Russian battleship Sissoi Veliky
Postcard of Sissoi Veliky at anchor
| |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Operators | Imperial Russian Navy |
Preceded by | Tri Sviatitelia |
Succeeded by | Petropavlovsk class |
Built | 1891–1896 |
In service | 1896–1905 |
Completed | 1 |
Lost | 1 |
History | |
Russian Empire | |
Name | Sissoi Veliky |
Namesake | St. Sisoes the Great of Egypt |
Builder | New Admiralty Shipyard, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
Laid down | August 7 [O.S. July 25], 1891 |
Launched | June 2 [O.S. May 20], 1894 |
Completed | September 1896 |
Commissioned | October 18 [O.S. October 5], 1896 |
Fate | Sunk at the Battle of Tsushima, May 28 [O.S. May 15] 1905 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Pre-dreadnought battleship |
Displacement | 10,400 long tons (10,567 t) |
Length | 107.23 m (351 ft 10 in) |
Beam | 20.73 m (68 ft 0 in) |
Draught | 7.77 m (25 ft 6 in) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 15.7 knots (29.1 km/h; 18.1 mph) |
Range | 2,800 nmi (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement | 586 |
Armament |
|
Armour |
|
Sissoi Veliky (
In 1902 the ship returned to
Background
In 1881 a committee of admirals headed by
The fourth ship (the future
1891 draft with barbettes | Post-1893 draft with turrets |
In September 1890 the Naval Technical Committee (MTK) rolled out a proposal for a medium-size (8,500-long-ton (8,600 t), 331-foot (100.9 m) long) battleship armed with three single 12-inch guns mounted in barbettes. Codenamed Gangut No. 2, it attempted to blend the hull of Alexander II and the armament of Navarin in a tightly budgeted, compromised design.
Description
The ship was 332 feet 6 inches (101.3 m)
Sissoi Veliky had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one four-bladed propeller. They had a total designed output of 8,500 indicated horsepower (6,300 kW) using steam provided by 12 cylindrical fire-tube boilers. The ship's designed speed was 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph), but she reached a top speed of 15.65 knots (28.98 km/h; 18.01 mph) during her sea trials on October 17 [O.S. 5 October] 1896, despite 8,635 ihp (6,439 kW) from her engines. She carried a maximum of 1,000 long tons (1,016 t) of coal at full load that gave her a range of 4,440 nautical miles (8,220 km; 5,110 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[12]
Armament
Like many Russian ships before and after it, Sissoi Veliky was plagued by regular "improvements" of the original design that delayed construction for years.
The secondary armament was replaced by a half-dozen 45-calibre
The ship's anti-torpedo boat armament was changed more than once and, in the end, consisted of a dozen QF 47-millimetre (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns and 10 Maxim QF 37-millimetre (1.5 in) guns.[14] The 47 mm guns were mounted on the top of the superstructure and on the upper deck above the six-inch casemates.[15] They fired a 3-pound-3-ounce (1.4 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,867 ft/s (569 m/s).[18] The 37 mm guns were mounted in the fighting top. They fired a 1-pound (0.45 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,319 ft/s (402 m/s).[19] Sissoi Veliky carried six above-water 15-inch (381 mm) torpedo tubes, one each in the bow and stern and two on each broadside. The ship also could carry 50 mines.[15]
Armour
The ship's armour scheme was based on that of Navarin although it used
The casemate was above the belt, 5 inches (127 mm) thick on all sides, 152 feet (46.3 m) long and 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 m) high, and protected the six-inch guns. The sides of the turrets were 10 inches (254 mm) thick and their roofs were 2.5 inches (64 mm) thick. Above the casemate, the bases of the turrets were protected by 10 inches of armour; inside the casemate, only five inches of armour protected them. The conning tower's sides were nine inches thick. The armour deck connected to the top of the waterline belt and was 2.5 inches thick above the belt, but fore and aft of the belt it was 3 inches (76 mm) thick.[15]
Construction
The MTK rushed Gangut No. 2 into production and, contrary to established practice, ordered structural steel and armour before the project was properly authorized. Construction began on August 7 [
The management of the construction was flawed from the start: the
Nevertheless, in April 1894 the completed hull passed static pressure tests. It was
Service
Mediterranean
Immediately after the trials Sissoi Veliky was ordered to join the Mediterranean Squadron which was engaged in the
On December 27 [
Investigation revealed both mechanical and organizational causes of the accident. The chain of events, as it was reconstructed in Toulon, started with a failure of the
Sissoi Veliky was repaired by Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée.[29] The French engineers openly ridiculed the quality of Russian workmanship manifested in a 1.5-inch-wide (38 mm) open seam between the belt armour and the ship's hull. This could have completely negated the battleship's protection if a shell had struck it. The Russian investigators reported a horrifying number of less obvious faults and deemed the ship unfit for sailing. The internal decks of the secondary armament casemates were particularly dangerous since their 152 mm shells easily fell through the cracks and holes in the deck. The Saint Petersburg admirals dismissed these concerns, arguing that the gap between armour plates was an inevitable feature of the design, and that the decks and other faults could be fixed by the crew "in their spare time".[31]
Far East
After nine months in the dock at Toulon, the repaired Sissoi Veliky was assigned to Admiral
In the summer of 1898 Sissoi Veliky sailed to
The company reached the city without meeting any opposition and at first it seemed that the European troops in Beijing could easily defend the Embassy Row from the disorganized mob.[35] On June 3 [O.S. May 21] the rebels received reinforcements from the regular Chinese Army and, on the afternoon of June 19 [O.S. June 6], they began a massive assault on the diplomatic missions.[35] One month later the Chinese managed to burn down the Austrian, Dutch and Italian legations. The sailors stood their ground with American and French Marines until the arrival of reinforcements on August 5 [O.S. July 23]. During the seven weeks of the siege, three men from Sissoi Veliky were killed in action, one died of disease, and twelve were wounded.[36]
Sissoi Veliky remained in the Far East for another year; in December 1901 an accumulation of mechanical troubles that could not be fixed in Far Eastern docks compelled the fleet commander to send her back to the Baltic.[36] She returned to Libau via Nagasaki, Hong Kong and Suez in April 1902.[37]
The last voyage
In May 1902 Sissoi Veliky attended a fleet review honouring the state visit of
The
On August 25 [
Tsushima
May 14 [
At 14:40 a heavy shell exploded next to Sissoi Veliky's bow, damaging the bow torpedo tube. Shortly afterward a 12-inch and a 6-inch shell hit the belt armour near the water line, causing flooding in the forward compartments.
The destroyers attacked at close range (under 600 yards (550 m)) in uncoordinated groups. Sissoi Veliky beat off the first (19:45) and the second (22:30) attacks, but the third one, by the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla under command of
By 06:00 flooding forced Ozerov to telegraph "all stop", shutting down the vessel's engines. The crippled Vladimir Monomakh passed by Sissoi Veliky, unable to offer any assistance.[56] At 07:20 the Japanese armed merchant cruisers Shinano Maru and Dainan Maru converged on the stationary ship.[57] When they came within 6,600 yards (6,000 m) of Sissoi Veliky, Ozerov signalled: "I am sinking, request assistance." The Japanese responded with a straightforward question, "Do you surrender?" Ozerov hoisted the white flag in response.[58] At 08:15 the Japanese boarding party of one officer and 31 enlisted men boarded the battleship and raised the Japanese flag, but failed to pull down the Russian flag. The Japanese attempted to tow their prize to safety, but soon realized the effort was futile. They moved the Russian prisoners onto their ships and retrieved their flag. At 10:05 Sissoi Veliky capsized and sank, still flying the Russian flag.[53] Sissoi Veliky lost 47 men killed during the battle; 613 of her crew were rescued.[59]
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 5.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 6.
- ^ a b Bogdanov, p. 7.
- ^ Bogdanov, pp. 7–8.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 8.
- ^ a b Bogdanov, p. 11.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 12.
- ^ a b Bogdanov, p. 15.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 14.
- ^ a b McLaughlin, p. 77.
- ^ McLaughlin, pp. 77, 80.
- ^ McLaughlin, pp. 77, 81.
- ^ a b c Bogdanov, p. 41.
- ^ a b c Bogdanov, p. 40.
- ^ a b c d e f McLaughlin, p. 81.
- ^ Friedman, p. 253.
- ^ Friedman, p. 260.
- ^ Friedman, pp. 118, 265
- ^ Friedman, pp. 120, 265
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 16.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 17.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 42.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 44.
- ^ a b Bogdanov, p. 45.
- ^ a b Bogdanov, p. 47.
- ^ McLaughlin, pp. 81–82
- ^ The British in Crete, 1896 to 1913: On Russian seamanship
- ISBN 0-8317-0302-4, p. 180.
- ^ a b Bogdanov, p. 48.
- ^ Bogdanov, pp. 49–50.
- ^ Bogdanov, pp. 50–51.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 52.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 53.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 55.
- ^ a b c Bogdanov, p. 59.
- ^ a b Bogdanov, p. 60.
- ^ a b Bogdanov, p. 62.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 64.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 66.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 67.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 68.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 69.
- ^ a b Bogdanov, p. 71.
- ^ Corbett, p. 39.
- ^ a b McLaughlin, p. 167
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 72.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 73.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 74.
- ^ Bogdanov, pp. 74-75.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 75.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 76.
- ^ Corbett, p. 299.
- ^ a b c Bogdanov, p. 77.
- ^ Evans and Peattie, p. 122.
- ^ Wilmott, p. 117.
- ^ a b Corbett, p. 305.
- ^ Bogdanov, p. 77; Corbett, p. 307.
- ^ Corbett, p. 308.
- ^ McLaughlin, p. 83
References
- Bogdanov, M. A. (2004, in Russian). Eskadrenny bronenosets Sissoi Veliky (Эскадренный броненосец "Сисой Великий") (Stapel Series, vol.1). Saint Petersburg: M. A. Leonov. ISBN 5-902236-12-6.
- Campbell, N. J. M. (1979). "Russia". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 170–217. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- ISBN 1-55750-129-7.
- Evans, David & Peattie, Mark R. (1997). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
- Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
- McLaughlin, Stephen (2003). Russian & Soviet Battleships. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-481-4.
- Wilmott, H. P. (2009). The Last Century of Sea Power: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894–1922. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35214-9.