Smederevac94

Entombet, on 07 May 2013 - 10:57 AM, said: Hehe :glasses: new topic with Kronshtad is the same matter. I apologize.

The Stalingrad-class battlecruiser, also known in the Soviet Union as Project 82 (Russian: Тяжёлые крейсера проекта 82), was intended to be built for the Soviet Navy after World War II. Three ships were ordered, but none were ever completed.A heavy cruiser was designed before the Second World War as an intermediate between the light cruiser Kirov and Chapayev classes and the Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers. The specification, or OTZ in Russian, was issued in May 1941, but plans were shelved with the invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany. Construction was proposed again in 1943. After a lengthy design period, which Premier Joseph Stalin—a major supporter of the project—often had a hand in, keels for two ships were laid at the Marti South Shipyard in Nikolayev (1951) and the Baltic Works in Leningrad (1952) and a third ship was planned for the shipyard in Severodvinsk. The Project 82 design which was ordered would have been much larger than the original intermediate design, so much so that they were considered the successors to the Kronshtadts, which had been canceled at the outbreak of World War II.[1] As envisioned by Stalin, the Stalingrad battlecruisers' role would be to disrupt and break up an enemy's light cruisers when they approached the Soviet coast. However, after his death in March 1953, the ships were canceled by the Ministry of Transport and Heavy Machinery. Only the incomplete hull of Stalingrad was launched; used as a floating target for anti-ship missiles, it was scrapped around 1962. Background and genesis: The roots of the Project 82-class began back in May 1941 when the Main Naval Staff approved tactical requirements (Russian: Operativno Takticheskoye Zadanie) for a medium-sized cruiser between the light cruisers of the Kirov and Chapayev classes and the "heavy cruisers" of the Kronshtadt class in size. It was intended to fulfill the following roles: -Engage enemy cruisers armed with 203 mm (8.0 in) guns -Destroy enemy light cruisers -Support its own light cruisers -Lay minefields -Suppress the enemy's medium-caliber coast defense batteries and support landing operations -Conduct operations against the enemy's maritime lines of communication To accomplish these missions the Navy expected a ship of 20,000 tonnes (20,000 long tons) or smaller, armed with eight 203-millimeter (8.0 in) and twelve 100-millimeter (3.9 in) guns, twelve 37-millimeter (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns and one triple 533-millimeter (21.0 in) torpedo mount. It was to be armored to withstand 203 mm shells with a speed not less than 36 knots (41 mph; 67 km/h), a range of 10,000 nmi (18,520 km) at 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) and able to carry four seaplanes launched by two catapults. Three preliminary designs were proposed in response, but only one, which displaced 25,000 tonnes (25,000 long tons), was able to meet all of the requirements. However, the designers recommended an increase in the main armament caliber to 220 millimeters (8.7 in), a strengthened anti-aircraft battery and reductions in the armor protection, speed, and range, but the start of Operation Barbarossa a month later rendered these plans moot. The project was revived in 1943 with a new requirement issued on 15 September. This was basically identical to the original, but added one new requirement: "Protect the operations of aircraft carriers and conduct joint operations with them."Estimated characteristics were a displacement between 20,000–22,000 tonnes (20,000–22,000 long tons), nine main guns between 210–230 mm (8.3–9.1 in), a secondary battery of a dozen 130-mm dual-purpose guns and thirty-two 37-mm AA guns. The speed, range and aircraft requirements remained the same, although the torpedo tubes were dropped. Over a dozen preliminary designs had been proposed by May 1944, but none were acceptable. A new tactical requirement was issued in November 1944 that envisioned a more realistic displacement of 25,000–26,000 tonnes (25,000–26,000 long tons) while the speed was dropped to 33 knots (38 mph; 61 km/h) and the range to 8,000 nmi (14,820 km). Armament was also revised to nine 220-mm guns, sixteen 130-mm guns, thirty-two 45-millimeter (1.8 in) and twenty 23-millimeter (0.91 in) AA guns.[3] These last guns were changed to 25 mm (0.98 in) in 1945. Admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov believed that these ships could protect the planned Soviet aircraft carriers in bad weather from American cruisers and pushed to have them built, but the Shipbuilding Commissariat balked. It refused to begin detailed design work pleading the uncertainty of the post-war building situation and the already heavy workload of its design bureaux. Undeterred, the Navy continued studying cruiser designs and planned a ten-year construction programme for the period 1946–1955. This was based on defensive operations along the periphery of the Soviet Union against Anglo-American carrier groups while submarines would attack their lines of communication. Ten of these large cruisers were envisioned as part of this construction program. When the program was discussed by the Politburo on 29 September 1945 there was no great disagreement on the large cruisers, although Stalin favored increasing the size of their main guns to 305 mm (12.0 in), but did not push the issue when Admiral Kuznetsov resisted. A bigger problem was the resistance of the Shipbuilding Commissariat which said it would be impossible to lay down any ships of new design until about 1950 and that only incremental changes could be made to the designs currently in production. The Navy saw no reason why new ships, reflecting wartime experience, could not be laid down beginning in 1948. To resolve the dispute a special commission was appointed, led by Lavrentiy Beria, which mostly sided with the Shipbuilding Commissariat in that most ships of the program would be improved versions of current designs. Four of the large cruisers were to begin construction, two each at Shipyard 402 in Molotovsk and Shipyard 444 at Nikolayev with another three planned to be laid down in 1953 and 1955. This compromise was approved on 27 November 1945 and detailed design work began in 1946 for designs equipped with both the 220-mm and 305-mm guns. This was reaffirmed by a decree of the Council of Ministers on 28 January 1947. By August 1947, the Navy and the Shipbuilding Ministry had winnowed down design proposals to only three, one from each armed with 305 mm guns and a joint design armed with 220 mm guns. The latter's design was slightly smaller (2,000 tonnes (2,000 long tons)) than the Navy's 40,000 tonnes (39,000 long tons) design, and had an armor belt 50 mm (2.0 in) thinner, but was otherwise almost identical. The joint design was 2,000 tonnes (2,000 long tons) smaller with a reduced secondary armament, but was about 1.5 knots (1.7 mph; 2.8 km/h) faster. All proposals had a range of 6,000 nmi (11,110 km) at 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h). These designs weren't reviewed until March 1948, probably because of the need to coordinate reaction to the American Marshall Plan, and Stalin approved the Navy's more heavily protected design. But even this was subject to more delays as the detailed specifications had to be approved and this didn't occur until 31 August 1948, likely delayed by the Tito–Stalin split and the start of the Berlin Blockade, both in June. With the approval of the specifications, TsKB-17, the heavy-ship design bureau, began work on the sketch design to be submitted for approval to the Council of Ministers before the start of the technical design could begin. By March 1949, four alternatives had been completed, differing mainly in the arrangement of the 130 mm guns and the boiler layout. The bureau preferred one layout and the Navy and the Shipbuilding Ministry concurred so the bureau began the technical design, without formal approval, in order to be ready to lay down the first two ships in the third quarter of 1950 as already scheduled. However, when Stalin reviewed the sketch design in September 1949, he rejected it, ordering a smaller, faster ship capable of 35 knots (40 mph; 65 km/h). TsKB-17 was able to produce a preliminary technical design that met Stalin's demands by the end of the year, an amazingly fast amount of time for what should have been a very involved process. The most likely explanation is that the designers retained as much of their original work as possible and found room for the more powerful turbines and more numerous boilers necessary to attain Stalin's specified speed by deleting the two rear twin 130 mm turrets, and their magazines, as revealed by a comparison of the 1949 and 1951 sketches. The Navy didn't like the compromises made to reduce the displacement down to Stalin's 36,000 tonnes (35,000 long tons) and to achieve the high speed demanded as revealed in a March 1950 meeting in the Kremlin where Stalin revealed critical points about his thoughts for these ships. When the admirals responded to his question about the purpose of these ships by saying that they were to fight the enemy's heavy cruisers, he contradicted them and said that their purpose was to fight light cruisers: "It is necessary to increase its speed to 35 knots and create a cruiser that will cause panic among the enemy's light cruisers, disperse and destroy them." Furthermore he believed that they would fight close to home, defending the coastal waters of Soviet Union. "You cannot blindly copy the Americans and English, they face different conditions, their ships travel far over the ocean, out of touch with their bases. We are not considering conducting oceanic battles, but instead will fight close to our own shores, so we do not need a large ammunition supply on the ship." The admirals also did not like the reduction in the secondary armament made to accommodate the larger machinery and extra boilers needed to reach the speed desired by Stalin, but he reminded them that most aircraft would attack the battlecruiser at heights below 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and the ceiling of the 130 mm was far in excess of that. He also ordered a reduction in the light anti-aircraft guns believing that its escorts would defend it. This design was approved by the Council of Ministers on 25 March 1950. This allowed the technical design process to begin and it was completed in December 1950. Reviews by the Navy and Shipbuilding Ministries in February 1951 led to some significant changes to the design in April. The original form of the bow was similar to that of the Chapayev-class light cruisers, but sea trials of the lead ship of that class in December 1950—January 1951 proved that she was very wet forward, which hindered her seakeeping ability. The Stalingrad's bow form was radically altered with a much more raked stem, its sheer and flare were greatly increased and the ship gained almost 10 m (32 ft 10 in) in length, possibly in response to the Chapayev's problems. In addition the thickness of her belt armor was increased from 150 to 180 mm (5.9 to 7.1 in), possibly in response to weight savings elsewhere. This final design was submitted for approval on 4 June 1951, but preparations for the working design drawings began before it was approved. Design: General characteristics: The ships of the Stalingrad class were 260 meters (853 ft 0 in) long at the waterline, and 273.6 meters (897 ft 8 in) long overall. They had a beam of 32 meters (105 ft 0 in), a maximum draft of 9.2 meters (30 ft 2 in) forward, 8.8 meters (28 ft 10 in) aft, and displaced 36,500 tonnes (35,900 long tons) at standard load and 42,300 tonnes (41,600 long tons) at full load. They were the first large Soviet-built ships with a flush deck. The hull was completely welded to save weight and they used longitudinal framing throughout. Metacentric height was estimated at 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in), presumably in the design load condition. The ships had a triple bottom underneath the armored citadel that had a height of 2.25 meters (7 ft 5 in) and 23 main watertight compartments. They had a crew of 1712 men plus space for 30 when acting as a flagship. The cost for each ship was estimated at 1.168 billion rubles, almost four times the 322 million rubles for a Sverdlov class. The ship was intended to be commanded by a rear admiral, with its executive officer, political officer and the heads of the gunnery and engineering divisions as captains 1st rank. Propulsion: The high speed demanded of the Stalingrads required four TV-4 geared steam turbines, each producing 70,000 shaft horsepower (52,199 kW) and driving one propeller. They were powered by twelve water-tube boilers at a pressure of 66 kg/cm2 (6,472 kPa; 939 psi) at a temperature of 460 °C (860 °F). The machinery was arranged on the unit system so that one hit couldn't knock out all the boilers or all the turbines and immobilize the ship. Two boiler compartments, each with three boilers, were situated underneath the forward funnel, with a turbine compartment for the wing shafts immediately aft and this arrangement was repeated for the two center shafts. 5,000 tonnes (4,900 long tons) of fuel oil were carried which gave a range of 5,000 nmi (9,260 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h). Maximum speed was 35.5 knots (40.9 mph; 65.7 km/h). Eight 750 kW turbo-generators drove the 380V, 50 Hz electrical system in addition to four 1000 kW Diesel generators located outside each end of the armored citadel for a total capacity of 10,000 kW. Armor: The armor scheme of the battlecruisers was quite complex with armor plates of no less than 25 different thicknesses used. Although only designed to withstand cruiser shellfire no less than 10,400 tonnes (10,200 long tons; 11,500 short tons), or 29% of the total displacement was devoted to armor. The citadel armor was intended to provide an immunity zone against 8 in (200 mm) armor-piercing shells at ranges between 13,000–15,000 yards (12,000–14,000 m) and 34,000 yards (31,000 m). The remainder of the armor was intended to resist 6-inch (150 mm) high explosive shells and 500-kilogram (1,100 lb) HE bombs. The belt armor was 180 mm (7.1 in) thick and inclined outwards at an angle of 15° to maximize its effectiveness against both plunging and horizontal fire. It had a vertical height of 5.25 m (17.2 ft), 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) of which was below the design waterline. It covered approximately 60% of the ship's waterline or about 156 m (512 ft). 50 mm (2.0 in) of armor covered the hull side above the belt as protection from splinters. The forward end of the armored citadel was closed off by a 140-millimeter (5.5 in) thick transverse bulkhead on the forward end and 125 mm (4.9 in) aft. The deck armor in the citadel ranged in thickness, from 50 mm (2.0 in) for the upper deck, a 70-millimeter (2.8 in) middle deck—increased to 75 mm (3.0 in) over the handling rooms for the 130-millimeter (5.1 in) gun turrets—and a lower splinter deck of 15 mm (0.59 in), which increased outboard to 20 mm (0.79 in). The waterline forward of the citadel was protected by a 50-millimeter (2.0 in) splinter belt all the way to the bow, with a similar extension aft to the steering gear compartment. The middle deck behind this splinter belt was 50 mm (2.0 in) thick. The steering gear was protected by 170 mm (6.7 in) of armor on the sides, a 70–100-millimeter (2.8–3.9 in) deck and a 200-millimeter (7.9 in) armored bulkhead aft. Additional armored plates were fixed to the third bulkhead of the underwater protection system to protect against diving shells hitting below the level of the waterline belt. Their thicknesses varied depending on location and ranged oddly from 100 mm (3.9 in) amidships to 20 mm (0.79 in) over the 305 mm (12.0 in) magazines. The main battery turrets were protected by 240 mm (9.4 in) of armor on the faces and 225 mm (8.9 in) on the sides and 125 mm (4.9 in) of armor on the roofs. Their barbettes had a maximum of 235 mm (9.3 in) on their forward faces and 200 mm (7.9 in) on the after face. Below the main deck they were protected by only 195–155 mm (7.7–6.1 in) of armor. The 130 mm turrets were only protected by 25 mm (0.98 in) of armor as splinter protection. The forward conning tower had a forward face of 250 mm (9.8 in) that thinned down to 225 mm (8.9 in) on the aft section with a 100-millimeter (3.9 in) roof. Its controls and cable runs were protected by a 100-millimeter (3.9 in) tube and the lower part of the conning tower's supporting structure was protected with 20 mm (0.79 in) plates. Aft there was a lightly protected auxiliary control station with 50-millimeter (2.0 in) sides. Between the middle and lower decks the funnel uptakes were protected by 100 mm (3.9 in) of armor and 30 mm (1.2 in) between the upper and middle decks. A 125-millimeter (4.9 in) upper and 175-millimeter (6.9 in) lower grating protected the boilers from shells and fragments entering through the uptake openings. The torpedo protection system was developed on the basis of model tests and full-scale trials using the incomplete hull of the prewar battlecruiser Kronshtadt and was expected to resist a torpedo warhead equivalent to 400–500 kg (880–1,100 lb) of TNT. It was made up of an external bulge with four longintudinal bulkheads. The first was 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) thick, the second was 8–25 mm (0.31–0.98 in), the third was 50 mm (2.0 in) and the fourth 15–30 mm (0.59–1.2 in). Presumably the thinner thicknesses were at the ends of the ships where the bulkheads were squeezed together. The outer space was left empty, but the two middle spaces were filled with oil that was intended to be exchanged with sea water as it was consumed, and the inner space was also to be left empty. One curious feature was that the first and second bulkheads were concave in profile. Apparently this was believed to improve their protective qualities, although there is no indication of how it did this. "The total depth of the system was about 4–4.5 m (13–14.8 ft) amidships, which seems rather shallow."The triple bottom underneath the armored citadel was believed to protect the ship against a charge equivalent to 500 kg (1,100 lb) of TNT five meters below the ship's hull.

Entombet, on 07 May 2013 - 05:52 AM, said: Well i wonder why we givin another topics about ships that are already here, not to mention its almost copy/paste of them. I forgot that you made ​​the same topic about this ship, sry man. :amazed:

Well done man, good topic. :great: :honoring:

Sorry about this thing multi-posting and enjoy!!!

Electronics: Target data for the More-82 director was derived from the Zalp (NATO designation Half Bow) fire-control radar and Grot rangefinding radars mounted on turrets Nos. 2 and 3. These were backed up by a single KDP-8-10 optical director mount fitted with 8-meter (26 ft) and 10-meter (33 ft) rangefinders. Some of the BL-109A mounts were to fitted for range-finding radars, probably Shtag-B (NATO designation Egg Cup), but they were ordinarily controlled by three SPN-500 directors, one for each pair of gun mounts. The SPN-500s carried a 4-meter (13 ft) rangefinder as well as Yakor (NATO designation Sun Visor) fire-control radar. Air search capability was provided by the Fut-N (NATO designation Slim Net) radar with anti-aircraft fire control provided by Fut-B (NATO designation Hawk Screech) radars. The main air-search radar was the Giuis-2 (NATO designation Cross Bird), a Soviet development of the wartime British Type 291 radar. It had a range of 80 km (50 mi) against aerial targets and 20 km (12 mi) against surface targets. The main surface-search radar was Rif-A (NATO designation Ball End) that had a range of 40 km (25 mi) against surface targets. The Stalingrads also had Neptun and Nord navigational radars. Soviet electronics were still fairly primitive during this period and the trials of the light cruiser Sverdlov, which carried many of these systems, revealed that the effective range of the Rif-A surface-search radar was less than that of the Yakor and Zalp fire-control radars. There were also problems transferring data from the Giuis-2 air-search radar to the Yakor and Fut-B anti-aircraft fire-control radars, which was a serious problem when dealing with high-speed aircraft. The Giuis-2 also interfered with ultra-shortwave radio reception. Korall radar-jammers were mounted on either side of the mainmast as well as a Machta system on the foremast. Solentse-1P infrared detectors were carried on either side of the superstructure. Fakel-MO and Fakel-MZ antenna comprised the IFF system. A Gerkules sonar was also fitted in addition to various radio direction finders. Missile variant: The TsKB-17 design bureau proposed variants of the design with both cruise and ballistic missiles. The ballistic missiles would have been launched from vertical tubes replacing the forward turrets, and in one version, the entire main armament. The proposal was dropped because both types would have needed a fully stabilized launching platform to give them any chance of hitting their targets and that the ballistic missiles would need three hours of preparation time. Construction: The first sections of Stalingrad had been laid down in November 1951 in Slipway "O" of the Marti South Shipyard in Nikolayev where a Sovetsky Soyuz-class battleship, Sovetskaya Ukraina, had begun construction in 1938, but the slipway itself was in need of reconstruction and its lower end was occupied by the hull of the Sverdlov-class light cruiser Mikhail Kutuzov which was scheduled for launch at the end of 1952. Moskva's keel was laid down in September 1952 by the Baltic Works in Leningrad. The unnamed third ship was laid down at Yard 402, at Molotovsk around October 1952, Soviet sources refer to her proposed names as the Kronshtadt or Arkhangelsk. A fourth ship was apparently ordered from Yard 402, but was never laid down. Stalingrad's formal keel-laying was on 31 December 1951 and it was hoped that she could be launched on 6 November 1953, the eve of the 36th anniversary of the October Revolution. But deliveries of steel, armor, machinery and other equipment were delayed or arrived out of sequence, despite extraordinary efforts by the Ministry of Shipbuilding, and slowed construction enough so that she fell about six months behind schedule and the same was more or less true for the other ships. By 1 January 1953 Stalingrad was intended to be 42.9% complete, but was actually only 18.8% done. Moskva was planned to be 11.5% finished, but was only 7.5% done. And the unnamed ship was intended to be 5.2% along, but was only 2.5% complete. These ships were canceled on 18 April 1953, after Stalin's death on 5 March, by the Ministry of Transport and Heavy Machinery, and the hulls of Moskva and the third ship were scrapped on the slipways later that year. The Ministry ordered in June that Stalingrad's hull, which was about 70% ready for launching, be used for weapons tests. Her hull was launched on 16 April 1954 and her stern, which was more or less complete, was dismantled—her bow hadn't been built when work was suspended a year earlier—and the central, 150-meter (490 ft) long, section was modified for her new role. Career as a target hulk: Stalingrad's hull was towed from Nikolayev on 19 May 1955 by three tugs, but was driven ashore by high winds on 23 May at the southern entrance to Sevastopol Bay. She grounded on a very rocky bottom in very shallow water only about 50 m (160 ft) from shore. A number of the ordinary methods to refloat a ship couldn't be used because she was very nearly empty and so nothing could be off-loaded and the rocky bottom meant that it couldn't be excavated out from underneath her. The first attempt used brute force provided by the cruisers Molotov and Kerch to unsuccessfully tow her off. Several other attempts were made using explosive charges to create shock waves that would pivot her stern into deeper water in combination with tugs attempting to pull her around, but these were counterproductive in that several holes were blown in her sides which flooded several compartments and grounded her that much more firmly. At this time a more detailed assessment was made of the situation and 259 steel projections were discovered on the underside of her hull, left over from her launching cradles. These ranged in length from 40–169 mm (1.6–6.7 in) and totally invalidated all calculations about the amount of force required to free her. The capsizing of the battleship Novorossiysk in Sevastopol harbor on 29 October 1955 delayed salvage operations on the Stalingrad until the end of the year. The hull had to be patched, the water pumped out and all the projections removed to raise the stern slightly with pontoons, pivot into deeper water, then trim it down to elevate the bow off the bottom and pull it free. These preparations were very time-consuming and it wasn't until mid-July 1956 that it could be pulled off the rocks into Sevastopol harbor where she was given more permanent repairs. She was then moved to the Naval Firing Range between Yevpatoria and Sevastopol where it was used as a target for seven P-1 or KSS anti-ship missiles fired from the converted Sverdlov-class cruiser Admiral Nakhimov in December 1956. The missiles penetrated the upper and main decks and devastated the upper hull, but there was no appreciable change in the ship's draught. Details are not known about other tests, although she reportedly served as a target for P-15 Termit (SS-N-2 Styx) missiles and a wide variety of armor-piercing munitions. By the early 1960s her usefulness had come to an end and she was scrapped, possibly in 1962. Displacement: 36,500 metric tons (35,900 long tons) (standard) 42,300 metric tons (41,600 long tons) (full load) Length: 273.6 m (897 ft 8 in) Beam: 32 m (105 ft 0 in) Draught: 9.2 m (30 ft 2 in) Installed power: 280,000 shp (208,796 kW) Propulsion: 4-shaft TV-4 geared steam turbines, 12 water-tube boilers Speed: 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph) Endurance: 5,000 nmi (9,300 km) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) Complement: 1,712 Sensors and processing systems: Giuis-2 air-search radar Rif-A surface-search radar Iakor, Zalp, Fut-B fire-control radars Grot and Shtag-B range-finding radars Soltnse-1P infrared detectors Gerkules sonar Electronic warfare & decoys: Korall and Machta jammers Armament: 3 x 3 - 305 mm (12.0 in) guns 6 x 2 - 130 mm (5.1 in) guns 6 x 4 - 45-millimeter (1.8 in) guns 10 x 4 - 25-millimeter (0.98 in) guns Armor: Waterline belt: 180 mm (7.1 in) Upper deck: 50 mm (2.0 in) each Middle deck: 70 mm (2.8 in) Turrets: 240 mm (9.4 in) Barbettes: 235 mm (9.3 in) Secondary turrets: 25 mm (0.98 in) Conning tower: 250 mm (9.8 in) Bulkheads: 140–125 mm (5.5–4.9 in)

Sorry about this thing multi-posting and enjoy!!!

The Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers, with the Soviet designation as Project 69 heavy cruisers, (Russian: Тяжёлые крейсера проекта 69), were ordered for the Soviet Navy in the late 1930s. Two ships were started but none were completed due to World War II. These ships had a complex and prolonged design process which was hampered by constantly changing requirements and the Great Purge in 1937. They were laid down in 1939, with an estimated completion date in 1944, but Stalin's naval construction program proved to be more than the shipbuilding and armaments industries could handle. Prototypes of the armament and machinery had not even been completed by 22 June 1941, almost two years after the start of construction. This is why the Soviets bought twelve surplus 38-centimeter (15.0 in) SK C/34 guns, and their twin turrets, similar to those used in the Bismarck-class battleships, from Germany in 1940. The ships were partially redesigned to accommodate them, after construction had already begun, but no turrets were actually delivered before Operation Barbarossa. Only Kronshtadt's hull survived the war reasonably intact and was about 10% complete in 1945. She was judged obsolete and the Soviets considered converting her into an aircraft carrier, but the idea was rejected and both hulls were scrapped in 1947. Design: The Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers had their origin in a mid-1930s requirement for a large cruiser (Russian: bol'shoi kreiser) capable of destroying 10,000-long-ton (10,160 t) cruisers built to the limits imposed by the Washington Naval Treaty, to which the Soviets were not a signatory. Several designs were submitted by the end of 1935, but the Navy was not satisfied and rejected all of them. It asked for another design, displacing 23,000 metric tons (22,637 long tons) and armed with 254-millimeter (10.0 in) guns, in early 1936, eventually designated Project 22, but this design was cancelled after the Soviets began negotiations in mid-1936 with the British that ultimately resulted in the Anglo-Soviet Quantitative Naval Agreement of 1937 and agreed to follow the terms of the Second London Naval Treaty which limited battleships to a displacement of 35,000 long tons (35,562 t). The Soviets had been working on a small battleship design (Battleship 'B') for service in the Baltic and Black Seas and had to shrink it as a result of these discussions to a size close to that of the Project 22 large cruiser so that the latter was cancelled. Battleship 'B' was redesignated as Project 25 and given the task of destroying Treaty cruisers and German pocket battleships. The Project 25 design was accepted in mid-1937 after major revisions in the armor scheme and the machinery layout and four were ordered with construction to begin in late 1937 and early 1938. However, this decision occurred right before the Great Purge began to hit the Navy in August 1937 and two of the ship's designers were arrested and executed within a year. The Project 25 design was then rejected on the grounds that it was too weak compared to foreign ships and the whole program was cancelled in early 1938 after an attempt to modify the design with larger guns had been made. However the Soviet Navy still felt a need for a fast ship that could deal with enemy cruisers and the original concept was revived as Project 69. They wanted a ship not to exceed 23,000 metric tons with a speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) and an armament of nine 254 mm guns, but the requirement proved to be too ambitious for the specified size and it increased to 26,200 metric tons (25,786 long tons) in the design submitted in June 1938. By this time, however, details were becoming available for the Scharnhorst-class battleships and the ship was deemed inferior to the German ships. The State Defense Committee revised the requirements and specified a size about 31,000 metric tons (30,510 long tons), an armament of nine 305-millimeter (12.0 in) guns, an armor belt 250 mm (9.8 in) thick and a speed about 31–32 knots (57–59 km/h; 36–37 mph). A revised design was finished by October which was wargamed against the Japanese Kongō-class battlecruisers, the French Dunkerque-class battleships as well as the Scharnhorst class. It was deemed superior to the Kongos at medium range and inferior to the Dunkerques at the same range, but generally superior to the Scharnhorsts, although it is doubtful that the Soviets were fully aware of the true specifications of the Kongōs as rebuilt or of the Scharnhorsts as the displacement of the latter had been given as 26,000 metric tons (25,589 long tons), more than 5,000 metric tons (4,921 long tons) short of their true displacement. The Navy's Shipbuilding Administration thought that the original secondary armament of 130-millimeter (5.1 in) guns was too small and that the armor on the turrets, conning tower and the forward transverse bulkhead was too thin. A revised, 35,000-ton design with 152-millimeter (6.0 in) guns and extra armor was submitted to the State Defense Council in January 1939. This was approved and the detailed design work began with the basic concept that the ship should be superior to the Scharnhorst-class ships and able to outrun the Bismarck-class battleships. At this time the horizontal protection was revised after full-scale trials revealed that a 500-kilogram (1,100 lb) bomb would penetrate both a 40-millimeter (1.6 in) upper deck and a 50-millimeter (2.0 in) middle deck to burst on the main armor deck. So the middle deck was thickened to 90-millimeter (3.5 in) with the lower deck intended to catch any splinters penetrating the armor deck. This mean that the main belt had to be extended upwards to meet the main armor deck at a significant penalty in weight. The Defense Committee approved the sketch design on 13 July 1939, but the detailed design was not approved until 12 April 1940, after construction had already begun on the first two ships. It was already apparent that the 305 mm guns and turrets were well behind schedule when Joseph Stalin asked the German representatives in Moscow on 8 February 1940 to negotiate a trade agreement if it would be possible to use the triple 283-millimeter (11.1 in) turrets in lieu of the triple 305 mm turrets of the Project 69 ships. They replied that the turrets were out of production, but new ones could be built. He then asked if twin 380-millimeter (15.0 in) turrets could be used instead. The Germans said that they would have to check back for the technical details. Krupp had six incomplete turrets on hand that had originally been ordered before the war to rearm the Scharnhorst-class battleships, but they were cancelled after the start of World War II when the Germans decided that they could not afford to have the ships out of service during the war. A preliminary purchase agreement was made to buy twelve guns and six turrets later that month, well before any studies were even made to see if the substitution was even possible. The Shipbuilding Commissariat reported on 17 April that it was possible so the agreement was finalized in November 1940 with the deliveries scheduled from October 1941 to 28 March 1943. The order also included 10-meter (33 ft) rangefinders and 150-centimeter (59 in) searchlights. The Soviets never did get the detailed data required to redesign the ship's barbettes and magazines, but they did know that the 380-mm barbettes was bigger in diameter than that of the 305 mm turret as well as taller than the Russian turrets. So the barbette of turret number two had to be raised to clear turret number one and the height of the conning tower had to be raised to clear turret number two. Similarly the 37-millimeter (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns behind turret number three had to raised as well.The new turrets required more electrical power which meant that the output of the turbo generators had to be increased to 1,300 kilowatts.[6] All of these changes added over 1,000 metric tons (984 long tons) to the ships' displacement and the sketch design was completed by 16 October 1940, as Project 69-I (Importnyi—Imported), even though they still lacked data for the turrets and their barbettes. This was presented to the State Defense Committee on 11 February 1941, but the design was not approved until 10 April when it ordered that the first two ships be completed with German guns while the others would continue to use the 305 mm guns. The detailed design was supposed to be completed by 15 October 1941, but it was rendered pointless when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June. Propulsion: The power plant was laid out on a unit system. The forward boiler room contained eight boilers and was followed by an engine room for the two wing propeller shafts. The second boiler room contained four boilers and was followed by a turbine room for the central shaft. The single-reduction, impulse-reduction geared steam turbines were an imported Brown Boveri design shared with the Sovetsky Soyuz-class battleship, but the factory in Kharkiv that was to build them never finished a single turbine before the Germans invaded. They produced a total of 210,000 shp (156,597 kW). Twelve 7u-bis water-tube boilers worked at a pressure of 37 kg/cm2 (3,628 kPa; 526 psi) and temperature of 380 °C (716 °F). There were two other small boilers for harbor service and to power the auxiliary machinery. The electrical plant originally consisted of four 1200 kW turbo generators and four 650 kW diesel generators, but these were upgraded for the Project 69-I ships. Maximum speed was estimated at 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph), using the revised propeller design, although forcing the machinery would yield an extra knot. The normal fuel oil capacity was 2,920 metric tons (2,874 long tons), which provided an estimated endurance of 1,100 nautical miles (2,040 km; 1,270 mi) at full speed. Maximum fuel capacity was 5,570 metric tons (5,482 long tons) which gave a range of 8,300 nautical miles (15,370 km; 9,550 mi) at 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) and 6,900 nmi (12,780 km; 7,940 mi) at 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph).

krille95, on 06 May 2013 - 01:52 PM, said: A great ship and a great post :great: . And thank you for keeping this forum alive. :honoring: But is ther missing some parts? Thanks :great: , what is missing?

Armament: The main armament consisted of three electrically powered MK-15 triple turrets, each with three 54-caliber 305 mm B-50 guns. The turrets were based on the MK-2 turrets planned for the Project 25 large cruiser. The guns could be depressed to −3° and elevated to 45°. They had a fixed loading angle of 6° and their rate of fire varied with the time required to relay the gun. It ranged from 2.36 to 3.24 rounds per minute depending on the elevation. The turrets could elevate at a rate of 10 degrees per second and traverse at 5.1 degrees per second. 100 rounds per gun were carried. The gun fired 470-kilogram (1,000 lb) armor-piercing projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 900 m/s (3,000 ft/s); this provided a maximum range of 47,580 meters (52,030 yd). The secondary armament consisted of eight 57-caliber B-38 152 mm guns mounted in four dual MK-4 turrets concentrated at the forward end of the superstructure. The forward turrets were inboard and above the outer turrets which provided both turrets with good arcs of fire. Their elevation limits were -5° to +45° with a fixed loading angle of 8°. Their rate of fire also varied with the elevation from 7.5 to 4.8 rounds per minute.[13] The turrets could elevate at a rate of 13 degrees per second and traverse at 6 degrees per second. They had a maximum range of about 30,000 meters (33,000 yd) with a 55-kilogram (120 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 950 m/s (3,100 ft/s). Heavy anti-aircraft (AA) fire was provided by eight 56-caliber 100 mm B-34 dual-purpose guns in four twin MZ-16 turrets mounted at the aft end of the superstructure with the aft turrets mounted inboard of the forward turrets. They could elevate to a maximum of 85° and depress to -8°.[13] They could traverse at a rate of 12° per second and elevate at 10° per second. They fired 15.6-kilogram (34 lb) high explosive shells at a muzzle velocity of 895 m/s (2,940 ft/s); this provided a maximum range of 22,241 meters (24,323 yd) against surface targets, but their maximum range against aerial targets was 9,895 meters (32,464 ft), the limit of their time fuse. Light AA defense was handled by six quadruple, water-cooled, 46-K mounts fitted with 37 mm (1.5 in) 70-K guns. Two mounts were abreast the forward funnel, two just abaft the rear funnel and the last two on the centerline of the aft superstructure superfiring over the rear main gun turret. Initially seven mounts were planned, but the one above the conning tower was exchanged for a director for the 100 mm guns in early 1940 when the Navy realized that the other directors were blocked by the superstructure. The guns fired .732-kilogram (1.61 lb) shells at a muzzle velocity of 880 m/s (2,887 ft/s). Their effective anti-aircraft range was 4,000 meters (13,123 ft). The Germans sold the Soviets twelve 52-caliber 38-centimeter (15.0 in) SKC/34 guns and their associated Drh LC/34 turrets as part of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.[5] Their elevation limits were -5.5° to +30° with a fixed loading angle of 2.5°. Their rate of fire was 2.3 rounds per minute. The turrets could elevate at a rate of 6° per second and traverse at 5° per second. They had a maximum range of 36,520 meters (39,940 yd) with a 800-kilogram (1,800 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s). Fire control: Two KDP-8-III fire-control directors were used to control the main armament. These had two 8-meter (26 ft 3 in) stereoscopic rangefinders, one to track the target and the other to measure the range to the ship's own shell splashes. Two of these were protected by 20 mm (0.79 in) of armor and were mounted atop the rear superstructure and the tower-mast. Two KDP-4t-II directors, with two 4-meter (13 ft 1 in) rangefinders each, controlled the secondary armament. The dual-purpose guns were controlled by two, later three, stabilized directors, each with a 3-meter (9 ft 10 in) rangefinder. Protection: The ships had relatively light armor. The main belt was 230 millimeters (9.1 in) thick, with a taper to the lower edge, and inclined outwards six degrees. It was 5 meters (16 ft 5 in) high of which 1.6 meters (5 ft 3 in) was intended to be submerged as originally designed. The belt was 185 meters (606 ft 11 in) long and covered 76.8 percent of the waterline; forward of this was a 20 mm belt that extended all the way to the bow. The forward transverse 330-millimeter (13.0 in) bulkhead was 330 mm thick while the rear bulkhead was 275 millimeters (10.8 in) thick. The upper deck was only 14 millimeters (0.55 in) thick and was intended to initiate shell and bomb fuzes. The main armor deck, which was even with the top of the waterline belt, was 90 millimeters (3.5 in) thick and a 30-millimeter (1.2 in) splinter deck was underneath it, although it tapered to 15 millimeters (0.59 in) in thickness over the torpedo protection system. The underwater protection was an American-style design with a bulge and four longitudinal bulkheads intended to withstand a 500-kilogram (1,102 lb) warhead of TNT. It covered 61.5% of the ship's length and had a total depth of 6 meters (19 ft 8 in), that reduced to 4 meters (13 ft 1 in) forward and aft where the hull lines became finer. The main turrets had 305 mm faces and backs and 125-millimeter (4.9 in) sides and roofs. Their barbettes were protected with 330 mm of armor. The secondary turrets had 100 mm faces with 50-millimeter (2.0 in) sides and roofs and 75-millimeter (3.0 in) barbettes. The dual-purpose mountings had 50 mm armor with 40-millimeter (1.6 in) barbettes. The conning tower had 330 mm sides and a 125 mm roof with a 230 mm communications tube running down to the armor deck. The admiral's bridge was protected with 50 mm armor. Each of the directors had 14 mm of armor as did the 37 mm gun mounts. The funnels had 20 mm armor for their entire height above the deck and a 50 mm box protected the smoke generators. Construction: The Soviet shipbuilding and related industries proved to be incapable of supporting the construction of the four Sovetsky Soyuz-class battleships as well as the two Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers at the same time. The largest warships built in the Soviet Union prior to 1938 were the 8,000-metric-ton (7,874-long-ton) Kirov-class cruisers and even they had suffered from a number of production problems, but the Soviet leadership preferred to ignore the industrial difficulties when making their plans. The shipyards in Leningrad and Nikolayev had less than half the workers intended. Shipbuilding steel proved to be in short supply in 1939–1940 and a number of batches were rejected because they did not meet specifications. An attempt to import 14,000 long tons (14,225 t) of steel and armor plate from the United States in 1939 failed, probably as a result of the Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September 1939. Armor plate production was even more problematic as only 27,438 metric tons (27,005 long tons) were delivered in 1940 of the anticipated 30,000–32,000 metric tons (29,526–31,495 long tons) and 30–40% of that was rejected. Furthermore the armor plants proved to be incapable of making cemented plates over 230 mm and inferior face-hardened plates had to substituted for all thicknesses over 200 millimeters (7.9 in). Machinery problems were likely to delay the ships well past their intended delivery dates of 1943–44. The Kharkhovskii Turbogenerator Works never completed a single turbine before the German invasion in June 1941. Another problem were the 305 mm guns and turrets as the armament factories were focused on the higher-priority guns for the Sovetsky Soyuz-class battleships. Prototypes of neither had been completed by the time the Germans invaded. The situation was not much better for the smaller guns as mountings for both the 152 mm and 100 mm guns were still incomplete on 22 June 1941 and all of these programs were terminated quickly afterwards. Ships: The ships were originally intended to be laid down 1 September 1939, but they were delayed until November to allow improvements to the shipyards to be completed. A total of sixteen ships were planned in the August 1939 building program, but this was scaled back to four in July 1940 and two in October 1940 when it became clear just how unprepared the Soviets were for any large-scale naval construction program. Work on these ships ceased shortly after the German invasion. Kronshtadt (Russian: Кронштадт) was built by the Shipyard No. 194, Marti in Leningrad. She was laid down 30 November 1939 and judged 10.6% complete when the Germans invaded. Her building slip was too short for her entire length so her stern was built separately. Some of her material was used during the Siege of Leningrad to repair other ships and in defensive works, but she could have been finished after the end of the war. Proposals were made to complete her as an aircraft carrier and as a base ship for a whaling flotilla, but both ideas were rejected and she was ordered scrapped on 24 March 1947. Her dismantling began shortly afterwards and was completed the following year. Sevastopol (Russian: Севастополь) was built by Shipyard No. 200, 61 Communards in Nikolayev. She was laid down on 5 November 1939 and estimated as 11.6% complete on 22 June 1941. She was captured by the Germans when they occupied Nikolayev in late 1941, but the Germans did little with her other than to use some of her material for defensive positions and some was apparently shipped to Germany. Before the Germans evacuated the city they damaged her building slip and hull with explosives and made her a constructive total loss. She was ordered scrapped on 24 March 1947 and her dismantling began shortly afterwards. It was completed in 1948. Displacement: 39,660 metric tons (39,034 long tons) (standard) 42,831 metric tons (42,155 long tons) (full load) Length: 242.1 m (794 ft 3 in) Beam: 31.6 m (103 ft 8 in) Draft: 9.7 m (31 ft 10 in) (full load) Installed power: 210,000 shp (156,597 kW) Propulsion: 3-shaft steam turbines, 12 water-tube boilers Speed: 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) Range: 8,300 nautical miles (15,372 km; 9,551 mi) at 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) Complement: 1,819 Armament: 3 × 2 - 38 cm (15.0 in) SKC/34 guns 4 × 2 - 152 mm (6.0 in) guns 4 × 2 - 100-millimeter (3.9 in) DP guns 6 × 4 - 37-millimeter (1.5 in) AA guns Armor: Waterline belt: 230 mm (9.1 in) Decks: 14–90 mm (0.55–3.5 in) T urrets: 305 mm (12.0 in) Barbettes: 330 mm (13.0 in) Conning tower: 330 mm Bulkheads: 275–330 mm (10.8–13.0 in) Aircraft carried: 2 Beriev KOR-2 seaplanes Aviation facilities: 1 catapult

Sorry about this thing multi-posting and enjoy!!!

The Borodino-class battlecruisers were a group of four battlecruisers ordered by the Imperial Russian Navy before World War I. Also referred to as the Izmail class, they were laid down in December 1912 at Saint Petersburg for service with the Baltic Fleet. Construction of the ships was delayed as many domestic factories were overloaded with orders and some components had to be ordered from abroad. The start of World War I slowed their construction still further as the imported components were often not delivered and domestic production was diverted into areas more immediately useful for the war effort. Three of the four ships were launched in 1915 and the fourth in 1916. Work on the gun turrets lagged, and it became evident that Russian industry would not be able to complete the ships during the war. The Russian Revolution of 1917 put a stop to their construction, which was never resumed. Although some consideration was given to finishing the hulls that were nearest to completion, they were all eventually sold for scrap by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Navy proposed in 1925 to convert Izmail, the ship closest to completion, to an aircraft carrier, but the plan was cancelled after political maneuvering by the Red Army led to funding not being available. Design and development: After the end of the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, the Russian Naval General Staff decided that it needed a squadron of fast "armoured cruisers" that could use their speed to engage the leader of an enemy's battle line, much as Admiral Tōgō had done against the Russian fleet during the Battle of Tsushima. Initially the Naval General Staff wanted a ship with high speed (28 knots or 52 kilometres per hour; 32 miles per hour), 12-inch (305 mm) guns, and limited protection (a waterline belt of 190 mm or 7.5 in); the Tsar approved construction of four such ships on 5 May 1911, but the Duma session ended before the proposal could be voted on. Preliminary bids for the ships were solicited from private builders, but the bids proved to be very high, leading to a reconsideration of the requirements. A new specification was issued on 1 July 1911 by the Naval General Staff for a ship with a speed of only 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph) and with armour increased to 254 mm (10 in). Armaments were increased to nine 14-inch (356 mm) guns in three non-superfiring triple-gun turrets, based on a false rumor that the Germans were increasing the caliber of their guns. The Russian Navy believed that widely separating the main gun magazines improved the survivability of the ship, and that under a superfiring arrangement, muzzle blast would hurt the sailors manning the gun sights in the lower turrets through the open sighting hoods on the turret roofs. The Naval Ministry solicited new bids on 8 September from 23 shipbuilders, domestic and foreign, but only seven responded, even after the deadline was extended by a month. A number of designs were rejected for not meeting the revised criteria. In the meantime, the Artillery Section of the Main Administration of Shipbuilding had decided that it preferred a four-turret design, and new bids were solicited in May 1912 from the leading contenders from the first round of bidding. The eventual winner was a design by the Admiralty Works in Saint Petersburg, which had the extra turret added to a new hull section inserted into the original three-turret design. The Duma approved construction in May 1912, before the design was finalised, and allocated 45.5 million rubles for each ship. However, the increase in armaments and consequential increase in the size of the ships raised their estimated cost by seven million rubles each, and some money was diverted from the budget for the Svetlana-class cruisers. Orders were placed on 18 September 1912 for a pair of ships each from the New Admiralty Shipyard and the Baltic Works. The first pair was to be ready for trials on 14 July 1916 and the second pair on 14 September 1916. Full-scale armour trials revealed serious weaknesses in the proposed protection scheme. The trials employed the obsolete ironclad Chesma, modified with armour protection identical to that used by the Gangut-class battleships then under construction. The deck and turret roof armour proved to be too thin, and the structure supporting the side armour was not strong enough to withstand the shock of impact from heavy shells. http://photo.starnet.../Izmail-16a.jpg The design of the Borodino-class ships was modified as a consequence, which slowed their construction. Deck armour was reinforced with extra plates, the turret roofs were increased to a thickness of 150 mm (5.9 in), and the side and roof of the conning tower were increased by 100 mm (3.9 in) and 125 mm (4.9 in) respectively. To compensate for the additional weight, the rear conning tower was removed entirely and the thickness of the main belt was reduced by 4.5 mm (0.18 in). Mortise and tenon joints were introduced between the armour plates along their vertical edges to better distribute the shock of a shell impact and to lessen the stress on the supporting hull structure. The launching of the first pair of ships was postponed by six months because of these changes, plus delays imposed by the large number of ship orders already in hand. The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 caused further delays as a number of components had been ordered from foreign manufacturers. As an example, the gun turrets rested on 8-inch (203 mm) roller bearings made in Germany, but attempts to order replacements from the United Kingdom and Sweden proved futile, as no company was willing and able to make the bearings. Components for the turbines of Navarin and Izmail[4] that had been ordered from AG Vulcan in Germany were seized by the German government at the beginning of the war and used in the construction of the two Brummer-class cruisers. General characteristics: The Borodino-class ships were 223.85 metres (734 ft 5 in) long overall. They had a beam of 30.5 metres (100 ft 1 in) and a draught of 8.81 metres (28 ft 11 in) at full load. The ships displaced 32,500 long tons (33,000 t) normally, and 36,646 long tons (37,234 t) at (full load). High-tensile steel was used throughout the hull with mild steel used only in areas that did not contribute to structural strength. The hull was subdivided into 25 transverse watertight bulkheads and the engine room was divided by a longitudinal bulkhead. The double bottom had a height of 1.275 metres (4 ft 2.2 in), while the vitals of the ship were protected by a triple bottom that added an extra 875 millimetres (34.4 in) of depth. The design called for a freeboard of 8.89 metres (29 ft 2 in) forward, 6.24 metres (20 ft 6 in) amidships and 6.49 metres (21 ft 4 in) aft. The ships were fitted with three Frahm anti-rolling tanks on each side. Propulsion: Two sets of steam turbines were ordered on 22 April 1913 from the Franco-Russian Works in Saint Petersburg for the Admiralty-built ships; the Baltic Works built its own turbines, with some components ordered from abroad. The wing propeller shafts were powered by high-pressure impulse-reaction turbines, and the inboard shafts were powered by low-pressure reaction-type turbines. They produced a total of 66,000 shaft horsepower (49,000 kW) and were designed to be overloaded to 90,000 shp (67,000 kW). The turbines were powered by 25 triangular Yarrow boilers with a working pressure of 17 kg/cm2 (1,667 kPa; 242 psi). The forward boilers were grouped into three compartments with three oil-fired boilers in each compartment. The rear boilers were split into four compartments with each containing four coal-fired boilers fitted with oil sprayers. Maximum speed was estimated at 26.5 knots, although forcing the machinery would increase it to 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h; 32.8 mph). Coal capacity was 1,974 long tons (2,006 t) and fuel oil capacity was 1,904 long tons (1,935 t), which gave an estimated range of 2,280 nautical miles (4,220 km; 2,620 mi) at full speed. The Borodino-class ships had six turbo generators and two diesel generators, each rated at 320 kilowatts (430 hp). These were divided among four compartments on the platform deck, two forward and two aft of the machinery. The generators powered a complex electrical system that combined alternating current for most equipment with direct current for heavy-load machinery such as the turret motors.

Armament: The main armament consisted of four electrically powered turrets, which were never built. The turrets were designed to elevate and traverse at a rate of 3° per second. Each would have had three 52-calibre 356-millimetre (14 in) Model 1913 guns. The guns could be depressed to −5° and elevated to +25°. They could be loaded at any angle between −5° and +15°; the expected rate of fire was three rounds per minute. At full load, 80 rounds per gun could be carried. The guns fired 747.6-kilogram (1,648 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 731.5 m/s (2,400 ft/s); this provided a maximum range of 23,240 metres (25,420 yd). The secondary armament consisted of twenty-four 55-calibre 130 mm Pattern 1913 guns mounted in casemates. A pair of casemates were situated on each side, below the three rear turrets; near the forward turret were six additional casemates, two of which were directly above the middle pair. This positioning reflected the Naval General Staff's prediction of the most likely direction of attack by torpedo boats. The anti-aircraft armament was intended to be four 38-caliber 64-millimetre (2.5 in) anti-aircraft guns fitted on the upper deck with 220 rounds stored per gun.[14] Four 75-millimetre (3.0 in) guns were to be mounted in pairs on the main turret roofs for sub-caliber training with the main guns. Six underwater 450-millimetre (18 in) torpedo tubes were fitted, three on each broadside; they were provided with a total of eighteen torpedoes. Fire control: The fore and aft main gun turrets were given a 6-meter (19 ft 8 in) rangefinder, and there was another 5-metre (16 ft 5 in) unit on top of the conning tower. These would provide data for the Geisler central artillery post computer, which would then transmit commands to the gun crew. The mechanical fire-control computer would have been either a Pollen Argo range clock, which had been bought in 1913, or a domestically designed Erikson system. Protection: The trials with the Chesma greatly affected the armour protection design of the Borodino-class ships. The Krupp cemented-armour plates were sized to match the frames to provide support for their joints, and they were locked together with mortise-and-tenon joints to better distribute the shock of a shell's impact. The 237.5 millimetres (9.35 in) waterline belt covered the middle 151.2 metres (496 ft 1 in) of the ship. It had a total height of 5.015 metres (16 ft 5.4 in), 3.375 metres (11 ft 0.9 in) of which was above the design waterline and 1.64 metres (5 ft 5 in) below. It was backed by 75 millimeters of wood to make a better fit between the hull and the armour. The remaining portion of the waterline was protected by 125-millimetre (4.9 in) plates backed by 50 millimetres (2.0 in) of wood. The upper belt was 100 millimetres (3.9 in) thick and had a height of 2.89 metres (9 ft 6 in). It thinned to 75 mm forward of the casemates all the way to the bow. The rear portion of the forecastle deck was protected by an upward extension of the upper belt in the area of the forward barbettes and the upper casemates. The upper casemates themselves were protected from axial fire by 100 mm transverse bulkheads. Behind the side armour was an inboard longitudinal splinter bulkhead that was 50 millimetres (2.0 in) thick between the middle and lower decks. This decreased to 25 millimetres (0.98 in) between the middle and upper decks. The bulkhead sloped away from the edge of the lower deck to the lower edge of the armour belt with a total thickness of 75 mm. The slope was one 50 mm plate of Krupp non-cemented armour (KNC) on a 25 mm nickel-steel plate. The forward end of the armoured citadel was protected separately and the transverse bulkhead was therefore only 75 mm thick. The rear bulkhead had no other protection and was 300 millimetres (11.8 in) thick between the middle and lower decks, decreasing to 75 mm at the level of the armour belt. The main gun turrets had sides 300 mm thick with 150 mm roofs. The gun ports were protected by 50 mm plates, and 25 mm bulkheads separated each gun. The barbettes were 247.5 mm (9.74 in) thick, decreasing to 147.5 millimetres (5.81 in) when behind other armour. They were shaped like truncated cones which matched the trajectories of descending shells and thus lessened their protective value. The conning tower was 400 millimetres (15.7 in) thick, reduced to 300 mm below the upper deck. The funnel uptakes were protected by 50 mm of armour. The upper deck was 37.5 millimetres (1.48 in) thick while the middle deck consisted of 40-millimetre (1.6 in) plates of KNC on 25 mm of nickel-steel over the armoured citadel. Underwater protection was minimal: there was only a 10-millimetre (0.39 in) watertight bulkhead behind the upward extension of the double bottom, and even this was thinner as the hull narrowed towards the end turrets. Construction: All four ships were officially laid down on 19 December 1912, but work did not begin until March–April 1913. After a progress review on 4 June 1914, launching of the first pair of ships was delayed until October 1914. When World War I began, the hull of Izmail, the most advanced ship, was judged 43 percent complete, with the others lagging considerably behind. The war caused more delays, including problems obtaining imported components, and the ships were competing for scarce resources with other production deemed necessary for the war. Three of the four ships were launched in 1915, but it was clear that Russian industry would not be able to complete them during the war, mostly because the turrets were seriously delayed. They were reclassified as 2nd rank projects by the Main Administration of Shipbuilding in 1916. A number of plans were made for the post-war completion of the ships, including modifying the turrets to load at a fixed angle of +4° to reduce the weight and complexity of the loading equipment. Another intended change was to lengthen the funnels by 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) to minimise smoke interference with the bridge, as this had been noted as a problem on the Gangut-class dreadnoughts. There were suggestions to improve the machinery with geared turbines, turbo-electric drive, or Föttinger's hydraulic transmission, but these were more theoretical than practical. After the February Revolution, the condition of the ships was assessed on 28 April 1917. The ship that was furthest along was the Ismail: her hull, engines, and boilers were around 65% complete, and her armour was 36% complete. Her turrets, however, were not expected to be completed until 1919. The Congress of Shipyard Workers decided to continue work on the Izmail in mid-1917, but only to provide jobs. The Provisional Government halted all work on Borodino, Kinburn, and Navarin on 24 October 1917, and the Soviet Supreme Naval College ordered work on Izmail halted on 14 December 1917. After the end of the Russian Civil War the victorious Bolsheviks considered finishing Izmail, and possibly Borodino, to their original design. It would have taken at least two years to build all of Izmail's turrets, even if enough guns had been available. Ten had been delivered by Vickers before the Revolution and one gun had been completed domestically in 1912, but the prospects that more guns could be purchased from Vickers or that the Soviets could make more were not promising, given the state of their heavy industry in the wake of the Civil War. Another problem was the complicated electrical system; it could not be completed under current conditions, and at least twenty months would be required to replace it with a simpler system. The Soviets considered finishing Kinburn and Navarin to a modified design that featured 16-inch (410 mm) guns; a two-gun turret weighed slightly less than a triple 14-inch gun turret. Four proposals were made with various changes to the turrets' armour scheme, but none were accepted, not least because the prospects of actually acquiring such guns were minimal. Domestic industry was not capable of building such large guns and they were not able to purchase the guns from any foreign company. Other ideas were examined for the three less complete ships. These included converting the hulls to cargo ships, passenger liners, or 22,000-long-ton (22,000 t) oil barges, but most of the ideas were rejected as the hulls were thought to be too large and unwieldy for the proposed alternative uses. None of the proposals was accepted, and all three of the less complete ships were sold to a German company for scrap on 21 August 1923 to raise much-needed cash for the government. The Operational Administration of the Soviet Navy worked out the requirements in May 1925 for a conversion that would have made Izmail into an aircraft carrier with a top speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) and a capacity of fifty aircraft. She would have been armed with eight 183-millimetre (7.2 in) guns and her armour reduced to a maximum of 76 millimetres (3.0 in). This proposal was approved by Alexey Rykov, Chairman of the Council of the People's Commissars on 6 July 1925. The plan was cancelled on 16 March 1926 after the Red Army managed to gain control of a commission appointed to review the needs of the Navy, and the Army was strongly opposed to spending additional money on naval projects. She was scrapped beginning in 1931 in Leningrad. Model of Borodino-Class Battlecruiser: http://www.modelship.../Izmail-700-fz/ Displacement: 32,500 long tons (33,022 t) standard 36,646 long tons (37,234 t) full load Length: 223.85 m (734 ft 5 in) Beam: 30.5 m (100 ft 1 in) Draught: 8.81 m (28 ft 11 in) Installed power: 66,000 shp (49,000 kW), 25 triangular Yarrow water-tube boilers Propulsion: 4 shafts, 4 steam turbines Speed: 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph) Complement: 1,174 Armament: 4 × 3 – 14-inch (356 mm) guns 24 × 1 – 130-millimeter (5.1 in) Pattern 1913 guns 4 × 1 – 2.5-inch (64 mm) AA guns 6 × 17.7-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes Armour: Waterline belt: 125–237.5 mm (4.9–9.35 in) Barbettes: 147.5–247.5 mm (5.81–9.74 in) Conning tower: 300–400 mm (11.8–15.7 in) Turrets: 300 mm (11.8 in) Decks: 37.5–75 mm (1.48–3.0 in) Bulkheads: 75–300 mm (3.0–11.8 in)

One crazy design, if you ask me.

mr3awsome, on 06 May 2013 - 10:48 AM, said: Updated with a new note and more classifications have been added Nice!

The Borodino-class battleship was a class of five pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy around the end of the 19th century. Their design was based on that of the French-built Tsesarevich modified to use Russian equipment. The first four ships were finished after the start of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05 and among the ships ordered to sail from the Baltic Sea to the Far East to relieve the Pacific Squadron besieged by the Japanese in Port Arthur. Three of these ships were sunk and one was captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. The fifth and final ship, Slava, was not completed in time to participate in the war and served with the Baltic Fleet through World War I. She spent most of the war defending the Gulf of Riga and was badly damaged by German dreadnoughts during the Battle of Moon Sound in 1917. This damage forced the ship to scuttle herself because she had taken on too much water and could not pass through the shallow channel that connected the Gulf of Riga with the Baltic. The wreck was scrapped during the 1930s by the Estonians. Design and description: The Borodino-class battleships were the most numerous class of battleships ever built by Russia. Although they were to be near duplicates of the Tsesarevich, as soon as the contracts were signed it became clear that they would be quite different than the French-built ship. The basic problem facing the navy was that the Borodinos would have heavier engines and larger turrets which would require a designer to build a ship which had the same speed, draft, guns and armor as Tsesarevich, but a greater displacement. The new design was made up by D. V. Skvortsov of the Russian Naval Technical Committee (NTC). He completed his new design in July/August, one month after the original contract had been signed. The new concept was roughly 1,000 long tons (1,000 t) tons heavier and slightly larger and wider than the Tsesarevich. Outwardly, the biggest change was in the appearance of the Borodinos from the original Tsesarevich design. Skvortsov added two more casemates, each containing four 75-millimeter (3.0 in) guns, one at the bow and the other aft. This was added to the already existing dozen 75 mm guns emplaced along the sides above the armor belt. This caused the tumblehome used on the rest of the hull to be deleted over the twelve guns, and flat-sided armor was used in its place. Thus the five Borodino class battleships only had tumblehome hulls fore and aft of their 75 mm guns emplaced along their sides. The centreline bulkhead between the engine and boiler rooms caused a danger of capsizing if one side flooded and their narrow belt armor became submerged when overloaded. As such, naval historian Antony Preston regarded these as some of the worst battleships ever built. The ships were 389 feet 5 inches (118.7 m) long at the waterline and 397 feet 3 inches (121.1 m) long overall, with a beam of 76 feet 1 inch (23.2 m) and a draft of 29 feet 2 inches (8.9 m), 38 inches (965 mm) more than designed. Their normal displacement ranged from 14,091 to 14,145 long tons (14,317 to 14,372 t), 500–900 long tons (508–914 t) more than their designed displacement of 13,516 long tons (13,733 t). They were designed for a crew of 28 officers and 754 enlisted men,although Knyaz Suvorov carried 928 crewmen during the Battle of Tsushima. The Borodino-class ships were powered by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam generated by 20 Belleville boilers. The engines were designed to reach a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). The lead ship, Borodino, was fitted with a copy of the La Seyne machinery installed in Tsesarvich and built by the Franco-Russian Works. The remaining four Borodinos were supplied with machinery designed and built by the Baltic Works. Borodino's engines were rated at 16,300 indicated horsepower (12,200 kW) and its boilers had a working pressure of 19 atm (1,925 kPa; 20 kgf/cm2); the machinery of her sisters was rated at 15,800 ihp (11,800 kW) and their boilers had a working pressure of 21 atm (2,128 kPa; 22 kgf/cm2). Other differences were that Borodino was equipped with economisers for her boilers as well as three-bladed screws, while her sisters lacked economisers and had four-bladed propellers. Because the ships were being prepared to go to the Far East shortly after completion, they conducted only abbreviated sea trials. Only Oryol reached her designed speed during these trails, despite her engines only producing 14,176 ihp (10,571 kW). The engines of her sisters produced more power, but they were slower during their trials. At deep load they carried 1,350 long tons (1,372 t) of coal that provided them a range of 2,590 nautical miles (4,800 km; 2,980 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). The ships were fitted with six steam-driven generators with a total capacity of 738 kilowatts (990 hp). Armament and fire control: The main armament of the Borodino class consisted of two pairs of 40-calibre 12-inch guns mounted in center-pivot, electrically powered, twin-gun turrets fore and aft. The turrets had a maximum elevation of +15° and 60 rounds per gun were carried. The guns fired one shell every 90–132 seconds. They fired a 731.3-pound (331.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2,598 ft/s (792 m/s) to a range of 16,010 yards (14,640 m) at maximum elevation. The secondary armament of the ships consisted of a dozen 45-caliber Canet Model 1891 6-inch (152 mm) (QF) guns mounted in six electrically powered twin-gun turrets on the upper deck. The turrets had a maximum elevation of +15° arc of fire and the center turrets could cover 180°. Each six-inch gun was provided with 180 rounds. Their rate of fire was about 2–4 rounds per minute.They fired shells that weighed 91 lb (41.4 kg) with a muzzle velocity of 2,600 ft/s (792.5 m/s).They had a maximum range of approximately 12,600 yards (11,500 m). A number of smaller guns were carried for defense against torpedo boats. These included twenty 50-calibre Canet quick-firing 75-millimetre (3.0 in) guns mounted in hull embrasures. The ships carried 300 shells for each gun. They fired a 11-pound (4.9 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s) to a maximum range of 7,005 yards (6,405 m) at an elevation of +13°. The Borodino-class ships also mounted sixteen or eighteen 47-millimetre (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns in the superstructure.They fired a 2.2-pound (1.00 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,400 ft/s (430 m/s) at a rate of around 15 rounds per minute. The ships carried four 381-millimetre (15.0 in) torpedo tubes; two of these were mounted above water in the bow and stern, and the two broadside underwater tubes were located near the forward 12-inch magazine. Four torpedoes were carried for the above-water tubes and six for the submerged tubes. They also carried 50 mines to be laid to protect their anchorage in remote areas. The Borodino class were originally fitted with Liuzhol stadiametric rangefinders that used the angle between two vertical points on an enemy ship, usually the waterline and the crow's nest, to estimate the range. The gunnery officer consulted his references to get the range and calculated the proper elevation and deflection required to hit the target. He then transmitted his commands via a Geisler electro-mechanical fire-control transmission system to each gun or turret. While fitting out, these rangefinders were replaced on the first four ships by two Barr and Stroud coincidence rangefinders that used two images that had to be superimposed to derive the range. Perepelkin telescopic sights were also installed for their guns, but their crews were not trained in how to use them. The waterline armor belt of the Borodinos consisted of Krupp armor and was 5.7–7.64 inches (145–194 mm) thick. The armor of their gun turrets had a maximum thickness of 10 in (254 mm) and their deck ranged from 1 to 2 inches (25 to 51 mm) in thickness. The 1.5-inch (38 mm) armored lower deck curved downwards and formed an anti-torpedo bulkhead.

I already saw it, but thanks for sharing! :honoring: :great:

mr3awsome, on 03 May 2013 - 06:19 AM, said: Updated with the current top 3 tiers of the fast US BB line, and a note to go with it Nice, where you found it?

Jann336, on 01 May 2013 - 07:25 PM, said: Good post but for me are two pictures broken. Realy???I see all the pictures,I do not know what the problem is, sry for that two pics.

sot159, on 30 April 2013 - 08:25 AM, said: CSS Virginia looks like a submarine but a little bit. Yes, a little bit...

CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship of the Confederate States Navy, built during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the raised and cut down original lower hull and steam engines of the scuttled USS Merrimack. Virginia was one of the participants in the Battle of Hampton Roads, opposing the Union's USS Monitor in March 1862. The battle is chiefly significant in naval history as the first battle between ironclads. USS Merrimack becomes CSS Virginia: When the Commonwealth of Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, one of the important federal military bases threatened was Gosport Navy Yard (now Norfolk Naval Shipyard) in Portsmouth, Virginia. Accordingly, the order was sent to destroy the base rather than allow it to fall into Confederate hands. Unfortunately for the Union, the execution of these orders was bungled on April 20. The steam frigate USS Merrimack sank in shallow water before she completely burned. When the Confederate government took possession of the fully provisioned yard, the base's new commander, Flag Officer French Forrest, contracted on May 18 to salvage the wreck of the Merrimack. This was completed by May 30, and she was towed into the shipyard's only graving dock, where the burned structures were removed. The wreck was surveyed and her lower hull and machinery were discovered to be undamaged, so she was selected for conversion into an ironclad by Stephen Mallory, Secretary of the Navy, as she was the only large ship with intact engines available to the Confederacy in the Chesapeake Bay area. Preliminary sketch designs were submitted by Lieutenants John Mercer Brooke and John L. Porter, each of whom envisaged the ship as a casemate ironclad. Brooke's general design showed the bow and stern portions submerged, and his design was the one finally selected; the detailed design work would be completed by Porter, as he was a trained naval constructor. Porter had overall responsibility for the conversion,but Brooke was responsible for her iron plate and heavy ordnance, while William P. Williamson, Chief Engineer of the Navy, was responsible for the ship's machinery. Reconstruction as an ironclad: The hull's burned timbers were cut down past the vessel's original waterline, with just enough clearance to accommodate her large twin-bladed screw propeller; a new fantail and armored casemate were built atop a new main deck, and a v-shaped cutwater was added to her bow, which attached to the armored casemate. This forward and aft main deck and fantail were designed to stay submerged and were covered in 4-inch-thick (10 cm) iron plate, built up in two layers. The casemate was built up of 24 inches (61 cm) of oak and pine in several layers, topped with two 2-inch (51 mm) layers of iron plating oriented perpendicular to each other, and angled at 36 degrees from horizontal to deflect enemy fired projectiles. From reports in Northern newspapers, Virginia's designers were aware of the Union plans to build an ironclad and assumed their similar ordinance would be unable to do much serious harm to such an armored ship. So the decision was made to equip their ironclad with a ram, an anachronism on a 19th century warship.Merrimack's steam engines, now part of Virginia, were in poor working order; they had been slated for replacement when the decision was made to abandon the Norfolk naval yard. The salty Elizabeth River water and the addition of tons of iron armor and pig iron ballast (added to the hull's unused spaces to submerge her eves) only added to her engines' propulsion problems. As completed, Virginia had a turning radius of about 1 mile (1.6 km) and required 45 minutes to complete a full circle, which would later prove to be a major handicap in battle with the far more nimble Monitor. The ironclad's casemate had 14 gun ports, three each in the bow and stern, one firing directly along the ship's centerline, the two others angled at 45° from the center line; these six bow and stern gun ports had exterior iron shutters installed to project their cannon. There were four gun ports on each broadside; their protective iron shutters remained uninstalled during both days of the Battle of Hampton Roads. Virgina's battery consisted of four muzzle-loading single-banded Brooke rifles and six smoothbore 9-inch (229 mm) Dahlgren guns salvaged from the old Merrimack. Two of the rifles, the bow and stern pivot guns, were 7-inch (178 mm) caliber and weighed 14,500 pounds (6,600 kg) each. They fired a 104-pound (47 kg) shell. The other two were 6.4-inch (163 mm) cannon of about 9,100 pounds (4,100 kg), one on each broadside. The 9-inch Dahlgrens were mounted three to a side; each weighed approximately 9,200 pounds (4,200 kg) and could fire a 72.5-pound (32.9 kg) shell up to a range of 3,357 yards (3,070 m) at an elevation of 15°. The two amidship Dahlgrens nearest the boiler furnaces were fitted-out to fire heated shot. On her upper casemate deck were two anti-boarding 12-pounder Howitzers.The Virginia's commanding officer, Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, arrived to take command only a few days before her first sortie; the ironclad was placed in commission and equipped by her executive officer, Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones.

sot159, on 30 April 2013 - 08:35 AM, said: Pretty aggressive warship!!! and strong...

Realy nice work, thanks jann :great: :honoring: :medal:

krille95, on 28 April 2013 - 09:07 AM, said: If you're happy, I'm happy :eyesup: :veryhappy: :honoring:

I watched this a few times, t's really good, thanks for sharing +1 from me. :great: :medal: