Sissoi Veliki (ship, 1896)

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flag
The Sissoi Veliki 1897 in the Mediterranean
The Sissoi Veliki 1897 in the Mediterranean
Overview
Type Ship of the line
Shipyard

New Admiralty Shipyard ,
Saint Petersburg

Keel laying July 25, 1891
Launch May 20, 1894
Commissioning October 5, 1896
Whereabouts sunk at Tsushima
on May 28, 1905
Technical specifications
displacement

10,567 t

length

107.23 m

width

20.73 m

Draft

7.77 m

crew

586 men

drive

12 Belleville boilers
2 triple expansion steam engines
8,500 hp
2 screws

speed

15.7 kn

Range

2800 nm at 10 Kn
max. 1000 tons of coal

Armament

• 4 × 305 mm cannons
• 6 × 152 mm canet cannons
• 12 × 47 mm Hotchkiss cannons
• 18 × 37 mm Hotchkiss cannons
• 6 × 38 cm torpedo tubes
• 2 × landing guns
Armor
Belt armor

152-406 mm

Armored bulkheads

152–229 mm front,
152–203 mm rear

Towers

up to 305 mm

Casemates

127 mm

Command post

229 mm

The Sissoi Veliki ( Russian Сисой Великий , also Sissoy Veliki transcribed) was the second ship of the line of the Imperial Russian Navy with the "unit armament" of a pair of heavy guns in front and behind. Construction of the ship began in 1891 at the New Admiralty Shipyard in Saint Petersburg and in October 1896 the ship came into service with the fleet due to the crisis in the Mediterranean. During the Boxer Rebellion in China , she was part of the Russian units deployed there.

In 1904, the Sissoi Weliki , who had returned in 1902, was sent again to East Asia with the ships of the Baltic Fleet . In the sea ​​battle at Tsushima she was set on fire and received a torpedo hit. The morning after the battle she surrendered near Tsushima, sinking in front of Japanese auxiliary ships. After an unsuccessful attempt to tow the Japanese , they sank the ship under the Russian flag.
During the battle there were 59 dead and 66 injured on board. Of the 613 prisoners, including about 30 seriously wounded, who were rescued by the Japanese, at least five died on the following days from the wounds they had suffered.

Building history

The ship of the line Sissoi Veliki of the Imperial Russian Navy was the fifth ship of the line in the fleet construction plan of 1881 for the Baltic fleet in the Baltic Sea. After the Navarin , she was the second Russian ship of the line with the "unit armament" of a heavy pair of guns in front and behind. She remained a single ship in the Russian fleet.

Construction of the Sissoi Weliki at the New Admiralty Shipyard

The keel laying of the new ship Gangut No. 2 took place on August 7, 1891 in a wooden hall of the New Admiralty Shipyard. On January 3, 1892, the new Sissoi Weliki building was named after Saint Sisoë , the Great († 429), of the Orthodox Church . This was to commemorate the battle of the island of Hogland against the Swedes on July 6, 1788, the day of this saint in the Orthodox church calendar. The construction time of the Sissoi Veliky in Saint Petersburg was characterized by overloading of the shipyards and a lack of specialist staff, as five ships of the line and several torpedo boats were being built at the same time. In addition, there was constant change in planning and an increase in the size of the ship. The industrial framework in the city was not up to the construction program for the fleet. The launch took place on June 2, 1894 during a naval inspection by Tsar Nicholas II.

Side view of the Sissoi Veliki

The main armament consisted of four 305 mm L / 35 cannons manufactured by the Obukhov works in St. Petersburg, in two turrets with 300 mm side armor and 65 mm roofs, after Lange favored Babettes with armored hoods had been. In addition, six 152 mm L / 45 canet cannons model 1892 from the same manufacturer (licensee) were installed as medium artillery in casemates, although the older 152 mm L / 35 cannons model 1877 were planned for a long time and they were temporarily installed Armstrong considered lighter and more modern rapid-fire guns . The late decision in favor of the Canet cannons meant that new elevators for the middle artillery had to be installed later in December 1895 because the built-in elevators were too small for the projectiles. The torpedo boat defense consisted of twelve 47-mm and ten 37-mm Hotchkiss guns , which had been manufactured in Russia under a French license. In addition, the ship of the line received six 38-cm torpedo tubes in the bow, stern and two on each side and the two 63-mm Baranowski landing guns, which are usual for ships of this size .

The drive concerned two of the Baltic shipyard in 1895 been delivered triple expansion - steam engines , the twelve boilers were supplied and were first tested in the spring 1896th The commissioning of the Sissoi Veliki was planned for September 1896. In August the rowing machine, water pumps, ventilation and a tower were either missing or not working properly. Finally, the steering gear intended for the liner Poltava was installed and the ship was delivered on October 6, 1896 for sea tests. On October 18, it completed a five-hour test that averaged 15.65 knots and 8,635 PSi. The ship was taken over by the fleet despite identified deficiencies, as it was urgently needed in the Mediterranean.

Mission history

The Sissoi Weliki came into service with the fleet in October 1896 despite a number of deficiencies. She was immediately sent to the Mediterranean to take part in the international blockade of Crete , which had been established after the uprisings there in 1896 and in which units of Great Britain, France, Russia and Italy took part. The maiden voyage revealed further defects in the new ship. In the first port called, the captain bought electric fans for the wheelhouse at his own expense because of its inadequate ventilation. The copper rings for the porthole seals could not be found in Kronstadt on departure and were forwarded later. The electrical supply collapsed for the first time before Gibraltar . When the Sissoi Veliki reached Algiers on December 27, 1896 , the commander planned to stay for 20 days in order to carry out necessary repairs on his ship, which was making water. Five days later he was telegraphed to continue to Piraeus .

Use in the Mediterranean

After regular Greek troops landed on Crete on February 15, 1897, the Greco-Turkish War began and the protecting powers increased their blockade to prevent the war from spreading.

Damage to the rear tower in March 1897

In February, the Sissoi moved Weliki to Nawarin off Crete. At the end of the month, she conducted her first live ammunition exercises ten miles from Suda Bay near Chania . The second exercise on March 17th ended in disaster. After an hour of training, the rear turret exploded, killing 16 men instantly. Six wounded died in the next few days. The explosion blasted off the roof of the tower, which was thrown against the rear bridge and caused further damage. The ship went to Toulon for repairs.

The investigation revealed mechanical and organizational deficiencies that led to a shot when the breechblock was not properly closed. As a result, mechanical safeguards were developed to prevent launching with the breech open. The necessary repair orders received the French shipyard Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée , which discovered several other deficiencies in the ship's armor, decks and bulkheads, but received no order to remedy them. Some of them existed until the ship sank in 1905.

First use in East Asia 1898–1901

In December 1897, the Russian government decided to send ships of the line to the Far East. The Nawarin and Sissoi Veliki , who were already in the Mediterranean and who started their trip to East Asia from Toulon in December after a nine-month stay in the shipyard, were to relocate there before newbuildings were to follow. At the same time, the almost new armored cruiser Rossija and the old cruiser Vladimir Monomakh were sent from the Baltic Sea to East Asia. Sissoi Veliky were initially shadowed by the British liner Victorious , which ran aground off Port Said and gave up the pursuit, while the Russian ship passed the shallow entrance of the Suez Canal with the help of many tugs . On January 29, 1898, the Sissoi Weliki was overtaken by the Nawarin, who later started in Greece, in the Indian Ocean. In Colombo, the Russian liners paused for five days and continued the journey with the cruisers ( Germany and Gefion ) of the 2nd Division of the German cruiser squadron under Prince Heinrich of Prussia , the brother of the Emperor, on February 3rd, as far as the road away from Malacca , where the Russians called at Penang , while the Germans went to Singapore . After taking over the coal, the Russian ships continued on to Hong Kong via Singapore (17th) on the 15th . They met briefly on February 20 with the armored cruiser Admiral Nakhimov , who was marching home . After a few days there, the Navarin and Sissoi Veliki went to Port Arthur , which was reached on March 16. The new base, however, did not offer sufficient conditions to supply the Pacific squadron under Admiral Fyodor Dubassow . To do this, the ships were dependent on Vladivostok and the Japanese Nagasaki .

Dmitri Donskoi, who was deployed in East Asia at the same time
Sissoi Veliki in Port Arthur

Already in the summer of 1898 the Sissoi Veliki had to go to Nagasaki for urgent repairs and then stayed in its new base in Vladivostok in 1898 and 1899 . In April 1900, at the beginning of the Boxer Rebellion , the Russian squadron concentrated in Port Arthur to carry out large landing exercises. Contrary to what was intended, this led to an intensification of the unrest in China, as even more Chinese now demanded action against the foreigners by the imperial government. On May 28, 1900, Admiral Alexejew , governor of Russia's Far East Province, sent the Pacific Squadron from Port Arthur to the Taku forts off Tientsin . Sissoi Veliky , the Petropavlovsk and the armored cruiser Dmitri Donskoy blocked the mouth of the Hai He , formerly Pei Ho, with a large number of other European warships , and smaller gunboats continued upstream and secured the landing of infantry units from May 29. This prompted the boxers to besiege the embassies in Beijing . All embassies called in protection troops and the Russians immediately dispatched a company from the liners Sissoi Veliki and Navarin to Beijing. This reached the capital without resistance and it seemed as if the European troops could easily defend the legation quarter against the unorganized protesters. On June 3, the insurgents received first reinforcements from the regular Chinese army and on the afternoon of June 19 a massive attack on all diplomatic missions began after international troops stormed the Taku forts on the 17th. In the coming weeks the Chinese burned down the Austrian, Dutch and Italian representations. The Russian sailors, along with American and French marines, defended the area for seven weeks until reinforcements arrived on August 5th. Three sailors from the Sissoi Veliki fell and one fell fatally; twelve others were injured.
Since the ships of the line of the Petropavlovsk class had meanwhile relocated to East Asia and further newbuildings were to be relocated there and the mechanical problems of the Sissoi Veliki could not be repaired on site, she left Port Arthur in December 1901 via Nagasaki, Hong Kong and Suez. The trip was again carried out together with the Nawarin . At the same time, the old cruisers Vladimir Monomakh and Dmitri Donskoi were withdrawn from East Asia. In May 1902 the returning ships of the line took part in a fleet parade on the occasion of the state visit of the French President Émile Loubet . In June the Sissoi Weliki then went to dry dock in Kronstadt . A detailed examination of the two old liners that had returned from East Asia in the winter of 1902/1903 revealed a considerable need for retrofitting. The funds available were primarily needed to complete the Borodino- class liners and new cruisers. The repairs to the Sissoi Weliki were therefore only progressing slowly. Their artillery, boilers and ventilation system were thoroughly renewed.

Use and loss in the Russo-Japanese War

Nicholas II on the Sissoi Veliki before returning to East Asia

The Russo-Japanese War began with the Japanese attack on the Russian Pacific Squadron in Port Arthur on February 10, 1904. As early as March, the Sissoi Veliky was assigned to the 2nd Pacific Squadron, which was to march to the Far East under Admiral Zinovi Petrovich Roschestvensky . An acceleration of the repairs on the Sissoi Veliki and the accelerated completion of new ships was initiated by the Navy Ministry only after the loss of the Petropavlovsk on April 13th. The new governor of Kronstadt, Admiral Birilew , is said to have achieved this primarily by deleting what he saw as unnecessary work. The old ship of the line received new rangefinders, searchlights and light weapons, but nothing was changed in the poor condition of its decks and bulkheads. Their commanding officer, Manuil Oserow, expressed concerns about their stability. Birilev is said to have suppressed at least three of his reports and pointed to the proven seaworthiness of the Sissoi Veliki .

On August 13, 1904, the 2nd Pacific Squadron moved from Saint Petersburg to Reval for a month in preparation for a tour of the fleet by Tsar Nicholas II , who visited every ship of the line. On October 14th, the squadron left Libau as the last Russian port and marched to Tangier . Sissoi Veliki formed with the Osljabja as the flagship , the Navarin and the old armored cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, the 2nd division of the outgoing squadron. In Tangier, Roschestvensky divided his squadron. The ships of the line should march further around the Cape of Good Hope , while the cruisers and transporters should meet with units of the Black Sea Fleet in the Suda Bay and then take the shorter route through the Suez Canal.

At the last moment he decided to send the two oldest liners Sissoi Veliki and Nawarin under Dmitri Gustawowitsch von Fölkersahm through the Mediterranean to the meeting point in Nosy Be , Madagascar . On October 2, the squadron separated; Fölkersahm switched to Sissoi Weliki and ran through the Mediterranean with Nawarin , Swetlana , Schemtschug , Almas and a number of auxiliary ships. Off Madagascar, Roshestvensky stayed two months to improve artillery performance. It showed that the old ships were better trained than the new Borodino- class liners . The march from Madagascar to Cam Ranh Bay , French Indochina , took 28 days and the squadron ran an average of only seven knots. The Sissoi Veliki had mechanical problems and slowed the march of the squadron. In less than a month, the new water-tube boilers failed twelve times, the rowing machine at least four times. On May 14, the Russian squadron under Admiral Zinovi Petrovich Roschestvensky began the march to Vladivostok and planned to march through the Korean Strait . The Japanese suspected this plan and had stationed their fleet in Pusan .

On the morning of May 27, the Russians spotted the Japanese cruiser Izumi in the thick fog , watching the approaching squadron continuing its march into the Tsushima Strait . After noon, the Japanese fleet under Admiral Tōgō , which had been alerted by an auxiliary ship during the night, attacked and concentrated its fire on the Borodino- class ships of the line in advance. Sissoi Veliky marched in the left row behind the flagship of the 2nd Osljabja Division . At 1:39 p.m., she opened fire at the same time as the flagship Knjas Suvorov and first shot at the armored cruisers Kasuga and Nisshin at the end of the 1st Japanese Division and then at the armored cruiser Iwate , which it hit with a 305 mm bullet. At 14:40 a heavy projectile exploded in front of the bow of the Sissoi Veliki and damaged the torpedo tube in the bow. This was followed by two hits near the waterline, which led to the flooding of the forward compartments. In addition, there were other hits that destroyed the hydraulics of the bow tower, set the casemates on fire and raised the fear of the middle artillery's magazine catching fire, so that it had to be flooded for safety reasons. At about 3:40 p.m. the burning Sissoi Veliki left the battle line. After the fires had been extinguished, she tried to reconnect with the battleships and after the end of the artillery battle by the Japanese battle fleet ran northwards with a considerable list through the many submerged departments behind the Nawarin . When the battle was resumed by Admiral Kamimura's armored cruiser , she was not hit. However, she was unable to maintain the speed of the flagship of the new commander Nebogatov , Emperor Nikolai I , and fell behind with Navarin and Admiral Ushakov . In the subsequent attacks by Japanese destroyers, the old ship of the line survived the first two waves (7.45 p.m., 10.30 p.m.), but received a torpedo hit in the stern at around 11.15 p.m. during the third attack, which finally put the already unreliable steering gear out of action and also damaged the screws.

The Shinano Maru
Survivors of the Sissoi Veliky in the Sasebo Marine Hospital

Steering with the machines, the Sissoi Weliki continued her flight from the battlefield until at 3:15 a.m. the bow was completely under water and forward movement was no longer possible. The commander realized that he could at best set his ship aground off Tsushima as a battery and tried to reach the beach by reversing. At 6:00 a.m. he had to turn off the machines because the water reached all the rooms below. The damaged Vladimir Monomakh passed the Sissoi Veliky without being able to provide assistance. At 7:20 a.m. on May 28, the armed Japanese support ships Shinano Maru , Dainan Maru and Yawato Maru discovered the drifting liner. The commander Oserow asked for help with his sinking ship. The Japanese demanded a surrender and Oserow had a white flag raised . Yawato Maru took up the pursuit of the Vladimir Monomakh , while the other two ships tried to bring in the Sissoi Veliki . A rescue team on board at 8:15 a.m. set a Japanese flag, but quickly realized that it was no longer possible to tow the liner. Taking their flag with them, the Japanese evacuated the ship and took 613 Russians on board as prisoners. At 10:05 a.m. the Sissoi Veliki capsized and sank with the Russian flag.

The battle left 59 dead and 66 injured on board the Sissoi Veliki . Of the 30 or so seriously wounded rescued by the Japanese, at least five died of their injuries in the following days.
118 men of the ship received the George Cross , a Russian award for bravery , on their return . Commander Oserov received the military version of the Order of St. Vladimir and resigned as rear admiral in 1909 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Sissoi Weliki  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ including the Gangut , which was lost in 1897, but which is mostly regarded as a coastal armored ship and not a ship of the line
  2. ↑ In 1881 a committee of Russian admirals under Grand Duke Alexei decided on a program to rebuild the Baltic fleet with 16 ocean-going liners and 13 cruisers. The chief of naval armaments, Admiral Ivan Shestakov , considered the construction of ship classes to be wrong and preferred to change the design in order to be able to bring in foreign innovations. In 1885 the program was reduced to the construction of nine battleships in order to raise funds for the development of torpedo boats . The first ten years of the construction program were marked by indecision, bureaucracy and a lack of budget. Only three ships of the line were built ( Alexander II , Imperator Nikolai I , Gangut ), relatively small and slow ships with a barbette on the forecastle for 12-inch 305-mm cannons, of which the Gangut received only one. In the Russian Navy, officers joked about the gangut: “A mast, a chimney, a cannon. A big misconstruction. ”(Russian:“ Одна мачта, одна труба, одна пушка. Одно недоразумение. ”) - Bogdanow, p. 7
  3. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 41.
  4. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 40.
  5. ↑ a b Bogdanow, p. 44.
  6. ^ Bogdanov, p. 45.
  7. ^ Bogdanov, p. 47.
  8. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 48.
  9. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 50.
  10. ↑ Bogdanov, p. 51.
  11. ↑ a b Bogdanow, p. 52.
  12. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 53.
  13. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 55.
  14. ^ Bogdanov, p. 59.
  15. ^ Bogdanov, p. 60.
  16. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 62.
  17. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 66.
  18. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 67.
  19. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 68.
  20. ↑ Corbett, p. 39.
  21. ↑ a b Bogdanow, p. 71.
  22. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 72.
  23. ^ Bogdanov, p. 75.
  24. ^ Bogdanov, p. 76.
  25. ↑ Corbett, p. 299.
  26. ↑ Corbett, p. 305: "Taken her aft and entirely wrecked her rudder"
  27. ↑ Corbett, p. 305.
  28. ↑ Bogdanow, p. 77; Corbett, p. 307.
  29. ↑ a b Corbett, p. 308.