Pervenets-class ironclad

The Pervenets-class ironclads were a group of three armored frigates built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1860s. The first ship was built in England because the Russian Empire lacked the ability to build its own ironclads, but the other two were built in Russia. All three ships differed from one another as the design evolved over time. None of the ships ever saw combat and only Kreml had an eventful career, sinking a wooden frigate in an collision in 1869 and sinking herself in 1885. She was refloated and returned to service. They were assigned to the Baltic Fleet upon completion and never left Russian waters. They served with the Gunnery Training Detachment for the bulk of their careers before being reduced to reserve in 1904. They were sold four years later and Pervenets and Ne Tron Menia were converted into coal barges. Pervenets survived World War 2 and was scrapped in the early 1960s, Ne Tron Menia was sunk during the war and scrapped around 1950, while Kreml's fate after her sale is unknown

A postcard of Pervenets at anchor
Class overview
Name: Pervenetz
Operators:  Imperial Russian Navy
Preceded by: Sevastopol
Succeeded by: Kniaz Pozharsky
Built: 1861–1866
Completed: 3
Scrapped: 3
General characteristics (Pervenets as built)
Type: Armored frigate
Displacement: 3,277 long tons (3,330 t)
Length: 220 ft (67 m)
Beam: 53 ft (16 m)
Draft: 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Installed power:
  • 1,067 ihp (796 kW)
  • 2 rectangular boilers
Propulsion: 1 shaft, 1 Horizontal direct-action steam engine
Speed: 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Complement: 430 officers and crewmen
Armament:
  • 24 × 60-pounder smoothbore guns (gundeck)
  • 2 × 60-pounder smoothbore guns (upper deck)
Armor:

Background

The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells as demonstrated by the Russian destruction of a Turkish squadron at the Battle of Sinope.[1] The first ironclad battleship, La Gloire, was launched by the French Navy in November 1859.[2] It was followed by the British Warrior-class ironclad. Russia was among the first countries to follow.

Design

The Naval Ministry initially ordered two ships. The first ship in the class, Pervenets (Firstborn), was built in England and the second identical ship, Ne Tron Menia (Don't touch me) in Saint Petersburg. A few months later the decision was made to build a third ship, Kreml (Kremlin), at the Neva shipyards in Saint Petersburg.[1]

The ships were smaller and slower than the contemporary British HMS Warrior and French La Gloire, and were in fact designated "Armored Battery", rather "Armored Frigate", such as the later Admiral Lazarev class. They had the same 114-millimetre (4.5 in) armour as Warrior. Kreml had a few modifications such as a teak layer under the armor and design-planned later upgrade to the 203-millimetre (8 in) guns.[1]

Ships
Ship Builder[3] Ordered[3] Construction began[3] Laid down[3][Note 1] Launched[3] Entered service[3] Fate[3] Cost (hull and machinery only)[3]
Pervenets Thames Iron Works, Blackwall, London 18 November 1861[Note 2] December 1861 18 May 1863 28 July 1864 Scrapped, 1960s 917,000 rubles
Ne Tron Menia Charles Mitchell Shipyard, St. Petersburg 31 March 1862 30 January 1863 1 December 1863 23 June 1864 18 July 1865 Scrapped, 1950 923,500 rubles
Kreml Semiannikov & Poletika, St. Petersburg 20 April 1863 2 October 1863 23 December 1863 26 August 1865 1866 Unknown 898,000

Service history

All three ships served in the Baltic Fleet. They never saw any combat action, and gradually transferred from combat ships to training and coastal defence ships. The last ship in the class, Kreml suffered several serious accidents, accidentally scuttling the frigate Orel in 1869. Kreml itself sank due to a storm on 29 May 1885, although she was recovered five days later and returned to service. The last ship of the class, she was scrapped in October 1905.[1]

Notes
  1. In the Russian Imperial Navy, the date the keel was laid down was primarily ceremonial and did not signify an important stage in her construction.[3]
  2. All dates used in this article are New Style.

Footnotes
  1. Military Ships of Russia ISBN 5-89410-001-1, p. 26
  2. Sondhaus, Lawrence. Naval Warfare 1815–1914 ISBN 0-415-21478-5, pp. 73–4.
  3. McLaughlin, p. 115

References
  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
  • McLaughlin, Stephen (2011). "Russia's First Ironclads: Pervenets, Ne tron menia and Kreml". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2011. London: Conway. pp. 112–29. ISBN 978-1-84486-133-0.
  • Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
  • Watts, Anthony J. (1990). The Imperial Russian Navy. London: Arms and Armour. ISBN 0-85368-912-1.

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