Russian cruiser Gromoboi
Gromoboi in 1901 visiting Australia
| |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Gromoboi |
Operators | Imperial Russian Navy |
Preceded by | Rossia |
Succeeded by | Bayan class |
Built | 1897–1900 |
In commission | 1900–1922 |
Completed | 1 |
Scrapped | 1 |
History | |
Russian Empire | |
Name | Gromoboi (Russian: Громобой) |
Builder | Baltic Works, Saint Petersburg |
Laid down | 14 June 1897[Note 1] |
Launched | 8 May 1899 |
Commissioned | November 1899 |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 1 July 1922 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Armoured cruiser |
Displacement | 12,455 long tons (12,655 t) |
Length | 481 ft (146.6 m) |
Beam | 68.6 ft (20.9 m) |
Draught | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
Installed power | 14,500 ihp (10,800 kW) |
Propulsion | 3 shafts, 3 vertical triple expansion steam engines, 32 Belleville water-tube boilers |
Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
Range | 8,100 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,320 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement | 874 officers and crewmen |
Armament |
|
Armour |
|
Gromoboi (
Gromoboi, with the other armoured cruisers of the Vladivostok Cruiser Squadron, attempted to rendezvous in the
Gromoboi was transferred to the
Design and description
Gromoboi was originally intended to be a repeat of Rossia, but a design modification for thicker armour and improved engines made that unfeasible. The use of Rossia's hull design meant that the ships looked alike.[1]
Gromoboi was 481 feet (146.6 m) long
Propulsion
Gromoboi dispensed with Rossia's cruising engine on the centre shaft. Three equally powerful vertical triple expansion steam engines were used with a designed total of 14,500 indicated horsepower (10,813 kW), but they developed 15,496 ihp (11,555 kW) on trials and drove the ship to a maximum speed of 20.1 knots (37.2 km/h; 23.1 mph). Thirty-two Belleville water-tube boilers provided steam for the engines. She could carry a maximum of 2,400 long tons (2,439 t) of coal. This gave her a radius of action of 8,100 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,320 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[2]
Armament
Gromoboi's main armament consisted of four
Her secondary armament consisted of sixteen
Defence against
The ship carried twelve 47-millimetre (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns.[4] They fired a 3.3-pound (1.5 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,476 ft/s (450 m/s) at a rate of 20 rounds per minute to a range of 2,020 yards (1,850 m).[9] The ship also carried 18 37-millimetre (1.5 in) Hotchkiss guns.[4] These fired a 1.1-pound (0.50 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,450 ft/s (440 m/s) at a rate of 20 rounds per minute to a range of 3,038 yards (2,778 m).[10]
Gromoboi also had four submerged 15-inch (381 mm) torpedo tubes, with two mounted on each broadside.[3]
Armour
The Naval Ministry had hoped to increase the Gromoboi's armour thickness and increase the armour protection of the armament, but still use Rossia's hull design. The Ministry also hoped to use the new, more resistant
Gromoboi's casemates were 4.7 inches (119 mm) thick, with two-inch backs and 1-inch (25 mm) roofs. The two-inch thick transverse bulkhead fore and aft protected them from raking fire. The armour deck was 1.5 inches thick on the flat and 2.5 inches (64 mm) thick where it sloped down to meet the belt. The protective deck extended fore and aft of the armour deck and ranged from 2.5–3 inches (64–76 mm) in thickness. The change in the machinery allowed Gromoboi to dispense with Rossia's glacis armour that had been necessary to protect the tops of the engine cylinders. The conning tower had walls 12 inches (305 mm) thick, made of Krupp armour. The funnel uptakes and ammunition hoists were protected by 1.5 inches of armour between the lower and middle decks.[1]
Service
Gromoboi was built by the
Russo-Japanese War
By this time, Gromoboi was assigned of the
Battle off Ulsan
During the war the bulk of the Russian Pacific Fleet was located in
Jessen turned to the northeast when he spotted the Japanese at 05:00 and they followed suit, albeit on a slightly converging course. Both sides opened fire around 05:23 at a range of 8,500 metres (9,300 yd). The Japanese ships concentrated their fire on Rurik, the rear ship of the Russian formation. She was hit fairly quickly and began to fall astern of the other two ships. Jessen turned southeast in an attempt to open the range, but this blinded the Russian gunners with the rising sun and prevented any of their broadside guns from bearing on the Japanese. About 06:00, Jessen turned 180° to starboard in an attempt to reach the Korean coast and to allow Rurik to rejoin the squadron. Kamimura followed suit around 06:10, but turned to port, which opened the range between the squadrons. Azuma then developed engine problems and the Japanese squadron slowed to conform with her best speed. Firing recommenced at 06:24 and Rurik was hit three times in the stern, flooding her steering compartment; she had to be steered with her engines. Her speed continued to decrease, further exposing her to Japanese fire, and her steering jammed to port around 06:40.[17]
Jessen made another 180° turn in an attempt to interpose his two ships between the Japanese and Rurik, but the latter ship suddenly turn to starboard and increased speed and passed between Jessen's ships and the Japanese. Kamimura turned 180° as well so that both squadrons were heading southeast on parallel courses, but Jessen quickly made another 180° turn so that they headed on opposing courses. Iwate was hit around this time, which knocked out three 6-inch and one 12-pounder guns, killing 32 and wounding 43. The Japanese squadron opened the range again when it made a 180° another turn to port. The Russians reversed course for the third time around 07:45 in another attempt to support Rurik although Rossia was on fire herself; her fires were extinguished about twenty minutes later. Kamimura circled Rurik to the south at 08:00 and allowed the other two Russian ships to get to his north and gave them an uncontested route to Vladivostok. Despite this, Jessen turned back once more at 08:15 and ordered Rurik to make her own way back to Vladivostok before turning north at his maximum speed, about 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).[18]
About this time Kamimura's two elderly protected cruisers, Naniwa and Takachiho, were approaching from the south. Their arrival allowed Kamimura to pursue Jessen with all of his armoured cruisers while the two new arrivals dealt with Rurik. They fought a running battle with the Russians for the next hour and a half; scoring enough hits on them to force their speed down to 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Azuma's engines again broke down during this chase and she was replaced in the line by Tokiwa. The Japanese closed to a minimum of about 5,000 metres (5,500 yd), but Kamimura then opened the range up to 6,500 metres (7,100 yd).[18]
About 10:00, Kamimura's gunnery officer erroneously informed him that Izumo had expended three-quarters of her ammunition and he turned back after a five-minute rapid-fire barrage. He did not wish to leave the Tsushima Strait unguarded and thought that he could use his remaining ammunition on Rurik. By this time she had been sunk by Naniwa and Takachiho which had closed to 3,000 metres (3,300 yd) of Rurik in order to finish her off. They had radioed Kamimura that she was sunk, but he did not receive the message. Shortly after the Japanese turned back, Gromoboi and Rossia were forced to
Gromoboi suffered 87 dead and 170 wounded; far more than Rossia's 44 dead and 156 wounded. This was attributable to Rossia's captain's policy of ordering the gun crews for his quick-firing guns on the engaged side to lie down and those on the unengaged side to go below, in contrast to the Gromoboi keeping her light guns manned at all times.[20] Gromoboi was hit fifteen times on the starboard side of her hull and seven times on her port side, plus other hits in her funnels, boats and decks. She also suffered a fire caused by the ignition of excess propellant charges. Despite this number of hits, she was not badly damaged because her waterline belt was not penetrated. She was repaired within two months by the rudimentary facilities available at Vladivostok.[21]
Immediately following her repairs she ran aground outside
Interwar period
Gromoboi returned to the Baltic Fleet after the war. There she was given a lengthy refit that was finished in 1911. Her engines and boilers were reconditioned, and her rear torpedo tubes were removed. The forward 15-inch torpedo tubes were replaced by 18-inch (460 mm) tubes. Her
World War I
Gromoboi served in the 2nd Cruiser Brigade of the Baltic Fleet during World War I. She was modified to serve as a fast minelayer with a capacity of two hundred mines.[3]
She engaged the German battlecruiser SMS Von der Tann at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland on August 10, 1915.
Her armament was changed in 1916–1917[23] as well; she exchanged the six-inch guns on the bow and stern for eight-inch guns. These additions increased her broadside to four eight-inch and eleven six-inch guns. All of her remaining light guns were removed and she received two 2.5-inch and two 47 mm anti-aircraft guns. All of these additions raised her displacement to about 13,200 long tons (13,412 t).[3]
Gromoboi came under control of the Soviet
Post-World War I
In late October 1920, Gromoboi's crew
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ a b c McLaughlin, p. 55
- ^ a b McLaughlin, pp. 55, 74
- ^ a b c d e f McLaughlin, p. 60
- ^ a b c d Watts, p. 93
- ^ "Russian 8"/45 (20.3 cm) Pattern 1892 203 mm/45 (8") Pattern 1892". navweaps.com. 11 September 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
- ^ Brook, p. 38
- ^ "Russian 6"/45 (15.2 cm) Pattern 1892 152 mm/45 (6") Pattern 1892". navweaps.com. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ "Russian 75 mm/50 (2.95") Pattern 1892 --- French 7.5 cm/50 (2.95") Canet Model 1891". Navweps.com. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- ^ "Russia 47 mm/5 (1.85") Hotchkiss gun 47 mm/1 (1.85") Hotchkiss gun [3-pdr (1.4 kg) Hotchkiss guns]". 1 December 2006. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- ^ "Russia 37 mm/5 (1.5") Hotchkiss Gun 37 mm/1 (1.5") Hotchkiss Gun [1-pdr (0.45 kg) Hotchkiss Guns]". 1 December 2006. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- ^ Campbell, p. 190
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36336. London. 27 December 1900. p. 4.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36517. London. 26 July 1901. p. 8.
- ^ McLaughlin, p. 77
- ^ Brook, p. 34
- ^ Brook, pp. 34, 37
- ^ Brook, pp. 39, 43
- ^ a b Brook, p. 43
- ^ Brook, pp. 43, 45
- ^ Brook, p. 45
- ^ Brook, pp. 45–47
- ^ a b McLaughlin, pp. 77–78
- ^ Budzbon, p. 295
- ^ a b McLaughlin, p. 78
- ^ "Imperial and Foreign News Items". The Times. No. 42551. London. 26 October 1920. col F, p. 9.
- ^ Associated Press, "Russ Cruisers Lost In Storm", The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Monday 23 October 1922, Volume L, Number 237, page 3.
- ^ Chernyshev, Alexander Alekseevich (2012). Погибли без боя. Катастрофы русских кораблей XVIII–XX вв [They died without a fight. Catastrophes of Russian ships of the XVIII-XX centuries] (in Russian). Veche. Archived from the original on 2022-08-19. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
References
- Brook, Peter (2000). "Armoured Cruiser vs. Armoured Cruiser: Ulsan 14 August 1904". In Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship 2000–2001. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-791-0.
- Budzbon, Przemysław (1985). "Russia". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 291–325. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- 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.
- Frampton, Victor; Head, Michael; McLaughlin, Stephen & Spurgeon, H. L. (2003). "Russian Warships off Tokyo Bay". Warship International. XL (2): 119–125. ISSN 0043-0374.
- McLaughlin, Stephen (1999). "From Ruirik to Ruirik: Russia's Armoured Cruisers". In Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship 1999–2000. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-724-4.
- Watts, Anthony J. (1990). The Imperial Russian Navy. London: Arms and Armour. ISBN 0-85368-912-1.
External links
- Site with photographs
- Specifications page (in Russian)