Peresviet class
Encyclopedia
The Peresvet-class were pre-dreadnought
battleships of the Imperial Russian Navy
. All three ships were lost by the Russians in the Russo-Japanese war
. One ship was sunk at the Battle of Tsushima
and two were captured after being sunk during the Siege of Port Arthur
.
Having heavy French influence, as with many Russian warships of the era, with round French style turrets and a high vulnerable free board. These ships were a pre-"Battlecruiser", designed with independent raiding in mind, intended to be cheaper than a 1st rate Battleship for colonial duty and faster than 1st rate battleships in order to evade pursuit while powerful enough to fend off any scout cruisers that can give chase.
. The main belt was 95 m long and 2.55 m tall, designed with 1.44 m above the normal water line. However, the ships as built were overweight and when fully loaded the belt was below the waterline. A 100mm thick upper belt was fitted. The turret armour was ordered from Germany and may be the earliest Krupp armour ordered.
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
battleships 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 lost by the Russians in 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...
. One ship was sunk at the Battle of Tsushima
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
and two were captured after being sunk during the Siege of Port Arthur
Siege of Port Arthur
The Siege of Port Arthur , 1 August 1904 – 2 January 1905, the deep-water port and Russian naval base at the tip of the Liaotung Peninsula in Manchuria, was the longest and most violent land battle of the Russo-Japanese War....
.
Design
These ships were inspired by the British battleship . They were designed as essentially enlarged armoured cruisers with good range and seakeeping, higher speed but weaker armour and armament than contemporary first class battleships.Having heavy French influence, as with many Russian warships of the era, with round French style turrets and a high vulnerable free board. These ships were a pre-"Battlecruiser", designed with independent raiding in mind, intended to be cheaper than a 1st rate Battleship for colonial duty and faster than 1st rate battleships in order to evade pursuit while powerful enough to fend off any scout cruisers that can give chase.
Armament
The main armament consisted of two turrets each with two 254 mm (10 inch) guns. These weapons were lighter than the 12 inches (304.8 mm) guns used in most other contemporary battleships. The turrets had electrical power with manual back up. The guns had an elevation range of −5 ° to +35 °. Each gun had a magazine capacity of 80 rounds. The secondary armament consisted of eleven 152 mm Canet guns; eight on the main deck in casements, two on the upper deck and a single gun in the bows as a bow chaser. The magazine capacity for the 152 mm weapons was 220 round per gun. The anti-torpedo boat guns were twenty 75mm Canet pattern with 300 rounds per gun. There were also twenty 47 mm guns and six 37 mm Hotchkiss guns. There were five torpedo tubes, three above water and two submerged.Protection
The ships were protected by a mixture of Harvey armour and Krupp armourKrupp armour
Krupp armour was a type of steel armour used in the construction of capital ships starting shortly before the end of the 19th century. It was developed by Germany's Krupp Arms Works in 1893 and quickly replaced Harvey armour as the primary method of protecting naval ships.The initial manufacturing...
. The main belt was 95 m long and 2.55 m tall, designed with 1.44 m above the normal water line. However, the ships as built were overweight and when fully loaded the belt was below the waterline. A 100mm thick upper belt was fitted. The turret armour was ordered from Germany and may be the earliest Krupp armour ordered.
Machinery
A three shaft layout was used with triple expansion steam engines. There were thirty model 1894 Belville type boilers. The electrical equipment consisted of four dynamos with a generating capacity of 555 kW.Ships
- Peresvet (Пересвет) – named after Alexander PeresvetAlexander PeresvetAlexander Peresvet, also spelled Peresviet , was a Russian Orthodox Christian monk who fought in a single combat with the Tatar champion Temir-murza at the opening of the Battle of Kulikovo , where they killed each other.He is believed to have hailed from the Bryansk area and took...
, a Russian monk who was the champion at the Battle of KulikovoBattle of KulikovoThe Battle of Kulikovo was a battle between Tatar Mamai and Muscovy Dmitriy and portrayed by Russian historiography as a stand-off between Russians and the Golden Horde. However, the political situation at the time was much more complicated and concerned the politics of the Northeastern Rus'...
– built by the Baltic Yard, St PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, . Based at Port Arthur as part of the Russian Pacific Fleet, fought at the Battle of the Yellow SeaBattle of the Yellow SeaThe Battle of the Yellow Sea was a major naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 August. The battle foiled an attempt by the Russian fleet at Port Arthur to break out and form up with counterparts from...
. Subsequently sunk at her moorings during the Siege of Port ArthurSiege of Port ArthurThe Siege of Port Arthur , 1 August 1904 – 2 January 1905, the deep-water port and Russian naval base at the tip of the Liaotung Peninsula in Manchuria, was the longest and most violent land battle of the Russo-Japanese War....
. Raised and repaired by the Japanese and incorporated into the Imperial Japanese NavyImperial Japanese NavyThe Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
as the SagamiJapanese battleship Sagamiwas one of eight Russian pre-dreadnought battleships captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. It was built as the lead ship of the of battleships, with a design inspired by the British battleship...
. Given to Russia in April 1916 and renamed Peresvet. She was due to be the flagship of the Russian Arctic flotilla but was sunk on route by mines laid by the U-73SM U-73SM U-73 was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. She engaged in the commerce war as part of the First Battle of the Atlantic....
outside Port Said, Egypt on 4 January 1917. - OslyabyaRussian battleship OslyabyaThe Oslyabya was a battleship of the Russian Imperial Navy, belonging to the . She was named for Rodion Oslyabya, a 14th century monk of the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra and a hero of the Battle of Kulikovo....
(Ослябя) – named after Radion OslyabyaOslyabyaRodion Oslyabya was a Russian monk from Saint Sergius's Trinity Abbey who became famous for his part in the Battle of Kulikovo. According to Oleg N. Trubachev, the nickname "Oslyabya" is a hypocoristic for "donkey". His Christian name has been given in various sources as Roman, Rodion, Andrian and...
, a Russian monk who fought at the Battle of KulikovoBattle of KulikovoThe Battle of Kulikovo was a battle between Tatar Mamai and Muscovy Dmitriy and portrayed by Russian historiography as a stand-off between Russians and the Golden Horde. However, the political situation at the time was much more complicated and concerned the politics of the Northeastern Rus'...
– built by the Baltic Yard, St PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, . The ship was part of the Baltic Fleet and sailed with the Second Pacific Squadron to the Battle of TsushimaBattle of TsushimaThe Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
where she was sunk. 515 sailors lost their lives, 250 survivors were rescued. - Pobeda (Russian: Победа (Victory)) – built by the Baltic Yard, St PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, laid down 1 August 1898, launched 24 May 1900, commissioned 31 July 1902. Based at Port Arthur as part of the Russian Pacific Fleet, fought at the Battle of the Yellow SeaBattle of the Yellow SeaThe Battle of the Yellow Sea was a major naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 August. The battle foiled an attempt by the Russian fleet at Port Arthur to break out and form up with counterparts from...
. Subsequently sunk at her moorings during the Siege of Port ArthurSiege of Port ArthurThe Siege of Port Arthur , 1 August 1904 – 2 January 1905, the deep-water port and Russian naval base at the tip of the Liaotung Peninsula in Manchuria, was the longest and most violent land battle of the Russo-Japanese War....
. Raised and repaired by the Japanese and incorporated into the Imperial Japanese NavyImperial Japanese NavyThe Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
as the SuwoJapanese battleship SuwoPobeda , was one of eight Russian pre-dreadnought battleships captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. She was sunk during the war, and then salvaged afterwards by the Japanese and placed into service under the name .-Russian career:Pobeda was built as one...
. Decommissioned in 1922 and scrapped in 1946.
Further reading
- The Russian Battleship Peresviet in 1901. – Site in English with photographs]
- Stephen McLaughlin, From Ruirik to Ruirik Russia's Armoured Cruisers in Warship 1999–2000. Conway Maritime Press
- В.Я. Крестьянинов, С.В. Молодцов. Броненосцы типа «Пересвет» («Морская коллекция» № 1 за 1998 г.)
- Р.М. Мельников. Броненосцы типа «Пересвет»