
guns mounted in casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s. They were arranged in two groups, six guns per side from the forward turret to the rear funnel and the remaining four clustered around the rear turret. Three guns per side were situated to fire ahead as that was the most likely direction of attack by torpedo boats as anticipated by the Naval General Staff. Their rate of fire ranged from five to eight rounds per minute and they were provided with 245 rounds per gun. They had a maximum range of about 15364 metres (16,802.3 yd) with a 36.86 kilograms (81.3 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 823 m/s (2,700.1 ft/s).
No anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
(AA) armament was originally planned. In October 1916, the Naval Ministry specified that four 37-caliber 4 inches (102 mm) guns of a new design were to be fitted, but they never entered service. The two older ships had three or four 75 millimetres (3 in)/50-caliber Pattern 1892 guns mounted on turret roofs. The 75 mm gun had maximum elevation of 50°. It fired a 12.63 pounds (5.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2450 ft/s (746.8 m/s) at a rate of fire of 12–15 rounds per minute. It had a maximum ceiling of less than 16000 ft (4,876.8 m). Volia used four of the newer 30-caliber 76.2 millimetres (3 in) 'Lender' AA guns, mounted on the fore and aft turrets. This had a maximum depression of 5° and a maximum elevation of 65°. It fired a 14.33 pounds (6.5 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1929 ft/s (588 m/s). It had a rate of fire of 10–12 rounds per minute and had a maximum ceiling of 19000 ft (5,791.2 m).
Four underwater 17.7 inches (45 cm) 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 were also fitted, two on each broadside in a compartment immediately abaft the forward magazine
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:...
. Imperatritsa Mariyas trials revealed problems with her magazine cooling systems where the heat generated by the ventilation system mostly negated the cooling effects of the refrigeration system. Her sisters shared this problem, which may have contributed to the magazine fire suffered by Imperatritsa Mariya that led to her loss in 1916.
The two older ships mounted Zeiss 5 metre rangefinder
Rangefinder
A rangefinder is a device that measures distance from the observer to a target, for the purposes of surveying, determining focus in photography, or accurately aiming a weapon. Some devices use active methods to measure ; others measure distance using trigonometry...
s on each conning tower, but Volia was given four 18 feet (5.5 m) Barr and Stroud
Barr and Stroud
Barr & Stroud Limited was a pioneering Scottish optical engineering firm, based in Glasgow, that played a leading role in the development of modern optics, including rangefinders, for the Royal Navy and for other branches of British Armed Forces during the 20th century...
rangefinders, one for each turret. These would provide data for the central artillery post to calculate, using the standard Geisler mechanical computer, and then transmit to the guns for the gun crew to follow.
Armor
The full-scale armor trials with the hulkHulk (ship)
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...
of the old pre-dreadnought battleship greatly affected the armor protection of the Imperatritsa Mariya-class ships. The Krupp cemented armor plates were sized to match the frames to provide support for their joints and they were locked together by a type of mortise and tenon
Mortise and tenon
The mortise and tenon joint has been used for thousands of years by woodworkers around the world to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at an angle of 90°. In its basic form it is both simple and strong. Although there are many joint variations, the basic mortise and tenon...
joint to better distribute the shock of a shell's impact. The waterline 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....
had a maximum thickness of 262.5 millimetres (10.3 in). It was continued forward and aft of the citadel by plates 217 millimetres (8.5 in) and 175 millimetres (6.9 in) thick. These reduced to 125 millimetres (4.9 in) and then to 75 millimeters just before the bow. Aft the belt thinned to 125 millimeters all the way to the stern. It had a total height of 5.25 metres (17.2 ft), 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) of which was above the design waterline and 1.75 metres (5.7 ft) below. It was backed by 75 millimeters of wood to make a better fit between the hull and the armor. The forward end of the citadel was protected by other armor and the transverse bulkhead was therefore only 25.4 millimetre (1 in) thick, barely enough to consider as splinter protection. However, the rear bulkhead had no other protection and was 100 millimetres (3.9 in) thick. These thin bulkheads left the end magazines very vulnerable to shells fired from bearings in front of or behind the ship. The upper belt was 100 millimetres (3.9 in) thick and had a height of 2.7 millimetre (0.106299212598425 in). It thinned to 75 mm forward of the casemates all the way to the bow. The casemates were also protected by a 25 millimetre (0.984251968503937 in) transverse bulkhead from axial fire as well as a 25 mm screen between each casemate. Behind the side armor was an inboard longitudinal splinter bulkhead that was 50 millimetres (2 in) thick, but the casemates had their own separate 25 mm splinter bulkhead.
The main gun turrets had sides 250 millimetres (9.8 in) thick with 125 mm roofs. 50 mm plates protected the gun ports and 25 millimetre (0.984251968503937 in) bulkheads separated each gun. The barbettes were 250 mm thick, but reduced to 125 mm below the upper deck, except in the forward and rear turrets which thinned only to 150 millimetres (5.9 in). The forward conning tower sides were 300 millimetres (11.8 in) thick with a 200 millimetres (7.9 in) roof and 250 mm supporting tube which reduced to 100 mm below the upper deck. The rear conning tower also had 300 mm sides and a 250 mm support tube, but the roof was only 100 mm thick. The funnel uptakes were protected by 75 mm of armor above the upper deck, but this reduced to 19 millimetre (0.748031496062992 in) below it. The upper deck
Deck (ship)
A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
was 37.5 millimetres (1.5 in) thick while the middle deck was 25 mm thick over the armored citadel. Outside the citadel the middle deck was 37.5 mm thick and the lower deck was 25 mm thick. Underwater protection was minimal as there was only an unarmored watertight bulkhead behind the upwards extension of the double bottom.
Construction
All three ships were laid down on 30 October 1911, but this was just a ceremonial event as the design had not yet been finalized nor the contracts signed. A contract was finally signed on 13 April 1912 with Russud that specified delivery dates of 2 September 1915 for both Imperatritsa Mariya and Imperator Aleksander III. Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya was built to a larger design that added over two million gold rubleRuble
The ruble or rouble is a unit of currency. Currently, the currency units of Belarus, Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria, and, in the past, the currency units of several other countries, notably countries influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union, are named rubles, though they all are...
s to her cost and delayed the start of her construction three months after her half-sisters. Despite the demanding schedule the ships suffered from a number of delays during construction. On 10 February 1914 changes were ordered by the Naval Ministry to incorporate the lessons learned from the full-scale armor trials conducted using the Chesma. This added almost 500 LT of weight to the ships and raised their cost by 220,000–250,000 rubles. Other delays were incurred after the war began as imported components took longer to reach the shipyards and factories switched over to war production. The construction of Imperator Aleksander III was deliberately delayed in order to accelerate the completion of her two sisters and some of her turrets were transferred to Imperatritsa Mariya as well.
Imperatritsa Mariya
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
Midilli
SMS Breslau
SMS Breslau was a Magdeburg-class light cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine , built in the early 1910s. Following her commissioning, Breslau and the battlecruiser were assigned to the Mittelmeerdivision in response to the Balkan Wars...
twice during 1916, but the cruiser escaped with nothing more than splinter damage. On 20 October 1916, she capsized and sank 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....
harbor after a magazine fire and subsequent explosion. Following a complex salvage operation, she was eventually raised and placed in drydock in May 1918. However, in the chaos of the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
and subsequent 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...
, no further repair work was done, and the ship was scrapped beginning in 1926. Her guns and their turrets, which had fallen out of the ship when she capsized, were later salvaged in 1931–33. Two of the guns were used in the 30th Coast Defense Battery defending Sevastopol during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, also known as Maksim Gor'kii I by the Germans.
Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya
Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya was launched on 6 June 1914 and completed on 18 October 1915. She was originally named Ekaterina II until 27 June 1915 and was renamed Free Russia in 1917. She engaged the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben
SMS Goeben
SMS Goeben was the second of two Moltke-class battlecruisers of the Imperial German Navy, launched in 1911 and named after the German Franco-Prussian War veteran General August Karl von Goeben...
while the latter was in Turkish service as Yavuz Sultan Selim only once, but failed to inflict anything more severe than splinter damage. She also encountered Midilli on 16 April 1916, but the cruiser used her higher speed to escape. She was scuttled on 18 June 1918 in Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
to prevent her from being turned over to the Germans as required by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
. No attempt was made to salvage her during the 1920s, but the 12-inch shells were salvaged from her wreck until a magazine explosion was triggered in 1930 by the explosive charges used to gain access to the shells.
Imperator Aleksander III
Imperator Aleksander III was launched on 2 April 1914, renamed Freedom (—Volia) in 1917 and then General Alekseyev in 1920. The ship did not take part in operations during World War I due to long delays in the delivery of its machinery from Britain, but was able to go to sea by 1917 and conduct a series of trials. On 1 May 1918 she sailed from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk to avoid capture by advancing German troops. While at Novorossiysk she received an order to scuttle on 19 June 1918, but the majority of the crew refused to do so and decided to return to Sevastopol. Upon arrival she was disarmed and only guards were left onboard, but the Germans took control on 1 October. She made a brief cruise with a German crew on 15 October, but her guns were still inoperable. After Germany's surrender she was turned over to the British, who moved her to İzmitIzmit
İzmit is a city in Turkey, administrative center of Kocaeli Province as well as the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. The city center has a population of 294.875...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. In 1919 the British brought her back to the Black Sea and turned her over to the White Russian
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...
forces, where she fought in the Russian Civil War against the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, mainly carrying out shore bombardments. With the collapse of the White Russian armies in Southern Russia in 1920, the battleship assisted in their evacuation to French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-owned Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, where she was interned in 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:...
. She was eventually scrapped there to pay her docking fees.
The French stored her guns and later donated them to the Finns during the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
, although they did not arrive until after the end of the war. The Germans captured four of these 12-inch and some 130 mm guns in transit in Narvik
Narvik
is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
harbor when they invaded Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
in April 1940. Both the Finns and Germans used these guns as 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....
. The Germans emplaced all four guns, after rebuilding them to accept German ammunition, in armored turrets in 'Batterie Mirus' on Guernsey
Occupation of the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands were occupied by Nazi Germany for much of World War II, from 30 June 1940 until the liberation on 9 May 1945. The Channel Islands are two British Crown dependencies and include the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey as well as the smaller islands of Alderney and Sark...
. The Finns used three of the 12-inch guns to repair railway gun
Railway gun
A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval ordnance, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best known are the large Krupp-built pieces used by Germany in World...
s that had fallen into their hands in 1941. They were used throughout the Continuation War
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
and the Finns were forced in 1944 to surrender them to the Soviets who used them until the 1990s.