- Yes
- Yes, for premium
- Yes, for event / gift
- No
Greetings again, gentlemen and ladies!
Continuing our kind of “shipbuilding program”, I would like to present to your attention a proposal to introduce into the game the ‘cruising battleship’(pre-dreadnought) - later actually reclassified into an armored cruiser - “Peresvet”.
As know, the game already features ships of this era and similar characteristics.
“Peresvet”, being conceived as a heavy ship of the “cruising” type, may be of interest precisely in this capacity, especially considering the absence of heavy cruisers in the russian fleet tree - and at the same time not being completely defenseless from attacks by aircraft or boats due to the impressive battery of small guns caliber.
Let’s look at the details below.
So, the details.
History
Pre-dreadnought got name in honor of the ancient Russian hero.
Attention, hidden content in spoilers.
Spoiler: Construction and early years
At the turn of the 1890s, the Russian Maritime Department became concerned with the creation of a high-speed battleship with a reduced displacement, which would at the same time be capable of operating at long ranges and for cruising along the communications of a potential enemy.
Excellent seaworthiness, a high side and a three-shaft power plant made it possible to maintain high speed and use weapons even in bad weather, and the armor system used made it possible to maintain stability even when the unarmored ends were flooded. In addition, the ship was one of the first in the Russian fleet to use a horizontal carapace armored deck throughout the entire ship, which became traditional for all subsequent ships of new construction, as well as electrical power supply for the main battery mechanisms and systems. Also “Peresvet” was the first in the fleet in the transition to autonomous drainage systems for each of the 10 compartments, separated by watertight bulkheads.
However, a number of other design solutions and construction defects did not allow the ‘cruising battleship’ to be considered the most successful type among large Russian ships.
Thus, the armor thickness and armament of the designed ship were sacrificed for cost, displacement and speed. Instead of the 4x305 mm guns that had become common for battleships, the new ship received a 4x254 mm main caliber barrel. On the other hand, they had a significantly greater range, which was so necessary during pursuit or retreat, and this fit perfectly into the concept of the project.
The squadron battleship (pre-dreadnought) “Peresvet” became the first in a series of three ships of the same class, mainly differing from the other two (named “Oslyabya” and “Pobeda”) by a mainmast with a combat top and an additional conning tower. Built at the Baltic Shipyard in St.Petersburg as a flagship, “Peresvet” was launched on May 7, 1898 and entered service after August 17, 1901, when the ship was highly inspected by the Sovereign Emperor.
Already on October 11 of the same year, “Peresvet” left Kronstadt to go to the Far East, but when passing through the Great Belt, it became stranded near Newborg. A circumstance began to take its toll that left a mark on the entire history of the ship: even during completion, the battleship tried to settle with its bottom on the ground during low tides, which in the future could promise a repeating need for repairs.
Fortunately, this time serious damage and leaks were avoided and the ship’s voyage continued. But minor repairs when entering Toulon took a whole month.
In addition, the transition also revealed a rather large consumption of coal - for example, when calling at Port Said on January 15, 1902, only 150 tons of coal remained on the ship, and the resulting trim to the stern did not contribute to the speedy passage of the Suez Canal.
Ventilation on the ship was considered one of the most advanced, but still the hot climate revealed its weakness: in some rooms the temperature rose above 40 degrees.
The desalination plants also turned out to be not up to par, which is why, when crossing the Indian Ocean, the boilers had to be partially fed with sea water.
Of course, in such conditions there was no need to talk about the combat training of the crew.
However, despite the problems that arose, on April 5, after visiting other ports along the way, the pre-dreadnought arrived in full service at its permanent base - Port-Arthur, where it was put at the disposal of the junior flagship of the Pacific Squadron.
It is noteworthy that “Peresvet” was again the first in this capacity and in yet another innovation: soon it was on it that artillery manuals appeared, where an important role was assigned not only to accuracy, but also to high rate of fire.
After a series of minor repairs and dry-dockings that followed after visiting foreign ports, being repainted from ceremonial white to olive green and conducting firing training on October 19, 1903, on October 31, Peresvet was withdrawn to the armed reserve along with many other ships of the russiai Pacific Squadron.
Spoiler: Russo-Japanese War
“Peresvet” in 1904 livery at the beginning of the war
The reserve did not last long.
Already on January 18, 1904, the Squadron began a new Campaign, and on January 21, a squadron training campaign took place.
The first real fight occurred on the night of January 27, when the Japanese mine fleet attacked the outer roadstead of Port-Arthur. Fortunately, the treacherous attack turned out well for the “Peresvet” - although two other battleships and the cruiser were damaged.
On the morning of the same day, the first squadron battle took place with the ‘line forces’ of the Japanese fleet, which lasted just over half an hour. “Peresvet” was the rear in the ranks of the Russian battleships; it failed to score hits on the enemy, but there was no damage.
However, the ‘peculiarity’ of the ship made itself felt again. So, having spent the night in the outer roadstead, an attempt to move to the inner roadstead with full water turned into a new encounter with the shoal, from where the ship was removed with the help of port tugs.
By this time, the new commander of the Pacific Fleet, Vice Admiral Makarov, had arrived in Port-Arthur. Significant organizational improvements began, which had a very positive impact on the combat effectiveness of the Fleet and its fighting spirit.
But the commander also had to pay attention to training maneuvers.
These took place on March 13, but they were not without incidents: during the maneuvering there was a minor collision between the “Peresvet” and other battleship “Sevastopol”. And if the latter went into battle the next day to meet the Japanese fleet, then the ‘cruising battleship’ was forced to repair the damage.
March 31 was marked by the death of the flagship “Petropavlovsk”, so “Peresvet”, under the flag of Rear Admiral Ukhtomsky, briefly headed the Squadron, and already on April 2, it was Peresvet’s guns, as one of the longest-range, that successfully scared off the Japanese armored cruisers “Kasuga” and “Nissin”.
Soon, when the siege of the port and its bombardment by land guns began, the main caliber of the “Peresvet” was lucky enough to calm the first of the enemy batteries.
Spoiler: Battle of the Yellow Sea
War-painted ships of the Pacific Squadron (“Peresvet” in the foreground)
The beginning of the land siege of Port-Arthur predetermined the possibility of the weakened Pacific Squadron being there.
By personal order of the Emperor, it was decided to try to break the naval blockade towards Vladivostok.
The first such attempt took place on June 10, 1904, but the timing was not the best. In addition, the schedule of high and low water in the insufficiently deep Port-Arthur canal significantly limited the squadron’s ability to leave the roadstead.
Nevertheless, the exit took place and despite the subsequent turn back, it could even be considered successful: the passage through the mine bank did not result in direct contact, and the night attack of Japanese destroyers on the outer roadstead was no less successfully repelled with enemy losses.
It should be noted that previously, some medium and anti-mine caliber guns were removed from a number of ships of the squadron, especially those undergoing repairs, to strengthen the land front around Port-Arthur.
Returning back to the port, the acting commander of the Squadron, Rear Admiral Vitgeft, argued precisely by the fact that these guns were not returned to the ships.
In particular, the Peresvet was missing 3 of the 11 152-mm guns required by the state.
Having completed new preparations and returned almost all the artillery, after reading a telegram with the Emperor’s Order (A signal went up on the mast of the flagship First Pacific Squadron “Tsesarevich” - ‘The fleet is being informed that the Sovereign Emperor has ordered to sail to Vladivostok.’), at dawn on July 28, 1904, the 1st Squadron of the Pacific Fleet attempted its last decisive breakthrough of the enemy blockade.
The atmosphere on the ships was wary. The crews were tired both from the siege and from the purely physical work that preceded the squadron’s entry into battle.
Nevertheless, the determination to fulfill the Emperor’s Will at all costs and break through to Vladivostok was present on the battleship of the junior flagship and on other battleships and cruisers leaving Port-Arthur. There was no chance for such a campaign only on the destroyers remaining in the doomed base - they simply would not have had enough range.
“Peresvet” took 4th place in the wake of the battleships, following the “Tsesarevich”, “Retvizan” and “Pobeda”.
At about 11:30 am the main forces of the Japanese fleet appeared and a long-range battle began.
Omitting details, this first phase of the battle was successful for the Russian fleet - competent maneuvering made it possible to avoid encounters with floating mines, and the Pacific Squadron did not receive serious damage. On the contrary, the nature of the enemy’s actions suggested significantly better shooting by the Russian ships, while their own Japanese shells often landed either with gross undershoots, or, conversely, with severe overshoots.
However, one of these overshoot tore off Peresvet’s mast mount, making it impossible to make semaphore signals.
In the second phase of the battle, this circumstance played a fatal role.
Although the successful breakthrough of the Squadron seemed obvious, the Russian battleships were still moving too slowly for the Japanese lagging behind to have no chance of catching up with them.
By 16:45 the battle had resumed, and the Japanese fleet concentrated all its fire on the “Tsesarevich”. An hour later, one of the 305-mm shells deprived the flagship of control, and Rear Admiral Ukhtomsky, who was on the “Peresvet”, tried to take command himself in accordance with the schedule. The ill-fated hit on the mast was now aggravated by similar damage on the second one: there was simply nowhere to send signals from “Peresvet” that were visible to all other ships. The attempt to signal from the bridge handrail was not noticeable even to the neighbors.
In the heat of battle and left without clear control, the formation of the ships was disrupted - and was able to recover only after the heroic attack of the “Retvizan”, which attempted to ram the enemy. Not knowing that the “Tsarevich” would soon regain controllability, and that the ships of the squadron did not receive critical damage - not even that the Japanese could not say the same about themselves - and the flagship “Mikasa” lost 100% of its guns, to in addition, the Japanese fired much more often, but also much less accurately, thus remaining practically without ammunition - having actually won the battle, the ships of the Pacific Squadron began to turn back to Port-Arthur.
Although some of them, nevertheless, did not follow this example and made their own breakthrough. Thus, the “Tsarevich”, interned in Qingdao, escaped death in a besieged base, the “Diana” broke through to Saigon, and the fastest of the Russian cruisers, “Askold”, successfully broke away from the enemy.
“Peresvet” in Port-Arthur after the battle on July 28, 1904
The ships that returned to Port-Arthur could only support the ground front, and repair damage from both the last battle and new ones that appeared again and again - the actions of Japanese artillery, first 120-mm, and then 280-mm, made themselves felt.
The hits, which started as single ones, spread to dozens.
On November 24, 1904, after a series of 20 280-mm hits from siege guns, “Peresvet” lay down on the ground, and the crew was ordered to abandon ship.
Spoiler: Temporary change of flag and brief return to Homeland
Having been raised and repaired by the Japanese, for some time Peresvet was part of the Imperial Japanese Navy, where the ship was reclassified as a 1st class coastal defense battleship.
Broken pipes were replaced, combat tops were dismantled, and small-caliber artillery was replaced with 76-mm Armstrong guns adopted in Japan.
However, with the beginning of the Great War, the former opponents were already on one side, and Russia needed new ships to participate in the naval operations of the Entente, even taking into account the fleet updated from the experience of the Russo-Japanese War.
So, “Peresvet” again raised its native flag in early spring, on March 22, 1916, moved from Sasebo to Vladivostok.
Unfortunately for the ship, the problems with draft that plagued the “Peresvet” did not go away, and the new team had no experience in handling this particular battleship (reclassified, by the way, as an armored cruiser). Upon returning to the port after sea trials, which revealed the need for major repairs - and the condition of the boilers, artillery and mechanisms left much to be desired (they remained in some cases the same with which the “Peresvet” was sunk in Port-Arthur) - the newly-minted armored the cruiser flew onto a rocky bank.
Only in July, and even then after urgent repairs, did “Peresvet” move to Maizuru for more thorough repairs, which, however, was not able to replace the need for major repairs.
Peresvet in October 1916 when leaving the port
Leaving Vladivostok now at the beginning of autumn, on October 19, 1916, “Peresvet” entered Port Said on December 6. This stop was the last and fatal for the former battleship: when entering the Mediterranean Sea, the ship came across a mine bank, which caused fatal damage to the “Peresvet”.
Main characteristics
Classification:
- Sub Category: (Pre-dreadnought) Battleship / Heavy cruiser
- Class: Peresvet-class
Technical component:
- Full load displacement: 14,408 t
- Complement: 769-778
- Boiler & engine:
3 shafts, 3 triple-expansion steam engines, manufactured by the Baltic Shipyard,
30 Belleville water tube boilers - Power: 13 755
- Speed: 18,64 knots
Protection:
- Waterline belt — 229-178 mm
- Second belt — 102-229 mm
- Traverse — 127-102 mm
- Deck — 82,6 mm
- Main turret — 229-64 mm
- Secondary turret — 127-51 mm
- Barbettes — 203 mm
- Conning tower — 152-102 mm
Weapon:
- Main battery artillery
2 x twin 254/45-mm naval guns from the Obukhov plant mod.1891 - Secondary battery artillery
11 x single 152/45-mm Canet guns mod.1892
20 x single 75/50-mm Canet guns mod.1892 - Anti-aircraft artillery
20 x single 47-mm Hotchkiss guns mod.1885
7 x single 7,62-mm Maxim machine guns mod.1897 - Torpedo armament
3 x single surface 381-mm torpedo tubes
2 x single underwater 381-mm torpedo tubes
45-50 x anchor mines
Additional illustrations
Protection scheme
Thank you for attention!
All resources:
Семенов В.И. «Расплата». — Санкт-Петербург: 1907.
Броненосцы типа «Пересвет». — Морская коллекция, №1. — 1998.
Мельников Р.М. Броненосцы типа «Пересвет». — Военная книга - 2006.
Крестьянинов В.Я. Броненосцы типа «Пересвет». — Яуза:Эксмо. — М.: 2013.
Морские сражения русско-японской войны 1904-1905. — Морская коллекция, №2. — 2004.
Апальков Ю.В. Боевые корабли Русского флота 8.1914-10.1917 гг. — Санкт-Петербург - 1996.
Гуров С.А., Тюлькин В.Э. Российский Императорский флот. Броненосцы Балтийского флота. — Калининград: Янтарный сказ, 2003.
Westwood, J.N. Russia Against Japan, 1904–1905: A New Look at the Russo-Japanese War. - Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. - 1986.
Preston, Antony. Battleships of World War I: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Battleships of All Nations 1914–1918. - New York: Galahad Books. - 1972.