Novgorod (1873)

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Ironclad Novgorod
Ironclad Novgorod
Overview
Type Popovka , gunboat, ironclad
Shipyard

St. Petersburg and Nikolaev

Keel laying December 17, 1871
Launch May 21, 1873
1. Period of service flag
period of service

29 years

Commissioning 1874
Decommissioning 4th July 1903
home port Nikolayev
Whereabouts Scrapped in 1912
Technical specifications
Circular hull shape, d. H. Length and width are equal to the diameter
displacement

2491 t
2671 t when fully loaded

length

30.8 m

width

30.8 m

Draft

4.1 m

crew

149

drive

horizontal compound machine , eight boilers, six propellers, each shaft 560 HP
approx. 3000 HP total power

speed

6.7 knots

Armament
Armor
  • Belt 229-178 mm
  • Barbette 229 mm
  • Deck 60 mm (2.5 in)
  • Chimney base 115 mm

The Novgorod was a popovka and ironclad from the 19th century. The ship became famous for its circular hull shape when viewed from above. It is one of several round ships (so-called "Popowka") that were built as a result of the Crimean War in the 1870s.

construction

Model of the Russian coastal defense ship Novgorod

hull

The Novgorod was developed and commissioned by Vice Admiral Andrei Alexandrovich Popov . In 1871 the keel was laid in St. Petersburg . Prefabricated there, it was assembled in Nikolayev . It was built up on twelve keels made of teak , was provided with a double floor and received iron armor on the hull, guns and chimney anchoring. As a special feature, her trunk was not, as usual, much longer than it was wider, but rather circular. As a result, the length of almost 31 meters was also the width and diameter of the ship. Apart from the two chimneys, the Novgorod was constructed very flat, which is why the water often washed over the deck when the sea was heavy. In addition, the deck was slightly rounded towards the middle.

Positive aspects of the hull shape

  • With the same displacement, the ship with the round hull shape could carry more and heavier weapons than with a conventional hull shape.
  • As has already been shown in model tests with a 7.5 m model round boat, the stability and vibration behavior were still good even in heavy seas. During a test drive, the roll and roll angles of only 7 ° were measured on six meter high waves
  • Since there was the idea in the middle of the 19th century to build warships short but wide in order to reduce the side area to be armored, Popow developed this extreme implementation of this idea in order to save armor.
  • The draft of the ship should be less than 4.3 meters. This requirement was met with the construction (see info box)

Negative phenomena of the hull shape

  • Contrary to what Popov had imagined, the stability when firing the heavy artillery left a lot to be desired; the rudder had to serve as a water brake and there was even the risk that the Novgorod was set in rotation by the recoil of a gun.
  • Due to the water resistance created by the bow and the large width of the hull, the Novgorod was very slow with a top speed of 7 knots and was actually unsuitable for her use on the coast (see "Operation").
  • Due to the very large deck surface and the medium-thick armor of 60 mm, it was susceptible to vertical hits from volleys fired over long distances.
  • The big annoyance was that the Novgorod was very difficult to maneuver, immobile and clumsy. In addition, the lack of a keel made it difficult to drive a straight stretch as the ship always tended to pull out.
  • The large, straight and smooth hull bottom meant that the behavior and the force effect when the fore ship hit the waves (so-called slamming) were unfavorable and noticeable in an unpleasant manner.

drive

The Novgorod was powered by six steam engines, fired by eight boilers. Each so-called horizontal compound machine had a shaft and a propeller mounted thereon; H. you could drive independently with each system, as each machine had its own propeller. Each steam engine developed approx. 560 HP, so the total output was around 3360 HP. The ship, however, only had one rudder. With this equipment, the ship reached a speed of 6.7 knots.

Armament

The ship was equipped with two breech-loading main guns caliber 279 mm, two 4-pounders caliber 86 mm as auxiliary guns and sixteen 37-mm cannons. The main guns were positioned in the middle of the main tower and moved independently of each other.

Armor

On the side, the ship received a belt armor, the gun turrets and their barbettes were armored as well as the anchorage of the funnel. The 178 to 229 mm thick belt armor stretched from 457 mm above to 1.4 m below the waterline. The barbeds were 2.2 m high and had 229 mm thick armor. The deck was given 2.5 inch (6 cm) thick iron plates throughout. The chimney bases were also given 115 mm reinforcement as sensitive points.

commitment

The Novgorod was intended as a "coastal defense ironclad", ie to monitor the coasts. It was used mainly in the mouth of the Dnepr into the Black Sea , its port was Nikolayev . However, it was also used in the Russian fleet in the Turkish-Russian wars . It served as part of the Danube Flotilla during the war from 1877 to 1878. In 1892, now out of date, it was parked purely for coastal protection and served as a supply ship. The decommissioning took place in 1903. Shortly before the First World War , it was scrapped.

Others

  • The Novgorod also had a lesser-known larger sister ship, the Kiev , later renamed Vice Admiral Popov .
  • A state yacht, the Liwadija , was also built according to the Popovka principle.

literature

Web links

Commons : Novgorod (ship, 1873)  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files