A battleship is a wooden sailing military vessel with a displacement of up to 6 thousand tons. They had up to 135 guns on the sides, arranged in several rows, and up to 800 crew members. These ships were used in battles at sea using the so-called linear battle tactics in the 17-19th centuries.
The advent of battleships
The name "ship of the line" is known since the time of the sailing fleet. During the naval battle, the polydeckers were lined up in order to give a salvo of all the guns at the enemy. It was simultaneous fire from all airborne guns that inflicted significant damage to the enemy. Soon, this battle tactic began to be called linear. The construction of a line of ships during naval battles was first used by the English and Spanish fleets in the early 17th century.
The progenitors of battleships are galleons with heavy weapons, karraki. The first mention of them appeared in Europe at the beginning of the 17th century. These ship models were much lighter and shorter than the galleons. Such qualities allowed them to maneuver faster, that is, to line up on board the enemy. It was necessary to build in such a way that the bow of the next ship was necessarily directed to the stern of the previous one. Why weren’t you afraid to put the sides of the ships under enemy attacks? Because the multilayer wooden sides were reliable protection of the ship from the nuclei of the enemy.
The process of formation of battleships
Soon a multi-deck sailing ship appeared, which for more than 250 years became the main means of warfare at sea. Progress did not stand still, thanks to the latest methods for calculating the hulls, it became possible to cut through the cannon ports in several tiers at the very beginning of the construction. Thus, it was possible to calculate the strength of the ship even before it was launched. In the middle of the 17th century there was a clear distinction between classes:
- Old double deckers. These are ships whose decks are located one above the other. They are laden with 50 guns firing at the enemy through windows on the sides of the ship. These ships did not have the strength to conduct a linear battle and were mainly used as escort convoys.
- Double-deck battleships with the number of guns from 64 to 90 represented the bulk of the fleet.
- Three- or four-decked ships with 98–144 combat guns served as flagships. A fleet containing 10-25 of these ships could control trade lines and, in the case of military operations, block them for the enemy.
Differences of battleships from others
Sailing equipment for frigates and battleships is the same - three-masted. Each necessarily had direct sails. But still, the frigate and the ship of the ship of the line have some differences. The first has only one closed battery, and battleships several. In addition, the latter have a lot more guns, this also applies to the height of the sides. But frigates are more maneuverable and can act even in shallow water.
From the galleon, the ship of the line is distinguished by direct sails. In addition, the latter does not have a rectangular tower at the stern and a latrine on the bow. The battleship surpasses the galleon in both speed and maneuverability, as well as in artillery combat. The latter is more suited for boarding. Among other things, they were very often used to transport troops and goods.
The appearance of battleships in Russia
Before the reign of Peter I, there were no such structures in Russia. The first Russian ship of the line was called as "Goto Predestination". By the twenties of the 18th century, the Russian Imperial Fleet included 36 such vessels. At the beginning, these were full copies of Western models, but by the end of the reign of Peter I, linear Russian ships began to have their own distinctive features. They were much shorter, had less shrinkage, which negatively affected seaworthiness. These ships very well suited to the conditions of the Azov, and then the Baltic Seas. The emperor himself took a direct part in the design and construction. The Russian Imperial Fleet was named after the Russian Navy from October 22, 1721 to April 16, 1917. Only immigrants from the nobility could serve as naval officers, and recruits from the common people could be sailors on ships. The service life in the Navy was for them life.
The battleship Twelve Apostles
"12 Apostles" was laid in 1838 and launched in 1841 in the city of Nikolaev. This is a ship with 120 guns on board. In total, there were 3 ships of this type in the Russian fleet . These ships were not only distinguished by their grace and beauty of forms, they had no equal in battle among sailing ships. The battleship "12 Apostles" was the first in the Russian Imperial Navy, which was armed with new bombing guns.
The fate of the ship was such that he was unable to participate in any battle of the Black Sea Fleet. His body remained intact and did not receive a single hole. But this ship became an exemplary training center, it provided the defense of Russian forts and fortresses in the west of the Caucasus. In addition, the ship was engaged in the transportation of ground troops and went on long voyages for 3-4 months. Subsequently, the ship was flooded.
The reasons why battleships have lost their significance
The position of wooden battleships as the main force at sea was shaken due to the development of artillery. Heavy bombing guns easily pierced a wooden board with bombs filled with gunpowder, thereby causing serious damage to the ship and causing fires. Whereas before artillery did not pose a great threat to the hulls of ships, bombing guns could send Russian battleships to the bottom with only a few dozen hits. Since that time, the question arose of protecting structures with metal armor.
In 1848, a screw propeller and relatively powerful steam engines were invented, so wooden sailboats slowly began to leave the scene. Some ships were converted and equipped with steam units. Also, several large ships with sails were issued, they were called linear out of habit.
Battleships of the Russian Imperial Fleet
In 1907 a new class of ships appeared; in Russia they were called linear, or abbreviated as battleships. These are armored artillery warships. Their displacement ranged from 20 to 65 thousand tons. If we compare the battleships of the 18th century and battleships, the latter have a length of 150 to 250 m. In service with their guns of caliber from 280 to 460 mm. The crew of the battleship is from 1,500 to 2,800 people. A ship was used to destroy the enemy as part of a combat formation and artillery support for ground operations. Their name was given not so much in memory of the battleships, but because they needed to revive the tactics of linear combat.