The service of the battleship Knyaz Suvorov was short and tragic. Launched in 1902, the ship was preparing a special military role. Within the framework of the state shipbuilding program, five most powerful battleships of the Borodino type were built, which were the pride and main strength of the Imperial Navy.
During the war with Japan, the Knyaz Suvorov became the flagship of the Second Pacific Squadron, which was supposed to bring Russia an advantage over the growing Japanese fleet. Under the leadership of Admiral Rozhdestvensky, the squadron heroically passed half the world, covering 18,000 miles from its native B altic harbor to Japan, gave a fierce battle and almost completely died.
The battleship Suvorov also found its resting place at the bottom. Photos of this ship were left to posterity as evidence that even defeats are sometimes an example of heroism and courage. The crew of the flagship fought with dignity even in a hopeless,a completely desperate situation. Sailors and officers cannot be blamed for anything. It is not surprising that paper and plastic models of the battleship Knyaz Suvorov are popular with modellers and take pride of place in their collections.
Description of the ship
"Prince Suvorov" was one of the best battleships of its time. It was a floating armored fortress with huge firepower, which helped these types of ships to destroy any naval target. But even the best shots of the Knyaz Suvorov squadron battleship cannot convey its greatness and power.
The weight of the battleship when descending from the slipway without loading coal, equipment, ammunition was 5,300 tons. Hull length - 119 meters, width - 23 meters, displacement - 15,275 tons. Armor, made of high-quality Krupp steel, reached 140 millimeters along the sides, ranged from 70 to 89 millimeters on decks, and varied from 76 to 254 millimeters in the gun turrets and conning tower.
Thanks to two steam engines with a total capacity of 15,800 horsepower, the huge battleship Knyaz Suvorov could reach speeds of up to 17.5 knots (32.4 kilometers per hour) and travel 4,800 kilometers without reloading coal at an average speed of 10 knots (18.5 kilometers per hour).
The armament of the battleship was: four guns with a diameter of 305 mm, twelve - 152 mm, twenty - 75 mm, twenty - 47 mm, two Baranovsky guns - 63 mm, two Hotchkiss guns - 37 mm and four torpedo tubes. Shipliterally bristled with weapons and posed a threat to any naval opponent. The abundance of small details and cannons make the model of the battleship "Prince Suvorov" especially complex, turning it into a professional challenge for real modellers.
Before leaving on their last trip, the flagship's crew consisted of 826 officers, non-commissioned officers, conductors and sailors. In addition to them, there were 77 people on the ship from the squadron headquarters, headed by Admiral Rozhdestvensky. The officers of the battleship were considered the elite of the Russian Imperial Navy. Almost all of them died along with the battleship Knyaz Suvorov. A photo of the officers shortly before the campaign in the Russo-Japanese War is presented above.
Construction
Grand Duke Alesei Alexandrovich, who was the chief commander of the Russian fleet and the maritime department of the Empire, in April 1900 ordered the construction of an armadillo at the B altic Shipyard. In June of the same year, the future ship was named in honor of the famous commander, in July the procurement of materials began, in August the construction of the hull started.
The battleship "Prince Suvorov" left the slipway on September 25, 1902, and during the first descent an event occurred that some took for a bad sign. The ship broke two main anchor ropes, reaching a dangerous speed of 12 knots, only spare anchors were able to stop it.
By the fall of 1903, the armadillo's rigging was almost complete. In May 1904 he made his first crossing to Kronstadt. In August, offici altests of machines, during which the battleship developed a maximum speed of 17.5 knots, steam engines worked perfectly. Apart from minor manufacturing flaws, the commission as a whole recognized the ship as ready for campaigns and military operations.
The eve of war
The construction of the battleship "Prince Suvorov" was carried out as part of the modernization of the fleet, which was supposed to resist the Japanese fleet. The spirit of imminent war hovered in society. The prerequisites for it appeared at the end of the 19th century, when Japan defeated the Chinese troops and wanted to appropriate the Liaodong Peninsula along with Port Arthur.
The rise of the Japanese Empire alarmed Germany, Russia and France. They opposed the occupation of the Liaodong Peninsula and in 1895 entered into negotiations with Japan. As a weighty argument, powerful military squadrons of these countries appeared in the nearby waters. Japan succumbed to power and renounced claims to the peninsula.
In 1896, Russia signed a landmark treaty of friendship with China and began building a railway in Manchuria. Two years later, Russia completely leased the entire Liaodong Peninsula with ports for 25 years. In 1902, the tsarist army entered Manchuria. All this irritated the Japanese authorities, who did not stop laying claim to the peninsula and Manchuria. Diplomacy was powerless to resolve this conflict of interest. A big war was coming.
War before Tsushima
In early 1904, Japan first broke off diplomatic relations with the Russian Empire, and on January 27 attacked Russian warships near Port Arthur. In thatOn the same day, Japanese squadrons attacked the boat "Korean" and the cruiser "Varyag", which were in the Korean port. The Korean was blown up, and the Varyag was flooded by sailors who did not want to hand over the cruiser to the Japanese.
Then the main hostilities unfolded on the Liaodong Peninsula, where Japanese divisions invaded from the territory of Korea. In August 1904, the battle of Liaoyang took place. According to some historians, in this battle the Japanese suffered significant losses, in fact, losing the battle. The Russian army could have destroyed the remnants of the Japanese troops, but due to the indecision of the command, they missed the opportunity.
Calm came before winter. Both sides were gathering strength. And in December, the Japanese went on the offensive and were able to take Port Arthur. There is an opinion that the soldiers, sailors and officers were sure that they could defend the city, but General Stessel, the commander of the Russian troops, thought otherwise and surrendered Port Arthur. Subsequently, he was tried and sentenced to death for this act, but the king pardoned the commander.
Second Pacific Squadron
The war did not go according to the scenario of St. Petersburg. The main battles were fought too far from the supply bases. The Far East was connected with central Russia by one railway line, which could not cope with the flow of troops, weapons, supplies needed by the Far Eastern armies and navy. The military leadership decided to form a powerful squadron capable of turning the tide of the war in favor of Russia.
The battleship Knyaz Suvorov became the flagship of the squadron, and the commander was Vice Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky. In society and the military environment, this appointmentoften criticized. Many believed that Rozhdestvensky was not suitable for such a responsible and complex role. Indeed, before that, Zinovy Petrovich had never commanded such a large grouping of ships.
However, Nicholas II did not have a very large choice. There was a problem with personnel, almost all experienced and proven admirals were already in the Far East. In favor of Rozhdestvensky spoke his personal courage, knowledge of the Far Eastern ports and seas, administrative talent, which manifested itself in all its splendor during the squadron's campaign.
The Long March
Specialists initially doubted that the squadron could even reach Africa, let alone the Japanese coast. In addition to storms and bad weather, it was necessary to overcome the provocations of the Japanese and their allies - the British, the incessant problems with coal and calling at ports due to the diplomatic protest notes of Japan, which she put forward to neutral countries.
But the Second Pacific Squadron did the unthinkable. On October 15, 1904, she left the last Russian port of Libava for her and reached Japan without loss, leaving 18,000 miles astern. In January 1905, the squadron was forced to stand idle off the coast of Madagascar, waiting for the issue of replenishing coal to be resolved. At this time, the sad news came about the death of the First Pacific Squadron.
From now on, Rozhdestvensky's squadron remained the only naval force capable of resisting the Japanese fleet. On March 16, Russian ships were finally able toput out to sea and head towards Japan. The squadron leadership decided to go to Vladivostok along a short but dangerous route through the Korea Strait, which the ships reached on May 25th. There were two days left before the fatal battle.
Before Tsushima
On May 26, before the decisive clash, Rozhdestvensky arranged exercises to increase interaction between ships and improve the maneuverability of the squadron. Perhaps during this time it would be possible to pass unnoticed by the Japanese coast, but these are only assumptions.
In fact, on the night of May 26-27, Russian ships were spotted by a Japanese reconnaissance cruiser. All morning on the day of the battle, enemy reconnaissance ships were on a parallel course with the Second Pacific Squadron. Japanese admirals thoroughly knew its location, composition and even battle formation, which gave them an initial advantage.
Tsushima
On May 27, at about 2 pm, one of the largest and most tragic naval battles in the history of the Russian fleet began. It was attended by 38 Russian ships and 89 Japanese. The Japanese squadron, having made a detour maneuver, embraced the Russian squadron in front and concentrated all the fire on the lead battleships. Half an hour later, due to hurricane fire, the battleship Oslyabya, which was at the head of its column, caught fire, fell out of action and soon turned over.
The battleship "Prince Suvorov" could not stand the attack either. It caught fire, the desperately fighting crew was melting before our eyes. Forty minutes after the start of the battle, fragments fell into the cracks of the command cabin, seriously injuringRozhdestvensky in the head. The flagship lost contact with the squadron and could no longer influence the course of the battle. At some point, twelve Japanese ships surrounded him and shot him with torpedoes and shells, like a target in an exercise. At seven o'clock in the evening, the flagship of the Second Pacific Squadron sank.
Salvation of Rozhdestvensky and his trial
The wounded Rozhdestvensky was removed from the dying flagship to the destroyer Buyny. Together with the commander, a part of his headquarters passed to the destroyer. These were the only people on board the battleship who survived Tsushima. Later, the rescued went to the destroyer "Trouble", on which they were captured by the Japanese.
Later at the trial, Rozhdestvensky took all the blame for the capture and death of the squadron, defending the panicked officers who surrendered to the Japanese. However, the Maritime Court fully acquitted the vice-admiral, given the serious wound that Zinovy Petrovich received at the very beginning of the battle. Society also treated Rozhdestvensky with understanding, sympathy and respect.
The fate of the squadron
Losing control, the squadron broke through to Vladivostok. However, she sailed in waters that were teeming with Japanese cruisers and destroyers, who constantly attacked Russian ships. The battle continued for two days, and it did not subside even at night. As a result, 21 ships of the Russian squadron out of 38 were sunk, 7 surrendered, 6 were interned, 3 reached Vladivostok, one auxiliary ship was able to reach its native B altic coast under its own power.
Dead more than five thousand Russian sailors and officers, more than sixthousands are captured. The Japanese lost three destroyers and a little over a hundred people dead. As a result of the battle, Russia practically lost its fleet, and Japan gained dominance at sea and a serious advantage in the further course of the war.
Composite model battleship "Prince Suvorov" ("Star")
Photos and drawings of an armadillo serve as visual material for modellers, which helps to more accurately recreate the model of the ship. The Zvezda company is a major domestic manufacturer of board games and prefabricated models. Its products are created in alliance with professional consultants in the historical and military fields, therefore, they are distinguished by high-quality elaboration of details and historical accuracy.
The model of the battleship "Prince Suvorov" ("Star") is no exception. It is difficult for a beginner, but becomes a real challenge for an experienced modeler. To make this model requires prior work with the literature, great patience, manual dexterity, and several months of systematic work. Some missing parts have to be created by yourself.
Model battleship "Prince Suvorov" ("Star"): an overview of the main stages of work
Building a model consists of several successive and interrelated steps. Each of them requires concentration and accuracy. Do not jump from stage to stage. Haste and unsystematic work leads to difficult to correct and very annoying oversights. Especially when it comes to complex models like an armadillo."Prince Suvorov" ("Star"). Its assembly includes the following steps:
- hull and deck assembly;
- artillery assembly;
- assembly of pipes, lifting mechanisms, cuttings;
- assembly of flagpoles, masts, boats and boats, navigational equipment;
- painting parts and components of the model;
- general armadillo assembly;
- finishing the model, for example, populating it with figures of sailors and officers.
