LINEAR SHIP "INGERMANLAND"
This 64-gun battleship is considered to be the quintessence of shipbuilding in the era of Peter I. By the time it was laid, Russia had already accumulated considerable experience in building, but the number of guns on the battleships did not exceed 60. During the construction of Ingermanland, this milestone was overcome - 64 guns were installed on it …
The ship was personally designed by Peter I, who introduced a number of novelties in its design: the absence of a high stern traditional for earlier ships, an improved keel design, foremast and main mast with a third row of straight sails (fore and mainsail).
The ship was laid down in 1712. He received the name in honor of the Ingermanlandia, recently conquered from Sweden, on the lands of which St. Petersburg is located. The direct supervisor of the construction was the British shipmaster Richard Cosenz, who was accepted by Peter to serve in Russia.
Ingermanland became the first Russian ship to demonstrate high speed and good seaworthiness. The sovereign liked the ship so much that he kept his flag on it for several years. This was the case in 1716, when Peter I personally led the united Anglo-Dutch-Danish-Russian squadron on an expedition to the island of Bornholm, and also in 1719, when the Baltic Fleet came directly to Stockholm.
In memory of the glorious campaigns, the sovereign ordered: "To keep [Ingermanland] for memory." Since 1725, the ship did not go out to sea, its hull gradually rotted and began to fill with water, as a result of which in 1738 Ingermanland ran aground in the Kronstadt harbor. Soon it was taken apart for firewood.
The design, perfectly worked out by Peter I, with minor changes, was repeated in the Russian fleet almost until the end of the 18th century.
LINEAR SHIP "SAINT PAUL"
The 84-gun battleship Saint Paul was laid down in Nikolaev in 1791. The drawings were developed by the ship engineer Semyon Afanasyev by order of Grigory Potemkin. In 1795, the ship moved to Sevastopol. From April 30 to May 3, 1798, together with the battleships "Zacharius and Elizabeth", "St. Peter", "Holy Trinity" and "Theophany of the Lord" he participated in comparative tests conducted at the direction of Paul I, but showed far from the best result. However, it was "St. Paul" who went down in the history of naval art, as the famous naval commander Fyodor Ushakov held his flag on it during the storming of the Corfu fortress in 1799.
Russia at that time was part of a coalition of European countries that fought with France, so a Black Sea squadron of six battleships, seven frigates and three brigs with an amphibious assault on board headed for the Mediterranean Sea under the command of F. F. Ushakov. After the passage of the straits, it was joined by the now allied Turkish forces, consisting of four ships of the line and six frigates.
Soon the admiral began to liberate the Ionian Islands occupied by France. The main stronghold of the enemy on them was the considered impregnable fortress of Corfu, armed with 650 guns and a garrison of 3,000 troops. Food supplies made it possible to withstand a six-month siege.
Operation against Corfu F. F. Ushakov decided to start with a swift attack on the island of Vido, which was covering the entrance to the harbor, which the Russian assault force, with the support of naval artillery, captured within a few hours. Without giving the French a respite, the second landing immediately captured two forts directly on Corfu, which seriously demoralized the enemy. On February 20, 1799, the act of surrender of the French fortress was signed aboard the Saint Paul. Such masterful actions of Fyodor Ushakov deserve an enthusiastic response from the great Alexander Suvorov, who wrote: “Hurray! To the Russian fleet! Now I say to myself: why was I not at Corfu even as a midshipman? Grateful for the liberation, the inhabitants of the island presented the admiral with a gold sword adorned with diamonds.
On July 25, "Saint Paul" left Corfu for the Italian Messina for joint operations with the British fleet, and on October 26 of the following year returned to Sevastopol.
LINEAR SHIP "AZOV"
The 74-gun battleship Azov was laid down in October 1825 at the Solombala shipyard in Arkhangelsk. Officially, the famous master Andrei Kurochkin was considered the builder of the ship, but by that time he was already an elderly man, and in fact the work was also supervised by the later famous Vasily Ershov. The project turned out to be so good that 15 ships of the same type were built on it at Russian shipyards in 1826-1836.
Even before the completion of the construction, the famous Russian navigator, the discoverer of Antarctica and the future commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Captain 1st Rank Mikhail Lazarev was appointed the commander of the Azov. The crew included the future heroes of the defense of Sevastopol: Lieutenant Pavel Nakhimov, Warrant Officer Vladimir Kornilov and Midshipman Vladimir Istomin.
In August-September 1826, the ship moved from Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt and soon, as part of the united Anglo-French-Russian squadron, went to the Mediterranean Sea to assist Greece in the fight against the Turkish conquerors. On October 20, 1827, the Battle of Navarino took place, during which "Azov" fought against five enemy ships. The heroic crew sank three frigates, one corvette and forced the Turkish flagship "Mukharem Bey" to be washed ashore.
But the victory was not cheap. During the battle on "Azov" all masts and topmills were broken, 153 holes were counted in the hull (seven of them were below the waterline). Crew losses were 24 killed and 67 wounded.
By the decree of Emperor Nicholas I of December 17 (29), 1827, for the first time in the history of the Russian fleet, "Azov" was granted a stern admiral's St. George flag "in honor of the honorable deeds of the chiefs, the courage and fearlessness of officers and the bravery of lower ranks." It was also prescribed to always have the Pamyat Azov ship in the fleet. The original Azov flag is currently on display at the Central Naval Museum.
CRUISER "VARYAG"
The 1st rank armored cruiser Varyag was built in Philadelphia at the Kramp and Sons shipyard. In 1901, the St. Andrew's flag was raised on the ship. The cruiser turned out to be exceptionally beautiful and amazed contemporaries with the perfection of proportions. In addition, many technical innovations were used during its construction: most of the mechanisms, including even the dough mixers in the bakery, received electric drives, and telephones were installed in almost all office premises. To reduce the fire hazard, all furniture was made of metal. "Varyag" could develop a high enough speed for its class of 24 knots.
Shortly after entering service, the cruiser moved to Port Arthur. From the beginning of January 1904, together with the gunboat Koreets, he was in the neutral Korean port of Chemulpo at the disposal of the Russian embassy in Seoul. On February 8, a Japanese squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Sotokichi Uriu blocked the port and began the landing. The next day, the commander of the Varyag, Vsevolod Rudnev, received an ultimatum from the Japanese to leave the port, otherwise they threatened to attack the Russian ships right in the roadstead. The Russians decided to go to sea and try to break through to Port Arthur. However, passing by the tight fairway, the Varyag could not use its main advantage - speed.
The battle lasted for about an hour. The Japanese fired a total of 419 shells at the Russian ships. The losses of the Varyag crew amounted to 130 people, including 33 killed. By the end of the battle, the cruiser had almost completely exhausted the possibilities for resistance due to the failure of a significant number of guns, damage to the steering gears and the presence of several underwater holes that could not be repaired on their own. The crew was taken to neutral ships, and the cruiser, in order to avoid capture by the Japanese, was sunk by opening the kingstones. Delighted by the feat of Russian sailors, the Japanese government opened a museum in memory of the heroes of the Varyag in Seoul and awarded V. F. Rudnev Order of the Rising Sun. The crew members of the Varyag and Koreets who returned to Russia met with a triumphant welcome.
In 1905, the Japanese raised the Varyag and brought it into their fleet under the name Soya. In 1916, Russia bought it, including it in the Arctic Ocean flotilla. In February 1917, the Varyag went to Great Britain for repairs. After the refusal of the Soviet government to pay the tsarist debts, the British confiscated the ship and sold it for scrap. While being towed for cutting in 1925, the Varyag sank in the Irish Sea.
Destroyer "NOVIK"
The Novik was designed and built with funds from the Special Committee for Strengthening the Fleet for Voluntary Donations. She became the first Russian-built destroyer equipped with a steam turbine power plant with high-pressure liquid fuel boilers.
On sea trials on August 21, 1913, the ship reached a record speed of 37.3 knots. Another distinctive feature of the "Novik" was powerful artillery and torpedo armament from four 102-mm rapid-fire cannons of the Obukhov plant and the same number of two-tube torpedo tubes.
The characteristics of the Novik were so successful that 53 ships of this type were laid down in Russia according to slightly modified designs. By the beginning of the First World War, they were considered the best in their class.
On August 4, 1915, Novik engaged the two newest German destroyers V-99 and V-100. The well-aimed fire of the destroyer gunmen inflicted serious damage on the German ships, and the V-99 was blown up by mines, washed ashore and two hours later was blown up by the crew. "Novik" himself was not injured in this battle and had no losses in personnel.
Many destroyers of this type continued to serve in the Soviet Navy, taking an active part in the Great Patriotic War. On August 26, 1941, the Novik, while guarding the cruiser Kirov, was blown up by a mine and sank.
