Battleship "Petropavlovsk": history, design, armament

Battleship "Petropavlovsk" - battleshipRussian, and later the Soviet fleet, the flagship of a series of battleships of the dreadnought class, such as Sevastopol. Was seriously damaged in September 1941 as a result of raids by German dive-bombers U-87. September 4, 1953 was dismantled for scrap.

Building

The history of the heroic ship - battleshipPetropavlovsk began in 1908, when the government made a principled decision to create a series of new ships with a high degree of armament and protection. However, domestic shipwrights faced lack of finance, as well as competition from the Blom und Voss concern from Germany.

The cost of the battleship of this series was estimated by the maritime agency in the amount of 37 million rubles for one ship, of which:

• 27.2 million were allocated for the construction and armor of the hull;
• 2.2 million - for armament;
• 7.5 million - for spare parts.

Realizing the need to build these ships,Prime Minister P.A. Stolypin obtained money in the State Council. On June 3, 1909, four ships of this series were laid. The construction of the battleship Petropavlovsk was completed in August 1911, and the ship was launched.

Housing

Shells of battleship series "Sevastopol"had a characteristic "monitored" form. They had minimized the surface dimensions of the side, and the stem had an icebreaker design. The maximum length of the hull was 181.2 meters, width (including the reservation) was 26.9 meters. The actual displacement was an average of 25,400 tons, with a draft of about 9 meters.

At the heart of the model of the battleship Petropavlovsk layboxed keel beam with a height of up to 2 meters. It was supported by 150 frames, arranged in steps of 1.2 meters. During the erection, three types of steel were used:

• standard for shipbuilding with a resistance of 42 kgf / mm²;
• with increased resistance (63 kgf / mm²);
• with high resistance (72 kgf / mm²).

The three-decked building was divided into hermeticCompartments with 13 transverse and two longitudinal bulkheads. In the bow of the hull there were rooms of auxiliary diesel generator sets, junior-living rooms and a bath. In the middle part of the building were located the premises of the main power plant and the shell cellars. At the stern were the cabin of the officers, the premises of the BSU and the radio room.

Reservation

Petropavlovsk is a battleship with a good degreeprotection. The main armored body of the hull was 5.06 m high. Its thickness was from 22.5 cm in the main body to 12.5 cm at the ends of the belt. The armored posts, located along the citadel, were 5 cm thick on the middle deck and 3.75 cm under it.

The upper deck covering the citadel and the nose of the hull was 3.7 cm thick. The thickness of the average armored deck was:

• 2.5 cm above the citadel and the bow of the ship;
• 1,9 cm - in inter-abortion space;
• 3.75 cm - in the stern of the hull.

The towers of the main caliber (GK) in its rotarythe pieces had a thickness of 20.3 cm in the armored plate. The counterbalances of 30.5 cm were located at the rear of the towers. The roofs and the bottom were protected by a 7.6 cm thick armor. The antimine installations were armored by 12.5 cm armored vehicles, the embrasures of the guns were protected with anti-fragmentation armor. The thickness of the walls of the armored tubes was 25 cm, the roof - 12 cm.

Armament of military equipment

Battleship "Petropavlovsk" for its time hadpowerful weapons. As the main caliber 12 rifled 305-mm ship guns were used. They were housed in four gun turrets, three in each. The trunk reached 15.8 meters (52 klb) in length. The weight of the gun is 50.7 tons. The speed of the projectile is 762 m / s.

Horizontal orientation angles:

• the first tower: 0-155 °;
• the second and third towers: 25-155 °;
• fodder installation: 25-180 °.
• Angles of declination of guns: -5 to + 25 °.

The guns were guided by electric motors. The ammunition was 300 shots in each tower, the rate of fire was 1.8 shots / min.

In addition to the Civil Code, the battleship Petropavlovsk had the following weapons:

• 16 units of 120-mm Vickers guns.
• 4 units. 47-mm guns Gochkis.
• 4 units. 450-mm torpedo tubes.

Modernization

Questions about the modernization of the battleships of the "Sevastopol" series were actively raised by Soviet naval specialists. Most of them considered this series of battleships morally obsolete.

10.03.1927 in the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Marine Forces of the RKKF a meeting was held, during which proposals were made to modernize the battleships. It was suggested to increase the reservation of decks, increase the mobility of guns, and upgrade the ship's equipment.

The battleship "Petropavlovsk" (at the time was named"Marat") was modernized in 1928-1931. The ship was equipped with two high-altitude (closed) command range-finding posts. The power plant of the ship was updated. 25 boilers of the Yarrow type, which operated on coal and mazut fuel, were completely replaced by 22 boilers with exclusively oil heating. In connection with the installation of the KDP, the silhouette of the ship decently changed its outlines. The new superstructures gave him a very formidable appearance.

History of the use of the battleship

31.05.1919 there was a unique sea battle with the participation of the battleship Petropavlovsk. Thanks to the actions of the destroyer Azard, the seven British destroyers that pursued him went into the zone of direct shelling of Petropavlovsk. The ship opened fire from the main guns and 120-mm guns, forcing the enemy to retreat.

In the night, 13.06.1919, a mutiny occurred on the forts near Kronstadt. The rebels attempted to surrender the forts of the English squadron, but the British did not react to it in any way. Then the rebels opened fire on Kronstadt. To suppress the uprising on June 16, the ships of the Baltic Fleet, Andrei Pervozvanny and Petropavlovsk, were called. Battleships fired at the forts, as a result of which the rebels were knocked out of their positions.

In the Great Patriotic War "Marat" in the squadronThe Baltic Fleet participated in the defense of Leningrad. 09/23/1941 Airline on Kronstadt took place, during which the ship was seriously damaged. 500-kilogram bombs dropped from the board of dive-bombers U-87D, hit the battleship. One bomb hit the stern near the foremast, the second hit the nose of the ship and caused detonation of the ammunition of the first gun turret. Because of this, a break formed in the deck, into which the tower fell. The blast was a nasal superstructure, which collapsed on the starboard side, falling into the water. As a result, the raid killed 324 sailors, including the commander of the ship. The ship was flooded.

By the end of 1941 the ship was partiallyrestored, artillery battleship was used until the breakthrough of the siege of Leningrad. On May 31, 1943 the ship was again renamed into Petropavlovsk. After the war the ship was decommissioned and in 1953 it was cut to metal.