In the article we will talk about the cruiser "Russia". Consider the history of its creation, design, high-profile incidents - everything you would like to know about this legendary warship.
Quick reference
For starters, it's worth noting that the Rossiya is an armored cruiser of the imperial and Soviet navies. It was built at the shipyard of the B altic Shipyard according to the engineering project of N. E. Titov. Construction began in the autumn of 1893. Two years later, namely in the spring of 1895, the cruiser Rossiya was launched for the first time. In September 1897 it was commissioned. In 1921, he was withdrawn from the fleet, and a year later he was given for disassembly.
The length was 144.2 m, width - 2.9 m, height - 8 m. Three steam engines and two water-tube boilers acted as the engine. The speed was 36.6 km/h. The cruiser was equipped with torpedo weapons.
Design
The armored cruiser "Rossiya" is a continuation of the development of ideas started in the famous project "Rurik". However, in the first case, special attention was paid to the autonomy of navigation and its range, to achieve which it was necessary to lower the speed, armament, and armor. Mainthe differences between "Russia" and "Rurik" also lie in the fact that this ship was equipped with two armored belts. Also, the engineers abandoned the heavy mast. Part of the artillery was already placed in the casemates, and protective traverses were installed in the battery decks.
The main difference between "Russia" and similar inventions of other countries is the height and length. At that time, the ship was the owner of an incredible amount of displacement. The second known name of the cruiser "Russia" is "Rurik No. 2". That is what N. Chikhachev, who worked as the manager of the Naval Ministry, called him.
So, the design of this cruiser began even before the Rurik was launched. The new militarized vessel was planned to remain the same size, but to increase armament and armor. Admiral N. Chikhachev proposed replacing six 120 mm guns with four 152 mm guns. Acceptable angles of the bow guns were provided by moving the conning tower. At the same time, the aft 152-mm gun was moved from the battery deck. Now she was on the poop deck. However, the engineers then decided not to transfer the running gun from the forecastle, but did so only in 1904. It was also supposed to install the latest 75-mm cartridge guns here, but the difficulty was in the different-caliber artillery. At the same time, separating semi-bulkheads were installed between various guns in casemates. The thickness of the armor has increased from 37 mm to 305 mm in the combat tube. Also, the unprotected parts of the elevator shafts were covered with 76-mm armor, although they remained completely open on Rurik.
Building
The armored cruiser Rossiya took a very long time to build. This was due to various design inconsistencies that arose due to the creation of a covered stone boathouse. It was also necessary to completely rebuild the shipbuilding workshop. However, already in the spring of 1895, more than 1,400 tons of metal, including 31 tons of a bronze stem, were needed to make the hull. Already in August propeller shaft brackets were installed. At the same time, the hull of the ship began to be sheathed with wood and copper. In October, the Belleville water-tube boilers arrived from France. By this time, the plant was completing the assembly of the main machines.
The plant planned in 1896 to submit the cruiser to sea trials, so that in 12 months it would be completely ready. However, the well-known Mr. N. Chikhachev demanded the final delivery of the ship in the fall of 1896. At the same time, he was aware that the Obukhov plant planned to deliver 152-mm guns no earlier than the spring of 1898. But, despite this, the process of manufacturing various guns and mine weapons was accelerated. Some of the armor plates were brought from the USA. They were delivered from the Andrew Carnegie factory. The American had to pay considerable sums for the urgency of fulfilling the order.
Thanks to the acceleration of work, the launching was carried out in the spring of 1896. However, after that, active work began on the installation of armor plates, which lasted until the end of summer. The workers did not have time to complete the project and the likelihood that the unfinished ship would have been left to spend the winter was quite high. To prevent this from happening, we decided to hold the laststage of work in the port of Libava, which also had to be completed urgently. The completion of the construction of the ship was observed by the junior assistant of the shipbuilder A. Moiseeva.
Incident
Already by the beginning of October 1896, a number of mooring tests were successfully carried out on the cruiser Rossiya. For the first time on October 5, the Andreevsky pennant, the flag were raised on deck, the anthem sounded. The commander's report noted that up to 600 privates, about 70 non-commissioned officers and 20 officers were on the ship.
When we first entered the Kronstadt raid, there was a very strong wind. When the cruiser was already pressed against the parking lot on the Big Roadstead, the bow was thrown sharply to the side in one strong gust. It was impossible to influence the weather conditions in any way, so the entire board was pressed to the shallows, which led to the flooding of individual compartments. Meanwhile, this is what helped soften the blow.
The commanders decided to refloat the ship with the help of the Sisoy Veliky squadron battleship and the Admiral Ushakov armored coast guard ship, but all these attempts were doomed to failure, as the water level dropped sharply and the cruiser sat down tightly on the very day.
Problem Solving
On October 27, in the morning, Admiral P. Tyrtov, a manager from the Naval Ministry, arrived at the accident site. He agreed to deepening the soil under the port side, as this would help to push the ship into a specially dug channel. At the same time, in Helsingfors, Libava and St. Petersburg, they began to actively prepare suction and dredge shells. At the endOctober, when the water level rose again, another attempt was made to pull the ship aground with the help of a tugboat. But this time, the actions were unsuccessful.
The next day, the flag of Rear Admiral V. Messer was hoisted on the ship, who assumed full responsibility for managing rescue operations. After 10 days, a large ditch was already located at the left side, up to 9 m deep. In parallel, the same work was carried out on the right side. During each subsequent rise in water, they tried to pull the cruiser aground with the help of the battleships Admiral Senyavin and Admiral Ushakov. To no avail.
Despite the fact that winter was approaching, the command decided to speed up work on deepening the bottom, instead of preparing the ship for a harsh winter. The work continued even after the entire B altic was covered with ice. Construction crews cut passages for dredgers. Finally, wooden hand-held spiers were installed. On the night of December 15, the water began to rise, so a new attempt was immediately made. During this night, the cruiser advanced almost 25 m. In the morning, the ship continued to be pushed forward, slowly turning the channel to the fairway. In the afternoon it became obvious that the cruiser was on clear water. A couple of hours later, the command ordered to lower the anchor in front of the Nikolaevsky dock in the Middle Harbor.
History
Initially, the ship was transported from the B altic Sea to the Far East. There, under the command of A. Andreev, the cruiser became the flagship of the Vladivostok detachment. During the period 1904-1905years managed to sink about ten Japanese ships and two submarines, as well as English and German ships.
In 1904, on August 1, there was a battle with a squadron of Japanese cruisers near Lake Ulsan in the Korea Strait. As a result, the ship was badly damaged. 48 people died and more than 150 were injured. During repairs, 152-mm guns were installed on the upper deck, instead of the former 75-mm ones. The running gun was also moved here.
In the winter period of 1904-1905, a warship was used as a floating fort to attack the Amur Bay. At the same time, the military headquarters considered the possibility of an attack on Vladivostok on ice. For this, the cruiser was left to freeze.
From 1906 to 1909, a major overhaul was carried out at the B altic Shipyard in the Kronstadt workshops. Then it was possible to put into operation many mechanisms, a hull, and boilers. The economic progress machine was dismantled, the spars were lightened.
In 1909, the ship was enlisted in the detachment of the first reserve. Two years later, he became part of a brigade of cruisers in the B altic Sea. From 1912 to 1913 he was on an Atlantic campaign with students from non-commissioned officer schools. The next year was also in the Atlantic. In 1914, the ship became the flagship among the B altic Sea cruisers. In the autumn of the same year, he took part in the attack on enemy communication nodes.
In the winter of 1915, the cruiser took part in laying minefields, a number of reconnaissance and raiding operations of the Light Forces Detachment of the Fleet. From 1915 to 1916 rearmament took place. In the autumn of 1917, the ship was alreadyin the B altic Fleet. In the winter of the same year, he moved to Kronstadt.
In May 1918 it was mothballed in a military port. The following year, some of the 152-mm guns were handed over to the military forces of Riga. In the summer of 1920, the ship was sold to the Soviet-German JSC Derumetal for scrapping. In the autumn of the same year, the ship was handed over for disassembly to Rudmetalltorg.
It is worth noting that at the end of 1922, while being towed to Germany, the ship got into a strong storm, because of which it was thrown out near Tallinn. The Naval Forces rescue expedition removed the cruiser and sent it to Kiel for disassembly.
Cruiser Varyag
In Russia, this ship, known since Soviet times, is today the flagship of the Pacific Fleet. It was built in the Ukrainian city of Nikolaev in the late 1970s. Launched in 1983, commissioned in 1989. Currently in the Navy.
In the 1990s, he de alt with the tasks of the inter-naval transition. Later he was part of the Pacific Fleet. Varyag received its current name only in 1996, and before that it was called Chervona Ukraine. In 1994, 2004 and 2009, she called at the port of Incheon in the Republic of Korea. In 2002 he visited the Japanese military base Yokosuka.
In the autumn of 2008, he was in the Korean port of Busan on an unofficial visit. In the spring of 2009 he visited the port of Qingdao (China). Then the cruiser went to the American port of San Francisco. In 2011, the ship took part in Russian-Chinese exercises.
A year later, he participated in the same exercises on the Yellow Sea. ATIn 2013, the cruiser was under scheduled repairs. He took part in Russian-Chinese exercises in the Sea of Japan, participated in the verification of the Eastern and Central Fleets. In the spring of 2015, dock repairs were completed. In the same year, the ship received the Order of Nakhimov. In the winter of 2016, he entered the Mediterranean Sea, where he performed a special military task.
Today the ship is participating in artillery and rocket firing exercises. Since the spring of this year, cruised in the waters of the oceans. In June, the cruiser returned to Vladivostok.
Modern Russian cruisers
The country's navy has more than 200 surface ships and more than 70 submarines, of which about 20 are nuclear-powered. We will look at the most powerful cruisers of the Russian Navy.
This is the ship "Peter the Great". The huge nuclear cruiser of Russia, which is recognized as the largest strike ship in the world. This is the only ship from the Soviet Orlan project that is still afloat. Despite the fact that it was built in 1989, it was launched only after 9 long years. Russian nuclear cruisers are represented by three more ships, such as Admiral Lazarev, Admiral Ushakov and Admiral Nakhimov.
Russia's next heavy cruiser is the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov. It was built at the Black Sea plant. Launched in 1985. Known under various names ("Leonid Brezhnev", "Riga", "Tbilisi"). After the collapse of the USSR, it became part of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy. He served in the Mediterranean, but also took part in the rescue operation of the Kursk submarine.
The Russian military cruiser Moskva is a powerful multipurpose missile ship. Initially it was called "Glory". It was put into operation in 1983. It is the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. He took part in the military operation in Georgia. In 2014, he participated in the blockade of the Ukrainian Navy.
Peter the Great
Here we are talking about the largest cruiser in Russia. It is important to note that the main purpose of the ship is to destroy enemy aircraft carrier groups. When laying, it was called "Kuibyshev", and after - "Yuri Andropov". The cruiser reached a length of 250 m, a width of 25 m, a height of 59 m. Thanks to a nuclear installation, the ship can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h. Initially designed to operate for 50 years. The crew consists of 1035 people who are accommodated in 1600 rooms. There are 15 showers, 2 baths, a swimming pool and a sauna.
As for weapons, the cruiser is able to hit large surface targets, but at the same time protect the territory from enemy air and underwater attacks.
New models
New cruisers for the Russian Navy are also being built. As for the immediate plans, shipbuilding work will continue in 2017. Until 2020, it is planned to receive 8 Russian submarine cruisers from the Borey project, 54 surface vessels and more than 15 submarines.
In 2014, the laying of the raider "Vasily Bykov" was made. Until 2019, it is planned to develop 12 more models from the same series. They will be designed for environmental monitoring, interception of pirates andsmugglers.
Photos of Russian cruisers, which you could see in the article, confirm the strength and power of the country's Navy. Every year, work is underway and new plans are being made. Russian shipbuilding is rapidly developing and absorbing new technical achievements. The article also contains a model of the cruiser Rossiya, one of the very first armored ships of the navy, demonstrating the greatness and fortitude of the imperial state.
Summing up, it is worth noting that the Russian Navy is the power and strength of our state. Old ships and cruisers are brought to combat readiness thanks to modern technology. At the same time, improved destroyers and submarines are being built every year. The best specialists, advanced technology and well-functioning work are the guarantor of the Russian Navy. Today, our fleet is the best in terms of equipment and level of combat readiness in the world. The citizens of Russia have something to be proud of.
The article was written for informational purposes for those who wanted to learn more not only about the military strength of our state, but also about the history of the creation of the legendary ships and cruisers - "Russia", "Varyag", "Peter the Great".
