Admiral Nakhimov (armored cruiser). Modern ships named after Admiral P

In 1895, the cruiser took part in maneuvers in the roadstead of the Chinese port of Chifoo, then visited Vladivostok, Korean and Japanese ports. In May 1898 he returned to the Baltic.

After modernization, the cruiser, assigned to the guards crew in 1900, set off on her third voyage to Pacific Ocean. For two years he took part in the maneuvers of the Port Arthur squadron, visited Japan and Korea, and carried out diplomatic missions. In May 1903 he returned to Kronstadt. Unfortunately, during modernization, outdated guns were not replaced. This already planned replacement, during the work, was postponed to the next modernization, and as a result, during the Russian-Japanese War, in general, still a powerful cruiser, was almost unarmed in front of its opponents due to short range and low rate of fire of artillery. Largely for the sake of this modernization (as well as planned repairs), the cruiser was returned to the Baltic on the eve of the war. However, having weakened the 1st Pacific Squadron by its absence (despite the fact that the old guns were poorly adapted to squadron combat, and the speed no longer allowed for raiding operations, thanks to the presence of several 8" main battery guns, it was an ideal ship for protection against destroyers) , he, without having time to complete the planned modernization, only slightly strengthened the 2nd (low speed, weak armor and the already prohibitively low range and rate of fire of the artillery for its time made the cruiser a poorly adapted battleship ship, for which this squadron was created).

In 1902-1903, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich Romanov served as the cruiser's senior officer.

Russo-Japanese War, death of the cruiser

With the beginning of the Russian-Japanese War, "Admiral Nakhimov", under the command of Captain 1st Rank A. A. Rodionov, became part of the 2nd armored detachment of the 2nd Pacific Squadron (detachment commander - Rear Admiral D. G. Felkerzam). On May 14, 1905, in the Battle of Tsushima, the cruiser received about 20 hits from shells, and at night at 21:30-22:00 she was torpedoed on the starboard side from the bow. According to the crew (not confirmed by Japanese historians), during the night battle the cruiser sank two (according to Rodionov, even three) enemy destroyers with salvos from the stern and right 8" turrets. At least three more hits from 8" shells hit the cruiser "Iwate", which struck the latter serious damage should also be attributed to the gunners of the Russian armored cruiser, as follows from the report of the commander of the aft 8-inch turret, midshipman Alexei Rozhdestvensky, who writes about shooting at this ship and data on damage to the cruiser by 8-inch shells not found on other ships of the Russian fleet. Possible an error in assessing the damage (the Japanese could have confused the 8" shells of the Admiral Nakhimov and the 9" shells of Nicholas I, which were similar in power), so this statement can be classified as highly probable.

On the morning of May 15, the half-submerged ship continued its heroic movement stern first (due to a hole in the bow and as a result of a strong trim) and was finally sunk by the crew only when Japanese ships appeared.

In general, the extremely outdated cruiser performed more than worthy in the difficult conditions of the “Tsushima massacre”. This was facilitated by both independent factors (low enemy fire) and the skillful actions of the crew, coupled with the successful placement of artillery to repel destroyer attacks.

List of cruiser officers captured after the Battle of Tsushima

1. Kobylchenko Ivan, warrant officer (junior ship mechanic)
2. Frolkov Nikolay, warrant officer (junior ship engineer)
3. Mikulovsky Boleslav, warrant officer (watch officer)
4. Lonfeld A.K., warrant officer (watch officer)
5. Mikhail Engelhardt, midshipman (watch officer)
6. Evgeniy Vinokurov, midshipman (watch officer)
7. Rozhdestvensky Alexey, midshipman (officer of the watch)
8. Kuzminsky Vasily, midshipman (junior navigator officer)
9. Mikhailov Pavel, midshipman (junior mine officer)
10. Danilov Nikolay, midshipman (watch chief)
11. Shchepotyev Sergey, lieutenant (junior ship engineer)
12. Dmitry Sukharzhevsky, lieutenant (junior ship engineer)
13. Rodionov M. A, lieutenant (assistant senior ship engineer)
14. Shemanov N.Z., lieutenant colonel (senior ship engineer)
15. Nordman Nikolay, lieutenant (auditor)
16. Krasheninnikov Peter, lieutenant (watch chief)
17. Misnikov Nikolay, lieutenant (watch commander)
18. Smirnov N. A., lieutenant (junior artillery officer)
19. Gertner 1st I.M., lieutenant (senior artillery officer)
20. Mazurov G. N., captain 2nd rank (watch commander)
21. Semenov, captain 2nd rank
22. Grossman V. A., captain 2nd rank (senior officer)
23. Klochkovsky V. E., lieutenant (senior watch officer, acting navigator's assistant)
24. Rodionov A. A., captain 1st rank (commander)

The Myth of Sunken Gold

The cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov" remained in relative obscurity until in 1933 the American Harry Risberg, in his book "600 Billion Under Water", stated that on board four Russian ships from the 2nd Pacific squadron, sunk at Tsushima, there were treasures worth a total of the amount of 5 million dollars. By pure chance, the American pointed out that most of the gold ($2 million) went to the bottom along with the Admiral Nakhimov.

In November 1980, Japanese millionaire Takeo Sasagawa announced that he had allocated a huge sum to salvage Russian gold since the sunken Admiral Nakhimov had been found. The millionaire talked about boxes with gold coins, platinum and gold bars found on board. Later, Sasagawa posed for photographers holding platinum bars in his hands, allegedly recovered from the cruiser, but did not demonstrate new finds, citing unforeseen difficulties.

S. V. Suliga

Armored cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov"

(Marine collection - 2)

Supplement to the magazine "MODEL CONSTRUCTION"

Published since January 1995

COVER: 1st page - fig. A. Zaikina; 3rd page - V.Emysheva; 4th page - S. Balakina

All photos are given without retouching

DEAR FRIENDS!

Here is the second issue of the “MARINE COLLECTION” - a supplement to the “MODELIST-KON STRUCTOR” magazine. It is by this number that you can judge future monographs - such as “Garibaldi-class armored cruisers!”, “Lexington-class aircraft carriers”, “Giulio Cesare battleship” (Novorossiysk) and others in editorial preparation stage. All these publications are built according to the same scheme and will include detailed descriptions designs and weapons, sections, diagrams, drawings general view, color projections and numerous photographs, the history of the creation and service of famous ships.

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The armored cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov" is one of the most interesting ships of its time. When comparing him with representatives of the same class in the Russian and foreign fleets, his significant superiority in artillery power. In addition to the natural feeling of pride in domestic shipbuilding, there is also bewilderment - why such a seemingly successful ship did not become the ancestor of a whole series of tower cruisers with an armored belt along the waterline, which appeared in other fleets much later! Alas, Russia, having commissioned the Nakhimov, which was twice as large as its contemporaries in terms of the number of main caliber guns and the weight of the broadside, for some reason again returned to the construction of armored cruisers with a “standard” number of main artillery barrels, located like the middle guns. caliber, in deck side installations. As a result, when the war with Japan began in 1904, these cruisers turned out to be weaker than similar enemy ships in terms of artillery and artillery protection.

“Admiral Nakhimov” was very popular among Russian sailors. Here is the description given to him by the famous Russian and Soviet shipbuilder V.P. Kostenko: “With early childhood felt an attachment to this ship, which in its appearance gave the impression of strength and determination thanks to its strongly extended ram, one chimney ... and the proportional outlines of its relatively short hull.”

The cruiser was designed and built during the transitional period of development of the armored fleet, when ships coexisted with steam engines and sailing masts, breech-loading and muzzle-loading guns, torpedoes and pole mines, electrical firing systems and room lighting with oil lanterns. Admiral Nakhimov was no exception. It is remembered both for the fact that it became the largest sailing brig in the entire history of the Russian Navy, and for the fact that it was the first in Russia to use electric indoor lighting and anti-torpedo nets. The ship was the first to receive the new guns of the 1884 system, but retained the obsolete double expansion steam engines, modeled after those designed in 1880 at the Elder factory in Glasgow for the royal yacht Livadia. All subsequent Russian ships already had triple expansion steam engines.

After commissioning in 1888, Admiral Nakhimov immediately switched to Far East, where he spent most of his service. He participated in many events related to the strengthening of Russian positions in the Pacific Ocean. These include diplomatic missions, combat maneuvers, hydrographic work, and even “court service.” Among the first, the cruiser had to settle in Port Arthur - new base fleet.

The beginning of the war found the honored ship in Kronstadt. By that time, it had already lost its sailing spar and acquired more modern outlines, although it retained its outdated artillery. Given the shortage of new ships, Admiral Nakhimov was included in the Second Squadron of the Pacific Fleet. The trip to Tsushima became his last ocean voyage...

80 years later, it was in this ship that interest flared up with extraordinary force. Gold! The Japanese obtained information from somewhere that “Nakhimov” was carrying the “treasury” of the Russian squadron in gold bars. Underwater work carried out on a grand scale, however, did not bring the desired result. Many interesting and valuable things were recovered from the ship, but all the “ingots” turned out to be... lead ballast pigs. Thanks to an unconfirmed rumor, the Admiral Nakhimov remains the only examined ship among those killed in the tragic Tsushima battle for Russia.

The armored cruiser "Imperuse" is the prototype of the "Admiral Nakhimov". Initial appearance and booking scheme after dismantling the sailing rig.

The task for the Marine Technical Committee (MTK) to design a new armored ship for cruising purposes, which should have been built within the framework of the 1881 program, was formulated by the head of the Naval Ministry, Vice Admiral I.A. Shestakov, on May 18, 1882 (hereinafter the dates are in the old style). At his request, the new ship had to have at least 10 inches (254 mm) of waterline armor (WL), 11 inches (280 mm) of main caliber artillery, a large supply of coal, a speed of at least 15 knots, and a draft of no more than 26 ft (7.92 m) and fully rigged. As possible prototypes, MTK considered the English armored cruiser "Nelson" built in 1874–1881 (7630 tons, 14 knots, 4 254 mm and 8 229 mm guns in the battery, an incomplete 254 mm belt along the overhead line and an armored deck at the ends, protection of main battery guns 229 mm); the Brazilian battleship "Riachuelo" (5610 tons, 16.7 kts, partial belt 280–178 mm, 4 234 mm guns in two turrets with 254 mm armor, 6 140 mm guns) and the English armored cruiser "Imperuse" under construction in England ", laid down in August 1881 (7400 tons, 16 knots, 4 234 mm guns in barbette mounts with shields and 10 152 mm guns in a battery, 254 mm incomplete belt along the overhead line, carapace armored deck at the ends). The latter, combining powerful weapons, good armor, high speed and a large supply of coal, attracted the attention of Russian specialists.

The same type "Imperius" and "Warspite" stood out sharply among modern English ships by the placement of artillery and the shape of the hull. To understand the reason for the appearance in the fleet of the “mistress of the seas” of ships so unusual for it, in which one could noticeably French influence, we should go back to 1880, when the Admiralty Council recognized the need to lay down several 2nd class battleships for service in distant seas, where Russian armored cruisers could cause significant concern to England. Considering that during hostilities the new ships would have to fight not squadron battles, but single duels, they decided to use the “French” system of main battery placement - a diamond (one gun at the extremities and one on each side). In theory, this made it possible to concentrate the fire of three guns in any direction, whereas the traditional "British" system provided a broadside of four guns, but only two could fire fore and aft. Laid down in 1881, the Imperious and Warspite were officially listed as “barbette ships with steel armor,” but among English sailors they were considered “white elephants” (analogous to our “black sheep”). In addition to the unusual arrangement of guns for the fleet of the “Mistress of the Seas” and the shape of the hull with the sides piled up at the top, this pair strangely combined long-barreled breech-loading guns and full sailing equipment. British Admiral Sir John Commerell considered them "the most unfortunate of modern ships, poorly designed, poorly built and absolutely dangerous" ... to their own crew. Perhaps this was too harsh criticism, but not a single positive feedback there was no information about these ships in the documents of that time. After reclassification into “protected cruisers” (as the British called their armored cruisers unlike armored ones - belted cruisers), they were condescendingly called “useful flagship ships at distant stations.” The famous English historian O. Parke wrote: “The best that can be said about the Imperius and Warspite is that they could fire a broadside salvo of three 9.2-inch and five 6-inch guns at a speed of 16 nodes."

The name of the most famous and beloved Russian admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov was not held in high esteem by anyone. royal families and their entourage, nor, paradoxically, among naval officials with admiral's shoulder straps on their shoulders. Apparently because... occupying one of the highest posts in the south of Russia, P.S. Nakhimov was never an official, but always remained a sailor and naval commander. Only thirty years after his death, a ship was named in his honor, to which this essay, supplemented by original documents, is dedicated.

How the armored cruiser “Admiral Nakhimov” was constructed*

How the armored cruiser “Admiral Nakhimov” was constructed

The cruiser's hull had a length along the load waterline of 101.5 m, a length between perpendiculars of 97.9 m, a maximum length of 103.3 m, a maximum beam of 18.6 m, a design draft of 7.54 m bow, 7.85 stern (average 7. 67 m) and was assembled from 138 frames (spread 1.22 meters). The frames provided lateral strength and complete formations (displacement coefficient of completeness 0.63, ratio of greatest length to width 5.55, width to average draft 2.43), inherent in all battleships of that time, and the double bottom between frames 4 and 134, 9 transverse and one longitudinal (from the inner bottom to the living deck) bulkhead between frames 36 and 102 divided it into many waterproof compartments. The outer skin of the hull in the middle part along a length of 61 m was made of sheets 14.3 mm thick and at least 4.9 meters long. Toward the extremities, the size and thickness of the sheets decreased somewhat. On top of the outer plating, to reduce algae growth, wooden and copper plating was attached, so typical for any cruiser of that time.

Longitudinal strength was provided by four stringers, the top of which also served as a shelf under the armor. The side keels ran for 48.8 meters at the level of the third stringer. They were intended to provide the ship with a smoother rolling motion. The stems, steering wheel and steering frame were cast from bronze.

The drainage system was similar to the drainage system of battleships of the “Ekaterina II” type (see the author’s book “Battleships of the “Ekaterina II” type,” St. Petersburg, 1994).

The ship had 2 main double expansion steam engines of the “compound” system with a total design power of 8000 hp. The cars were manufactured in 1886 at the Baltic Shipyard, which built the cruiser. Each machine had 3 cylinders - 1 high (152 mm in diameter) and 2 low (1981 mm in diameter) pressure and worked on its own propeller. The piston stroke was 1066 mm. The propellers of the then most common Gruffudd system had a pitch of 21 feet (6.4 m) and a diameter of 16 feet (4.88 m). But then the blades were replaced, and their diameter increased to 17 feet (5.18 m)

Steam was supplied to the mechanisms from 12 cylindrical fire-tube boilers (tube diameter 76.2 mm), designed for a working pressure of 5.2 atmospheres. The weight of the water boilers was 670 tons.

It should be noted that the machines and boilers served well long time, providing the ship with its design speed. Only 16.5 years after the production of the machines, in December 1902, the main steam pipe burst (a crack 419 mm long) with a diameter of 381 mm and a wall thickness of 6.35 mm appeared in it. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the accident.

The waterline armor consisted of a 149-foot (42.4 m) steel-iron armor belt extending from 32 to 106 frames. The belt was 7 feet 10 1/2 inches high, and the slabs were 9 inches (229 mm) thick, thinning to 6 inches (152 mm) at the bottom. The slabs were laid on a larch lining, the beams of which were placed horizontally. 9-inch (229 mm) armored traverses closed the waist armor fore and aft, thus forming a citadel in which all vital mechanisms were located.

On top of the belt was a living or armored deck. It was covered from bow to stern with half-inch steel sheets (12.5 mm). On top of these sheets, but only within the citadel, another row of 38-mm steel plates was laid, and the total thickness of the armored deck reached 50.5 mm. Outside the citadel, a 76.2-mm carapace deck extended forward and aft to the stems. From 12 to 32 frames in the bow and from 106 to 130 in the stern it ran horizontally at the waterline and then descended and reached the stems.

The barbettes of each tower were protected by 8-inch, 7-foot (2.13 m) vertically standing slabs. The slabs were laid on a larch base consisting of 8-inch (203 mm) vertical beams. The caps, which protected the turret crews from shrapnel and small-caliber artillery, were lightly armored and rotated along with the barbette tables.

In the area of ​​the bow and stern barbettes, the living deck was reinforced - 12.5 mm steel sheets were additionally laid on it. Under each barbette, ammunition supply pipes with a diameter of 0.762 m ran down to the armored deck. The pipes had a 76-mm armor cover.

The 152 mm guns also had some armor: the side was reinforced to 37 mm, and the guns themselves were separated by 11 mm bulkheads. The conning tower with a diameter of 1.9 m was protected from 203 mm plates.

The main caliber artillery consisted of 8 8-inch (203 mm) guns with a bore length of 35 calibers, mounted in 4 barbette installations and 10 6-inch (152 mm) guns with a bore length of 35 calibers, standing on the battery deck. Their ammunition consisted of 100 shells and charges for each 203 mm and 160 shells and 240 charges for each 152 mm gun.

To repel attacks by destroyers, the bridges were equipped with 6 47-mm, 4 37-mm five-barrel guns of the Hotchkiss system, 4 4-pounder guns and 2 2.5-inch (63.5 mm) landing guns of the Baranovsky system on wheeled carriages.

The mine armament (as of January 1, 1889) included 2 side rotary and 1 stern torpedo tube, designed to fire 19-foot Whitehead mines. Torpedoes could be fired using compressed air or powder charges. To arm the boats, the cruiser had 2 torpedo tubes for 15-foot mines. These devices fired only powder charges.

In addition to these devices, 2 rowing boats had pole mines, and 2 steam boats each had one launching apparatus for non-self-propelled torpedoes. The combat reserve consisted of 9 torpedoes of the 1886 and 1887 model and 6 throwing mines. In addition to them, 40 spheroconic barrage mines, which were installed from boats, were stored in a special mine cellar. To pump compressed air into the apparatus cylinders, the ship had 2 “air supply” pumps of the Schwarzkopf system. The compressed air was stored in two cylinders or, as they were called then, “air retainers,” just over 2 meters long and 381 mm in diameter.

"Admiral Nakhimov" will become a missile battleship

Following the United States, Russia is preparing its own rapid global strike potential

In Severodvinsk, active work began on the repair and modernization of the heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov" (formerly "Kalinin") of Project 11442 "Orlan". The almost deserted giant rusty “vessel”, which had been hanging around aimlessly at the local factory pier since July 1997, was decided not only to be revived, but to be turned, in fact, into a partially armored “missile battleship”, which has no analogues in the world.

This will cost the country at least 50 billion rubles - approximately the amount for which we, for some unknown reason, buy every Mistral-class helicopter carrier from France.

However, the recently completed long-term story with the transformation in the same Severodvinsk of the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Gorshkov into a full-fledged Indian aircraft carrier Vikramaditya indicates that in fact the repair of the Nakhimov will cost much more than the purchase of the Mistral.

aircraft carrier Vikramaditya

At Sevmash, the construction of the first pontoon for transferring the cruiser “Admiral Nakhimov” through the gates of the boatport has been completed. Work began in November last year. The product is currently being tested.

The updated Admiral Nakhimov is scheduled to return to the Northern Fleet in 2018. However, this will be something more than just a powerful strengthening of the North Sea naval personnel. In fact, what is happening today with Nakhimov indicates that Russia is dramatically changing its approaches to waging modern wars. Along with nuclear deterrence, the Kremlin’s military-political arsenal also has its own concept of rapid global impact. Similar to the one that the US Congress approved back in 1997.

What is the essence of this concept? With the advent of long-range precision weapons to instantly inflict unacceptable damage on the enemy, it became unnecessary to use nuclear weapons. It’s enough to launch hundreds (and if that’s not enough, then thousands!) simultaneously from different directions. cruise missiles in ordinary equipment, each of which is capable, as they say, of flying not even into a specific window, but into a window thousands of kilometers from the launch site. The targets can be not only military facilities, but also bridges, piers, train stations, factories, communication and control centers, power plants, etc. No air defense can reliably stop this entire predatory flock. At least half of the missiles will reach and in a matter of minutes will trample the country into the Stone Age.

At the same time, according to Doctor of Military Sciences, Captain 1st Rank Konstantin Sivkov, “to hit an object like a medium-sized enterprise or an airfield, from 8-10 to 15-20 cruise missiles are required, taking into account possible counteraction from air defense forces and means. The required consumption of this weapon to destroy an area target such as a “terrorist camp” with the destruction of up to 70 percent of the personnel located in it can range from 4-5 to 10-12 missiles.

Until now, the United States, with its thousands of Tomahawks, was the sole owner of such a strategic club. We have also had long-range cruise missiles for attacks on coastal targets for a long time. For example, the operational-strategic 3M54 "Biryuza" of the "Caliber" complex and the S-10 "Granat" for ships and submarines and the X-555 for bombers. They are capable of hitting any targets no worse than Tomahawks. And in some cases it’s even better. For example, “Grenades” are superior in flight range to their American counterpart (3,000 versus 2,500 kilometers). And the recently adopted air-launched cruise missile X-101, according to press reports, is capable of flying 5,000 kilometers. And it has a simply fantastic prospect of increasing range - up to 10,000 kilometers.

USS Preble (DDG 88) conducts an operational Tomahawk launch

But the real effect of this formidable arsenal can be achieved, as already said, only with its massive use. That is, a sufficient number of carriers is needed - aircraft, ships and submarines. So far the situation with this is worse than at the Pentagon.

Let's say the Americans long ago converted four of their Ohio-class nuclear submarines to fire Tomahawks. Each such missile carrier carries 154 cruise missiles. The 54 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers of the US Navy can carry 56 Tomahawks in the attack version. Twenty-two Ticonderoga-class cruisers of the US Navy have 26 such launchers as standard. Let's add more to this armada strategic aviation- this is the potential for a quick and precisely global strike on any corner of the planet.

Ohio-class submarine USS Maine (SSBN-741)

And we have? So far in Russia the bulk of operational-strategic cruise missiles are under the wings of the Air Force. Each Tu-160 (we have 16 of them in total) is capable of lifting 12 X-555s at once. On the Tu-95MS (there are no more than 32 of them in combat-ready condition) there are about eight hardpoints for such weapons. On the Tu-22M3 (currently, according to open sources, about 40 of them are capable of taking off) - 4 X-555. Even if you manage to use them all, you won’t get more than six hundred CR. Not enough for globality.

Group of strategic bombers Tu-160

The fleet remains. According to Western estimates, made, however, back in 1988, our submarines carry only about 100 missiles of the S-10 Granat complex. Since then, however, if this number has changed, then only to a lesser extent - along with the number of nuclear submarines missile cruisers, which partly went on pins and needles, partly into hopeless sludge and endless repairs.

“Calibers” will be used to arm the newest multi-purpose nuclear power plants under construction. submarines project 885 type "Ash" - 32 each launchers on each. So far, only one ship of this series can be considered relatively ready - the nuclear submarine Severodvinsk (put into trial operation in December 2013).

The same complex will be main caliber and frigates of Project 11356, which are being hastily riveted in Kaliningrad for the Black Sea Fleet. Each one has 8 such missiles. According to the plan, the first three frigates - "Admiral Grigorovich", "Admiral Essen" and "Admiral Makarov" - were to be received by the Black Sea coast already in this year. But this is unlikely. Judging by the pace of work, we should at least get “Grigorovich” in 2014.

The missile ship "Dagestan" is the first ship of the Russian Navy armed with a universal missile system"Caliber-NK", capable of using several types of high-precision missiles against both surface and coastal targets

All plans for the commissioning of the newest Project 22350 frigate, which should carry up to 16 operational-strategic cruise missiles, have also been thwarted. The lead ship of this series, Admiral Gorshkov, was launched in St. Petersburg back in 2010. But things are going particularly hard with him.

Put it all together - the total salvo will still be much more modest than even one American Ohio-class nuclear submarine. Therefore, a program has been adopted to re-equip the Russian Project 949A nuclear-powered missile submarines of the Antey type with Calibers. They were once created to fight aircraft carriers. And accordingly, they armed themselves with remarkable supersonic long-range anti-ship missiles operational purpose 3M45 "Granite". Since now it is unlikely that it will be necessary to chase American squadrons across the oceans, the Antaeans are changing their specialization. And with them “Granites” - to “Calibers”. Moreover, as they say, the number of launchers on the Antey will remain the same - 24 on each boat.

And still not enough for globality. This is where the turn of the Admiral Nakhimov, which had stagnated in Severodvinsk, came. His most formidable weapon was also the Granites, located in 20 silo launchers. Now it has been decided to replace them with the anti-ship P-900 “Oniks” and 3M54 “Biryuza” of the “Caliber” complex for firing at coastal targets. In total, there will be 80 cruise missile launchers below the deck of the Admiral Nakhimov. Which will certainly greatly impress any enemy and force “Nakhimov” to be reckoned with. At the same time, how many “Onyxes” and how many “Turquoises” and in what quantities to load into launchers depends on the assigned combat mission.

Naturally, modernization will affect not only the strike weapons of the future “missile battleship”. It is planned to install new air defense systems on it (instead of two long-range air defense systems S-300F "Fort" - the latest anti-aircraft missile system"Redoubt-Poliment", a ship version of the S-400 "Triumph"). The Admiral Nakhimov’s anti-submarine weapons, communications, control systems, etc. will become more advanced.

It has already been decided that in a few years, at the berth of the Severodvinsk plant, this ship will be replaced by its only fellow ship remaining in service, the Peter the Great. And he faces the same update option.

But what to do with the other two Orlans - Admiral Lazarev (formerly Frunze, laid up in the Pacific Fleet since 1999) and Admiral Ushakov (formerly Kirov, laid up in the North since 1991)? They still look especially decrepit. Taking into account the planned modernization of Peter the Great, their turn will definitely not reach them until 2020. And no one knows what to do with these ships yet.

The armored cruiser Admiral Nakhimov was significantly superior in artillery power to other ships of the Russian and foreign fleets. Surprisingly, this successful ship did not become the founder of a series of turret-mounted cruisers with an armored belt along the waterline.

As part of the shipbuilding program of 1881, the head of the Naval Ministry, Vice Admiral I. A. Shestakov, on May 18, 1882, formulated an assignment for the Marine Technical Committee to design a new armored ship. At his request, a cruising ship had to have at least 10 inches of waterline armor, 11 inches of main caliber artillery, a speed of at least 15 knots, a draft of no more than 26 feet, and a full sail rig. The English armored cruiser Imperious was chosen as a prototype, but after modernization, Admiral Nakhimov was significantly different from the prototype for the better.

PROJECT

The project was approved on November 19, 1882. Compared to the English prototype, the diameter of the barbettes was increased by 1.5 m to accommodate the 229 mm guns of the Obukhov plant. In addition, the location of the machine-boiler installation, the design of which was developed in the Office of the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Fleet, Major General A. I. Sokolov, was changed. A more compact placement of the boiler rooms in the middle part of the building made it possible to get by with one chimney. The coal reserve was increased by 8.5 times, which required increasing the design displacement to 7782 tons. The hull length increased by 1.83 m and the draft by 0.1 m.

In January 1885, during the slipway work, it was decided to use the 203-mm gun model as the main caliber. 1884 on Vavasseur machines. It was possible to increase the weight of the broadside, as well as the rate of fire of the main caliber artillery. The diameter of the barbettes was reduced by 62 cm. In addition, the barbette installations received thin all-round armor.

DESIGN FEATURES

The ship was built from Putilov steel. The outer skin from the keel to the shelf under the armor was made of 14.3 mm steel sheets. The vertical internal keel ran continuously along the entire length of the hull. The horizontal keel was attached to it in two layers with angle steel. The stem and sternpost were solid bronze castings. The steering frame with rudder post was also cast from bronze. The steering wheel was covered with wood with copper bolts and copper sheets. The hull set had four stringers per side, made of strong sheets. The waterproof inner bottom between the frames ran from the keel to the fourth stringer, as well as in the area of ​​the ammunition magazines at the ends between the platforms and the lower deck. Transverse watertight bulkheads ran along the frames from the inner bottom to the living deck. "Admiral Nakhimov" became the first Russian warship equipped with a longitudinal watertight bulkhead.

Initially, the ship carried the sailing rig of a brig with a total sail area of ​​2000 m². The spar and rigging were made of steel: masts with a diameter of 890 mm were made of steel, rigging was made of steel cables. But the sails turned out to be more of a hindrance than a useful addition to steam engines. With a wind of three or four points in the gulfwind, the speed under the sails due to the resistance of the two propellers did not reach even four knots, and maneuvering was extremely difficult. First, the topmasts, topmasts and gaffs were removed from the Nakhimov. The sailing mast was finally removed during the modernization of 1898-1899, replacing it with light signal masts with topmasts and one yard.

PROTECTION AND RESERVATION

The armored belt, 45 m long, was covered at the ends with armored traverses, forming with them a citadel that covered the boilers and vehicles and was covered on top by a 50-mm armored deck. The height of the belt was 2.4 m, of which, under normal load, 0.876 m rose above the water. The thickness was 254 mm at the upper edge, then narrowed to 152 mm at the lower edge. The height of the traverses, 229 mm thick (at the lower edge 152 mm) at the side, was also 2.4 m.

The deck steel armor at the accommodation deck level was 37.3 mm thick on a 12.7 mm deck. The carapace deck outside the belt consisted of two layers of steel with a total thickness of 76 mm.

During the modernization of the cruiser in 1898-1899, the 203-mm guns were covered with round shields with a diameter of about 6.9 m with a wall thickness of 63.5 (around the embrasures) - 51 mm and covered with tarpaulin, which is why the main battery installations took on the appearance of real towers. The side commander's cupolas were removed.

POWER PLANT

Both main steam three-cylinder double expansion engines with a power of 4000 hp each. With. were manufactured at the Baltic Shipyard according to the drawings of the cruiser Vladimir Monomakh. Each car had one cylinder high pressure with a diameter of 1524 mm and two cylinders low pressure diameter 1981 mm. The tubular system refrigerators had a cooling area of ​​650 m². The propeller shafts are made of forged steel, four-blade propellers with a diameter of 5 m are made of manganese bronze.

On the Admiral Nakhimov, auxiliary steam mechanisms were widely used - a machine for turning propeller shafts, winches for lifting slag, etc.

For the first time, a full deck lighting of 320 incandescent lamps was installed on a Russian warship. Electrical energy were produced by four Gram dynamos with a power of 9.1 kW each, driven by separate steam engines.

SERVICE

The cruiser spent most of her service on long voyages. On September 29, 1888, he left Kronstadt for the Far East and returned back only three years later. After repairs, a new long-distance voyage - first to the USA, then to the Mediterranean Sea, and from there - again to the Far East.

In 1894, the cruiser took part in maneuvers in the roadstead of the Chinese port of Chifoo. In May 1898 he returned to the Baltic. After modernization, the cruiser went to the Pacific Ocean for the third time in 1900. He visited Japan and Korea and carried out diplomatic missions. In May 1903, the ship returned to Kronstadt.

With the beginning of the Russian-Japanese War, “Admiral Nakhimov”, under the command of Captain 1st Rank A. A. Rodionov, became part of the 2nd armored detachment of the 2nd Pacific Squadron. On May 14, 1905, in the Battle of Tsushima, the cruiser received about 20 hits from shells, and at night was torpedoed on the starboard side. During the night battle, the cruiser sank two Japanese destroyers and caused serious damage to the cruiser Iwata. When Japanese ships appeared on the morning of May 15, the cruiser was finally scuttled by the crew. In the most difficult conditions Battle of Tsushima“Admiral Nakhimov” proved itself more than worthy.