Russian battleship Andrei Pervozvanny
Encyclopedia
Andrei Pervozvanny (—St Andrew the First-Called
) was a predreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy
during the mid-1900s. The ship's construction was seriously extended by design changes as a result of the Russo-Japanese War
and labor unrest after the 1905 Revolution, and she took nearly six years to build. Andrei Pervozvanny was not very active during World War I
and her bored sailors joined the general mutiny
of the Baltic Fleet
in early 1917. She was used by the Bolsheviks to bombard the rebellious garrison of Fort Krasnaya Gorka
during the Russian Civil War in 1919 and was torpedoed by British Coastal Motor Boat
s shortly afterwards, as part of the allied intervention in the Russian Civil War
. The ship was never fully repaired and was scrapped
in 1923.
of 80 feet (24.4 m) and a draft
of 27 feet (8.2 m). She displaced 18580 long tons (18,878.2 t) at deep load. Her hull was subdivided by 17 transverse watertight bulkhead
s and the engine rooms were divided by a centerline longitudinal bulkhead. She had a double bottom
and a metacentric height
of 4 feet (1.2 m). The ship's crew consisted of 31 officers and 924 crewmen.
Andrei Pervozvanny had two 4-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines with a total designed output of 17600 ihp. Twenty-five Belleville water-tube boiler
s provided steam to the engines at a working pressure of 285 pound per square inch. On sea trial
s, the engines produced 17635 ihp and a top speed of 18.5 knots. She carried a normal load of 800 long tons (812.8 t) of coal that provided a range of 1300 nautical miles (2,407.6 km) at a speed of 12 knots (6.5 m/s) and a maximum load of 1500 long tons (1,524.1 t) that gave 2400 nautical miles (4,444.8 km) at the same speed.
The main armament consisted of two pairs of 12 inches (30 cm) Model 1895
40-caliber
guns mounted in twin-gun turret
s fore and aft. These guns had a maximum elevation of 35° and could depress to -5°. Eighty rounds per gun were carried and they could fire one round per minute. Eight of the fourteen 8 inches (20 cm) Model 1905 45-caliber guns were mounted in four twin-gun turret at the corners of the superstructure while six were mounted in casemate
s in the superstructure. For defense against torpedo boat
s, Andrei Pervozvanny carried twelve 120 millimetres (4.7 in) guns mounted in casemates above the 8-inch guns in the superstructure. Two underwater 450 millimetres (17.7 in) torpedo tube
s were mounted, one on each side, and they were provided with six spare torpedoes.
Based on the Russian experience at the Battle of Tsushima
, the sides of the ship's hull were completely protected by Krupp cemented armor. The main waterline belt
had a maximum thickness of 8.5 inches (22 cm) and the upper belt was 5 inches (13 cm) at its thickest. The sides of the main gun turrets were 8 inches (20 cm) thick and the armor of the casemates ranged from 3.1 to 5 in (7.9 to 12.7 ) in thickness. The greatest thickness of deck
armor was 1.5 inches (4 cm).
in Saint Petersburg
. Construction began on 15 March 1904All dates used in this article are New Style
and was officially laid down on 11 May. Her construction was slowed by labor trouble in the shipyard from the 1905 Revolution. She was launched on 30 October 1906 and began her sea trials in September 1910. They were completed in October 1910, but the ship entered service on 10 March 1911. Andrei Pervozvanny joined the Baltic Fleet on completion and she made a port visit to Copenhagen
in September 1912. The following September she visited Portland
, Cherbourg, and Stavanger
together with her sister ship
, . She ran aground on Odensholm Island, off the Estonian coast, on 1 July 1914. The ship was still under repair when World War I began the following month. Her lattice masts were cut down and light topmasts were added while under repair.
Andrei Pervozvanny was mostly inactive during the war as the Russian naval strategy in the Baltic was defensive and they did not intend to seek out the German fleet. Torpedo nets were fitted in early 1915 and the ship's torpedoes were removed in January 1916. In late 1916, four 76 millimetres (3 in) anti-aircraft
guns were added. The ship's crew joined the general mutiny of the Baltic Fleet in Helsinki
on 16 March 1917, after they received word of the February Revolution
in Saint Petersburg, and several of the ship's officers were murdered by the crew. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
required the Soviets to evacuate their naval base at Helsinki in March 1918 or have their ships interned by newly independent Finland
even though the Gulf of Finland
was still frozen over. Andrei Pervozvanny and her sister ship the renamed Respublika, led the second group of ships on 5 April and reached Kronstadt
five days later in what became known as the "Ice Voyage"
.
After the October Revolution
in 1918, the ship remained on active duty as part of the Red Navy
during the Russian Civil War. Between 13 and 15 June 1919, Andrei Pervozvanny and the dreadnought
bombarded Fort Krasnaya Gorka
whose garrison had mutinied against the Bolsheviks. The ship fired 170 12-inch and 408 8-inch shells and the garrison surrendered on 17 June when Leon Trotsky
promised them their lives, only to order them machine-gunned. Andrei Pervozvanny was attacked by the Royal Navy
during its Campaign in the Baltic 1918–19, when she was torpedoed by either C.M.B.31 or C.M.B.88 during the night of 17/18 August 1919 as the ship lay at anchor in Kronstadt. She was hit on the port bow and settled 2 foot (0.6096 m) down by the bow. The British claimed three torpedo hits, but two of the torpedoes actually struck the harbor wall behind the battleship. The Victoria Cross
, Britain's highest military decoration, was awarded to Commander
Claude Congreve Dobson
and Lieutenant
Gordon Charles Steele
for their successful attack. The ship was raised and docked, but never fully repaired. While under repair, she was nearly hit by a small bomb during a British air raid on 3 September. Scrapping of Andrei Pervozvanny began 15 December 1923, although she was not formally stricken until 21 November 1925.
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
) was a predreadnought battleship built for 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...
during the mid-1900s. The ship's construction was seriously extended by design changes as a result 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...
and labor unrest after the 1905 Revolution, and she took nearly six years to build. Andrei Pervozvanny was not very active during 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 bored sailors joined the general mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
of the Baltic Fleet
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
in early 1917. She was used by the Bolsheviks to bombard the rebellious garrison of Fort Krasnaya Gorka
Krasnaya Gorka fort
Krasnaya Gorka is a coastal artillery fortress west of Lomonosov, Russia on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, opposite Kotlin Island and the Baltic Fleet's base at Kronshtadt...
during the Russian Civil War in 1919 and was torpedoed by British Coastal Motor Boat
Coastal Motor Boat
During the First World War, following a suggestion from three junior officers of the Harwich destroyer force that small motor boats carrying a torpedo might be capable of travelling over the protective minefields and attacking ships of the German Navy at anchor in their bases, the Admiralty gave...
s shortly afterwards, as part of the allied intervention in the Russian Civil War
Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War
The Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during World War I which continued into the Russian Civil War. Its operations included forces from 14 nations and were conducted over a vast territory...
. The ship was never fully repaired and was scrapped
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
in 1923.
Description
Andrei Pervozvanny was 454 feet (138.4 m) long at the waterline and 460 feet (140.2 m) 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 80 feet (24.4 m) and a 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 27 feet (8.2 m). She displaced 18580 long tons (18,878.2 t) at deep load. Her hull was subdivided by 17 transverse watertight bulkhead
Bulkhead (partition)
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an airplane. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads.-Etymology:...
s and the engine rooms were divided by a centerline longitudinal bulkhead. She had a double bottom
Double bottom
A double bottom is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom of the ship has two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is somewhat higher in the ship, perhaps a few feet, which forms a...
and a metacentric height
Metacentric height
The metacentric height is a measurement of the static stability of a floating body. It is calculated as the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its metacentre . A larger metacentric height implies greater stability against overturning...
of 4 feet (1.2 m). The ship's crew consisted of 31 officers and 924 crewmen.
Andrei Pervozvanny had two 4-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines with a total designed output of 17600 ihp. Twenty-five 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 at a working pressure of 285 pound per square inch. On sea trial
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...
s, the engines produced 17635 ihp and a top speed of 18.5 knots. She carried a normal load of 800 long tons (812.8 t) of coal that provided a range of 1300 nautical miles (2,407.6 km) at a speed of 12 knots (6.5 m/s) and a maximum load of 1500 long tons (1,524.1 t) that gave 2400 nautical miles (4,444.8 km) at the same speed.
The main armament consisted of two pairs of 12 inches (30 cm) Model 1895
Russian 12 inch 40 caliber naval gun
The 12 inch 40 caliber naval gun was the standard main weapon of the pre-dreadnought battleships of the Imperial Russian Navy. Sixty-eight guns of the first production run were built in 1895–1906 by the Obukhov Works in Saint Petersburg...
40-caliber
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 mounted in twin-gun turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s fore and aft. These guns had a maximum elevation of 35° and could depress to -5°. Eighty rounds per gun were carried and they could fire one round per minute. Eight of the fourteen 8 inches (20 cm) Model 1905 45-caliber guns were mounted in four twin-gun turret at the corners of the superstructure while six were mounted in 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 in the superstructure. For defense against 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, Andrei Pervozvanny carried twelve 120 millimetres (4.7 in) guns mounted in casemates above the 8-inch guns in the superstructure. Two underwater 450 millimetres (17.7 in) 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 were mounted, one on each side, and they were provided with six spare torpedoes.
Based on the Russian experience 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...
, the sides of the ship's hull were completely protected by Krupp cemented armor. The main waterline belt
Belt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
had a maximum thickness of 8.5 inches (22 cm) and the upper belt was 5 inches (13 cm) at its thickest. The sides of the main gun turrets were 8 inches (20 cm) thick and the armor of the casemates ranged from 3.1 to 5 in (7.9 to 12.7 ) in thickness. The greatest thickness of deck
Deck (ship)
A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
armor was 1.5 inches (4 cm).
Service history
Andrei Pervozvanny was built by the Admiralty ShipyardAdmiralty Shipyard
The Admiralty Shipyard is one of the oldest and largest shipyards in Russia, located in Saint Petersburg. The shipyard's building ways can accommodate ships of up to , 250 meters in length and 35 meters in width...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint 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...
. Construction began on 15 March 1904All dates used in this article are New Style
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
and was officially laid down on 11 May. Her construction was slowed by labor trouble in the shipyard from the 1905 Revolution. She was launched on 30 October 1906 and began her sea trials in September 1910. They were completed in October 1910, but the ship entered service on 10 March 1911. Andrei Pervozvanny joined the Baltic Fleet on completion and she made a port visit to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
in September 1912. The following September she visited Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
, Cherbourg, and Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
together with 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...
, . She ran aground on Odensholm Island, off the Estonian coast, on 1 July 1914. The ship was still under repair when World War I began the following month. Her lattice masts were cut down and light topmasts were added while under repair.
Andrei Pervozvanny was mostly inactive during the war as the Russian naval strategy in the Baltic was defensive and they did not intend to seek out the German fleet. Torpedo nets were fitted in early 1915 and the ship's torpedoes were removed in January 1916. In late 1916, four 76 millimetres (3 in) anti-aircraft
Anti-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...
guns were added. The ship's crew joined the general mutiny of the Baltic Fleet in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
on 16 March 1917, after they received word of the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
in Saint Petersburg, and several of the ship's officers were murdered by the crew. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
required the Soviets to evacuate their naval base at Helsinki in March 1918 or have their ships interned by newly independent Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
even though the Gulf of Finland
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...
was still frozen over. Andrei Pervozvanny and her sister ship the renamed Respublika, led the second group of ships on 5 April and reached Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
five days later in what became known as the "Ice Voyage"
Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet
Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet was an operation which transferred the ships of the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy from their bases at Tallinn and Helsinki to Kronstadt in 1918, caused by the possible threat to those bases from the final German offensives against Russia during World War...
.
After the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
in 1918, the ship remained on active duty as part of the Red Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
during the Russian Civil War. Between 13 and 15 June 1919, Andrei Pervozvanny and 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...
bombarded Fort Krasnaya Gorka
Krasnaya Gorka fort
Krasnaya Gorka is a coastal artillery fortress west of Lomonosov, Russia on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, opposite Kotlin Island and the Baltic Fleet's base at Kronshtadt...
whose garrison had mutinied against the Bolsheviks. The ship fired 170 12-inch and 408 8-inch shells and the garrison surrendered on 17 June when Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
promised them their lives, only to order them machine-gunned. Andrei Pervozvanny was attacked by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
during its Campaign in the Baltic 1918–19, when she was torpedoed by either C.M.B.31 or C.M.B.88 during the night of 17/18 August 1919 as the ship lay at anchor in Kronstadt. She was hit on the port bow and settled 2 foot (0.6096 m) down by the bow. The British claimed three torpedo hits, but two of the torpedoes actually struck the harbor wall behind the battleship. The Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, Britain's highest military decoration, was awarded to Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Claude Congreve Dobson
Claude Congreve Dobson
Rear-Admiral Claude Congreve Dobson VC, DSO was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
and Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Gordon Charles Steele
Gordon Charles Steele
Captain Gordon Charles Steele VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
for their successful attack. The ship was raised and docked, but never fully repaired. While under repair, she was nearly hit by a small bomb during a British air raid on 3 September. Scrapping of Andrei Pervozvanny began 15 December 1923, although she was not formally stricken until 21 November 1925.