The battleship Gangut, together with 3 ships of this series, was laid down on June 16, 1909 at the Admiralty Plant. This was the beginning of the revival of the Russian fleet. Launching was carried out on 09.24.1911, its refinement lasted 2 years. In 1913 it passed tests, acceptance and in December 1914 entered the 1st brigade of battleships of the Baltic Fleet.
Prerequisites for the construction of new ships
The prerequisites for the construction of 4 battleships for the Baltic, including the Gangut battleship, were the complete defeat of the Russian Empire in the Russian-Japanese war of 1905. The tragedy of Tsushima posed two important tasks for Nicholas II and the government of the Russian Empire, which urgently needed to be addressed:
- The complete backwardness of the Russian fleet compared with other capitalist states.
- The absolute inconsistency of the management system with the needs and tasks of training personnel that were necessary to solve the problems of building and forming a fleet.
The fact is that the head of the naval forces of the Russian Empire were not experienced admirals who knew the immediate needs of the fleet firsthand, not experienced strategists and tactics, but the admiral general, whom the emperor appointed from among the members of the imperial family. The assistant to the admiral was the head of the naval department.
All the most important decisions and orders for the fleet were given personally by the emperor, who understood little in military affairs, especially in naval affairs. The huge state did not have a military doctrine that would contain the development of shipbuilding programs and terms of reference for the construction of ships and equipping the fleet.
It came to the point that Russia did not have ships not only to go to sea - there was practically nothing to defend the borders.
Shipbuilding programs
Two small programs were developed, according to which it was planned to build new ships for the Baltic and Black Sea fleets in a short time. For the Baltic, it was necessary to construct 4 vessels, including the battleship Gangut, 3 submarines and a floating base for their maintenance.
For the Black Sea Fleet was to build 14 destroyer squadrons and 3 submarines. Turkey, seeing the situation on the Black Sea, decides to urgently buy 3 of the latest battleships in England and Brazil. Therefore, changes are being made and it is planned to urgently build three similar vessels of the Empress Maria type, 9 destroyers and 6 Bars submarines.
By the World War of 1914, none of the programs had been completed; moreover, not a single ship was launched.
A series of ships, including the battleship Gangut
All four dreadnoughts for the Baltic Fleet of the Gangut series were laid on the same day, June 16, 1909, at the Admiralty Plant. Their construction was carried out under the guidance of experienced Russian engineers. The main suppliers were Russian enterprises. Armor came from Izhorsky, artillery from Obukhovsky, artillery towers from Putilovsky and Metal Works.
In September they were launched, but the completion and completion of the battleships dragged on. Reasons: Russian factories had to master new technologies, with which they coped with difficulty; foreign firms, where orders for equipment for ships were placed, deliberately disrupted and delayed supplies. The result is deplorable. Ships with deficiencies were surrendered in December 1914 and stood almost throughout the war in the raid without firing a single shot.
Ship Description
The projects of the battleships, in fact, were advanced for the beginning of the twentieth century, but there was not enough time or money to bring them to mind. Tests were not carried out before the delivery of the ships, which would allow to correct the errors. They were carried out by the sailors themselves, when it was impossible to fix anything. The results were depressing to such an extent that they were immediately classified, and the ships stood throughout the war in the raid.
For these dreadnoughts, a simple silhouette was characteristic: the upper deck had a straight line, at one level were four towers GK, two deckhouses and two pipes. The entire hull is divided into transverse compartments by thirteen watertight bulkheads. Three armored decks. The main caliber towers are installed at the same distance relative to each other.
In the middle part of the ship was a boiler room and engine installation. The team's accommodations are located in the bow. In the stern - there were officer cabins, tiller cabins, a power station, and a radio room.
The main features of the battleship "Gangut" were the composition and placement of artillery. Here, the Obukhov plant made its contribution by creating a new 52-caliber gun, and through the efforts of the Metal Plant a three-gun tower installation was created. Twelve 305 mm quick-fire guns, the firing range of which at an angular elevation of 25 degrees exceeded 23 km.
Tower installations had a weight of 773 tons and were equipped with ventilation and heating. Under the towers was an ammunition depot. Two-gun plutons combined 120-mm anti-mine weapons. The firing of the main and anti-mine caliber was controlled using the Geisler system and 2 optical rangefinders.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantage of the battleship "Gangut", of course, was artillery, which in many respects exceeded foreign counterparts. Here, the undeniable merit of the developers and direct executors, two Russian plants - Obukhov and Metallic.
The rest was confirmed by a simple truth - the inability to combine the incompatible without sacrificing anything. We are talking about combining powerful weapons, impenetrable armor, high speed, long range navigation. This all together turned out to be impossible for this time. It was necessary to sacrifice something in order to get closer to the desired result. This was done due to the armor and living conditions of the team members. Only Japanese sailors lived worse.
Another significant drawback was the very low seaworthiness. It was impossible to take enough fuel to the ship due to catastrophic overload. Confirmed this 1929 ocean trip.
Fighting
Nevertheless, the battleship "Gangut" participated in the hostilities of the First World War. In November 1915, cruisers of the 1st Brigade, under the cover of the battleships "Petropavlovsk" and "Gangut" in the vicinity of the island of Gotland, survived more than 550 minutes.
In 1918 the battleship was transferred from Helsingfors to Kronstadt. After the reconstruction of 1925, it is renamed the "October Revolution." He takes part in the Soviet-Finnish war. In the Great Patriotic War defends Leningrad. This is a warship, which, despite the imperfections, thanks to the Russian and Soviet sailors and officers, went a glorious battle path.
For 47 years of service to the Russian fleet, and then to the Soviet Union, many commanders of the battleship Gangut were replaced. For the most part, these are glorious officers brought up in the traditions of the Russian fleet. For service, in 1944, the battleship was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
The battleship "Gangut" (1890): the history of creation
The battleship Gangut is not the only ship in the Russian fleet with that name. There were 4 in total. It has become a tradition to name ships with this glorious name. Each ship has its own destiny and mission, but they are connected together by a common name and belonging to the glorious fleet of Russia. The name of the ships is given in honor of Cape Gangut, located near the Hanko Peninsula, Finland, where the first victory of the Russian fleet over the Swedish one took place.
The battleship Gangut (1890) was the third ship of that name. It was built as part of a 20-year shipbuilding program. According to experts, the design of the battleship was not entirely good, and the quality of construction was frankly poor, which led to the death of the ship in the future. Its main drawback is a large overload, which, however, was a disaster not only for Russian shipbuilding. Other countries have faced this problem.
The battleship of the Russian Imperial Fleet "Gangut" was laid down in St. Petersburg at the Admiralty Shipyard in 1888. Two years later he was launched. Construction completed in 1894. During the work, an overload of 600 tons was allowed, which led to an increase in draft and a decrease in speed.
The death of the battleship "Gangut"
An almost mystical story happened with this ship, which led to his death. In the fall of 1896, an armadillo rammed the bottom of the ship against a shallow stone, which almost led to his death. He made his way to Kronstadt, where he was docked for repairs, which was under the supervision of the legendary Admiral Makarov S.O. In June 1897, he took part in tactical exercises, returning from which, he came across an underwater rock not marked on the maps.
For six hours the crew fought heroically for the life of the ship. But all to no avail. It was not possible to save the ship due to the violation of the tightness of the partitions, which was allowed during construction. He sank and is still at the depths of the Vyborg Bay. Not a single person was killed from the crew. Captain of the ship Tikhotsky K.M. I personally checked every available corner of the sinking ship and only after I was sure that everyone was saved, left it.
Publishing house "Gangut". A series of monographs "Midel frame"
Ships, like people, have their own destiny. Some have a long life, full of victories and glory. The second - hard workers, faithfully doing their job. Still others are those who have a short but vibrant life. For those who are interested in the history of the fleet, ships, their fate and features, the Gangut Publishing House publishes a series of monographs called “Midship Frame”, each issue of which is dedicated to one or a series of ships with the application of drawings for modeling. Including the release prepared by the publishing house "Gangut" - "Midel frame", "Battleship" Empress Maria "- drawings."
The battle cruiser Gangut, unlike the battleship Empress Maria, is a distinguished veteran who went through two world wars. About his interesting life, about the people who brought glory to the ship, in the publishing house "Gangut", in the series of monographs "Midel frame" there is a number dedicated to the battleship "Gangut". The drawings will help specialists independently carry out the model and read interesting information about the ship and the lives of people for whom the ship was the home and duty station. Create a ship with your own hands - what could be more interesting? The model of the battleship "Gangut" on a scale of 1: 350.
Conclusion
The history of the Russian fleet is full of interesting facts. It would seem that the death of the battleship "Gangut" - well, what could be of interest here? Not a hero, like the "Varangian", did not die fighting the enemy. But this is not so. This is a sad fact and, no matter how cynical it sounds, lessons have been learned from this, and requirements for unsinkable ships have been strengthened. At the suggestion of Admiral Makarov S.O., the watertightness of the bulkheads was now tested in a new way, which saved the lives of many sailors during wrecks. And the feat of captain 1st rank Tikhotsky K.M. and his crew, which for 6 hours, including at night by candlelight, did everything to save the ship, is worthy of veneration.