Rostislav: The Russian-build oil-burning battleship Russian Empire It’s unfair to restrict the quality of a ship to a unique characteristic, so to summarize, but four points could help cornering her a little bit. Russian built Lightly armed Oil-burning boilers (world’s first) Slow completion and overweight She was the result of discussions in the admiralty and … Read more
Overview of Russian cruisers development Russian Empire (1875-1919) – About 50 ships Like for other nations, Cruisers were an evolution of 1850s steam frigates. However the first three “Kreisers” (Cruiser) were called so in the early 1880s when the three Variag class wooden screw corvettes were rearmed so. Laid down in 1861, the Askold, Variag … Read more
Russian Pre-Dreadnought Battleship (1901) Russian battleship with a french flavor: Without going into lowly humor mixing vodka and baguettes, the Tsessarevitch (or Tsesarevich) was the only capital ship of the Russian fleet entirely built in France. More importantly, she formed the basis for the Russian-built Borodino-class battleships (Or Slava). She underwent a rocky service life … Read more
Pamiat Azova (1886) Russia (1886) The old sailing cruiser of the Tsar: Several ships in WW1 had far past their prime but were still active, due to the tremendous losses of 1905. The Pamiat Azova (‘Memory of Azov’) was one of them, kept in service by default of new replacements. She was one of these … Read more
Potemkine (1903) Russia (1903): Kniaz Potemkin Travichesky (Panteleimon) The Potemkine: Movie famous: The very name of Potemkine evoke the Russian 1905 Revolution, and one of, if not perhaps the most famous propaganda movie of all times. This is also perhaps the most famous mutiny since the Bounty and the Batavia, and probably the best known … Read more
Petropavlovsk class battleships (1894) Russia (1894) Battleships – Petropavlovsk, Poltava, Sevastopol Victims of the Russo-Japanese war: The Petropavlovsk class also known as the Poltava class, and consisted in three pre-dreadnought battleships ordered for the Imperial Russian Navy. They followed the Imperator Aleksandr II class, 9000 tons ships built in 1885–1891 for the Baltic and armed … Read more
Russian Battleship (1893) The four-funneled battleship One of the rare Russian battleships which was sunk in action in 1905 rather than captured or shelled in Port Arthur, the Navarin was singular in more than titles: Besides four funnels in two tandem pairs because of her unusual machinery arrangement -which had her nicknamed “Zavod” (factory)- she … Read more
Tri Sviatitelia (1894) Russian Battleship (1894) The “Three Holy Hierarchs” was an early 1890s pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy, the best protected in her class with thick Harvey armour, and first fitted with a radio. She served with the Black Sea Fleet and opposed the mutiny of the Potemkin in June 1905, duelled … Read more
Imperatritsa Mariya class battleships (1913) Russia (1914) Imperatritsa Mariya, Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya, Imperator Aleksander III The revised Gangut: Russia’s second and last class of dreadnoughts was not a simple “repeat” of the Ganguts. Constrained by a depleted budget, they were reduced, slower, but better protected versions made for the Black Sea fleet, while the Gangut … Read more
Imperial Russia (1895-1921) – About 150 ships Overview of Russian light ships development As in many other navies, Russia started the development of torpedo-boats as a sub-echelon, a type of ship which went after gunboats. The first Russian torpedo-boat was built at Baltic Works as eary as 1877. In the 1880s series of two to … Read more
