Russian battleship Ioann Zlatoust
Encyclopedia
Ioann Zlatoust was an pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy
's Black Sea Fleet
. She was built before World War I
and her completion was greatly delayed by changes made to reflect the lessons of the Russo-Japanese War
of 1905. She was the second ship of her class
.
She and her sister ship
were the most modern ships in the Black Sea Fleet when World War I began and formed the core of the fleet for the first year of the war, before the dreadnought
s entered service. Ioann Zlatoust and Evstafi forced the German battlecruiser
to disengage during the Battle of Cape Sarych
shortly after Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire in late 1914. She covered several bombardments of the Bosphorus fortifications in early 1915, including one where she was attacked by the Goeben, but Ioann Zlatoust, together with the other Russian pre-dreadnoughts, managed to drive her off. Ioann Zlatoust was relegated to secondary roles after the first dreadnought entered service in late 1915 and reduced to reserve in 1918 in Sevastopol
.
Ioann Zlatoust was captured when the Germans took the city in May 1918 and was turned over to the Allies
after the Armistice in November 1918. Her engines were destroyed in 1919 by the British when they withdrew from Sevastopol to prevent the advancing Bolsheviks from using the ship against the White guards
. She was abandoned when the Whites evacuated the Crimea
in 1920 and was scrap
ped by the Soviets in 1922–23.
of 74 feet (22.6 m) and a maximum draft
of 28 ft (8.5 m). Her displacement was 12855 long tons (13,061.3 t) as completed.
She had two 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines driving two propeller
s. 22 Belleville water-tube boiler
s provided steam to the engines. The engines had a total designed output of 10600 ihp and gave a top speed of 16 knots. At full load she carried 1100 long tons (1,118 MT) of coal that provided her a range of 2100 nautical miles (3,889.2 km) at a speed of 10 knots (5.4 m/s). Ioann Zlatoust ran her propulsion trials
on 26 July 1910 and reached a maximum speed of 16.2 knots (8.8 m/s) and her engines produced a total of 10623 ihp. The navy was not satisfied and ran another test on 11 August which revealed cracks in the port engine's medium pressure cylinder. A final test was run on 29 November and the ship's horsepower increased slightly to 10990 ihp.
Ioann Zlatousts Obukhovskii 12-inch Pattern 1895 40-calibre
guns were mounted in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft. Each turret had a firing arc of 260°. All four 8 inches (20 cm) 50-calibre Pattern 1905 guns were mounted in the corners of the superstructure in armoured casemate
s. These guns had a firing arc of 120° and could fire straight ahead or astern. The dozen 6 inches (15 cm) Canet Pattern
1892 45-calibre guns were mounted in the lower casemate
s. The anti-torpedo boat
armament consisted of 14 75 millimetres (3 in) Canet Pattern 1892 50-calibre guns mounted in sponsons on the upper deck, protected by gun shields. She carried two 17.7 inches (449.6 mm) torpedo tube
s on the broadside
aft.
on top of each of her turrets during 1915 and screens were added on top of her funnels to keep out light bombs. She was initially received four 75-millimetre guns, but this was later altered to a pair of 75 mm guns and another pair of 63.5 millimetres (2.5 in) guns.
, however, was considerably delayed by a number of changes made as the navy digested the lessons of the Russo-Japanese War. For example there was a period of seven months in 1907 where virtually no work was done on the ship and she was not completed until 1 April 1911. Ioann Zlatousts turrets had originally been intended for a reconstruction of the elderly pre-dreadnought , but they were diverted to Ioann Zlatoust after that reconstruction was cancelled.
Before the beginning of World War I
the Black Sea Fleet experimented with concentrating fire from several ships under the control of a "master ship". They had to be identically armed and were equipped with additional radio
gear to transmit and receive range and deflection data. Ioann Zlatoust became the master ship for the Black Sea Fleet, working with Evstafi and .
Two weeks after the Russian declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire
on 2 November 1914, the Black Sea Fleet, comprising the pre-dreadnoughts Evstafi, Ioann Zlatoust, Pantelimon, , , and three cruisers were escorted by three destroyer
s and 11 torpedo boat
s set out on 15 November to bombard Trebizond. They did this successfully on the morning of 17 November and they turned west to hunt for Turkish shipping along the Anatolia
n coast before setting course for Sevastopol later that afternoon. They were intercepted by the German battlecruiser Goeben and the light cruiser
the following day in what came to be known as the Battle of Cape Sarych. Despite the noon hour the conditions were foggy and the capital ships initially did not spot each other. Evstafi was the lead ship, but held her fire until Ioann Zlatoust, the master ship, could see Goeben. When the gunnery commands were finally received they showed a range over 4000 yards (3,657.6 m) in excess of Evstafis own estimate of 7700 yards (7,040.9 m), so Evstafi opened fire using her own data before the Goeben turned to unmask its broadside. Evstafi scored a hit with her first salvo as a 12-inch shell partially penetrated the armour casemate protecting one of Goebens 15 centimetres (5.9 in) secondary guns. It detonated some of the ready-use ammunition, starting a fire that burnt out the casemate and killed its crew. That was, however, the only hit on Goeben, although it caused her to disengage from the Russian squadron. Ioann Zlatoust merely fired six shells herself as only her forward turret could see Goeben.
On 9 January 1915 Breslau and the encountered the Russian fleet while returning from a mission in the eastern part of the Black Sea. Breslau hit Evstafis forward turret, temporarily putting it out of action, and the two cruisers escaped using their superior speed. Evstafi and Ioann Zlatoust served as the covering force for several bombardment missions of the Bosphorus between 18 March and 9 May 1915. The two earlier bombardments were uneventful, but the 9 May bombardment provoked a reaction as Goeben intercepted the Russian battleships after they had been spotted by the . Both forces turned on parallel courses and opened fire at the range of 17400 yards (15,910.6 m). Neither side scored a hit although Goeben had multiple near-misses on Evstafi. Vice Admiral
Andrei Eberhardt
ordered his ships to make only 5 knots (2.7 m/s) while Goeben was making 25 knots (13.6 m/s). Goeben was unable to cross the T
of the Russian ships, despite its superior speed, as they were continually turning. This manoeuvre bought enough time that Tri Sviatitelia and Pantelimon were able to rejoin the other two ships before they could start shelling the Ottoman forts. Pantelimon hit Goeben twice before the German ship broke contact after 22 minutes of firing. With the fleet assembled Admiral Eberhardt attempted to pursue the enemy battlecruiser, but was unsuccessful.
On 1 August 1915, Ioann Zlatoust and all the other pre-dreadnoughts were transferred to the 2nd Battleship Brigade, after the dreadnought entered service. On 1 October the new dreadnought provided cover while Ioann Zlatoust and Pantelimon bombarded Zonguldak
and Evstafi shelled the nearby town of Kozlu. Both Evstafi-class ships participated in the second bombardment of Varna
in May 1916.
Evstafi and Ioann Zlatoust were reduced to reserve in March 1918 in Sevastopol. Immobile, they were captured there by the Germans in May 1918 and handed over to the Allies the following December. The British wrecked both ships' engines 22–24 April 1919 when they left the Crimea
to prevent the advancing Bolsheviks from using them against the White Russians. They were captured by both sides during the Russian Civil War
, but were abandoned by the White Russians when they evacuated the Crimea in November 1920. The ships was scrapped in 1922–23, although they were not struck from the Navy List until 21 November 1925.
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...
's 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....
. She was built before 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...
and her completion was greatly delayed by changes made to reflect the lessons of the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
of 1905. She was the second ship of her class
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....
.
She and her sister ship
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...
were the most modern ships in the Black Sea Fleet when World War I began and formed the core of the fleet for the first year of the war, before the dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
s entered service. Ioann Zlatoust and Evstafi forced the German battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
to disengage during the Battle of Cape Sarych
Battle of Cape Sarych
The Battle of Cape Sarych was a naval engagement fought off the coast of Cape Sarych during the First World War. In November 1914, two modern Ottoman warships, a light cruiser and a battlecruiser, under the German Admiral Wilhelm Souchon engaged a Russian fleet including 5 obsolescent...
shortly after Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire in late 1914. She covered several bombardments of the Bosphorus fortifications in early 1915, including one where she was attacked by the Goeben, but Ioann Zlatoust, together with the other Russian pre-dreadnoughts, managed to drive her off. Ioann Zlatoust was relegated to secondary roles after the first dreadnought entered service in late 1915 and reduced to reserve in 1918 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....
.
Ioann Zlatoust was captured when the Germans took the city in May 1918 and was turned over to the 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...
after the Armistice in November 1918. Her engines were destroyed in 1919 by the British when they withdrew from Sevastopol to prevent the advancing Bolsheviks from using the ship against the White guards
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...
. She was abandoned when the Whites evacuated 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 1920 and was 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 by the Soviets in 1922–23.
Description
Ioann Zlatoust was 379 feet (115.5 m) long at the waterline and 385 inch long overall. She 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 74 feet (22.6 m) and a maximum 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 28 ft (8.5 m). Her displacement was 12855 long tons (13,061.3 t) as completed.
She had two 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines driving two 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. 22 Belleville 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 provided steam to the engines. The engines had a total designed output of 10600 ihp and gave a top speed of 16 knots. At full load she carried 1100 long tons (1,118 MT) of coal that provided her a range of 2100 nautical miles (3,889.2 km) at a speed of 10 knots (5.4 m/s). Ioann Zlatoust ran her propulsion trials
Sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...
on 26 July 1910 and reached a maximum speed of 16.2 knots (8.8 m/s) and her engines produced a total of 10623 ihp. The navy was not satisfied and ran another test on 11 August which revealed cracks in the port engine's medium pressure cylinder. A final test was run on 29 November and the ship's horsepower increased slightly to 10990 ihp.
Ioann Zlatousts Obukhovskii 12-inch Pattern 1895 40-calibre
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 were mounted in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft. Each turret had a firing arc of 260°. All four 8 inches (20 cm) 50-calibre Pattern 1905 guns were mounted in the corners of the superstructure in armoured 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. These guns had a firing arc of 120° and could fire straight ahead or astern. The dozen 6 inches (15 cm) Canet Pattern
Canet guns
The Canet guns were a series of weapon systems developed by the French engineer Gustave Canet , who was design engineer for Schneider et Cie of Le Creusot.-320 mm naval guns:...
1892 45-calibre guns were mounted in the lower 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. The 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...
armament consisted of 14 75 millimetres (3 in) Canet Pattern 1892 50-calibre guns mounted in sponsons on the upper deck, protected by gun shields. She carried two 17.7 inches (449.6 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 on the 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:...
aft.
Wartime modifications
Ioann Zlatoust was fitted with anti-aircraft gunsAnti-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...
on top of each of her turrets during 1915 and screens were added on top of her funnels to keep out light bombs. She was initially received four 75-millimetre guns, but this was later altered to a pair of 75 mm guns and another pair of 63.5 millimetres (2.5 in) guns.
Service history
Construction of Ioann Zlatoust began on 14 November 1903, well before the formal keel-laying ceremony on 13 November 1904. Progress was relatively quick, despite the disruptions caused by the 1905 Revolution, and she was launched on 13 May 1906. Fitting-outFitting-out
Fitting-out, or "outfitting”, is the process in modern shipbuilding that follows the float-out of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her owners...
, however, was considerably delayed by a number of changes made as the navy digested the lessons of the Russo-Japanese War. For example there was a period of seven months in 1907 where virtually no work was done on the ship and she was not completed until 1 April 1911. Ioann Zlatousts turrets had originally been intended for a reconstruction of the elderly pre-dreadnought , but they were diverted to Ioann Zlatoust after that reconstruction was cancelled.
Before the beginning of 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...
the Black Sea Fleet experimented with concentrating fire from several ships under the control of a "master ship". They had to be identically armed and were equipped with additional radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
gear to transmit and receive range and deflection data. Ioann Zlatoust became the master ship for the Black Sea Fleet, working with Evstafi and .
Two weeks after the Russian declaration of war on 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...
on 2 November 1914, the Black Sea Fleet, comprising the pre-dreadnoughts Evstafi, Ioann Zlatoust, Pantelimon, , , and three cruisers were escorted by three 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 and 11 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 set out on 15 November to bombard Trebizond. They did this successfully on the morning of 17 November and they turned west to hunt for Turkish shipping along the Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n coast before setting course for Sevastopol later that afternoon. They were intercepted by the German battlecruiser Goeben and the 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...
the following day in what came to be known as the Battle of Cape Sarych. Despite the noon hour the conditions were foggy and the capital ships initially did not spot each other. Evstafi was the lead ship, but held her fire until Ioann Zlatoust, the master ship, could see Goeben. When the gunnery commands were finally received they showed a range over 4000 yards (3,657.6 m) in excess of Evstafis own estimate of 7700 yards (7,040.9 m), so Evstafi opened fire using her own data before the Goeben turned to unmask its broadside. Evstafi scored a hit with her first salvo as a 12-inch shell partially penetrated the armour casemate protecting one of Goebens 15 centimetres (5.9 in) secondary guns. It detonated some of the ready-use ammunition, starting a fire that burnt out the casemate and killed its crew. That was, however, the only hit on Goeben, although it caused her to disengage from the Russian squadron. Ioann Zlatoust merely fired six shells herself as only her forward turret could see Goeben.
On 9 January 1915 Breslau and the encountered the Russian fleet while returning from a mission in the eastern part of the Black Sea. Breslau hit Evstafis forward turret, temporarily putting it out of action, and the two cruisers escaped using their superior speed. Evstafi and Ioann Zlatoust served as the covering force for several bombardment missions of the Bosphorus between 18 March and 9 May 1915. The two earlier bombardments were uneventful, but the 9 May bombardment provoked a reaction as Goeben intercepted the Russian battleships after they had been spotted by the . Both forces turned on parallel courses and opened fire at the range of 17400 yards (15,910.6 m). Neither side scored a hit although Goeben had multiple near-misses on Evstafi. Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Andrei Eberhardt
Andrei Eberhardt
Andrei Augostovich Eberhardt - was an Admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy of Swedish ancestry.Eberhardt graduated from the Marine Cadet Corps in 1878. From 1882 to 1884 he served in the Pacific Fleet as a signals officer...
ordered his ships to make only 5 knots (2.7 m/s) while Goeben was making 25 knots (13.6 m/s). Goeben was unable to cross the T
Crossing the T
Crossing the T or Capping the T is a classic naval warfare tactic attempted from the late 19th to mid 20th century, in which a line of warships crossed in front of a line of enemy ships, allowing the crossing line to bring all their guns to bear while receiving fire from only the forward guns of...
of the Russian ships, despite its superior speed, as they were continually turning. This manoeuvre bought enough time that Tri Sviatitelia and Pantelimon were able to rejoin the other two ships before they could start shelling the Ottoman forts. Pantelimon hit Goeben twice before the German ship broke contact after 22 minutes of firing. With the fleet assembled Admiral Eberhardt attempted to pursue the enemy battlecruiser, but was unsuccessful.
On 1 August 1915, Ioann Zlatoust and all the other pre-dreadnoughts were transferred to the 2nd Battleship Brigade, after the dreadnought entered service. On 1 October the new dreadnought provided cover while Ioann Zlatoust and Pantelimon bombarded Zonguldak
Zonguldak
Zonguldak is a city and the capital of Zonguldak Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Its population, according to the 2009 census, was 108,792. It is an important port on the Black Sea because of the coal mining in Zonguldak Province...
and Evstafi shelled the nearby town of Kozlu. Both Evstafi-class ships participated in the second bombardment of Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
in May 1916.
Evstafi and Ioann Zlatoust were reduced to reserve in March 1918 in Sevastopol. Immobile, they were captured there by the Germans in May 1918 and handed over to the Allies the following December. The British wrecked both ships' engines 22–24 April 1919 when they left 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...
to prevent the advancing Bolsheviks from using them against the White Russians. They were 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 were abandoned by the White Russians when they evacuated the Crimea in November 1920. The ships was scrapped in 1922–23, although they were not struck from the Navy List until 21 November 1925.