Coastal defense battleship: names, history of creation, development and characteristics

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

In the middle of the nineteenth century. many European maritime powers began to use in their armament a specific class of warships - BBO "battleship of the coast guard" (defense). Such an innovation was created not only to protect its limits, but also because such boats were cheap to manufacture. Did BBO live up to their expectations? Let's find out by looking at the history of this type of ship and the most prominent representatives of this subclass.

Coastal defense battleship: what is it?

Military operations at sea are different from similar land "activities". First of all, they are more expensive. After all, the army is capable of walking to the place of battle on land with rifles at the ready. And to fight at sea, you need at least some kind of ship, the costgear which will always be high. After all, it will be not only a vehicle, but will also serve as a defensive "fortress".

Thanks to the industrial revolution by the middle of the nineteenth century. the military industry was able to abandon sailing and steam-sailing ships, creating warships with armor that can withstand enemy shells.

And although in just a decade of the existence of a class of armored combat boats (battleships) they became the main asset of the navy of every power, their production and equipment was very costly. Therefore, before the first such ships left the shipyards, work began on the invention of a cheaper substitute. So the subclass "battleship of coastal defense" appeared.

This name was given to a type of armored low-sided ships armed with large-caliber firearms. In fact, BBOs were the next stage in the evolution of river monitors. Their basic purpose is to patrol the coast and protect it. In the event of a naval battle, such battleships were supposed to support the flanks of the ground forces.

Basic characteristics of BBO

The subclass "battleship of coastal defense", in fact, was a hybrid of a full-fledged battleship, monitor and gunboat. From the first, he inherited the shell, from the second and third types of ships - a low side, lightness and maneuverability.

Thanks to such a successful combination, BBOs were less noticeable, moved quickly and shot better due to the placementguns. And most importantly, they were cheaper to manufacture.

Although each state (with access to the sea) developed its own variants of this subclass, all coastal defense battleships had a number of common characteristics.

• Minimum autonomy. Since such ships had constant access to land, they did not need to carry a supply of food and essentials, to equip living quarters for the crew. Everything superfluous was removed from the design of the ship. This made it lighter and cheaper, while at the same time making it unsuitable for a long stay at sea.
• Armament and armor like full-fledged armored ships. It was possible to equip each coastal defense battleship with weapons and protection at the level of the most modern (at that time) warships. Thus, having encountered a full-fledged enemy warship in coastal waters, the BBO could not only withstand its shelling, but also fight back.
• Low freeboard (monitor legacy). Due to him, the ship had a smaller silhouette - it was more difficult to hit it than a typical armored ship. The smaller side area made it possible to protect a larger percentage of the hull with armor. And the low position of the guns (near the center of gravity of the entire ship) helped them to fire more accurately. On the other hand, the low freeboard made the BBO unsuitable for navigation on the high seas. Even during a normal storm (being in the coastal zone), the gun mounts on the ship were flooded with waves and could not be used without significant risk toship stability. All household and living quarters were moved to the underwater part. Therefore, there were very few compartments above the waterline that could serve as a reserve of buoyancy in case of damage or flooding.

History (features of the use of BBO in different countries)

Since its appearance (60s of the 19th century), this kind of battleships has been actively used by all maritime powers.

By logic, the first of their admirers should have been the "Queen of the Oceans" Great Britain. Being a maritime power, she always adhered to the concept: "the best way to defend is to keep the enemy away from her shores, crushing his forces on the way." And coastal armored ships were the best suited for this purpose.

Contrary to expectations, the British didn't use the BBO very hard. Because to protect certain ports, harbors, as well as coastal facilities from enemy ships capable of breaking through, decommissioned classic battleships were used, which were not suitable for combat in the first line.

And yet the inhabitants of foggy Albion tried to introduce this variety. True, only during periods of exacerbation of foreign policy relations with France in the second half of the 60s. But in the conditions of British water possessions, BBOs did not justify themselves, and by the beginning of the 20th century. almost all of them have been decommissioned, and the government has abandoned the further production of this subclass of ships.

The French were more interested in this type of armored ships than the British. Upon learning that the latter adopted armadilloscoast guards, the descendants of the Gauls, themselves began to actively introduce the novelty into their fleet, starting in 1868. The goal was to provide coastal defense with a cheap alternative to full-fledged warships.

Despite the greater number of units, the French also did not make any particularly useful changes to the basic design. Since they considered Great Britain as their potential naval enemy, all innovations, in fact, were copying of English models.

But even in the coastal waters of the French coast, such vessels were not particularly practical. Therefore, gradually the interest of this state in coastal battleships came to naught.

In the 80s. XIX century there was a clear deterioration in relations between the Russian Empire and Germany. Guided by the principle of Si vis pacem, para bellum, the Germans began to strengthen the defenses in their own shallow coastal waters, seeking to prevent a potential attack by the Imperial B altic Fleet. Coastal defense battleships with a shallow draft were a good solution for this area. Therefore, they were more numerous than the French and British.

The first German BBO was built in 1888 and based on it, 7 more of the same ships were produced in the next 8 years. Unlike neighboring ships, the design of such ships allowed them to sail safely not only in shallow water, but also in the open sea. The Germans, distinguished by practicality, began to make them universal. Despite this advantage, by the beginning of the twentieth century. and in this country they abandoned the production of such battleships, preferring full-fledged warships.

In Austria-Hungarypriority for the second half of the nineteenth century. were ground forces. Therefore, the fleet was allocated a meager content. This lack of funds prompted the Austro-Hungarians to build coastal defense battleships. It happened in the early 90s.

The same limited funds contributed to the fact that the ships (designed in this country) were rather small both in size and with regards to weapons.

However, this was precisely their main advantage, they were more stable and fast than similar BBOs of other states, second only to full-fledged battleships. A successful design, coupled with competent use, allowed the Austro-Hungarians to press the Italian fleet in the Adriatic with their help.

Another country that began to use coast guard battleships due to a budget deficit is Greece. This happened in the second half of the 60s. The Greeks ordered all such ships in Great Britain. Despite their tiny size and slow speed, they were the pearls of the Greek fleet until the 90s.

Due to the aggravation of relations with the Ottoman Empire at the end of the nineteenth century. the Greeks needed to replenish their fleet with more powerful ships. However, all the same poverty did not allow the construction of full-fledged armored ships. Instead, the flotilla was replenished with BBOs of a more modern French-made design.

But the Netherlands by the middle of the nineteenth century. have long lost their former influence at sea. However, since the Great Discoveries, they have left a few colonies in India. In order for them to continue to exist, they had to be guarded. Like many European powers of that period,the financial capabilities of the state were modest and did not allow fully equipping the fleet with battleships. Therefore, BBOs became a budget option for the defense of the Dutch coast itself, which none of the neighbors particularly claimed. But the borders of colonies coveted by neighbors in India were guarded by more carefully expensive and reliable cruisers.

An important feature of the history of BBO in the Netherlands is that all ships of this subclass were built at domestic Dutch shipyards. For more functionality, they had high sides, which made it possible to use them as a seaworthy transport.

Sweden began to fully develop coastal defense battleships. Due to strained neighborly relations with the Russian Empire, the country's leadership actively equipped the fleet with small but maneuverable armored ships that were supposed to patrol its shores. At first, they created their own monitors ("Loke", "John Ericsson"), but because of their low seaworthiness and low speed, they began to use BBO.

During 20 years of their use, 5 basic models were developed, which helped to raise the prestige of Sweden as a maritime power.

With the beginning of the new century, this type of ships continued to be actively used in this country, and by the beginning of World War I, a qualitatively new type of coastal defense battleship, the Sverye, was introduced. Ships of this model functioned as part of the fleet until the 50s. XX century.

But the development of new BBOs in Sweden was curtailed before the start of the war with Nazi Germany. The fact is that the new realities,required a different approach. Therefore, although the Swedes used coastal defense battleships during World War II, the main emphasis was now on fast and small cruisers.

In neighboring Norway, BBOs were just as dearly loved. This was due not only to the proximity, but also to the agreement on the coordination of naval programs between these countries. However, here until the last decade of the nineteenth century. monitors were used, and only in the last five years it was decided to try to build 2 battleships for the fleet. This was instructed to be done by a British company, which proved itself so well that it received an order for 2 more similar vessels.

These 4 BBOs were the most powerful ships in the Norwegian Navy for the next 40 years. In fairness, it is important to note: the fact that the Norwegians, with such a meager number of warships, managed to protect the coast of the country from encroachment, is not so much their merit as the harsh climate.

In the Kingdom of Denmark for a long time they could not develop a unified policy regarding the BBO. Starting with medium-sized ships, by the end of the 90s they began to specialize in small battleships for the coast guard. Practice soon showed their impracticality, so the Danes began to focus on Swedish shipbuilding. This didn't help much either. Therefore, BBOs in Denmark have always been weak, and soon they were completely replaced by more advanced ships.

The last in Europe to use such vessels were in Finland. This happened as early as 1927. This "belatedness" made it possible to take advantage of the developments of other states and makethe most convenient and cheapest ships for patrolling the coastal zone. Combining the dimensions of the Danish "Niels Yuel" with the weapons equipment of the Swedish "Sverje", the designers managed to create a very good coastal defense battleship "Väinemäinen". In parallel with it, the construction of the second ship of this type, the Ilmarinen, began. These BBOs were the only ships of their kind in the Finnish fleet and, oddly enough, the most powerful of all.

It is noteworthy that after World War II, the Finnish coastal defense battleship Väinemäinen was sold to the USSR, where it was renamed Vyborg. But the Ilmarinen sank in 1941, running into a Soviet mine.

Also, BBOs were part of the fleet of non-European countries. They were used in Argentina ("Independencia", "Libertada"), Thailand ("Sri Aetha") and Brazil ("Marshal Deodoru").

History of BBO in the Russian Empire

In Russia, coastal defense battleships have gained particular popularity. Here they were called "turret armored boats". They replaced the American monitors, the production of which was unofficially helped by US citizens.

The appearance of coastal defense battleships in Russia was justified by several factors.

• The need to quickly create a large armored fleet.
• Ships of this type were cheaper to manufacture than full-fledged battleships. Due to this, it was possible to expand the imperial fleet faster.
• BBO were chosen asan analogue of the Swedish flotilla for possible countermeasures.

The history of coastal armored ships in the empire began in 1861. It was then that the first Russian BBO "Pervenets" was ordered in Britain. In the future, due to the deterioration of British-Russian relations, all other ships were built directly in the Russian Empire itself. On the basis of "Firstborn" to protect the capital from invasion from the sea, the "Kremlin" and "Don't touch me" were created.

In the future, the design of the BBO was closer to American monitors. Based on their design, over the next few years, 10 ships were built under the general name "Hurricane". Their purpose is to defend the Kronstadt mine and artillery position, as well as the Gulf of Finland, sea approaches to the capital of the empire.

In addition to them, armored ships of the "Rusalka" and "Smerch" varieties, as well as the coastal defense battleship "Admiral Greig" and "Admiral Lazarev" were purchased. The last 2 were low-sided frigates.

All of the listed ships had a powerful armor coating, but were not suitable for use at sea.

The so-called "priests" can be considered truly Russian. These are 2 round BBOs, designed by Vice Admiral Popov. One of them was named after its creator "Vice-Admiral Popov", the second - "Novgorod".

The coastal defense battleship of this kind had an unusual shape (circle), and to this day makes scientists argue about its expediency.

A new stage in the history of the BBO was the project of E. N. Gulyaev. On its basis, the coastal defense battleship Admiral Senyavin was built. The urgent need for ships of this type led to the fact that, not having time to finish the previous one, the construction of the second and third ships of this type was started. The ship, laid down in 1892, was named the coastal defense battleship "Admiral Ushakov".

After 2 years, work began on the third court of this type. He received the name "General-Admiral Apraksin".

The coastal defense battleship, built last, gained an advantage over the first two. The fact is that during the work on them it turned out that the planned weapons were too heavy for such a design. Therefore, only 3 guns (254 mm) were left at the coastal defense battleship "General-Admiral Apraksin". Otherwise, the average caliber has not changed. Thus, each such battleship of coastal defense ("Ushakov", "Senyavin" and "Apraksin") had a similar structure. They became the last BBOs created in the Russian Empire. After them, the development of this type of ships ceased, as they did not perform well during the years of the Russian-Japanese war. Being unable to fully fight on the high seas, most of the "admirals" and "hurricanes" sank or were captured by opponents during battles in the Pacific. According to BBO specialist V. G. Andrienko, coastal defense battleshipsso ingloriously participated in the Japanese campaign because they were not intended for such conditions. The death or capture of these ships is the fault of the inconsistency of the naval leadership.

Having considered the history of the creation and development of BBO, it is worth paying attention to the characteristics of the most famous models by countries where they were used.

British BBOs

Battleships of this subclass were not particularly used by the British. Therefore, they did not introduce significant innovations in their development.

The most famous armored coastal defense ship here was the Glatton, whose design was "borrowed" from the US monitor Dictator. Among the English innovations were the following.

• Armored parapet protecting a ship's artillery mount and ship's superstructure.
• Extremely low side (the lowest of all British ships).
• Armament - muzzle-loading guns (305 mm). These were the most powerful guns of the British fleet. There were 2 of them on the Glatton.
• Share of displacement for booking - 35%. It was a record at the time.

In addition to the "Glatton", a variety of "Cyclops" was developed on the basis of the battleships "Cerberus". The novelty was distinguished by:

• more guns (4) and their smaller caliber (254mm);
• thinner armor;
• excessive draft, which negatively affected seaworthiness.

French BBO

The first armored ships in the service of France were 4 British "Cerberus",made in 1868-1874

The French alternative to the coastal defense battleship appeared only in the first half of the 80s. These were ships of the Tempet and Tonner type. Although they copied the main developments of the British, there were innovations. This is:

• one turret with two heavy cannons (270mm);
• a narrow superstructure that allows guns to fire directly into the stern of an enemy ship.

The next step in the evolution of the French BBO was "Tonnan" (1884). The only difference was the larger caliber of the gun (340 mm). On its basis, a new type of "Fourier" was created with artillery in towers (previously it was located in barbets).

German "Siegfried"

This subclass was represented by only one type of "Siegfried" in the Navy of the German Empire.

His distinguishing characteristics were as follows.

• Displacement 4 kilotons.
• Speed 14.5 knots.
• Three guns (240 mm) placed on barbette mounts.
• High side (compared to German and French vessels of this type).

Austro-Hungarian "Monarch"

The particularly successful design of ships in this country was the merit of the outstanding engineer Siegfried Popper. It was he who created the very successful Monarch model.

• Displacement - less than 6 kilotons.
• The caliber of guns is 240 mm.

Greek BBO

Unlike the rest, the Greeks had many varieties of such ships.

The first was "BasileusGeorgios":

• displacement less than 2 kilotons;
• weak weapons;
• slow move;
• strong armor.

Based on this BBO designed "Vasilisa Olga":

• displacement 2.03 kilotons;
• speed 10 knots.

The Izdra type was the last Greek variety:

• displacement up to 5,415 kilotons;
• speed 17.5 knots;

BBO Netherlands

Evertsen became the first full-fledged Dutch court of this type:

• displacement 3.5 kilotons;
• speed 16 knots;
• 5 guns: 2 x 150mm and 3 x 210mm.

Despite the maneuverability and seaworthiness, the modest size of the ships led to the introduction of their more advanced counterpart - "Kenegen Regentes". In addition to a displacement of up to 5 kilotons, the ships had a full armor belt along the waterline and 6 guns (2 x 210 mm and 4 x 150 mm).

"Kenegen Regentes" in a certain way gave birth to 2 such types of Dutch ships as "Marten Harpertszoon Tromp" (all 150 mm guns instead of casemates were placed in towers) and "Jacob van Heemskerk" (6 guns).

Swedish BBO

The Svea became the first ship of this type for the Swedes:

• displacement 3 kilotons;
• speed 15-16 knots;
• reinforced armor;
• light draft;
• basic armament: 2 x 254mm and 4 x 152mm.

Good performance "Svea" allowed on its basiscreate "Odin", which differed only in the location of the guns.

The next step was "Dristigeten" with a new main gun caliber - 210 mm. Based on this model in the early twentieth century. "Eran" appeared:

• faster;
• lighter armor;
• medium caliber is placed in towers instead of casemates.

The pearl of the pre-war period for the Swedes was "Oscar II":

• displacement 4 kilotons;
• speed 18 knots;
• medium caliber artillery is placed in two-gun turrets.

After the start of World War I, the most famous ship of this kind was created in Sweden - the coastal defense battleship Sverje. Unlike all the previous ones, it was large, but at the same time fast. Its base stats are:

• displacement 8 kilotons;
• speed 22.5 - 23.2 knots;
• reinforced armor;
• Main caliber guns 283 mm each, placed in two-gun turrets.

The Sverje-class coastal defense battleships gradually replaced the Oscar II and were the main naval combat unit until the sunset of the BBO in Sweden.

Norwegian "Harald Haarfagrfe"

The Norwegians' main ship of this subclass was "Harald Haarfagrfe" with the following characteristics:

• displacement 4 kilotons;
• speed 17 knots;
• 2 210mm guns placed in turrets fore and aft.

The improved version of "Norge" was almost a copy of "Harald". It was distinguished only by its large size, less thick armor, and the average caliber of guns 152 mm.

Danish BBOs

The first full-fledged Danish coastal patrol battleship was called "Iver Hvitfeld":

• displacement 3, 3 kilotons;
• 2 guns (260 mm) in barbette mounts and small-caliber (120 mm).

The honor of creating the smallest BBO in the world belongs to the people of Denmark. This is Skjeld:

• displacement 2 kilotons;
• draft 4 m;
• 1 cannon in the bow turret (240mm) and 3 (120mm) in single turret mounts aft.

The impracticality of this type led to its replacement with a series of 3 Herluf Trolle vessels. Despite the common name, all ships had differences in details, but their armament was identical: 2 cannons (240 mm) in single turrets and 4 (150 mm) each as medium-caliber artillery.

The last battleship of this subclass was "Niels Yuel". It is noteworthy that they built it for 9 years, amending the initial design. When the work on them was completed, he received the following characteristics:

• displacement 4 kilotons;
• 10 guns (150 mm), later supplemented with anti-aircraft guns.

Finnish coastal defense battleships

The first BBO in this country was called "Väinemäinen".

During its development,engineers tried to combine in it the dimension of the Danish "Niels Yuel" with the weapons of the Swedish "Swarje". The resulting sudo had the following characteristics:

• displacement up to 4 kilotons.
• speed 15 knots.

Armament: artillery 4 guns of 254 mm and 8 of 105 mm. Anti-aircraft artillery: 4 "Winkers" 40 mm each and 2 "Madsen" 20 mm each.

The second ship of the Finns "Ilmarinen" became the first surface ship, which has a diesel power plant. Otherwise, he had similar characteristics to the "Väinemäinen". It differed only in a smaller displacement (3.5 kilotons) and half the number of artillery pieces.

BBO of the Russian Empire

The "Firstborn" had the following characteristics:

• displacement 3.6 kilotons;
• speed 8.5 knots.

Armament has changed over the years. Initially, these were 26 smoothbore guns (196 mm). In 1877-1891. 17 rifled guns (87 mm, 107 mm, 152 mm, 203 mm), since 1891 - again more than 20 (37 mm, 47 mm, 87 mm, 120 mm, 152 mm, 203 mm).

All ten Hurricane-class ships had the following properties:

• displacement from 1,476 to 1,565 kilotons;
• speed 5, 75 - 7, 75 knots;
• armament with two cannons (229 mm) on all BBOs, except "Unicorn" (two 273 mm each).

The turret battleship called "Mermaid" was distinguished by the following characteristics:

• displacement 2, 1 kiloton;
• speed 9 knots;
• armament 4 guns 229 eachmm, 8 x 87 mm and 5 x 37 mm.

Smerch was a little smaller and indicators:

• displacement 1.5 kilotons;
• speed 8, 3 knots.

The Smerch's armament initially consisted of 2 cannons of 196 mm each. In 1867-1870. - was expanded to 2 guns of 203 mm. In 1870-1880. there were 2 guns of 229 mm each, 1 Gatling gun (16 mm), and 1 Engstrom (44 mm).

The coastal defense battleship "Admiral Greig" joined the B altic Fleet in 1869. Its properties were as follows:

• displacement 3.5 kilotons;
• speed 9 knots;
• armament: 3 double-barreled Kolz turrets (229 mm), 4 Krupp guns (87 mm).

The Admiral Lazarev-class armored frigate had the following basic characteristics:

• displacement 3,881 kilotons;
• speed 9, 54 - 10, 4 knots;
• armament before 1878. consisted of 6 guns (229 mm), after it - 4 Krupp guns (87 mm), 1 gun - 44 mm.

Coastal defense battleships of the "Admiral Senyavin" type belonged not only to the Russian fleet, but also to the Japanese. There, this type of BBO was called "Mishima". In total, three ships of the same type were built: the coastal defense battleship "Admiral Ushakov", "Admiral Senyavin" and "General-Admiral Apraksin" with the following characteristics:

• displacement 4, 648 kilotons;
• speed 15, 2 knots.

Regardingweapons, then "Ushakov" and "Senyavin" had it: 4 guns of 254 mm, 4 of 120 mm, 6 of 47 mm, 18 of 37 and 2 of 64 mm. Also, BBOs were equipped with 4 surface torpedo tubes of 381 mm each. Defense "Apraksin". Like his "brothers", he was equipped with similar torpedo tubes, as well as 3 x 254 mm, 4 x 120 mm, 10 x 47 mm, 12 x 37 mm and 2 x 64 mm.

The end of the BBO era

By the beginning of the twentieth century. this category of warships has become a vestige for most navies. Moreover, the states, whose sphere of interests extended to the oceans, were the first to abandon such battleships. While in countries where BBOs continued to be used, the coasts adjacent to them abounded in bays of small sizes, bays, and also skerries. For this reason, while England, France and Great Britain at the beginning of the new century abandoned the further production of such ships, the Scandinavian powers used them for a long time. As a result, the Russian Empire was also in no hurry to abandon such courts.

In the next 20 years, these BBO adherents began to slowly get rid of them. Several reasons contributed to this.

• In order to maintain the combat effectiveness of this subclass of battleships, new models had to be equipped with expensive equipment and weapons. All these alterations were reflected in the final price, which was very high. From the class of budgetary warships, coastal defense battleships turned into very costly, but at the same time inferior combat units. For the fleet of any of the leading marinestates, they have become an extra item of expenditure.
• BBOs are obsolete. Unable to fight on the high seas, their main advantage was the ability to keep the enemy away from the shore at firing distance. However, in the first half of the twentieth century. guns with a longer firing range (up to 20 km) began to appear, used on military ships of a new type. They no longer needed to come close to the shore to strike at it. And the development of military aviation and submarines (capable of quickly and unhindered approaching the coast) drove the final nail into the coffin of the BBO.

By the end of the 30s. the new century, the production of such vessels almost ceased. Available ships began to be used only as patrols or, having disarmed, were given to the needs of civilian fleets. Only the B altic countries and the USSR continued to use such vessels, and even then, so that their weapons matched each other. But they also gradually stopped developing this subclass of armadillos.

After the Second World War, the still existing BBOs were decommissioned and dismantled, becoming history.