A ship of the line is a sailing warship made of wood with a displacement of up to 6,000 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 17th-19th centuries.
The advent of battleships
The name "ship of the line" has been known since the days of the sailing fleet. During the multi-deck, they lined up in one line in order to give a volley of all the guns at the enemy. It was the simultaneous fire from all the onboard guns that caused significant damage to the enemy. Soon, this battle tactic began to be called linear. The formation of a line of ships during naval battles was first used by the English and Spanish navies in the early 17th century.
The progenitors of battleships are galleons with heavy weapons, carracks. The first mention of them appeared in Europe at the beginning of the 17th century. These models of battleships were much lighter and shorter than galleons. Such qualities allowed them to maneuver faster, that is, to line up sideways to the enemy. It was necessary to line up in such a way that the bow of the next ship was necessarily directed to the stern of the previous one. Why weren't they afraid to expose the sides of the ships to enemy attacks? Because the multi-layered wooden sides were a reliable protection of the ship from enemy nuclei.
The process of formation of battleships
Soon a multi-deck sailing ship of the line appeared, which for more than 250 years became the main means of waging war at sea. Progress did not stand still, thanks to the latest methods of 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, a clear demarcation by class emerged:
- Old two-deck. These are ships whose decks are located one above the other. They are filled with 50 cannons firing at the enemy through the windows in the sides of the ship. These floating craft did not have sufficient power to conduct a linear battle and were mainly used as an escort for convoys.
- Double-deck ships of the line with 64 to 90 guns represented the bulk of the fleet.
- Three- or four-deck ships with 98-144 combat guns played the role of flagships. A fleet containing 10-25 such ships could control trade lines and, in case of military action, block them for the enemy.
Differences of battleships from others
Sailing equipment for frigates and battleships is the same - three-masted. Each had direct sails. But still, the frigate and the ship of the line have some differences. The first has only one closed battery, and the battleships have several. In addition, the latter have a much larger number of guns, this also applies to the height of the sides. But frigates are more maneuverable and can operate even in shallow water.
A ship of the line differs from a galleon by straight sails. In addition, the latter does not have a rectangular turret at the stern and a latrine at the bow. The ship of the line is superior to the galleon both in speed and maneuverability, as well as in artillery combat. The latter is more suited for boarding combat. Among other things, they were very often used to transport troops and cargo.
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 "Goto Predestination". By the twenties of the 18th century, the Russian Imperial Navy already included 36 such ships. At the beginning, these were complete copies of Western models, but by the end of the reign of Peter I, Russian battleships began to have their own distinctive features. They were much shorter, had less shrinkage, which negatively affected seaworthiness. These ships were very well suited to the conditions of the Azov and then the Baltic Seas. The emperor himself was directly involved in the design and construction. Its name - the Russian Imperial Fleet was worn by the Russian Navy from October 22, 1721 to April 16, 1917. Naval officers only people from the nobility could serve, and recruits from the common people could serve as sailors on ships. The term of service in the Navy for them was life.
Battleship "Twelve Apostles"
"12 Apostles" was laid down 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. These ships were distinguished not only by their elegance 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 could not participate in any battle Black Sea Fleet. His body remained intact and did not receive a single hole. But this ship has become exemplary training center, he provided the defense of Russian forts and fortresses in the west of the Caucasus. In addition, the ship was engaged in the transportation of land troops and went on long voyages for 3-4 months. The ship was subsequently sunk.
Reasons why battleships have lost their importance
The position of wooden battleships as the main force at sea was shaken due to the development of artillery. Heavy bombing guns easily pierced the wooden side with gunpowder bombs, thereby causing serious damage to the ship and causing fires. If earlier artillery did not pose a big threat to ship hulls, then bombing guns could launch Russian battleships to the bottom with just a few dozen hits. Since that time, the question arose about the protection of structures with metal armor.
In 1848, the screw propulsion and relatively powerful steam engines were invented, so wooden sailboats slowly began to leave the scene. Some ships were refitted and equipped with steam units. Several large ships with sails were also produced, they were habitually called linear.
Linemen of the Imperial Navy
In 1907, a new class of ships appeared, in Russia they were called linear, or in short - battleships. These are armored artillery warships. Their displacement ranged from 20 to 65 thousand tons. If we compare battleships of the 18th century and battleships, the latter have a length of 150 to 250 m. They are armed with a gun of caliber from 280 to 460 mm. The crew of the battleship - from 1500 to 2800 people. The ship was used to destroy the enemy as part of a combat formation and artillery support for ground operations. The name of the ships was given not so much in memory of battleships, but because they needed to revive the tactics of battle of the line.
type " Soviet Union»
The combat charter of the Naval Forces of the Red Army - 1930 (BU-30) battleships were recognized as the main strike force fleet, and the course towards industrialization opened up real prospects in their creation. However, the matter was held back not only by limited opportunities, but also by dogmatism, extremes in the development of naval theory. Leading theorists B.B. Zhreve and M.A. Petrov, who advocated a proportional ratio various classes ship to combat strength fleet, at the turn of the 20-30s. labeled apologists for the "bourgeois old school"; while M.A. Petrov, who brilliantly defended the fleet from its radical reduction in a sharp polemic with M.N. Tukhachevsky at a meeting of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR, ended up in prison, where he later died.
Under the influence of a tempting idea to solve the problems of the naval defense of the USSR through the mass construction of relatively cheap submarines, torpedo boats and seaplanes, not always competent specialists of the so-called young school won the theoretical dispute; some of its representatives, out of opportunistic considerations of undermining the authority of the "old specialists", distorted the picture of the struggle at sea during the First World War, idealizing the combat capabilities of "new means", for example, submarines. Sometimes such one-sided concepts were shared by the leaders of the Naval Forces of the Red Army; so, in October 1933, the head of the USSR Navy (Namorsi) V.M. Orlov, at the suggestion of the most aggressive "theoretician" A.P. Aleksandrova demanded "exposing in the press" and "withdrawal from circulation" of the book "Anglo-American Maritime Rivalry", published by the Institute of World Economy and Politics; one of its authors - P.I. Smirnov, who held the position of Deputy Inspector of the Navy of the Red Army, dared to objectively show the place of battleships in the fleet that A.P. Aleksandrov regarded it as "a shameless attack on the party line in naval construction, undermining confidence personnel in your weapon."
It is noteworthy that even during the period of enthusiasm for mosquito forces (October 1931), a group of engineers from the design bureau of the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad seemed to foresee the imminent need for these ships; they submitted a memorandum to the industry leadership, which contained proposals to start preparatory work, select types, draw up projects, strengthen the material base, design and workforce. Many of the signatories of this document participated in the design of Soviet battleships. The importance of building large ships in the mid-30s. became obvious to Namorsi V.M. Orlov, his deputy I.M. Ludri and the head of the Glavmorprom of the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry R.A. Muklevich.
The greatest success in 1935 was achieved by the Central Design Bureau of Special Shipbuilding of the Glavmorprom (TsKBS-1), headed by V.L. Brzezinski. Among a number of promising projects, six variants of battleships with a standard displacement from 43,000 to 75,000 tons were worked out. According to the results of the work, the chief engineer of TsKBS-1 V.P. Rimsky-Kor-sakov (in the recent past - deputy head of the Naval Training and Construction Department) compiled a generalized code of TTE, which V.L. On December 24, 1935, Brzezinski reported to the leadership of the Naval Forces and Glavmorprom. The first outfit for the preliminary design of the "project No. 23 of the battleship for Pacific Fleet» Glavmorprom issued the Baltic Shipyard on February 21, 1936, but the task for this project was not approved and was subjected to adjustments according to the TsKBS-1 options. V.M. Orlov recognized projects of battleships with a standard displacement of 55,000-57,000 and 35,000 tons (instead of the option of 43,000 tons) as “interesting and relevant” for the Navy; On May 13, 1936, he gave instructions to I.M. Loudry on the issuance of "clear tasks" to the Naval Research Institute of Military Shipbuilding (NIVK) and industry for the "final sketch design of large ships" in the development of selected options. Preliminary tactical and technical specifications for sketches developed under the guidance of the head of the Shipbuilding Department of the UVMS flagship engineer 2nd rank B.E. Alyakritsky, approved on May 15, 1936 by I.M. Ludry.
The concept of building two types of battleships (larger and smaller displacement) was based on the differences in the theaters of military operations - the open Pacific, limited Baltic and Black Sea. The compilers of the TTZ proceeded from the optimal characteristics of the ships, determined by the level of technology and experience of the past war, combat training. However, at the initial stage, the design was strongly influenced by foreign experience and contractual displacement limits provided for by the Washington (1922) and London (1930 and 1936) agreements, in which the USSR did not officially participate. V.M. Orlov was inclined to reduce the displacement and caliber of weapons of the first battleship of the Pacific Fleet, and for the second he chose the option of a relatively small but high-speed ship, embodied in the projects of the French Dunkirk and the German Scharnhorst. When discussing the sketches, the proposed placement of all three towers of the main caliber of the “large” battleship in the bow of the hull (following the example of the English battleship Nelson) did not pass the proposed design bureau of the Baltic Shipyard. The TsKBS-1 sketch was taken as the basis, in which two three-gun turrets were placed in the bow, and one in the stern. August 3, 1936 V.M. Orlov approved the TTZ for the preliminary design of battleships of types "A" (project 23) and "B" (project 25), proposed on a competitive basis by TsKBS-1 and the design bureau of the Baltic Shipyard.
In accordance with the special regulation approved by V.M. Orlov and R.A. Muklevich on August 21, 1936, work on projects was carried out in close cooperation with the heads of the Design Bureau and TsKBS-1 S.F. Stepanova and V.L. Brzezinski with representatives of the Navy, who observed the design. The examination was entrusted to the heads of naval institutes under the general supervision of the head of the NIVK, flag officer of the 2nd rank E.P. Liebel.
In November 1936, the materials of the draft designs of the battleships "A" and "B", together with the reviews of the observers and the NIVK, were considered in the Shipbuilding Department of the UVMS (head - engineer-flag officer 2nd rank B.E. Alyakrinsky). To draw up the general technical design of the first of the battleships, the most thoughtful version of the design bureau of the Baltic Shipyard (standard displacement 45,900 tons) was chosen with changes approved by V.M. Namorsi. Orlov November 26, 1936; displacement, for example, was allowed in the range of 46-47 thousand tons with an increase in draft in full load up to 10 m, it was envisaged to strengthen the booking of decks and the bow end. The development of the general technical design of the battleship type "B" was entrusted to TsKBS in the development of the sketch presented by him with a standard displacement of 30,900 tons (total 37,800).
Fulfilling a government decree of July 16, 1936, the Shipbuilding Department of the UVMS issued an order to Glavmorprom on December 3 for the construction of eight battleships with delivery to the fleet in 1941. In Leningrad, it was planned to build two battleships of project 23 (Baltic Plant) and the same number of project 25, in Nikolaev - four projects 25 . This decision actually meant another correction of the shipbuilding program of the second five-year plan (1933-1937), supplementing it with previously unforeseen battleships. However, the implementation of new plans to strengthen the fleet encountered serious difficulties, some of which were determined by the huge amount of experimental work that could ensure the success of design and construction; this meant the manufacture of steam boilers, mine protection compartments, armor plates, life-size models of turbine and boiler rooms, testing the effects of bombs and shells on deck armor, irrigation systems, remote control, air conditioning, etc. The problems of creating artillery installations and turbine mechanisms of high power turned out to be especially difficult.
All these difficulties were overcome in an atmosphere of disorganization in the management of the fleet and industry caused by the repressions of 1937-1938, when almost everyone who led the choice of types and the creation of future battleships became victims. The already dire situation worsened with the availability of qualified command and engineering personnel, as a result of which the laying of ships in 1937 did not take place, and the design tasks themselves underwent serious changes. Project 25 was abandoned, later it was transformed into a heavy cruiser (Project 69, Kronstadt). In August-September of the same year, the new leadership of the Navy of the Red Army (Namorsi - the flagship of the fleet of the 2nd rank L.M. Galler) reworked the previously drawn up plan for building ships, designed for ten years. This option provided for the prospective construction of 6 battleships of type “A” and 14 of type “B” instead of 8 and 16. However, such a truncated plan, submitted to the Defense Committee by Marshal of the Soviet Union K.E. Voroshilov in September 1937, was never officially approved.
Despite the problematic implementation of the ten-year program, the government, by a decision of August 13/15, 1937, determined the revision of the technical project 23 with an increase in the standard displacement to 55-57 thousand tons while optimizing the armor and constructive underwater protection and abandoning two stern 100-mm towers. The increase in displacement, reflecting the objective need to combine powerful weapons, reliable protection and high speed, proved the validity of the initial tasks of 1936. At the same time, TsKB-17 received the flagship of the 2nd rank S.P. developed by the commission. Stavitsky tactical and technical
a request for the design of a battleship type "B" (project 64) with 356-mm artillery of the main caliber. For projects 23 and 64, the unification of the main turbo-gear units with a capacity of 67,000 hp was assumed. each (technical assistance from the Swiss company Brown-Boveri), 152-, 100-mm turrets and quad 37-mm machine guns of domestic design.
The materials of technical project 23 (Head of the Design Bureau of the Baltic Plant Grauerman, Chief Engineer B.G. Chilikin) were considered in the Shipbuilding Department (UK) of the Red Army Navy in November 1937. In December, the head of TsKB-17 N.P. Dubinin and chief engineer V.A. Nikitin submitted to the Criminal Code draft design 64, but both of them were recognized as unsatisfactory. In project 23 (standard displacement 57,825, total displacement 63,900 tons), there were many unresolved issues related to the development of the main power plant, anti-mine and anti-aircraft artillery towers, bottom protection and a reservation system that did not correspond to the results of experimental bombing. The shortcomings of Project 64 were largely explained by the task itself, which involved the creation of a deliberately weak ship, designed to solve problems "in cooperation with other means of connection." Armament (nine 356-, twelve 152-, eight 100-, thirty-two 37-mm guns) and its characteristics (for 356-mm it was planned 750-kg shells with an initial speed of 860-910 m / s) at a speed of 29 knots could not provide a battleship of type "B" with tactical advantages in single combat with the same foreigners. The desire of the designers to meet the stringent requirements of the TTZ for the protection of the ship led to an increase in the standard displacement to almost 50,000 tons. The wishes of the Naval Shipbuilding Administration to reduce the displacement to 45,000 tons did not come true at the beginning of 1938, the battleship "B" was abandoned.
29.04.2015 26 718 0 Jadaha
Science and technology
It is believed that as a class of warships, battleships appeared only in the 17th century, when a new tactic of naval battles was formed.
The squadrons lined up against each other and began an artillery duel, the ending of which determined the outcome of the battle.
However, if we mean by linear large warships with powerful weapons, then the history of such ships goes back thousands of years.
In ancient times, the combat power of the ship depended on the number of warriors and rowers, as well as the throwing weapons that were placed on it. The name of the ships was determined by the number of rows of oars. Oars, in turn, could be designed for 1-3 people. The rowers were placed on several floors, one above the other or in a checkerboard pattern.
Quinqueremes (penters) with five rows of oars were considered the most common type of large vessels. However, in 256 B.C. e. in the battle with the Carthaginians at Ecnome, the Roman squadron included two hexers (with six rows of oars). The Romans were still insecure at sea and instead of traditional rams, they started a boarding battle, installing the so-called "crows" on the decks - devices that, having fallen on an enemy ship, tightly fettered it to the attacking ship.
According to modern experts, the largest ship could be a septirema (seven rows of oars) about 90 meters long. A ship of greater length would simply break in the waves. Nevertheless, ancient sources contain references to octers, eners and decims (respectively, eight, nine and ten rows of oars). Most likely, these ships were too wide, and therefore slow-moving, and were used to defend their own harbors, as well as in the capture of enemy coastal fortresses as mobile platforms for siege towers and heavy throwing devices.
Length - 45 meters
Width - 6 meters
Engines - sail, oars
Crew - about 250 people
Armament - boarding "raven"
It is widely believed that armored ships appeared in the second half of the 19th century. In fact, their birthplace was medieval Korea...
We are talking about kobukson, or "turtle ships", created, as it is believed, by the famous Korean naval commander Lee Sunsin (1545-1598).
The first mention of these ships dates back to 1423, but the opportunity to try them out in action appeared only in 1592, when a 130,000-strong Japanese army tried to conquer the Land of Morning Calm.
Having lost a significant part of the fleet due to a surprise attack, the Koreans, having four times smaller forces, began to strike at enemy ships. The battleships of the samurai fleet - sekibune - had crews of no more than 200 people and a displacement of 150 tons. In front of twice as large and heavily armored kobuksons, they turned out to be defenseless, since it was impossible to take such "turtles" for boarding. Korean crews sat in chest-like casemates made of wood and iron and methodically shot the enemy with cannons.
Kobuksons were set in motion by 18-20 single oars and even with a fair wind they could hardly reach speeds of more than 7 kilometers per hour. But their firepower was crushing, and invulnerability brought the samurai to hysterics. It was these "turtles" that brought victory to the Koreans, and Lee Sunsin became a national hero.
Length - 30-36 meters
Width - 9-12 meters
Engines - sail, oars
Crew - 130 people
Number of guns - 24-40
The rulers of the Venetian Republic, perhaps, were the first to understand that dominance over maritime communications allows them to control world trade, and with such a trump card in their hands, even a tiny state can become a strong European power.
The basis of the sea power of the Republic of St. Mark were galleys. Vessels of this type could move both on sails and on oars, but were longer than their ancient Greek and Phoenician predecessors, which made it possible to increase their crews to one and a half hundred sailors, capable of acting both as rowers and as marines.
The depth of the galley hold was no more than 3 meters, but this was enough to load the necessary supplies and even small batches intended for the sale of goods.
The main element of the vessel were curved frames that determined the shape and influenced the speed of the galley. First, a frame was assembled from them, and then sheathed with boards.
This technology was revolutionary for its time, allowing the construction of a long and narrow, but at the same time rigid structure that did not bend under the influence of waves.
The Venetian shipyards were a state-owned enterprise surrounded by a 10-meter wall. More than 3,000 professional craftsmen, who were called arsenolotti, worked on them.
Unauthorized entry into the territory of the enterprise was punishable by imprisonment, which was supposed to ensure maximum secrecy.
Length - 40 meters
Width - 5 meters
Engine - sail, oars
Speed - b knots
Load capacity - 140 tons
Crew - 150 rowers
The largest sailing ship of the line of the 18th century, unofficially nicknamed El Ponderoso ("Heavyweight").
It was launched in Havana in 1769. It had three decks. The hull of the ship, up to 60 centimeters thick, was made of Cuban redwood, the mast and yardarms were made of Mexican pine.
In 1779 Spain and France declared war on England. The Santisima Trinidad went to the English Channel, but the enemy ships simply did not engage with it and slipped away, taking advantage of the speed advantage. In 1795, the Heavyweight was converted into the world's first four-deck ship.
On April 14, 1797, at the Battle of Cape San Vincent, British ships under the command of Nelson cut off the nose of a column led by the Santisima Trinidad and opened artillery fire from a convenient position, which decided the outcome of the battle. The victors captured four ships, but the pride of the Spanish fleet managed to escape capture.
The British flagship Victoria, carrying Nelson, attacked along with seven others. British ships, each of which had at least 72 guns, "Santisima Trinidad".
Length - 63 meters
Displacement - 1900 tons
Engines - sail
Crew - 1200 people
Number of guns - 144
The most powerful sailing ship of the line of the Russian fleet was launched in 1841 at the Nikolaev shipyard.
It was built on the initiative of the commander of the Black Sea squadron Mikhail Lazarev, taking into account the latest developments of British shipbuilders. Due to careful processing of wood and work in boathouses, the life of the vessel exceeded the standard eight years. The interior decoration was luxurious, so that some officers compared it to the decoration imperial yachts. In 1849 and 1852, two more similar ships left the stocks - "Paris" and "Grand Duke Konstantin", but with simpler interior decoration.
The first commander of the ship was the future vice-admiral Vladimir Kornilov (1806-1854), who died during the defense of Sevastopol.
In 1853, the "Twelve Apostles" transported almost 1.5 thousand infantrymen to the Caucasus to take part in the battles against the Turks. However, when the British and French came out against Russia, it became obvious that the time of sailing ships was a thing of the past.
A hospital was set up on the Twelve Apostles, and the cannons removed from it were used to strengthen coastal defenses.
On the night of February 13-14, 1855, the ship was scuttled to reinforce the underwater barriers at the entrance to the bay that had been washed away by the current. When work began on clearing the fairway after the war, it was not possible to raise the Twelve Apostles and the ship was blown up.
Length - 64.4 meters
Width - 12.1 meters
Speed - up to 12 knots (22 km/h)
Engines - sail
Crew - 1200 people
Number of guns - 130
The first full-fledged battleship Russian fleet, built on Galerny Island in St. Petersburg according to the project of Rear Admiral Andrei Popov (1821-1898), originally bore the name "Cruiser" and was intended specifically for cruising operations. However, after it was renamed "Peter the Great" in 1872 and launched, the concept changed. Speech began to be conducted already about a vessel of a linear type.
It was not possible to bring the engine part to mind; in 1881, Peter the Great was transferred to Glasgow, where specialists from the Randolph and Elder company took up its reconstruction. As a result, the ship began to be considered the leader among the ships of its class, although it did not have to show off its power in real hostilities.
By the beginning of the 20th century, shipbuilding had gone far ahead, and the next modernization of the case no longer saved. In 1903, the Peter the Great was converted into a training ship, and since 1917 it has been used as a floating base for submarines.
In February and April 1918, this veteran took part in two of the most difficult ice transitions: first from Revel to Helsingfors, and then from Helsingfors to Kronstadt, avoiding capture by the Germans or White Finns.
In May 1921, the ex-battleship was disarmed and reorganized into a mine block (floating base) of the Kronstadt military port. From the list of the fleet "Peter the Great" was excluded only in 1959.
Length - 103.5 meters
Width - 19.2 meters
Speed - 14.36 knots
Power - 8296 l. With.
Crew - 440 people
Armament - four 305 mm and six 87 mm guns
The proper name of this ship became a household name for a whole generation of warships, which differed from the usual battleships in greater armor protection and the power of guns - it was on them that the “all-big-gun” principle (“only big guns”) was implemented.
The initiative of its creation belonged to the first Lord of the British Admiralty John Fisher (1841-1920). Launched on February 10, 1906, the ship was built in four months, involving almost all the shipbuilding enterprises of the kingdom. The power of his fire salvo was equal to the power of a salvo of an entire squadron of battleships of the recently ended Russo-Japanese War. However, it cost twice as much.
Thus, the great powers entered the next round of the naval arms race.
By the beginning of the First World War, the Dreadnought itself was already considered somewhat outdated, and the so-called "superdreadnoughts" were replacing it.
This ship won the only victory on March 18, 1915, sinking the German submarine U-29, commanded by the famous German submariner Lieutenant Commander Otto Weddingen.
In 1919, the Dreadnought was transferred to the reserve, in 1921 it was sold for scrap, and in 1923 it was dismantled for metal.
Length - 160.74 meters
Width - 25.01 meters
Speed - 21.6 knots
Power - 23,000 liters. With. (estimated) - 26350 (at full speed)
Crew - 692 (1905), 810 (1916)
Armament - ten 305 mm, twenty-seven 76 mm anti-mine guns
The largest (along with the Tirpitz) German battleship and the third largest representative of this class of warships in the world (after the battleships of the Yamato and Iowa types).
Launched in Hamburg on Valentine's Day - February 14, 1939 - in the presence of Prince Bismarck's granddaughter Dorothea von Löwenfeld.
On May 18, 1941, the battleship, along with heavy cruiser"Prinz Eugen" left Gotenhafen (modern Gdynia) with the aim of disrupting British maritime communications.
On the morning of May 24, after an eight-minute artillery duel, Bismarck sent the British battlecruiser Hood to the bottom. On the battleship, one of the generators failed and two fuel tanks were pierced.
The British staged a real raid on the Bismarck. The decisive hit (which led to the loss of control of the ship) was achieved by one of the fifteen torpedo bombers that rose from the Ark Royal aircraft carrier.
Bismarck went to the bottom on May 27, confirming with his death that now the battleships must give way to aircraft carriers. His younger brother Tirpitz was sunk on November 12, 1944 in the Norwegian fjords as a result of a series of British air raids.
Length - 251 meters
Width - 36 meters
Height - 15 meters (from keel to upper deck)
Battleship
Battleship(abbreviated from "ship of the line") - a class of armored artillery warships with a displacement of 20 to 70 thousand tons, a length of 150 to 280 m, armed with main caliber guns from 280 to 460 mm, with a crew of 1500-2800 people. Battleships were used in the 20th century to destroy enemy ships as part of a combat formation and artillery support for land operations. was evolutionary development armadillos second half of XIX in.
origin of name
Battleship - short for "battleship". So in Russia in 1907 they called new type ships in memory of old wooden sailing ships of the line. Initially, the new ships were supposed to revive linear tactics, but this was soon abandoned.
The English analogue of this term - battleship (literally: warship) - also came from sailing ships of the line. In 1794, the term "line-of-battle ship" (ship of the battle line) was abbreviated as "battle ship". Later it was used in relation to any warship. From the late 1880s, unofficially, it was most often applied to squadron ironclads. In 1892, the reclassification of the British Navy called the word "battleship" a class of super-heavy ships, which included several especially heavy squadron ironclads.
But the real revolution in shipbuilding, which marked a truly new class of ships, was made by the construction of the Dreadnought, completed in 1906.
Dreadnoughts. "Only Big Guns"
The authorship of a new leap in the development of large artillery ships is attributed to the English Admiral Fisher. Back in 1899, commanding the Mediterranean squadron, he noted that firing with the main caliber can be carried out at a much greater distance if guided by splashes from falling shells. However, at the same time, it was necessary to unify all artillery in order to avoid confusion in determining the bursts of shells of the main caliber and medium-caliber artillery. Thus was born the concept of all-big-guns (only big guns), which formed the basis of a new type of ship. The effective firing range increased from 10-15 to 90-120 cables.
Other innovations that formed the basis of the new type of ships were centralized fire control from a single general ship post and the spread of electric drives, which accelerated the aiming of heavy guns. The guns themselves have also changed significantly, due to the transition to smokeless powder and new high-strength steels. Now only the lead ship could carry out sighting, and those following in the wake were guided by bursts of its shells. Thus, building in wake columns again allowed in Russia in 1907 to return the term battleship. In the USA, England and France, the term "battleship" was not revived, and new ships continued to be called "battleship" or "cuirassé". In Russia, the "battleship" remained the official term, but in practice the abbreviation was established battleship.
Battlecruiser Hood.
The naval community adopted the new class capital ships ambiguously, weak and incomplete armor protection caused special criticism. However, the British Navy continued to develop this type, first building 3 cruisers of the Indifatigeble class (Eng. Indefatigable) - an improved version of the Invincible, and then moved on to building battlecruisers artillery caliber 343 mm. They were 3 Lion-class cruisers (Eng. Leon), as well as built in a single copy of the "Tiger" (Eng. Tiger) . These ships had already surpassed their contemporary battleships in size, were very fast, but their armor, although increased in comparison with the Invincible, still did not meet the requirements of a battle with a similarly armed enemy.
Already during the First World War, the British continued to build battlecruisers in accordance with the concept of Fisher, who returned to leadership - the highest possible speed combined with the strongest weapons, but with weak armor. As a result Royal Navy received 2 battlecruisers of the Rinaun type, as well as 2 light battlecruisers of the Koreydzhes type and 1 of the Furies type, and the latter began to be rebuilt into a semi-aircraft carrier even before commissioning. The last British battlecruiser commissioned was the Hood, and its design was significantly changed after the battle of Jutland, which was unsuccessful for the British battlecruisers. The ship's armor was sharply increased, and it actually became a cruiser battleship.
Battlecruiser Goeben.
A noticeably different approach to the design of battlecruisers was demonstrated by German shipbuilders. To a certain extent, sacrificing seaworthiness, cruising range and even firepower, they paid great attention to the armor protection of their battlecruisers and ensuring their unsinkability. Already the first German battlecruiser "Von der Tann" (German. Von der Tann), yielding to the Invincible in the weight of an airborne salvo, it noticeably surpassed its British counterparts in security.
In the future, developing a successful project, the Germans introduced into their fleet battlecruisers of the Moltke type (German. Moltke) (2 units) and their improved version - "Seidlitz" (it. Seydlitz). Then the German fleet was replenished with battlecruisers with 305-mm artillery, against 280-mm on early ships. They became "Derflinger" (German. Derfflinger), "Lützow" (German. Lutzow) and "Hindenburg" (German. Hindenburg) - according to experts, the most successful battlecruisers of the First World War.
Battlecruiser Kongo.
Already during the war, the Germans laid down 4 Mackensen-class battlecruisers (German. Mackensen) and 3 types "Ersatz-York" (it. Ersatz Yorck). The former carried 350 mm artillery, while the latter were planned to mount 380 mm guns. Both types were distinguished by powerful armor protection at a moderate speed, but by the end of the war, none of the ships under construction entered service.
Battlecruisers also wished to have Japan and Russia. The Japanese fleet received in 1913-1915 4 units of the Kongo type (jap. 金剛) - powerfully armed, fast, but poorly protected. The Russian Imperial Navy built 4 units of the Izmail type, which were distinguished by very powerful weapons, decent speed and good protection, surpassing the battleships of the Gangut type in all respects. The first 3 ships were launched in 1915, but later, due to the difficulties of the war years, their construction slowed down sharply and was eventually stopped.
World War I
During World War I, the German Hochseeflotte - High Seas Fleet and the English Grand Fleet spent most of their time at their bases, as the strategic importance of the ships seemed too great to risk in battle. The only clash of battleship fleets in this war (Battle of Jutland) took place on May 31, 1916. The German fleet intended to lure the English fleet out of the bases and break it up in parts, but the British, having guessed the plan, put their entire fleet into the sea. Faced with superior forces, the Germans were forced to retreat, avoiding being trapped several times and losing several of their ships (11 to 14 of the British). However, after that, until the very end of the war, the High Seas Fleet was forced to remain off the coast of Germany.
In total, during the war, not a single battleship went to the bottom only from artillery fire, only three English battlecruisers died due to weak defenses during the battle of Jutland. The main damage (22 dead ships) to the battleships was caused by minefields and submarine torpedoes, anticipating the future importance of the submarine fleet.
Russian battleships in naval battles did not participate - in the Baltic they stood in the harbors, connected by a mine and torpedo threat, and in the Black Sea they did not have worthy rivals, and their role was reduced to artillery bombardments. The exception is the battle of the battleship "Empress Catherine the Great" with the battlecruiser "Goeben", during which the "Goeben", having received damage from the fire of the Russian battleship, managed to maintain the advantage in speed and went to the Bosphorus. The battleship "Empress Maria" died in 1916 from an explosion of ammunition in the harbor of Sevastopol for an unspecified reason.
Washington Maritime Agreement
First World War did not put an end to the naval arms race, for the place of the European powers as owners of the largest fleets was taken by America and Japan, who practically did not participate in the war. After the construction of the newest superdreadnoughts of the Ise type, the Japanese finally believed in the possibilities of their shipbuilding industry and began to prepare their fleet to establish dominance in the region. These aspirations were reflected in the ambitious 8 + 8 program, which provided for the construction of 8 newest battleships and 8 equally powerful battlecruisers, with 410 mm and 460 mm guns. The first pair of Nagato-class ships had already set sail, two battlecruisers (with 5 × 2 × 410 mm) were on the stocks, when the Americans, concerned about this, adopted a response program for the construction of 10 new battleships and 6 battlecruisers, not counting smaller ships. War-ravaged England also did not want to lag behind and planned the construction of ships of the G-3 and N-3 type, although it could no longer maintain the "double standard". However, such a burden on the budgets of the world powers was extremely undesirable in the post-war situation, and everyone was ready to make concessions in order to maintain the existing position.
To counter the ever-increasing underwater threat, the size of anti-torpedo protection zones on ships increased more and more. To protect against projectiles coming from afar, therefore, at a large angle, as well as from aerial bombs, the thickness of the armored decks (up to 160-200mm), which received a spaced structure, was increasingly increased. The widespread use of electric welding made it possible to make the structure not only more durable, but also gave significant savings in weight. Anti-mine caliber artillery moved from the side sponsons to the towers, where it had large angles of fire. The number of anti-aircraft artillery was constantly increasing, divided into large-caliber and small-caliber, to repel attacks, respectively, at large and small distances. Large-caliber, and then small-caliber artillery received separate guidance posts. The idea of a universal caliber was tested, which was a rapid-fire large-caliber guns with large pointing angles, suitable for repelling attacks by destroyers and high-altitude bombers.
All ships were equipped with airborne reconnaissance seaplanes with catapults, and in the second half of the 30s, the British began to install the first radars on their ships.
The military also had at its disposal a lot of ships from the end of the “superdreadnought” era, which were being upgraded to meet the new requirements. They received new machine installations to replace the old ones, more powerful and compact. However, their speed did not increase at the same time, and often even fell, due to the fact that the ships received large side fittings in the underwater part - boules - designed to improve resistance to underwater explosions. The main caliber towers received new, enlarged embrasures, which made it possible to increase the firing range, for example, the firing range of the 15-inch guns of the Queen Elizabeth type ships increased from 116 to 160 cable guns.
In Japan, under the influence of Admiral Yamamoto, in the fight against their main intended enemy - the United States - they relied on a general battle of all naval forces, due to the impossibility of a long confrontation with the United States. The main role in this was assigned to new battleships (although Yamamoto himself was against similar ships), which were supposed to replace the unbuilt ships of the 8 + 8 program. Moreover, back in the late 1920s, it was decided that within the framework of the Washington Agreement it would not be possible to create enough powerful ships having superiority over the American ones. Therefore, the Japanese decided to ignore the restrictions by building ships of the greatest possible power, dubbed the "Yamato type". The largest ships in the world (64,000 tons) were equipped with record-breaking 460 mm caliber guns that fired 1,460 kg shells. The thickness of the side belt reached 410 mm, however, the value of the armor was reduced by its lower quality compared to European and American. The huge size and cost of the ships led to the fact that only two were completed - the Yamato and Musashi.
Richelieu
In Europe, over the next few years, ships such as Bismarck" (Germany, 2 units), "King George V"" (Great Britain, 5 units), "Littorio" (Italy, 3 units), "Richelieu" (France, 2 pieces). Formally, they were bound by the limitations of the Washington Agreement, but in reality all the ships exceeded the contractual limit (38-42 thousand tons), especially the German ones. The French ships were actually enlarged versions of the small Dunkirk-class battleships and were of interest because they had only two turrets, both in the bow of the ship, thus losing the ability to shoot directly at the stern. But the towers were 4-gun, and the dead angle in the stern was rather small. The ships were also interested in strong anti-torpedo protection (up to 7 meters wide). Only Yamato could compete with this indicator (up to 5 m, but the thick anti-torpedo bulkhead and the large displacement of the battleship somewhat compensated for the relatively small width) and Littorio (up to 7.57 m, however, the original Pugliese system was used there). Booking of these ships was considered one of the best among the "35-thousand-ton".
USS Massachusetts
In the United States, when building new ships, a requirement was made for a maximum width of 32.8 m so that the ships could pass through the Panama Canal, which was owned by the United States. If for the first ships of the North Caroline and South Dakota type this did not yet play a big role, then for the last ships of the Iowa type, which had an increased displacement, it was necessary to use elongated pear-shaped hull shapes. Also, American ships were distinguished by powerful 406 mm caliber guns with shells weighing 1225 kg, which is why all ten ships of the three new series had to sacrifice side armor (305 mm at an angle of 17 degrees on the North Caroline, 310 mm at an angle of 19 degrees - on the South Dakota and 307 mm at the same angle on the Iowa), and on the six ships of the first two series, also the speed (27 knots). On four ships of the third series (“Iowa type”, due to the larger displacement, this drawback was partially corrected: the speed was increased (officially) to 33 knots, but the thickness of the belt even decreased to 307 mm (although officially, for the purposes of the propaganda campaign, it was announced about 457 mm), however, the thickness of the outer skin increased from 32 to 38 mm, but this did not play a significant role.The armament increased somewhat, the main caliber guns became 5 calibers longer (from 45 to 50 cal.).
Operating with the Tirpitz Scharnhorst in 1943 met with the English battleship Duke of York, heavy cruiser Norfolk, light cruiser Jamaica and destroyers and was sunk. The Gneisenau of the same type during the breakthrough from Brest to Norway across the English Channel (Operation Cerberus) was heavily damaged by British aircraft (partial explosion of ammunition) and did not go out of repair until the end of the war.
Last in naval history the battle directly between the battleships took place on the night of October 25, 1944 in the Surigao Strait, when 6 American battleships attacked and sank the Japanese Fuso and Yamashiro. The American battleships anchored across the strait and fired broadside salvos with all their main battery guns along the radar bearing. The Japanese, who did not have shipborne radars, could only fire from the bow guns almost at random, focusing on the muzzle flashes of the American guns.
In the changed circumstances, projects to build even larger battleships (the American "Montana" and the Japanese "Super Yamato") were canceled. The last battleship to enter service was the British Vanguard (1946), laid down before the war, but completed only after it ended.
The dead end of the development of battleships was shown German projects H42 and H44, according to which a ship with a displacement of 120-140 thousand tons was supposed to have 508 mm artillery and 330 mm deck armor. The deck, which had a much larger area than the armored belt, could not be protected against aerial bombs without excessive weighting, while the decks of the existing battleships were penetrated by 500 and 1000 kg bombs.
After World War II
After the war, most of the battleships were scrapped by 1960 - they were too expensive for war-weary economies and no longer had their former military value. For the role of the main carrier nuclear weapons aircraft carriers and, a little later, nuclear submarines came out.
Only the United States used its last battleships (of the New Jersey type) for artillery support of ground operations several more times, due to the relative cheapness of shelling the coast with heavy shells in areas, as well as the extraordinary firepower of ships (after upgrading the system loading, for an hour of firing, Iowa could fire about a thousand tons of shells, which is still not available to any of the aircraft carriers). Although it must be admitted that having a very small (70 kg for 862 kg high-explosive and only 18 kg for 1225 kg armor-piercing) explosive shells of American battleships are not in the best way they were suitable for shelling the coast, but they did not gather to develop a powerful high-explosive projectile. Before the Korean War, all four Iowa-class battleships were recommissioned. In Vietnam, "New Jersey" was used.
Under President Reagan, these ships were decommissioned and recommissioned. They were called upon to become the core of new strike ship groups, for which they were re-equipped and became capable of carrying Tomahawk cruise missiles (8 4-charge containers) and Harpoon-type anti-ship missiles (32 missiles). "New Jersey" participated in the shelling of Lebanon in -1984, and "Missouri" and "Wisconsin" fired the main caliber at ground targets during the first Gulf War g. The shelling of Iraqi positions and stationary objects with the main caliber of battleships with the same effectiveness turned out to be much cheaper than a rocket. The well-protected and spacious battleships also proved to be effective as headquarters ships. However, the high costs of re-equipping old battleships (300-500 million dollars each) and the high cost of their maintenance led to the fact that all four ships were re-withdrawn from service in the nineties of the XX century. The New Jersey has been sent to the Naval Museum in Camden, the Missouri has become a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, the Iowa is mothballed at the reserve fleet berth in Susan Bay, California, and the Wisconsin maintained in B-class conservation at the Norfolk Maritime Museum. Nevertheless, the combat service of the battleships can be resumed, since during the conservation, the legislators especially insisted on maintaining the combat readiness of at least two of the four battleships.
Although now battleships are not in the combat composition of the fleets of the world, their ideological successor is called “arsenal ships”, carriers of a large number of cruise missiles, which should become a kind of floating missile depots located near the coast for launching missile strikes on it if necessary. There are talks about the creation of such ships in American maritime circles, but to date, not a single such ship has been built.
The era of sailing ships is gone forever. late XIX century. But the need for this class of ships has not disappeared. With the departure of heavy battleships from the scene of hostilities, the urgent issue was the need to build fundamentally new ships that could perform the tasks of linear tactics. In 1907, a new class of battleships began to be created in Russia, and in memory of sailing ships, this class is called "battleships" - the abbreviated name of a battleship.
The basis of the new class of battleships was based on the main technical characteristics:
- Displacement from 20,000 to 70,000 tons.
- Length 150 - 280 m.
- The main caliber of guns is from 280 to 460 mm.
- The crew of the battleship ranged from 1500 to 2800 people.
The main task of the battleship was to destroy combat surface targets as part of a formation of ships and to provide artillery support for ground operations with its main caliber.
British Admiral Fisher, commander of the Mediterranean squadron, in 1899, became the author of the concept of "only big guns." The use of large-caliber guns and the rejection of medium-caliber artillery weapons made it possible to increase the firing range to 120 cables.
Along with the concept of "only big guns", the new class of battleships was based on technical innovations, such as fire control from the central console, the use of new high-strength light alloys, as well as the ability to accelerate the aiming and reloading of guns. An important factor in the improvement of the guns themselves was the invention of smokeless powder.
An experience Russo-Japanese War showed that superiority in naval battles can only be achieved due to the speed of the ship and the range of its guns. This experience was taken into account not only by the Russians or the Japanese, the main maritime powers took note of the experience and laid down new battleships. On the English language battleships continued to be called "battleship". The first battleship was launched by the British due to the fact that their shipbuilding was the most advanced in the world at the beginning of the 20th century. This ship was the Dreadnought. His name became common noun for all ships of its class.
Before the start of World War II, no new battleships were built in the USSR, but only the existing battleships of the Gangut type were modernized. Modernization did not give anything, since the changes made did not keep pace with the development of technology.
Just before the war, Stalin gave instructions on the development of the "Big Fleet" program. The lack of a clear idea of the strategic purpose of the new fleet slowed down the development of a new class of ships. In the end, it was decided to abandon any restrictions on displacement. The result was the so-called "Project 23".
Starting from July 1938, four battleships were laid down in the USSR: "Soviet Union", "Soviet Ukraine", "Soviet Belarus" and "Soviet Russia". Back to top Patriotic War none of the ships was ready and their construction was frozen. The era of battleships is gone.
