Russian ironclad Ne Tron Menia

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For other ships with the same name, see Russian ship Ne Tron Menia.

History
Russian Empire
NameNe Tron Menia (Russian: Не тронь меня)
OperatorImperial Russian Navy
Ordered31 March 1862
Builder
St. Petersburg
Cost923,500 rubles
Laid down1 December 1863[Note 1]
Launched23 June 1864
Commissioned18 July 1865
ReclassifiedCoast defense ironclad, 13 February 1892
Stricken11 October 1905
FateSold for use as a barge, 8 September 1908
Soviet Union
AcquiredAfter Russian Civil War
Fate
General characteristics (as completed)
Class and typePervenets-class broadside ironclad
Displacement3,340 long tons (3,390 t)
Length220 ft (67.1 m)
Beam53 ft (16.2 m)
Draft14 ft 6 in (4.4 m)
Installed power1,200 ihp (890 kW)
Propulsion
Speed8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph)
Complement459 officers and crewmen
Armament17 × 8-inch (203 mm) rifled guns
Armor

The Russian ironclad Ne Tron Menia (

hulked a decade later. In 1905 the ship was disarmed and she was sold in 1908. After the end of the Russian Civil War, she was acquired by the Soviets before being sold to a factory in 1925. The ship was sunk in the Siege of Leningrad during World War II and was scrapped after she was salvaged
in 1950.

Design and description

The Pervenents-class ironclads were designed as Coastal defence ships to protect the approaches to Saint Petersburg and were referred to as "self-propelled armored floating batteries". As such, a heavy armament and protection were the most important factors in their design. Ne Tron Menia means Touch Me Not and refers to the Biblical verse, John 20:17.[1]

Ne Tron Menia was 220 feet (67.1 m) long

bow and stern; the stern ram also serving to protect her rudder and propeller.[2] The ship did not steer well and had "an unpredictable habit of suddenly lurching to one side or another", probably as a result of poor water flow to the rudder. Ne Tron Menia required six men to man her wheel[3] and her total crew numbered 459 officers and enlisted men.[2]

She received the refurbished engine from the steam ship of the line Konstantin as a cost-cutting measure, originally intended for her sister Pervenets. This was probably a direct-acting steam engine and was built by the British firm of Humphrys & Tennant. Steam was provided by four rectangular fire-tube boilers. During sea trials on 18 July 1865, the engine produced a total of 1,200 indicated horsepower (890 kW) and gave the ship a maximum speed of 7.75–8 knots (14.35–14.82 km/h; 8.92–9.21 mph). She carried a maximum of 500 long tons (510 t) of coal, but her endurance is unknown. Ne Tron Menia was schooner-rigged with three iron masts. Under a combination of sail and steam the ship could reach a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)[4]

Ne Tron Menia was completed with seventeen 8-inch (203 mm) rifled guns. Fifteen were mounted on the broadside on the main deck and two guns were placed in pivot mounts on the upper deck to serve as chase guns. One of the main deck guns was removed and a 7.72-inch (196 mm) 60-pounder smoothbore gun was added on the upper deck in 1868.[5]

Unlike Pervenets, the ship's tumblehome of 27°, intended to deflect shells, began above the waterline so the narrow vertical strake of wrought iron armor at the waterline was increased to a thickness of 5.5 inches (140 mm) in compensation for its reduced protective abilities. The rest of the ship's side was protected with 4.5 inches of armor that reduced to 4 inches (102 mm) beginning 30 feet (9.1 m) from the ship's ends. It backed by 10 inches (254 mm) of teak and extended 4 feet (1.2 m) below the waterline. The ship's hull was divided by six watertight transverse and two longitudinal bulkheads for protection against underwater damage. The open-topped conning tower was also protected by 4.5 inches of armor.[6]

Construction and service

Ne Tron Menia, Touch Me Not (from the biblical Latin phrase

launched on 23 June 1864.[8]

The ship entered service on 18 July 1865 with the Baltic Fleet. She collided with the

auto-cannon. The mortar was removed in 1881 as it strained the ship's structure.[5]

To alleviate the cramped conditions of the steersmen, the ship's wheel was transferred from the gun deck to a platform that spanned her bulwarks in front of the

Neva River. She was raised in 1950 and subsequently scrapped.[9]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ All dates used in this article are New Style

Footnotes

  1. ^ McLaughlin, pp. 115, 127
  2. ^ a b McLaughlin, p. 117
  3. ^ McLaughlin, p. 119
  4. ^ McLaughlin, pp. 117, 124–26
  5. ^ a b McLaughlin, pp. 120, 122
  6. ^ McLaughlin, pp. 122, 124
  7. ^ Silverstone, p. 379
  8. ^ McLaughlin, pp. 115–16, 119
  9. ^ McLaughlin, pp. 124, 126–27

References

  • Robert Gardiner, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press.
    ISBN 0-8317-0302-4
    .
  • McLaughlin, Stephen (2011). "Russia's First Ironclads: Pervenets, Ne tron menia and Kreml". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2011. London: Conway. pp. 112–29.
    ISBN 978-1-84486-133-0
    .
  • Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books.
    ISBN 0-88254-979-0
    .
  • Watts, Anthony J. (1990). The Imperial Russian Navy. London: Arms and Armour.
    ISBN 0-85368-912-1
    .
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