We were planning on a new look at the Mallows Bay (Potomac River in Maryland) repository of abandoned WWI ships, but came across this piece from National Interest and thought it might be fun to offer. We'll address Mallows in a future post.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Much like the First World War era Lebedenko or “Tsar Tank,” the Novgorod is an excellent reminder of Imperial Russian military “out of the box” thinking that might have been better left in the box.
While Czar Peter the Great of Russia
sought to “westernize” his nation, and
this included adopting what were then modern military tactics, weapons and even
uniforms, he also founded the Russian Navy. He oversaw the construction of
Imperial Russia’s warships and even some sea fortresses.
However, even the forward-thinking
Peter likely couldn't have envisioned something as truly revolutionary and
completely Russian in design as the Novgorod, a monitor-style warship that was
built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1870s. It goes down in the annals of
naval history as one of the most unusual warships – and possibly the worst –
ever built.
It was round.
The concept of a circular battleship actually
wasn’t entirely Russian. The concept had first been considered by a Scottish
shipbuilder named John Elder, which evolved under the Royal Navy's Edward Reed.
It involved a shallow-draft vessel that was capable of traversing low-level
waters such as rivers and lakes, where it could provide support to military
units on land in a way more powerful warships of the era couldn't.
River monitors had seen use in the American
Civil War, while the British used riverboats in Africa, notably the Sudan, which is why no one seriously
took up the concept of a round monitor when the existing vessels did a very good
job.
But there were other factors at play
for the Russians. After the Treaty of Paris, which
ended the Crimean War, Russia was no longer allowed to have a fleet in the
Black Sea, while the country’s coffers were so depleted it couldn't have
afforded one anyway! The treaty also prohibited Russia from establishing naval
or military arsenals on the Black Sea coast.
Rather than leave Sevastopol undefended,
Russian Admiral Andrei Popov proposed to build a circular ship for the coast
defense of the port. The circular warship could carry super-large, but also
super-heavy guns. In theory the idea was that large warships would roll when
delivering a broadside, while a side with the same width and length would not
have such a problem.
The circular design also allowed for
more armoring, but it was far from as stable as Popov or its designers
expected. In fact, in anything more than calm waters the accuracy of its main
armament suffered greatly.
The Novgorod was laid down and then
constructed at the New Admiralty Shipyard of Saint Petersburg from 1871 until
1874. It was envisioned to be the first of a new class of monitors to protect
the Black Sea and Dnieper Rivers. As a circular warship it was classified as a
floating fortress and not listed as a fleet vessel.
However, soon after construction
began the restrictions were lifted, but Czar Alexander II opted to move forward
with the project, and ordered the construction for 10 additional circular ships
– the second to be called “Vitse-Admiral Popov.”
The round warships did indeed carry
the most powerful weapons of their time, but the Novgorod was slow. It only
finally saw action in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) when she was stationed
at Odessa to act as a floating deterrent. The round monitor was so slow that it
couldn’t keep up with the inferior Turkish warships, and it was found that it
was unable to fight away from the coast. If the battle didn’t come to the round
monitor, the round monitor was unlikely to make it in time for a battle!
However, Czar Alexander II
apparently still liked the design enough that when Popov proposed a round
Imperial yacht the Emperor agreed! Called the “Livadia,” it was assembled in
England and transported to Sevastopol for a sea trial. It eventually was used
to transport coal rather than the Imperial family.
The two completed monitors remained
in use following Czar Alexander II’s death, but for coastal defense. Both
struck from the Naval Register in July 1903 and sold for scrap. Much like
the First World War era Lebedenko or “Tsar Tank,” the Novgorod is an excellent
reminder of Imperial Russian military “out of the box” thinking that might have
been better left in the box.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remember, friends, sometimes fact is stranger than fiction! But at the same time, had it worked, our modern day navies might look a whole lot different!
Until next time,
Fair winds!
Old Salt
No comments:
Post a Comment