Russian cruiser Gromoboi (1899) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Gromoboi was an armoured cruiser 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...

built in the late 1890s. She was designed as a long-range commerce raider

Commerce raiding

Commerce raiding or guerre de course is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt the logistics of an enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a blockade against them.Commerce raiding was heavily criticised by...

and served as such during 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...

of 1904–05. When the war broke out, she was based in Vladivostok

Vladivostok

The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...

and made several sorties in search of Japanese shipping in the conflict's early months, without much success.

Gromoboi, with the other armoured cruisers of the Vladivostok Cruiser Squadron, attempted to rendezvous in the Strait of Tsushima with the main portion of the Russian Pacific Fleet

Pacific Fleet (Russia)

The Pacific Fleet is the part of the Russian Navy that is stationed in the Pacific Ocean, which formerly secured the Far Eastern borders of the Soviet Union. The fleet headquarters is located at Vladivostok and a number of fleet bases are located in the Vladivostok area...

sailing from Port Arthur in August 1904. The Fleet was delayed, and the squadron returned to port alone. On the return, the squadron encountered a Japanese squadron of four armoured cruisers blocking their passage to base. The Japanese sank the oldest Russian ship, , and damaged Gromoboi and during the subsequent Battle off Ulsan

Battle off Ulsan

The naval Battle off Ulsan , also known as the Battle of the Japanese Sea or Battle of the Korean Strait, took place on 14 August 1904 during the Russo-Japanese War, four days after the Battle of the Yellow Sea.-Background:The Vladivostok Cruiser Unit of the Russian fleet...

. Both Russian ships were repaired within two months. Gromoboi ran aground immediately after completing her repairs and was out of action for four months. Three months after the damage from the grounding incident was repaired, she struck a mine, but successfully returned to port. Her armament was reinforced while under repair, but she saw no further action during the war.

Gromoboi was transferred to the Russian Baltic Fleet after the end of the war and began a lengthy refit that was completed in 1911. She was mostly inactive 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...

, but had her armament and protection upgraded during the war. She was placed into reserve in 1918 and sold to a German company in 1922 for scrapping. She was forced aground near Liepāja

Liepaja

Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...

during a storm enroute to Germany and was scrapped in place.

Design and description

Gromoboi was originally intended to be a repeat of Rossia, but a design modification for thicker armour and improved engines made that unfeasible. The use of Rossias hull design meant that the ships looked alike.

Gromoboi was 481 feet (146.6 m) long overall. She had a maximum beam

Beam (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 68.6 feet (20.9 m) and a draught

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 26 feet (7.9 m). Gromoboi displaced 12455 long tons (12,655 t), only 95 long tons (97 t) more than designed. She was sheathed in wood and copper to reduce biofouling

Biofouling

Biofouling or biological fouling is the undesirable accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or animals on wetted structures.-Impact:...

. As completed Gromoboi trimmed badly by the bow, which reduced her speed and made her very wet forward. Loads had to be shifted aft and ballast

Sailing ballast

Ballast is used in sailboats to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the sail. Insufficiently ballasted boats will tend to tip, or heel, excessively in high winds. Too much heel may result in the boat capsizing. If a sailing vessel should need to voyage without cargo then ballast of...

added to the rear of the ship to correct her trim, but she was regarded as a good sea boat afterward with an easy, although rapid, roll.

Propulsion

Gromoboi dispensed with Rossias cruising engine on the centre shaft. Three equally powerful vertical triple expansion steam engines were used with a designed total of 14500 ihp, but they developed 15496 ihp on trials and drove the ship to a maximum speed of 20.1 knots (10.9 m/s). Thirty-two 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 for the engines. She could carry a maximum of 2400 long tons (2,439 t) of coal. This gave her a radius of action of 8100 nautical mile at 10 knots (5.4 m/s).

Armament

Gromobois main armament consisted of four 8 inches (20 cm) 45-calibre

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....

Pattern 1892 guns; the forward pair was 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 above the forward main-deck 6 inches (15 cm) gun's casemate. The two rear guns were situated in sponson

Sponson

Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...

s abreast the mizzenmast, protected by gun shield

Gun shield

thumb|A [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine]] manning an [[M240 machine gun]] equipped with a gun shieldA gun shield is a flat piece or section of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun or artillery piece, or, more rarely, to be used with an assault rifle...

s. The guns could be depressed to −5° and elevated to 18°. They fired 193.5 pounds (87.8 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity

Muzzle velocity

Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...

of 2950 feet per second (899.2 m/s) which gave a range of 12000 yd (10,972.8 m) at 13° elevation.

Her secondary armament consisted of sixteen 6 inches (15 cm)/45 Pattern 1892 guns. One gun was mounted under the forecastle and another in the stern; neither gun could fire to the side. Most of the remaining guns were mounted in casemates, the forward pair in front of the eight-inch guns on the upper deck and the rest on the main deck. One pair was mounted on the upper deck protected by gun shields. In their pivot mounts the guns could depress to -6° and elevate to +20°. They fired 91.4 pounds (41.5 kg) Pattern 1907 high explosive projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2600 feet per second (792.5 m/s). This gave a range of 12600 yd (11,521.4 m) at maximum elevation. 240 rounds per gun were carried by Gromoboi.

Defence 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 was provided by a variety of light-calibre weapons. Gromoboi had 24 75 millimetres (3 in) Canet Pattern 1892 50-caliber guns mounted in sponsons on the upper deck, protected by gun shields. The gun fired 10.8 pounds (4.9 kg) shells to a range of about 8600 yards (7,864 m) at its maximum elevation of 21° with a muzzle velocity of 2700 ft/s (823 m/s). The rate of fire was between twelve and fifteen rounds per minute.

The ship carried twelve 47 millimetres (1.9 in) Hotchkiss gun

Hotchkiss gun

The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch light mountain gun; there was also a 3-inch Hotchkiss gun...

s. They fired a 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1476 ft/s (449.9 m/s) at a rate of 20 rounds per minute to a range of 2020 yards (1,847.1 m). The ship also carried 18 37 millimetres (1.5 in) Hotchkiss guns. These fired a 1.1 pound (0.498951607 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1450 ft/s (442 m/s) at a rate of 20 rounds per minute to a range of 3038 yards (2,777.9 m).

Gromoboi also had four submerged 15 inches (38 cm) 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, with two mounted on each broadside.

Armour

The Naval Ministry had hoped to increase the Gromobois armour thickness and increase the armour protection of the armament, but still use Rossia hull design. The Ministry also hoped to use the new, more resistant Krupp armour

Krupp 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...

, but Russian plants had proven unable to manufacture it when it was ordered and Harvey armour was used instead.Sources differ on the type of armour actually used. Brook, Gardiner and Grey, and Watts all state that Krupp cemented armour was used. In fact, for Gromoboi, the 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....

was reduced in thickness by 2 inches (5.1 cm) from the older ship to six inches to better protect her guns. The belt was shortened by 100 feet (30.5 m) in length to only 300 feet (91.4 m). It was reduced in height by 9 inches (23 cm) as well to a total of 7 inch; it extended 2 inch above the waterline and 5 feet (1.5 m) below the waterline. The belt was closed off by six-inch 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 fore and aft.

The Gromoboi 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 were 4.7 inches (12 cm) thick, with two-inch backs and 1 inches (2.5 cm) roofs. The two-inch thick transverse bulkhead fore and aft protected them from raking fire

Raking fire

In naval warfare, raking fire is fire directed parallel to the long axis of an enemy ship. Although each shot is directed against a smaller target profile than by shooting broadside and thus more likely to miss the target ship to one side or the other, an individual cannon shot that hits will pass...

. The armour 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...

was 1.5 inches thick on the flat and 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) thick where it sloped down to meet the belt. The protective deck extended fore and aft of the armour deck and ranged from 2.5–3 in (6.4–7.6 ) in thickness. The change in the machinery allowed Gromoboi to dispense with Rossias glacis

Glacis

A glacis in military engineering is an artificial slope of earth used in late European fortresses so constructed as to keep any potential assailant under the fire of the defenders until the last possible moment...

armour that had been necessary to protect the tops of the engine cylinders. The conning tower

Conning tower

A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....

had walls 12 inches (30 cm) thick, made of Krupp armour. The funnel uptakes and ammunition hoists were protected by 1.5 inches of armour between the lower and middle decks.

Service

Gromoboi was built by the Baltic Works 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 14 June 1897, although she was not formally laid down until 7 May 1898, and the ship was launched on 8 May 1899. She was transferred to 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...

on 24 November 1899 to finish fitting out, but was forced aground by sea ice. She was freed three days later, but needed repairs to her sheathing. She left Liepāja

Liepaja

on 10 December 1900 enroute to the Far East and stopped briefly at Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

, where she was inspected by Prince Henry of Prussia. She represented Russia

Australia–Russia relations

Australia–Russia relations date back to 1807, when the Russian warship Neva arrived in Sydney as part of its circumnavigation of the globe. Consular relations between Australia and the Russian Empire were established in 1857...

at the granting of the constitution to Australia

Federation of Australia

The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...

, visiting Sydney and Melbourne in April–May 1901. Gromoboi finally reached Port Arthur on 29 July 1901. She remained in the Pacific until the beginning 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...

in 1904. During this voyage she was commanded by Karl Petrovich Jessen

Karl Petrovich Jessen

Vice Admiral Karl Petrovich Jessen was an admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo-Japanese War.-Biography:Jessen was of Baltic German descent, born in Livonia. He graduated from the Sea Cadets in 1875 and was commissioned as a lieutenant on July 18, 1879. He graduated from the school...

Russo-Japanese War

By this time, Gromoboi was assigned of the Vladivostok

Vladivostok

Cruiser Squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Karl Jessen

Karl Petrovich Jessen

. The other ships were the armoured cruisers and as well as the protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

. The squadron made a number of sorties against Japanese shipping early in the war. Only one was reasonably successful: in June 1904 the squadron sank the Hitachi Maru, carrying eighteen 28 centimetres (11 in) siege howitzers and over 1000 troops intended for 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....

Battle off Ulsan

During the war the bulk of the Russian Pacific Fleet was located in Port Arthur where it was blockaded by the Japanese. On 10 August 1904 the ships at Port Arthur attempted breakout to Vladivostok, but were turned back in the Battle of the Yellow Sea

Battle of the Yellow Sea

The 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...

. Admiral Jessen was ordered to rendezvous with them, but the order was delayed. His ships had to raise steam, so he did not sortie until the evening of 13 August. Bogatyr had been damaged earlier when she grounded and did not sail with the squadron. By dawn he had reached the island of Tsushima

Tsushima Island

Tsushima Island is an island of the Japanese Archipelago situated in the middle of the Tsushima Strait at 34°25'N and 129°20'E. The main island of Tsushima was once a single island, but the island was divided into two in 1671 by the Ōfunakosiseto canal and into three in 1900 by the Manzekiseto canal...

in the Tsushima Strait

Tsushima Strait

is the eastern channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.The Tsushima Strait is the broader eastern channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima Island, with the Japanese islands of Honshū to the east and northeast, and...

between Korea and Japan. He turned back for Vladivostok when he failed to see any ships from the Port Arthur squadron. 36 miles (58 km) north of the island he encountered the Japanese squadron commanded by Vice Admiral

Vice Admiral

Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

Kamimura Hikonojō

Kamimura Hikonojo

Baron was an early admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy later commanding the IJN 2nd Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War, most notably at the Battle off Ulsan and Tsushima.-Biography:...

tasked to patrol the Tsushima Strait. The Japanese force had four modern armoured cruisers, , , , and . The two squadrons had passed during the night without spotting one another and each had reversed course around first light. This put the Japanese ships astride the Russian route to Vladivostok.

Admiral Jessen turned to the northeast when he spotted the Japanese at 5:00 a.m. and they followed suit, albeit on a slightly converging course. Both sides opened fire around 05:23 at a range of 8500 metres (9,295.7 yd). The Japanese ships concentrated their fire on Rurik, the rear ship of the Russian formation. She was hit fairly quickly and began to fall astern of the other two ships. Admiral Jessen turned southeast in an attempt to open the range, but this blinded the Russian gunners and prevented any of their broadside guns from bearing on the Japanese. About 06:00 Admiral Jessen turned 180° to starboard in an attempt to reach the Korean coast and to allow Rurik to rejoin the squadron. Admiral Kamimura followed suit around 06:10, but turned to port, which opened the range between the squadrons. Azuma developed engine problems and the Japanese squadron slowed to conform with her best speed. Firing recommenced at 06:24 and Rurik was hit three times in the stern, flooding her steering compartment; she had to be steered with her engines. Her speed continued to decrease, further exposing her to Japanese fire, and her steering jammed to port around 06:40.
Admiral Jessen made another 180° turn in an attempt to interpose his two ships between the Japanese and Rurik, but the latter ship suddenly turn to starboard and increased speed and passed between Jessen's ships and the Japanese. Admiral Kamimura turned 180° as well so that both squadrons were heading southeast on parallel courses, but Admiral Jessen quickly made another 180° turn so that they headed on opposing courses. Iwate was hit around this time, which knocked out three six-inch and one twelve-pounder guns, killing 32 and wounding 43. The Japanese squadron opened the range again when it made a 180° another turn to port. The Russians reversed course for the third time around 07:45 in another attempt to support Rurik although Rossia was on fire herself; her fires were extinguished about twenty minutes later. Admiral Kamimura circled Rurik to the south at 08:00 and allowed the other two Russian ships to get to his north and gave them an uncontested route to Vladivostok. Despite this, Admiral Jessen turned back once more at 08:15 and ordered Rurik to make her own way back to Vladivostok before turning north at his maximum speed, about 18 knots (9.8 m/s).

About this time Admiral Kamimura's two elderly protected cruisers, and were approaching from the south. Their arrival allowed Kamimura to pursue Jessen with all of his armoured cruisers while the two new arrivals dealt with Rurik. They fought a running battle with the Russians for the next hour and a half; scoring enough hits on them to force their speed down to 15 knots (8.2 m/s). Azumas engines again broke down during this chase and she was replaced in the line by Tokiwa. The Japanese closed to a minimum of about 5000 metres (5,468.1 yd), but Admiral Kamimura then opened the range up to 6500 metres (7,108.5 yd).
About 10:00 Kamimura's gunnery officer erroneously informed him that Izumo had expended three-quarters of her ammunition and he turned back after a five-minute rapid-fire barrage. He did not wish to leave the Tsushima Strait unguarded and thought that he could use his remaining ammunition on Rurik. By this time she had been sunk by Naniwa and Takachiho which had closed to 3000 metres (3,280.8 yd) of Rurik in order to finish her off. They had radioed Admiral Kamimura that she was sunk, but he did not receive the message. Shortly after the Japanese turned back Gromoboi and Rossia were forced to heave-to to make repairs.

Gromoboi suffered 87 dead and 170 wounded; far more than Rossias 44 dead and 156 wounded. This was attributable to Rossias captain's policy of ordering the gun crews for his quick-firing guns on the engaged side to lie down and those on the unengaged side to go below, in contrast to the Gromoboi keeping her light guns manned at all times. Gromoboi was hit fifteen times on the starboard side of her hull and seven times on her port side, plus other hits in her funnels, boats and decks. She also suffered a fire caused by the ignition of excess propellant charges. Despite this number of hits, she was not badly damaged because her waterline belt was not penetrated. She was repaired within two months by the rudimentary facilities available at Vladivostok.

Immediately following her repairs she ran aground outside Vladivostok

Vladivostok

on 13 October and was not ready for sea until February 1905. The Russians took this opportunity to reinforce her armament with six more 6-inch guns mounted on her upper deck, protected by lightly armoured casemates. Her armament was rearranged as well with her foremost six-inch guns moved from their casemates to the forecastle

Forecastle

Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...

and the rearmost six-inch guns moved forward. Room for these changes was made by removing many of her lighter guns; she retained only nineteen 75 mm and two 37 mm guns. She also received several Barr and Stroud

Barr and Stroud

Barr & Stroud Limited was a pioneering Scottish optical engineering firm, based in Glasgow, that played a leading role in the development of modern optics, including rangefinders, for the Royal Navy and for other branches of British Armed Forces during the 20th century...

rangefinders at this time. While testing her new Telefunken

Telefunken

Telefunken is a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft...

radio equipment on 24 May she struck a mine

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

near her forward boiler room. She was able to return to Vladivostok for repairs, but took no further part in the war.

Interwar period

Gromoboi returned to the Baltic Fleet after the war. There she was given a lengthy refit that was finished in 1911. Her engines and boilers were reconditioned, and her rear torpedo tubes were removed. The forward 15-inch torpedo tubes were replaced by 18 inches (45.7 cm) tubes. Her foremast was removed and replaced by her mizzenmast; her mainmast was moved aft in place of the mizzenmast and searchlight

Searchlight

A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...

s were installed on a platform on each mast. A casemate with 3-inch sides and a 1-inch roof was built around the rear eight-inch guns and the rear six-inch guns were moved aft and protected by a casemate with two-inch sides and a 0.75 inches (1.9 cm) roof. The thickness of the upper-deck casemates was increased to two inches. Armoured towers fore and aft were built for her rangefinders. Her light armament was reduced to four 75 mm and four 47 mm guns. Engine trials were conducted in late 1910 and were unsatisfactory as they were overheating while delivering only 9979 ihp. The trials were run again on 27 July 1911 and were more satisfactory as they developed 13337 ihp while Gromoboi reached 18.5 knots (10.1 m/s).

World War I

Gromoboi served in the 2nd Cruiser Brigade 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...

during World War I

World War I

. She was modified to serve as a fast minelayer

Minelayer

Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...

with a capacity of two hundred mines

Naval mine

.

She engaged the German battlecruiser at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland to the Gulf of Finland on August 10, 1915.

Her armament was changed in 1916–17 as well; she exchanged the six-inch guns on the bow and stern for eight-inch guns. These additions increased her broadside to four eight-inch and eleven six-inch guns. All of her remaining light guns were removed and she received two 2.5-inch and two 47 mm anti-aircraft guns

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...

. All of these additions raised her displacement to about 13200 long tons (13,412 t).
Gromoboi came under control of the Soviet Red Fleet in September 1917. 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 base at Helsinki in March 1918 or have them 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. Gromoboi sailed to Kronstadt 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...

and was placed into reserve shortly after her arrival. She was sold to a German company for scrapping on 1 July 1922 and ran aground near Liepāja while under tow to Germany. She was scrapped in place.

External links

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