The battleship "Petropavlovsk" is a battleship of the Russian, and subsequently the Soviet fleet, the flagship of a series of battleships of the dreadnought class, such as the "Sevastopol". It was seriously damaged in September 1941 as a result of raids by German U-87 dive bombers. September 4, 1953 was dismantled for scrap.
Construction
The history of the heroic ship - the battleship "Petropavlovsk" - began in 1908, when the government decided in principle to create a series of the latest ships with a high degree of armament and protection. However, domestic shipbuilders were faced with a lack of finances, as well as with competition from the Blom und Voss concern from Germany.
The cost of the battleship of this series was estimated by the marine department in the amount of 37 million rubles per ship, of which:
- 27.2 million were allocated for the construction and reservation of the building;
- 2.2 million for armament;
- 7.5 million for spare parts.
Understanding the need to build these ships, Prime Minister P.A. Stolypin got the money in the Council of State. On June 3, 1909, the laying of four vessels of this series took place. The construction of the battleship "Petropavlovsk" was completed in August 1911, and the ship was launched.
Housing
The hulls of the battleships of the Sevastopol series had a characteristic "monitor" shape. Their surface dimensions were minimized, and the stem had an ice-breaking structure. The maximum length of the hull was 181.2 meters, the width (including the reservation) was 26.9 meters. Actual displacement averaged 25,400 tons, with a draft of about 9 meters.
At the heart of the Petropavlovsk battleship model was a box-shaped keel beam up to 2 meters high. It was supported by 150 frames arranged in increments of 1.2 meters. During the construction, 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-deck hull was divided into airtight compartments using 13 transverse and two longitudinal bulkheads. In the bow of the hull there were rooms of auxiliary diesel generator sets, living quarters of the younger composition and a bathhouse. In the middle part of the building were located the premises of the main power plant and shell cellars. Aft were the officers' cabins, BSU premises and a radio room.
Reservation
"Petropavlovsk" is a battleship with a good degree of protection. The main body armor belt was 5.06 m high. Its thickness ranged from 22.5 cm in the main body to 12.5 cm at the ends of the belt. Armored bulkheads along the citadel were 5 cm thick on the middle deck and 3.75 cm below it.
The upper deck, which covered the citadel and the bow of the hull, was 3.7 cm thick. The thickness of the middle armored deck was:
- 2.5 cm above the citadel and the bow of the ship;
- 1.9 cm - in the inter-side space;
- 3.75 cm - in the stern of the hull.
The main-caliber towers (GK) in their rotary part had armor plates 20.3 cm thick. 30.5 cm counterweights were located at the rear of the towers. The roofs and the bottom were protected by 7.6 cm thick armor. Mine installations were armored with 12.5 cm armored plates. , gun embrasures were protected by anti-shatter armor. The wall thickness of the armored tubes was 25 cm, and the roof was 12 cm.
Armament of military equipment
The battleship "Petropavlovsk" for its time had powerful weapons. As the main caliber, 12 rifled 305-mm ship guns were used. They were located in four gun turrets, three in each. The trunk reached 15.8 meters (52 klb) in length. The mass of the gun is 50.7 tons. Projectile speed - 762 m / s.
Horizontal guidance angles:
- first tower: 0-155 °;
- second and third towers: 25-155 °;
- feed installation: 25-180 °.
- Declination angles of guns: -5 to + 25 °.
The guns were induced by electric motors. Ammunition was 300 rounds in each tower, rate of fire - 1.8 rounds / 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 Hotchkiss.
- 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 obsolete.
03/10/1927 a meeting was held in the scientific and technical committee of the naval forces of the RKKF, during which proposals were made to modernize the battleships. It was proposed to increase the reservation of decks, increase the mobility of guns, and upgrade the equipment of the ship.
The battleship "Petropavlovsk" (at that time bore the name "Marat") underwent modernization in 1928-1931. The ship was equipped with two high-altitude (closed) command rangefinder posts. The ship's power plant has been updated. 25 Yarrow coal fired boilers 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 shape. New add-ons gave it a very formidable look.
History of the use of the battleship
05/31/1919 the only naval battle took place with the participation of the battleship "Petropavlovsk". Thanks to the actions of the destroyer Azard, the seven British destroyers pursuing it entered the zone of direct shelling of Petropavlovsk. The ship opened fire from main caliber guns and 120-mm guns, forcing the enemy to retreat.
On the night of June 13, 1919, a rebellion took place at the forts near Kronstadt. The rebels tried to surrender the forts to the English squadron, but the British did not react to this at all. Then the rebels opened fire on Kronstadt. To suppress the uprising on June 16, the ships of the Baltic Fleet "Andrew the First-Called" and "Petropavlovsk" were called. Battleships fired at forts, as a result of which the rebels were driven out of their positions.
During the Great Patriotic War “Marat” as part of the Baltic Fleet squadron participated in the defense of Leningrad. 09/23/1941 an air raid on Kronstadt took place, during which the ship was seriously damaged. The 500-kilogram bombs dropped on board the U-87D dive bombers hit the battleship. One bomb hit the stern near the foremast, the second hit the bow of the ship and caused a detonation of the ammunition of the first gun turret. Because of this, a gap was formed in the deck, into which the tower fell. The explosion turned the bow superstructure, which collapsed on the starboard side, falling into the water. As a result of the raid, 324 sailors were killed, including the commander of the ship. The ship was flooded.
By the end of 1941, the ship was partially restored, the battleship artillery was used until the breaking of the blockade of Leningrad. May 31, 1943 the ship was again renamed "Petropavlovsk". After the war, the ship was decommissioned and cut into metal in 1953.