This material is devoted to the evolution of the air defense of Soviet battleships during the period from World War I to the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Unfortunately, in the sources devoted to these ships, this issue is considered rather superficially and contains a number of inaccuracies. However, thanks to the brilliant work of the respected A. V. Tameev "Identification of battleships of the" Sevastopol "type, the author of this article had the opportunity to significantly clarify the materials that he had posted on" VO "earlier.
Initially, the artillery armament of the first Russian dreadnoughts was supposed to include, in addition to the 305-mm main and 120-mm anti-mine calibers, also eight 75-mm guns and four 47-mm guns. But none of these artillery mounts were anti-aircraft: the 75-mm artillery, which was planned to be placed in pairs on 4 main-caliber towers, was training, and the 47-mm cannons on the bow superstructure were fireworks. At the same time, during the construction process, they refused from training tools, they managed to be installed only on the "Sevastopol", and they were removed from it even before the end of construction. As for the 47-mm "salutes", the battleships, when they entered service, carried 4 such artillery systems, but in the winter of 1915/16. 2 of these guns were removed from each ship, and in the second half of 1916 they lost the rest. The only exception was the battleship Sevastopol, where a pair of salute guns remained until the beginning of 1918.
Anti-aircraft artillery during the First World War
I must say that the equipping of the Baltic dreadnoughts with air defense means was rather chaotic: it was installed, removed, and then installed again. In total, there were 3 points of installation of anti-aircraft guns: the 1st and 4th turrets, as well as the stern behind the 4th turret.
"Gangut". In November 1915, a 75-mm Obukhovskaya cannon was mounted on its stern on the Möller machine. However, a year later, at the end of 1916, it was removed. The bow turret of the main caliber (GK) in the period from the summer of 1916 to the beginning of 1917 was “decorated” with the “Maxim” anti-aircraft machine gun, but then, for unclear reasons, it was also removed. The tower remained "bare" for almost a year, and only at the end of 1917 a 63.5 mm anti-aircraft gun was installed on it. And only on the 4th turret of the Main Committee did the anti-aircraft weapons "take root": there at the end of 1915 a 63.5-mm anti-aircraft gun was installed, and in May 1916 a second one was installed there, placing them diagonally, and even a small rangefinder (3.5 feet).
Sevastopol. The only ship that during the entire war did not receive a single anti-aircraft gun at the stern. His first anti-aircraft weapon was the 47-mm cannon, installed in the winter of 1915/16. on the 4th tower of the Main Committee, but in 1916 it was removed from there. From the end of 1916, the 4th turret received two 76, 2-mm Lender guns, placed diagonally, and from the beginning of 1917, another such gun was installed on the 1st turret of the main battery.
"Petropavlovsk". In the winter of 1915, together with "Sevastopol", received a 47-mm anti-aircraft gun on the 4th turret of the Main Committee. But in the summer of 1916 it was replaced by two 63.5 mm anti-aircraft guns, located side by side, and a 3.5-foot rangefinder. Another 63, 5-mm gun at the end of 1917 was located on the 1st main turret. But at the stern of the ship, anti-aircraft weapons somehow "did not take root." In the spring of 1916, he received a 40-mm Vickers assault rifle at the stern, which, for unclear reasons, was removed from there in the summer of the same year. Instead, a Maxim machine gun was installed on an anti-aircraft machine (perhaps more than one), but at the beginning of 1917 he (them) was also removed.
"Poltava". Like Sevastopol and Petropavlovsk, the anti-aircraft armament of the battleship "began" with the installation of a 47-mm gun on the 4th turret of the main battery. At the end of 1916it was replaced by two 76.2mm Lender guns. In addition, the battleship received either one or several anti-aircraft "Maxims" at the stern, where he (or they) stayed in the period from the summer of 1916 to the beginning of 1917, and then, at the end of 1917, another 76, Lender's 2mm cannon was installed on the 1st main turret.
Thus, by the October Revolution (an event, not a battleship), the anti-aircraft armament of all four Baltic battleships was represented by 3 anti-aircraft guns, of which one was located on the 1st main battle tower, and two - on the 4th main battle tower. The only difference was that on "Sevastopol" and "Poltava" were 76, 2-mm anti-aircraft guns of Lender, and on "Gangut" and "Petropavlovsk" - 63, 5-mm anti-aircraft guns.
The period from 1918 to the first modernization of battleships
"Gangut", aka "October Revolution" and "Poltava", aka "Mikhail Frunze", lost all their anti-aircraft artillery in 1918-1919. in connection with long-term storage.
"Petropavlovsk", aka "Marat", in 1923 lost one 63, 5-mm anti-aircraft gun on the main turret. The nasal tower of "Sevastopol" (aka "Paris Commune"), in 1924, also left the 76, 2-mm anti-aircraft gun of Lender, but at the end of the next, 1925, returned and even "brought a girlfriend." Thus, by the beginning of the modernization of battleships on the "October Revolution" there was no anti-aircraft artillery at all, on the "Marat" there were only two 63, 5-mm guns on the 4th tower, but the "Paris Commune" had two 76, 2- mm anti-aircraft guns on the 1st and 2nd turrets of the main committee.
Air defense unification
During its first modernization, that is, from the winter of 1923, for "Marat", from the summer of 1926 for the "October Revolution", and from the winter of 1926/27. for the "Paris Commune", all three battleships of the young Soviet fleet received a unified anti-aircraft armament, consisting of 6 * 76, 2-mm Lender guns, placed by 3 on the 1st and 4th turrets of the main battery. In the future, our sailors also strove to ensure that the air defense of all three Soviet battleships was identical, but still there was always a slight difference before the war.
Pre-war upgrades
In the 30s of the twentieth century, the anti-aircraft weapons of the three battleships underwent successive changes. According to the respected A. V. Tameev, "Marat" during the modernization of 1928/31. and "October Revolution" during the 3rd stage of modernization in 1933/34. received, in addition to Lender's six anti-aircraft guns, 4 more machine guns with a caliber of 37 mm. They were housed in pairs on the bow and stern superstructures. But what were these machines? Of course, we are not talking about the 70-K installations, which appeared in the Soviet fleet much later. A. V. Tameev mentions that these were 37-mm Vickers assault rifles, but this is where confusion arises.
The fact is that the Soviet sailors had at their disposal 40-mm Vickers assault rifles ("pom-pom"), but they obviously differ in caliber. There were also 37-mm Maxim machine guns, which were produced in the First World War and which were subsequently produced in small batches after the revolution. Perhaps there was still a certain number of 37-mm McLean assault rifles, which the Russian Empire acquired during the First World War, but it is completely doubtful that they were put on battleships during the modernization of the 30s. Finally, there was another attempt to create a 37-mm automatic cannon mod. 1928 ", which was a somewhat improved" pom-pom ", but, as far as the author knows, it was not adopted for service and was not mass-produced.
Thus, it can be assumed that the "Marat" and "October Revolution" received either the classic 40-mm "pom-poms" of Vickers, or the 37-mm Maxim machine guns made by the Obukhov plant. And it should be said that the anti-aircraft armament of these two battleships in the number of anti-aircraft artillery (but, perhaps, not in the quality of fire control) turned out to be identical.
However, not for long. In 1937, the Marat lost its 37-mm assault rifles, which were replaced by six quadruple Maxim machine guns, mounted 3 each on the bow and stern superstructures.
But the "October Revolution" in 1936/37.also "got rid" of Vickers assault rifles, having received in return four 45-mm 21-K, which were located in pairs on the bow and stern superstructures. Later, a quadruple "Maxim" was added to each superstructure. Then four 45-mm 21-K semi-automatic guns were removed, replacing them with the same number of "Maxims", and by the winter of 1939/40. the anti-aircraft armament of the "October Revolution" and "Marat" again became identical. It included 6 * 76, 2-mm anti-aircraft guns Lender and 6 quad machine guns "Maxim".
As for the battleship "Paris Commune", its anti-aircraft armament in the pre-war period was completely different. This ship was modernized later, and at the first stage of work carried out in the period 1933/38, it received, perhaps, a more serious air defense than the "October Revolution" and "Marat" combined. Three 76, 2-mm 34-K anti-aircraft guns were installed on the fore and aft superstructures of the Paris Commune, and instead of Lender's anti-aircraft guns, six 45-mm 21-K guns were installed on the towers.
Finishing touches before the war
Apparently, the largest number of anti-aircraft "barrels" at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War was received by "Marat". In 1939/40. on the battleship, the completely archaic by that time 76, 2-mm Lender anti-aircraft guns were finally replaced by the same number 34-K. During the last pre-war modernization (in the period from the winter of 1939/40 to February 1941), the ship lost all the Maxims, but acquired another 2 * 76, 2-mm anti-aircraft guns 34-K at the stern, and 3 * 37 -mm submachine gun 70-K on the bow and stern superstructures. In addition, "Marat" received 2 DShK machine guns on the stern superstructure, the same number - on the stern tube bridge (instead of searchlights), six DShKs on the bow superstructure and 3 more DShKs on the bow mast platforms. Accordingly, we can say that "Marat" met the war, having 8 * 76, 2-mm 34-K guns, 6 * 37-mm 70-K machine guns and 13 DShK machine guns.
"October Revolution" takes an honorable second place. Its anti-aircraft armament was similar to the "Marat" and differed only in the number and location of the DShK machine guns: six barrels each on the bow and stern superstructures. Thus, by the beginning of the war, the Oktyabrina's anti-aircraft weapons were 8 * 76, 2-mm 34-K, 6 * 37-mm 70-K and 12 DShK machine guns.
But the "Paris Commune", alas, "moved out" to third place. In 1940, the ship received 12 DShK machine guns, located as follows: 4 on the bow superstructure, 6 on the stern and 2 on the main mast site. And in April 1941, the 45-mm semi-automatic 21-K were replaced with 6 37-mm 70-K assault rifles, placed 3 each on the 1st and 4th main caliber turrets. Thus, at the beginning of the war, the air defense of the "Paris Commune" provided 6 * 76, 2-mm 34-K guns, 6 * 37-mm machine guns and 12 DShK machine guns. It was also planned to install two anti-aircraft guns - "three-inch" 34-K at the stern of the ship, but this was not done in time, although the guns were made. However, in fairness, we note that the "Paris Commune" very quickly "rehabilitated", since at the very beginning of the war, in August 1941, he received an additional three 37-mm 70-K submachine guns on the roofs of the 2nd and 3rd towers main caliber, which brought him to the undisputed leader in comparison with the rest of the dreadnoughts.
Of course, during the war, the air defense of Soviet battleships was repeatedly modernized, but consideration of this issue is beyond the scope of this article.
Air defense fire control systems
Unfortunately, there is too much unclear with them to make any conclusions, since the capabilities and quality of these LMS are unknown. Moreover, it can be assumed that the control of the anti-aircraft fire of the "October Revolution" and "Marat" in general was carried out by means of the modernized "Geisler and K". But, in any case, all three battleships of the USSR received a sufficient number of anti-aircraft rangefinders. So, for example, the "October Revolution" by the beginning of the war had two 3-meter rangefinders, located on the fore and main masts, to control the bow and stern groups of 76, 2-mm guns. The fire of 37-mm assault rifles was provided by two rangefinders with a base of 1.5 meters, located on the bow and stern superstructure, respectively."Marat" had the same number of rangefinders, but on the "Paris Commune" in 1940, both three-meter rangefinders were removed and instead of them 4 posts were installed, equipped with Som anti-aircraft fire control devices.
Comparison with foreign "colleagues"
Of course, the state of the air defense of Soviet battleships as of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War left much to be desired. But, on the other hand, it was not as bad as it might seem at first glance. Moreover, oddly enough it may sound, but in terms of the quantity and quality of anti-aircraft artillery systems, the "October Revolution", "Marat" and "Paris Commune" were not much inferior to the modernized battleships of the leading naval powers.
Consider, for example, the US “big five”.
"Maryland", "West Virginia" and "Colorado", which entered service after the First World War, carried 8 * 406-mm guns of the main caliber, and the preceding "Tennessee" and "California" - a dozen 356-mm guns in new towers (and finally in separate cradles, unlike the "356-mm" battleships of previous types). These ships in 1941 were the backbone of the battleship fleet of the United States of America. The newer ships of the North Caroline class, although they were faster and stronger, entered service only in April-May 1941 and had not yet acquired full combat capability.
So, of the "Big Five" battleships, by the time the United States entered the war, that is, by December 1941, the "Maryland" had the best anti-aircraft weapons. It was based on 8 * 127-mm guns. But these were by no means the 127-mm / 38 artillery systems that later became famous, which many historians (and after them the author of this article) consider the best medium-caliber naval anti-aircraft guns of the Second World War, but only 127-mm / 25 guns …
Besides them, "Maryland" also had 4 * 4 installations of 28-mm anti-aircraft guns and 8 * 12, 7-mm machine guns.
Well, if we compare the "Maryland" with the "Paris Commune", which by that time had 6 * 76, 2-mm 34-K, 12 * 37-mm 70-K and 12 * 12, 7-mm machine guns, you don't even immediately realize who should be preferred here. Of course, the average anti-aircraft caliber of the American battleship is more powerful, but the 28-mm "Chicago pianos" have proven themselves far from the best and are clearly inferior to a dozen domestic 37-mm assault rifles. And the Paris Commune has one and a half times more machine guns than the Maryland.
Other American battleships had even weaker air defense. "Colorado" has not yet completed the modernization, and the other three ships of the "big five" had 8 * 127-mm / 25 and 4 * 76-mm, and 8 ("Tennessee"), 9 ("Pennsylvania") and 11 "West Virginia" "12, 7-mm machine guns. It turns out that their average caliber of anti-aircraft artillery was superior to that of the Marat and the October Revolution, but there were no rapid-fire assault rifles at all, and there were more machine guns on Soviet battleships.
Thus, we see that in terms of antiaircraft artillery "trunks", Russian battleships were quite at the level of the best American battleships, excluding ships of the latest construction. If we recall the French dreadnoughts of the "Brittany" type, then they, with their 8 * 75-mm guns, 4 * 37-mm machine guns and two quadruple machine-gun mountings, were losing to the Soviet battleships.
Of course, there were "capital" ships, which in terms of air defense were decisively superior to the three battleships of the USSR. For example, you can recall the British "Queen Elizabeth", with its 20 barrels of excellent 114-mm anti-aircraft guns, 4 * 8 "pom-poms" and 4 * 4 12, 7-mm machine guns.
The flagship battleship of the famous British Admiral E. Cunningham "Worspite" had 4 twin 102-mm anti-aircraft guns, 4 eight-barreled 40-mm pom-pom mounts and 11 * 20-mm Oerlikons. The superiority is no longer so significant, but still quite tangible. Nevertheless, it is worth recognizing that in terms of air defense, the October Revolution, Marat and Paris Commune could well be considered "strong middle peasants" among the leading naval powers that survived until 1941 of the World War I era.
Obviously, the Soviet battleships could not withstand the massive attacks of professional naval pilots using the most effective tactics and equipped with modern military equipment at that time, such as, for example, the pilots of the Japanese carrier-based aircraft. But, taking into account the real combat qualities of the "Luftwaffe" in terms of the war at sea, it can be assumed that the Soviet battleships had quite acceptable air protection at the beginning of the war. And subject to the availability of experienced commanders and trained crews, the October Revolution, Marat and Paris Commune could well carry out these or those naval operations without being exposed to an excessive risk of receiving heavy damage from enemy aircraft.
