Gromoboi
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|---|---|
 Gromoboi |
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| Overview | |
| Type | Armored cruiser |
| units | Single ship |
| Shipyard | |
| Order | 1893 |
| Keel laying | May 7, 1898 |
| Launch | May 8, 1899 |
| delivery | November 1900 |
| Namesake | a Russian legendary figure |
| period of service |
1900-1918 |
| Whereabouts | Wrecked in Germany in 1922 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
12,455 t , max. 13,676 t |
| length |
146.6 m |
| width |
20.9 m |
| Draft |
7.9 m |
| crew |
839 men |
| drive |
32 Belleville boilers |
| speed |
20.1 kn |
| Range |
8,100 nm at 10 kn |
| Armament |
|
| Bunker quantity |
Max. 2,350 tons of coal |
| Armor |
|
| similar | |
The armored cruiser Gromoboi ( Громобой , thunder, name of a Russian legendary figure) was a ship of the Imperial Russian Navy . His design was based on the armored cruiser Rossija . The Gromoboi had belonged to the cruiser squadron stationed in Vladivostok since 1901 and - like the Rossija - was badly damaged in 1904 by Japanese cruisers in the naval battle near Ulsan on August 14, 1904. Two more damages prevented further use during the Russo-Japanese War . 1906 relocated the Gromoboi to the Baltic Sea. By 1911 it was converted into a mine layer. It was hardly ever used during the First World War. It was decommissioned in 1918 and sold for demolition in 1922.
Construction and construction
The Gromoboi was supposed to be a replica of the Rossija , but the intention to change the machinery and armor made this impossible. Since the hull shape and size of the Rossija were largely adopted, both ships looked very similar. Construction of the Gromoboi began on June 14, 1897 at the Baltic shipyard in St. Petersburg . The official keel was laid on May 7, 1898 and the launch on May 8, 1899. On November 24, 1899 she moved to Kronstadt to be equipped. She got aground in the ice and could only be removed after three days. The hull lining then had to be repaired considerably.
The Gromoboi was 146.6 m long, up to 20.9 m wide and had a draft of 7.9 m. It displaced 12,655 t and was only 97 t above the draft. As with the Rossija , the underwater ship was clad with wood and copper. After the completion of the ship, it turned out to be bow-heavy, which significantly affected its speed and made the forecastle very wet. At the end of the test phase, it was given a permanent ballast in the rear area. Carefully trimmed, the ship then showed good sea characteristics.
drive
The use of a marching steam engine on the central screw as in the Rossija was given up again with the Gromoboi . Three equally powerful steam engines should provide 14,500 PSi . During the acceptance test, 15,496 hp were measured, which enabled 20.1 knots . The steam was generated in 32 Belleville water tube boilers. The maximum possible supply of coal was 2,400 tons; this should enable the ship to operate at a cruising speed of 10 knots in an action area of 8,100 nautical miles .
Armament
The main armament of the Gromoboi consisted of four 203 mm L / 45 cannons of the 1892 model , as was the case with the Rossija. The rear pair was also set up in swallow nests behind protective shields at the height of the third mast. The pair in front was placed in casemates on the deck above the middle artillery. As on the Rossija , the cannons could be aimed from −5 ° downwards to + 18 ° upwards, fired 88 kg projectiles and had a range of 11,000 m.
The middle artillery consisted of sixteen 152 mm L / 45 cannons of the model 1892. The guns built into the bow and stern had a small swivel range . With the exception of a pair, the remaining 152 mm cannons were protected in casemates, had an aiming range of −6 ° to + 20 ° and could fire their 42 kg projectiles up to 11,500 m.
To ward off torpedo boats , the Gromoboi received twenty-four 75 mm L / 50 cannons of the Canet model 1892. They were set up in swallow nests behind protective shields and fired their 5 kg projectiles at an elevation of 21 ° up to 7,800 m.
In addition, the Gromoboi received twelve 47 mm Hotchkiss cannons, which could shoot up to 1,850 m, and eighteen 37 mm Hotchkiss cannons , which had a range of 2,800 m. Both Hotchkiss cannons had a rate of fire of up to 20 rounds per minute. As on the Rossija , all guns were replicas of French types made in Russia.
The Gromoboi also had four 381 mm underwater torpedo tubes on the broad sides.
Armor
The Navy Ministry wanted to improve the armor, especially in the area of the guns, while maintaining the hull construction of the Rossija . The hope of being able to use the stronger Krupp steel was dashed as the Russian companies could not manufacture it. The belt armor of the Gromoboi was partly thinner than its predecessor and only 91.4 m long and a total of only 2.4 m high. The belt was closed at the front and back by a 150 mm thick armored bulkhead. The armored deck was 37 mm thick, the thickness of the embankments to the belt armor was 64 mm. Fore and aft had an armored deck of 64 to 76 mm. A separate safeguarding of the cylinder covers of the steam engines was no longer necessary for the three machines of the same size. The chimney bases and the ammunition lifts were also protected by 37 mm thick armor.
period of service
On December 10, 1900, the Gromoboi left Libau for the Far East. The first stop was in Kiel , where it was visited by Prince Heinrich of Prussia , who had been in command of the German squadron off China until the beginning of the year. When she was still in the Mediterranean, it was decided that she should represent Russia at the opening ceremony of the Australian Parliament. It reached Melbourne on April 30, 1901, after having previously called at Albany in Western Australia. The Queen's representative, the Duke of York , visited the Gromoboi and was so impressed by the ship that he asked the Emperor that Captain Jessen and the Gromoboi should accompany him as an escort to Sydney .
The Gromoboi reached Port Arthur on July 29, 1901 and stayed in the Pacific until the Russo-Japanese War in 1904.
Russo-Japanese War
At the beginning of the war, the Gromoboi belonged to the cruiser squadron in Vladivostok , to which the similar Rossija and the outdated Rurik as well as the protected cruiser Bogatyr belonged as flagship . The squadron made a few trips to disrupt Japanese transports to Korea. On June 15, the first major success came with the advance of the three armored cruisers as far as the Koreastrasse , when the Gromoboi sank the Izumi Maru , which transported the sick and wounded home. 30 men died in the attack by the Gromoboi , 100 came on board the Russian cruiser as prisoners, the rest were sunk with the ship. The cruiser also discovered and sunk the Hitachi Maru (6,716 GRT), which was carrying eighteen 28 cm siege guns that were to be used against Port Arthur. The Hitachi Maru was en route from Shimonoseki to the Manchurian coast and had around 1,000 Guards soldiers and sailors on board who refused to surrender. Only 152 people survived the sinking. It was the most casualty sinking of a single Japanese ship during the Russo-Japanese War.
In August, the Gromoboi was badly damaged by the Japanese in the naval battle near Ulsan . Following the successes of the Russian armored cruiser squadron in June, the Japanese naval command stationed eight armored cruisers and protected cruisers under Vice Admiral Kamimura Hikonojo in the Korea Strait to prevent further attacks. In August, the Russian cruisers lying in Vladivostok were supposed to meet the First Pacific Squadron under Vice Admiral Withöft, coming from Port Arthur , when it attempted to break out, but were not ready to march because of contradicting prior information. Although late, Rear Admiral Jessen, the former Gromoboi commander, left on August 13 with the three armored cruisers Rossija , Gromoboi and Rurik , as he expected a successful breakthrough, which had since failed in the sea battle in the Yellow Sea . When on the morning of August 14th, after more than 24 hours of driving, there was no sign of Withoft's fleet to be seen almost at the height of Pusan , Jessen ordered the march back to Vladivostok. During the night, Vice Admiral Kamimura with the four modern armored cruisers Izumo , Azuma , Tokiwa and Iwate and the two protected cruisers Naniwa and Takachiho passed the Russian unit in the opposite direction without either side noticing. Kamimura was also on the march back from his night patrol and was heading straight for the Russian cruisers.
Jessen had barely set course for Vladivostok when he saw the four Japanese armored cruisers in front of him. His situation was immensely bad: he was far from his base and superior enemy forces blocked his way there; in addition, in the early morning of a clear summer day, his ships lay before the enemy, illuminated by the rising sun. At 5:20 a.m. on August 14, 1904, the battle began at a distance of about 8 km. The Rurik , the last and weakest ship in the Russian formation, was shot at by the last two ships in the Japanese formation. The badly hit Rurik lost almost all of her officers and fell back, but continued to resist. The other two Russian ships made a U-turn in order to let the Rurik , which could hardly be steered due to a hit in the steering gear, cut back into the keel line on the opposite course. Although their position was hopeless, Jessen tried to save them by continuing to maneuver close to them with constant changes of course and trying to attract enemy fire. His two remaining ships received increasingly heavy hits. At around 8:30 a.m., when the situation on the Rurik had become hopeless, it was sunk by its crew themselves. 204 seafarers on board were killed or drowned by the fire; 625 men (305 wounded) were rescued by the Japanese. Since Jessen saw no way to save the survivors, he turned and headed for Vladivostok. Kamimura chased the Russian cruisers and scored more hits, but the Iwate and Azuma were also badly hit. Despite his clear superiority and the obviously badly battered opponents, Admiral Kamimura broke off the chase at 11:15 am, possibly due to a lack of ammunition, and set course back to Pusan.
The Rossija and the Gromoboi reached their home port badly damaged. The Rossiya had 48 dead and 165 injured, the Gromoboi 91 dead and 182 injured. The high number of casualties was due to the poor protection of the Russian gun crews. On the Gromoboi , over half of its guns were out of action. Their armor, however, was never penetrated. Even under the poor repair conditions in Vladivostok, it was ready for use again after two months.
Ready for action again, the Gromoboi hit the ground immediately off Vladivostok on October 13th and was not ready for action again until February 1905. The new repair was used to install six additional 152 mm cannons on the upper deck, around which lightly armored casemates were built. The bow and stern guns were also relocated and light guns were taken from board. She kept only nineteen 75mm and two 37mm guns. She also received several Barr and Stroud rangefinders . When she was performing tests on the newly installed Telefunken radio system, she ran into a mine on May 24, 1905 , which damaged the front boiler room. She was able to return to Vladivostok, but was now out for the rest of the war.
Between the wars
The Gromoboi were prepared for return to the Baltic Sea after the end of the war and returned to the Baltic Sea in April 1906. There it was modernized by 1911. Their machines and boilers were thoroughly overhauled and their armament changed further. The rear torpedo tubes have been removed and the front ones replaced with more modern 453 mm tubes. The front mast was removed and replaced by the previous third mast. The previous middle mast was moved to the place of the old third mast. Both masts received spotlight platforms. The rear 203 mm guns were installed in new casemates, some of the 152 mm guns were slightly relocated and the armor of all casemates was reinforced. Armored turrets for the range finders were built in at the front and rear. Of the light guns, only four 75 mm and four 47 mm guns remained on board.
Machine tests carried out in 1910 were extremely unsatisfactory, as only an output of 9,980 PSi was achieved. The final final tests of the modernization on July 27, 1911 went better, as an output of 13,340 PSi and a speed of 18.5 knots were achieved. The ship was prepared as a mine-layer for 200 mines.
First World War
At the beginning of the war, the Gromoboi was assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Brigade of the Baltic Fleet . The Gromoboi and the armored cruiser Admiral Makarow led the first battle between Russian ships and ships of the German Imperial Navy on August 17, 1914 , when they encountered the cruisers Magdeburg and Augsburg , three torpedo boats and the auxiliary mine-layer Germany at the exit of the Gulf of Finland . Both sides broke off the engagement immediately: the Germans because of the superiority of the Russians and the lack of the possibility of reinforcement; the Russians because they were convinced that a strong German cover group must be nearby.
On August 10, 1915, the battle cruiser Von der Tann, together with S 131 and G 197 at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, got into battle with the Gromoboi , which turned off in front of the superior battle cruiser. In August 1915 riots against German-Baltic officers broke out on the ship. 1915-16 the Gromoboi was rearmed; the 152-mm bow and stern guns were replaced by 203-mm guns, of which six were then available. There were also twenty 152 mm guns. The light guns were released except for two 75-mm cannons and two 47-mm anti-aircraft guns. Due to all the modifications, the displacement increased to 13,200 t.
Whereabouts
The Gromoboi moved through the ice from Helsinki to Kronstadt on February 1, 1918 and was decommissioned there. In 1922 it was sold for demolition via the German-Soviet company Derumetall. When it was towed to Germany, it ran aground near Libau and was then demolished on site.
literature
- Peter Brook: Armored Cruiser vs. Armored Cruiser: Ulsan 14 August 1904. Warship 2000-2001, Conway Maritime Press, London 2000, ISBN 0-85177-791-0 .
- Robert Gardiner (Ed.): Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. Conway Maritime Press, Greenwich 1979, ISBN 0-8317-0302-4 .
- Robert Gardiner, Randal Gray (ed.): Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906-1922. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1984, ISBN 0-85177-245-5 .
- Israel Getzler: Kronstadt 1917–1921. Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-521-89442-5 .
- Paul G. Halpern: A Naval History of World War I. Routledge, 1995, ISBN 1-85728-498-4 .
- Stephen McLaughlin: From Ruirik to Ruirik: Russia's Armored Cruisers. Warship 1999-2000, Conway Maritime Press, London 1999, ISBN 0-85177-724-4 .
- Anthony J. Watts: The Imperial Russian Navy. Arms and Armor, London 1990, ISBN 0-85368-912-1 .
Web links
- Photos (english)
- Gromoboi on cityofart (English)
- Melnikow: Building history of the Gromoboi (Russian)
- On the history of the ship (Russian)
- Side elevation of the Gromoboi
- Krestjaninow: Cruiser of the Imperial Russian Navy (Russian)
- The Russian 152mm Gun (English)
- The Russian 203mm gun (English)
- The Russian 75mm / 50 gun (English)
- 47 mm Hotchkiss gun (English)
- 37 mm Hotchkiss gun (English)
Footnotes
- ↑ a b McLaughlin, p. 55
- ↑ a b c Watts, p. 93
- ↑ Brook, p. 38
- ↑ McLaughlin, p. 55, but differently Gardiner, p. 190, presumably partly Krupp armor
- ↑ Gardiner, p. 190
- ↑ Alexander Massov: Diplomatic mission of the 'Gromoboy cruiser'. Russia – Australia Historical Military Connections ( Memento of the original from November 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and picture of the Gromoboi in Sydney
- ↑ McLaughlin, p. 77
- ↑ Brook, p. 34ff.
- ↑ McLaughlin, pp. 77f.
- ↑ a b c McLaughlin, p. 60
- ↑ a b McLaughlin, p. 78
- ↑ Halpern, p. 184.
- ↑ Getzler, p. 15.
- ↑ Gardiner / Gray, p. 295.
