Uragan-class monitor
Veschun («Вещун»)
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Class overview | |
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Builders |
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Operators | Imperial Russian Navy |
Preceded by | USS Monitor |
Cost | 1,155,000 rubles (average) |
Built | 1863–1865 |
In commission | 1865–1900 |
Completed | 10 |
Scrapped | 9 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Monitor |
Displacement | 1,500–1,600 long tons (1,500–1,600 t) |
Length | 201 ft (61.3 m) |
Beam | 46 ft (14.0 m) |
Draft | 10.16–10.84 ft (3.1–3.3 m) |
Installed power | 340–500 boilers |
Propulsion | 1 shaft, 1 2-cylinder horizontal direct-acting steam engine |
Speed | 5–7.75 knots (9.26–14.35 km/h; 5.75–8.92 mph) |
Range | 1,440 nmi (2,670 km; 1,660 mi) at 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) |
Complement | 96–110[1] |
Armament |
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Armor |
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The Uragan class (also known as the Bronenosetz class,
Russian-American relations
During the American Civil War Americans mistook Russian defensive moves as an indicator of support for the Union cause.[9]
Relations between Russia and Britain deteriorated further because of the British support — or what the Russians saw as sponsorship — of the Polish January Uprising of 1863.[9]
If war between Russia and Britain were to begin, it was thought likely that British and French Naval forces would try to attack the Russian capital of Saint Petersburg on the
Russian monitor program
A Russian monitor program was started as soon as news of the Battle of Hampton Roads reached Europe.[8]
The Merrimack struck in the side not so much a corvette at anchor, but the bureaucratic administration of the Union States and England, that slumber under the protection of the wooden walls of their ships, and only built their nations' few iron vessels as goodies to pamper their children. Now, the question of timber ships is finally resolved in the most stupid and improvident minds.
— Rear-Admiral G. Butakov, "Order number 4", May 30, 1862[5]
Naval architect N. Artseulov was sent to America to join Russian naval attaché, Captain (later Rear Admiral) Stepan Stepanovich Lessovsky and to assess at first hand the advantages and disadvantages of John Ericsson's monitors.[1] He returned on 16 March 1863, with detailed drawings and specifications of the Passaic class.[1][2][8]
On 11 March 1863 the
Construction
Two of the ships were built by the state-owned
The cost of the Russian-built ships was around 570 thousand rubles for each ship.[2][8][13] The two Belgian ships cost 619,000 silver rubles.[2][13]
Armament
In their first eight years of operation, the monitors were equipped with three different types of artillery pieces. Procurement efforts for all three types were started at the same time in 1863. An order was placed in 1863 with the Krupp factories in Germany for 9 inch smoothbore guns with steel barrels; these were initially used to arm the monitors.[14]
At the same time, Artillery specialist Filemon N. Pestich was sent to America along with Artseulov and Lessovsky to acquire gun technology. He returned in 1864 with technology for the production of 15-inch smoothbore
Also in 1863 development of a
As the monitors were hulked in 1900 the rifled M1867 guns were removed; they later served as coastal artillery in Peter the Great's Naval Fortress. Some of the guns still exist on the sea fortress of Suomenlinna in Helsinki.
Ships
- New Admiralty yard
- Hurricane) - Laid up and decommissioned 1900.
- Tifon («Тифон», Typhon) - Laid up 1900, hulked as mine depot 1909, broken up in the 1920s.
- Galerniy Island yard
- Strelets) - Laid up 1900, hulked as floating workshop late 1910s, hull remains to the present day.
- Edinorog («Единорог», Unicorn) - Laid up 1900, hulked as mine depot 1909, broken up in the 1950s, served in Vladivostok.[7]
- Carr and MacPherson
- Bronenosets («Броненосец», Armadillo) - Hulked as coal barge and decommissioned 1900.
- Cuirassiers) - Hulked as coal barge and decommissioned 1900.
- Nevsky factory
- Lava («Лава», Lava) - Laid up 1900, hulked as hospital barge 1911, broken up in the 1920s.
- Perun («Перун», Perun) - Laid up 1900, sank 1921, broken up in 1925.
- Cockerill & Co
- Veschun («Вещун», Pythoness) - Hulked as coal barge and decommissioned 1900.
- Koldun («Колдун», Sorcerer) - Hulked as coal barge and decommissioned 1900.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gribovsky, 1996
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lysenok, 1985
- ^ "Ship Class RUS Bronenosetz". Naval History via Flix. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
- ^ a b Smirnov, 1983
- ^ a b c d e f g Smirnov, 1984
- ^ Konstantin George (July 1978). "The U.S.-Russian Entente That Saved The Union". Campaigner Magazine. 11 (5). Retrieved 2009-02-18.
- ^ a b "Edinorog 1864". Archivio Navi da guerra (in Italian). Retrieved 2009-02-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Eklof, 1994
- ^ JSTOR 1898253.
- ^ Delahaye, Tom (1984). "The Bilateral Effect of the Visit of the Russian Fleet in 1863". Loyala University Historical Journal. 15.
- JSTOR 1835544.
- ^ Amirhanov, 1998
- ^ a b c "Ryssland - Ryska monitorer". Borgåbladet (in Swedish) (24). Porvoo: 2. 25 June 1864. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ a b Глава 14. Русский флот одевается в броню
- ^ a b ПЕСТИЧ Филимон Васильевич (1821-1894) (in Russian)
Bibliography
- Eklof, Ben; Bushnell, John; Zakharova, Larisa Georgievna (1994). "The Russian Navy and the Problem of Technological Transfer". Russia's Great Reforms, 1855-1881. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-20861-0.
- Амирханов, Л.И. (1998). Артиллерия российских мониторов (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Gangut. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- Lysenok, V. I. (1985). Броненосные башенные лодки типа «Ураган». Судостроение (in Russian) (3): 69–72. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- McLaughlin, Stephen (2012). "Russia's American Monitors: The Uragan Class". In John Jordan (ed.). Warship 2012. London: Conway. pp. 98–112. ISBN 978-1-84486-156-9.
- Gribovsky, V.Yu.; Chernikov, I.I (1996). "Chapter I Броненосцы береговой обороны в российском флоте" [Coastal defense battleships in the Russian Navy]. title=Броненосец "Адмирал Ушаков" [Battleship "Admiral Ushakov"] (in Russian). Retrieved 2009-02-09.
- G. Smirnov; V. Smirnov (1983). Триумф брони над снарядом. Моделист-Конструктор (in Russian) (10). Moscow: 15–16. ISBN 3-540-42334-6. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- G. Smirnov; V. Smirnov (1984). Броня, башни и тара. Моделист-Конструктор (in Russian) (1). Moscow: 31–32. ISBN 3-540-42334-6. Archived from the originalon 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- The civil war in the U.S. and Russia: Гражданская война в США и Россия. Северная Америка. Век девятнадцатый (North America. Nineteenth Century) (in Russian). Retrieved 2009-02-13.
- Victor Galynya (2000). Первые русские мониторы (сборник статей и документов). St. Petersburg.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - "Coastal defense gunboats". Archive photographs of ships of Russian and Soviet Navy (in Russian). Retrieved 2009-02-20.