Admiral Lazarev
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Admiral Lazarev (Russian: Адмирал Лазарев, Transliteration : Admiral Lazarev) was the name of an armored turret frigate of the Imperial Russian Navy . She was the lead ship of a series of four ships. The ships of the Admiral Lazarev class were the first larger armored units in the Russian Navy to be armed in turrets . The construction program contributed significantly to the development of the Russian iron processing and shipbuilding industries.
history
Russia had begun building armored warships on a large scale in 1863. The ten 1864/65 in service monitors the Bronenossez class and the gunboat Smertsch were modern for those times ships. They carried their main armament in turrets. In addition to the small driving area, the main disadvantage was the low freeboard . Since at that time the Imperial Russian Navy only carried out its service operations at sea during the navigation period in the summer , this circumstance was initially not too disturbing. However , these boats were not very suitable for use on the high seas, but also in the Black Sea , the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea in autumn and winter . While maintaining the basic construction, a more or less seaworthy ship should be created according to the improved design of the floating batteries. The shipbuilding program passed in 1864 originally included the construction of eight larger ships, but in August 1864 it was finally decided to build four ships: the Lasarew , the Greig , the Spiridow and the Tschitschagow . The draft developed within three months provided for an increase in the power of the machine system from 350 to 400 hp. Instead of placing the guns on batteries, the ships were to have gun turrets. The draft E-3 provided for a length in the waterline of 75.6 m, a width of 13.1 m and a draft of 4.72 m. The displacement should be at 3007 tn.l. lie. The E-2 design provided for a sharper hull shape, the draft increased to 4.9 m, the displacement increased to 3196 tn.l. Since the simultaneous construction of four ships exceeded the capabilities of the Admiralty Shipyards, the construction should be divided between different Russian shipyards. The plan was to build two ships based on the E-3 design and two more ships based on the E-2 design.
Each of the ships should have three armored turrets. The Bronenossez -class monitors were equipped with a tower based on a construction by John Ericsson , while the tower built on the Smertsch was constructed according to the principles of Cowper Phipps Coles . Practical experience had shown that the Cowles design was superior to that of Ericsson. The main disadvantage was the high center of gravity of the Ericsson construction. The ships should therefore receive armored turrets based on the model of the Smertsch . From the outset, it was planned to arm 22.9 cm cannons with rifled barrel. This weapon, built to a design by Krupp, was the first modern breech-loading gun to be produced in Russia.
The ships were to be built in Russian shipyards and only iron made in Russia was to be used for construction. This certainly contributed to the development of the Russian shipbuilding industry, but it made construction lengthy and complicated.
The biggest problem with the development of armored turrets at that time was the storage of the gun carriage . Since hydraulic tube brakes were not available until the 1870s, the recoil of the cannon had to be compensated. Usually this was done by the fact that the gun initially rolled back directly on deck, later on rails attached to the deck. The challenge for the designers was to limit the return of the barrel so that a gun could be placed inside an armored turret. In the first designs of gun turrets, the mount was fixed immovably on the turntable's turntable. With the turntable, the mount was swiveled sideways around the pivot pin. The pivot pin could - as with gun turrets - be in the center of the turntable. For installation in casemates, citadels and batteries on ships as well as for coastal guns, the pivot pin was also placed outside the center of the turntable. In the first Cowles designs, the gun returned on a sloping slideway . The recoil was dampened by the friction of the carriage on the slide, the inclination and the cables, which were typical for the time, with which the carriage was moored on the slide. Overall, this enabled the length of the return pipe to be reduced to an acceptable level. Ericsson put the carriage on rollers and additionally dampened the recoil by means of a friction damper that was connected to the rollers. The damper consisted of panes and plates connected to the mount and connected to the frame. Before the shot, the plates and discs were pressed together, which increased friction. After the shot had been fired and the weapon had run back on the slide, the damper was released and the mount could easily roll back into the firing position. Friction dampers have been used on ships before. The Ericsson design was characterized by the fact that the friction remained practically constant during the reverse movement. In addition, it could be increased slightly by enlarging the plates and panels, the frictional force increasing in proportion to their number. After Armstrong made some improvements to the design, it found widespread use in naval artillery and coastal artillery . In Russia, Lieutenant General FV Pestitsch (Ф. В. Пестич), head of the artillery department of the Kronstadt war port , earned merits in the development of armored turrets and carriages. After lengthy trials, Pestitsch developed an armored turret for the 11-inch M1867 cannon in 1871 , which was used on all contemporary Russian turret ships . In order to increase the elevation range, the trunnion of the cannon could be raised or lowered in the mount designed by Pestitsch .
The ship was named after the Russian admiral Mikhail Petrovich Lasarew . Lazarev had distinguished himself in the battle of Navarino , among other things , and was in command of the Black Sea Fleet from 1833 until his death in 1851.
Construction and construction
The order for the Admiral Lasarew was awarded to the Carr and MacPherson shipyard (Карр & Макфердсон, later Baltic Works) in Saint Petersburg . The ship was to be built according to the E-3 draft. Preparatory work began on April 20, 1865. The construction of these modern ships in Russia required the resolution of a number of organizational and technical questions. The range of iron producing companies had to be adapted to the requirements of modern shipbuilding and an organization for quality assurance had to be created. However, the technological possibilities of the Russian manufacturers had to be taken into account. In some cases, parts that had already been manufactured had to be produced again or reworked because they did not meet the quality requirements. The armor for the Admiral Lazarew and the sister ships was supplied by the Ishorsky Works, and part of it was also supplied by the ironworks of the mining authority in Kamensk .
Furthermore, the construction of the ships was delayed by ongoing changes to the project. A double-planked bow was planned based on the model of the English ship Bellerophon . The reinforcement of the structure should allow ramming and protect the hull from damage when the anchor is picked up in stormy seas. After the accident in the Smertsch and Latnik gunboats in 1865, the usual way of laying ventilation pipes was abandoned. Instead, they should be hung from the deck beams. When passing through a main bulkhead, the ventilation pipes should have check valves. This was to ensure that the bulkheads were actually watertight in every case. At the suggestion of the chairman of the shipbuilding committee Major General SI Chernyavsky (С. И. Чернявский) the thickness of the armor on the side walls was increased from 114 to 152 mm, although the production of armor plates of this type caused difficulties.
The armor was built up in several layers. First a layer of planks made of teak with a thickness of 229 mm was applied to the hull, on top a layer of iron plates with a thickness of 25.4 mm. A layer of vertically running teak planks with a thickness of 203 mm was laid on top of this, on which the armor plates of 14 or 152 mm thickness were laid. The vertical teak planks were reinforced by iron angles of the same thickness. They should prevent the armor from denting when hit. The teak lining on the one hand prevented parts of the brittle armor from splintering, and on the other hand the elastic material dampened the forces introduced and thus prevented the armor fastening bolts from tearing out. The 25.4 mm thick intermediate layer of iron was intended to absorb fragments and projectiles that had penetrated the outer armor. The inner skin with a thickness of 14.3 mm formed the last layer. In Chernyavski's opinion, this armor should provide better protection from hits than the armor of the Bellerophon . The advantage of the two-layer armor was, in addition to the higher quality, the lower price compared to a single-layer armor of comparable thickness and the fact that armor plates of greater thickness were difficult to manufacture in Russia. The front armor of the towers was reinforced to 165 mm, the sides and rear walls were 127 mm thick.
The changes to the armor increased the displacement by approximately 240 t. This increased the mean draft by 0.3 m, at the stern to a total of 5.6 m. This appeared permissible, and there was no fear of a negative impact on the properties of the ship. In order to maintain the freeboard of 1.52 m, the side walls were increased by 0.3 m.
Instead of the originally intended two-wing propellers, three-wing propellers with a diameter of 4.57 m have now been installed. This partially compensated for the loss of speed caused by the greater displacement. At the same time, the steering gear was modified. Instead of the usual, balanced oars were used. The commander of the tank squadron, Rear Admiral IF Lichachev (И. Ф. Лихачев) enforced this change in a postscript to the construction contract on October 26, 1865. The better maneuverability of the ship during small voyages was considered to be advantageous. This also made it possible to avoid overloading the steering gear, as had occurred with the Pervenez (Первенец) and the Ne tron menja (Не тронь меня).
The marine machinery was also supplied by Carr and MacPherson. Changes were made here in December 1865. The originally planned output of 400 hp has been increased to five times, 2000 hp. In order to achieve this performance, the grate and heating surfaces of the boiler were increased. To be on the safe side, areas were set 25% larger than the standard British norms at the time. A superheater was also provided. A total of five flame tube boilers with horizontally positioned tubes with a diameter of 64 mm were planned for steam generation . The flue gases were diverted at the rear end of the boiler and passed through the boiler again. The vapor pressure should be 1.76 kg / cm 2 . A two-cylinder steam engine with horizontal cylinders and simple steam expansion was used . The cylinder bore increased to 1730 mm. The coal reserve was estimated at around 260 t. At a speed of 9 knots, this resulted in a range of 1200 to 1500 nautical miles .
As early as January 1865 the installation of two 11-inch cannons was finally determined. These breech loaders with a drawn barrel and a prismatic wedge lock were initially obtained from Krupp in Germany and later manufactured in Russia at the Obuchow works . The weapons should be built into the towers constructed by Pestitsch. The trunnion of the cannons could assume three positions, the distance between the middle and lower position was 330 mm. On the Admiral Lasarew the trunnion was moved by means of a hydraulic hand pump, the time for raising and lowering was 3.5 minutes. Depending on the position of the trunnion, the directional range was between −3 ° and + 6 ° (upper position), 0 ° to + 9 ° (middle position) or + 6 ° and + 13 ° (lower position). The turrets for all four frigates were built in collaboration with Charles Baird's (Чарльз Берд) factory in St. Petersburg.
In March 1866 changes were made to the project again. Following the example of the HMS Bellerophon , a drainage pipe was to be laid in the double floor of the ship in order to keep the space between the floors constantly dry. Because of the work that had already started on the ship, it was difficult to implement the change. It was therefore decided not to run the pipe over the entire length of the ship and only to install it in the places where water could collect in the double bottom. In an evaluation of the sinking of the British frigate Prince Consort during a storm in 1862, the coamings of the hatches on the upper deck were increased by 400 mm. Based on the model of the Italian corvette Affondatore , the roofs of the towers were given openings for visors and for the extraction of smoke gases. On the Admiral Lasarew , these openings were covered by simple metal sheets. The armored deck was originally 25.4 mm thick and consisted of only one layer of armor plates. As on the Corvette Minin (Минин), the construction was changed to a two-layer design, the upper layer should be 15.9 mm thick, the lower 9.5 mm thick. A thin cloth and a thick layer of felt should be placed between the layers . The reason was the easier production of thinner armor plates, and it was hoped that the deck would be more bulletproof.
Although larger and more powerful than their predecessors, the ships did not yet meet the expectations of a frigate and were therefore classified as armored batteries (броненосная батарея). On July 4, 1866, the name of all ships was given the addition Admiral , on November 8 of the same year a reclassification as an armored turret frigate (Броненосный башенный фрегат) took place before construction began.
The Admiral Lasarew was officially laid down as the second ship in the series on May 17, 1867. Although construction was going on incredibly quickly for the time, the construction of the forged stems and other problems delayed the construction of the ship. Nevertheless, the Admiral Lasarew was the first ship in the series to be launched on September 9, 1867. After the launch, the ship had a draft of 2.74 m at the stern and 1.52 m at the bow. The deviation in the longitudinal axis was only 4.76 mm.
The further expansion of the ship was delayed by the late delivery of equipment and repeated changes to the project. The diameter of the gun turrets was changed, as was the structure of the bridge. These changes also led to the projected displacement being exceeded. This in turn forced a change to the rig . The sail area was reduced and limited to topsail and try sails . The rig should only be used in the event of a failure of the machinery or to reduce the offense of the ship. As early as October 1867, the installation of steam-powered winches was specified, which should be installed below deck. The construction was completed in Russia by January 1868, but the winches had to be built in England. The anchor system was also changed again. A Martin anchor was ordered in England for the Admiral Lasarew .
In May 1868 the ship was ready to be transferred to Kronstadt . Because of the low water level of the Neva , the ship had to be balanced on a level keel with a draft of 3.16 m. The armor plates removed as a result were re-attached in the Petrowski Dock in Kronstadt in the winter of 1868/69. Specialists from the St. Petersburg shipyards were assigned to Kronstadt to complete the ship.
In particular, the late delivery of material and equipment repeatedly delayed construction. The completion of the turrets was delayed by two years and could not be completed until 1871. For the construction of the towers of the Admiral Lazarew armor plates were used, which were originally intended for the hull armor of the Minin .
Testing and use
During the sea trials of the Admiral Lasarew , as with all ships in the series, a greater draft than projected was measured. The ship was heavily stern-heavy, the stern was around 1.5 m lower in the water than the bow.
On October 10, 1871, the Admiral Lasarew reached a speed of 10.4 knots on the measuring section between the roadstead of Kronstadt and the Tolbuchin lighthouse. The performance was indicated with 2004 HP during this test drive, the ship had only 64 tons of coal loaded. The test had to be aborted because the incoming frigate Admiral Spiridow could not stop in Kronstadt and the Admiral Lazarew rammed amidships on the starboard side. As a result of the accident, various departments of the ship were flooded and the ship quickly listed an 8 ° list. A disaster could only be prevented through the timely use of fire extinguishing launches and other boats.
The stern-heaviness of the ship meant that the guns were not in a horizontal plane. This made it difficult to fire the cannons while driving. Vice Admiral Popow therefore had some modifications made in order to better distribute the weights on the ship. The work was carried out in 1873. After completing the work, the Admiral Lasarew sailed from Kronstadt to Reval in the summer of 1873 in very high seas and wind force 10 . Different courses were driven in terms of waves and wind direction. After the end of the eight-hour test, Popov noticed that the ship was floating on the waves "like a duck" and certified that the ship was excellent seaworthy.
In order to lighten the ship further, Popov suggested replacing the stern tower with an open barbette. A 305mm cannon was to be used in the barbette. However, since the weapon did not appear fully developed, Popov's proposal was rejected. Another proposal by Popov, the replacement of the 229-mm guns for cannons of the caliber 280 mm, was accepted. A 280 mm cannon was installed in each turret instead of the two 229 mm guns. After the exchange, the Admiral Lasarew and the Admiral Greig were the ships with the most powerful artillery armament in the Russian fleet after the Pyotr Veliki , the weight of a salvo was 750 kg.
In 1878 the risk of war breaking out between the United Kingdom and Russia increased. The frigates were to be deployed in St. Petersburg's first line of defense and to cover the minefields laid in front of Kronstadt. This again led to a rearmament. In order to be able to lead the fire against the less armored decks of opposing ships, the armament was reinforced by mortars with caliber 229. To protect against sea mines, the ships were each given four 87-mm cannons and one 47-mm cannon System Enquist.
Between 1881 and 1892 the boilers on the Admiral Lasarew were exchanged. In 1878 the ship received a steam-powered steering system, which had already proven itself on the Pamjat Merkuria (Память Меркурия) and the Admiral Nakhimov (Адмирал Нахимов).
In 1892 the Admiral Lasarew was reclassified as a coastal armored ship like her sister ships. In the same year the ship also received a mine-laying device, the combat load was between 12 and 15 sea mines. In the following year, a check showed that the hull of the ship was in good condition and the ship could serve another 20 years.
Between 1901 and 1903 the boilers were exchanged again. At the same time, the armament of the ship was modernized. The main armament was retained, but the small-caliber weapons were replaced by new types. A 64-mm cannon and three 37-mm revolver cannons from Hotchkiss were equipped. Since the concept is now out of date, the ship was used in the training units of the Baltic fleet .
In 1911 the ship was finally withdrawn from service and sold to Germany for scrapping. On the crossing in December 1912, the Admiral Lasarew sank in tow during a storm in the Baltic Sea.
Individual evidence
- ^ Friction damper according to Ericsson
- ↑ In the Imperial Russian Navy, members of technical careers traditionally held ranks of the Army.
- ↑ The crooked dimensions arise because the metric system was not used in Russia at that time. 25.4 mm correspond to the Russian length measure Djuim (Дюйм) or one inch .
- ↑ Melnikow, Chapter 1
Web links
- Side elevation and top view of the 'Admiral Lasarow' (drawing)
- Structure of the hull armor of the 'Admiral Lasarow' (drawing)
- 9-inch cannon M1867 (drawing)
- Side elevation and plan view of a tower with a 280 mm cannon (here Admiral Spirdow , identical to Admiral Lasarow ) (drawing)
literature
- PM Мельников: Башенные броненосные фрегаты. Судостроение, 1985 (RM Melnikow: armored turret frigates )
- Л. И. Амирханов: Артиллерия российских мониторов. Гангут, Санкт-Петербург 1998 (LI Amirchanow: The Artillery of Russian Monitors , Gangut Publishing House, St. Petersburg 1998)
- Виктор Галыня: Первые русские мониторы (сборник статей и документов). Санкт-Петербург 2000 (Viktor Galynja: The First Russian Monitors (Collection of Articles and Documents) , St. Petersburg 2000)
Type Opyt: Opyt
Type Gornostai: Gornostai
Floating batteries: Perwenez | Ne tron menja | Kremlin
Type Bronenossez: Tifon | Uragan | Lawa | Perun | Bronenossez | Latnik | Jedinorog | Strelez | Weschtschun | Koldun
Smertsch type: Smertsch | Russalka | Charodeika
Type Admiral Lazarew: Admiral Lazarew | Admiral Greig | Admiral Spiridov | Admiral Chichagov
Popovka : Novgorod | Vice Admiral Popov
Type Admiral Ushakov : Admiral Ushakow | Admiral Senjawin | Admiral General Apraksin
Doschd type: Mina | Pishshawl | Kars | Sekira | Jorsch | Burun | Tutscha | Wichr | Doschd | Sneg | Grosa | Burja | Degree
Grozjashchi type: Grozjashchi | Gremyashchi | Otwaschny
Type Chrabry: Chrabry
Type Korejez / Manchur: Korejez | Manchur | Donets | Zaporozhez | Kubanez | Terez | Uralez | Chernomorets
Giljak type: Giljak
Chiwinez type: Chiwinez
Giljak type: Bobr | Koreez | Giljak | Sivuch