Page:EB1911 - Volume 24.djvu/953

WAR VESSELS] several vessels which were captured from Russia during the war, such as the “Iwami” of 13,515 tons (late “Orel”), the “Hizen” of 12,275 tons (late “Retvizan”), the “Segami” of 12,790 tons (late “Peresviet”), the “Suwo” of 12,997 tons (late “Pobyeda”), the “Tango” of 10,960 tons (late “Poltava”), and the “Iki,” of 9700 tons (late “Imperator Nicolai I.”). The “Suwo” and “Hizen” may be taken as typical examples of these captured vessels. The former is of the following dimensions: length 436 ft., beam 71 ft., draught 27 ft., and displacement 12,670 tons; she has engines of 15,000 H.P. and a nominal speed of 19 knots, carried an armament of four 10-in. guns, mounted in pairs in turrets on the middle line forward and aft; eleven 6-in. guns, distributed five on each broadside and one in the extreme bow of the vessel; twenty 3-in. guns and twenty-six smaller pieces; and six torpedo tubes. She is protected by a complete water-line belt of armour, 9 in. thick amidships, tapering to 4 in. at the ends, reinforced by a protective deck 2 in. thick. Above the belt, for a length of 185 ft. amidships, is a lighter belt of 5-in. Krupp armour, protecting the bases of the 6-in. guns, and terminated by transverse bulkheads. The 10-in. gun turrets are 10 in. thick, and the 6-in. guns are protected by casemates 5 in. thick. This vessel carries 30 Belleville boilers, and has storage for 2000 tons of coal. The “Hizen” (“Retvizan”) was built at Cramp’s, U.S.A. She is of 12,700 tons displacement, 376 ft. long, 72 ft. beam, and 26 ft. draught. She has four 12-in. B.L. guns in pairs in turrets, twelve 6-in. Q.F. guns in 5-in. casemates, twenty 12-pdrs. and twenty-eight smaller guns, besides four submerged and two above-water torpedo tubes. She is protected by a water-line belt extending from the after-turret to the stem, and tapering in thickness from 9 in. to 2 in. Above this a complete belt of, 6 in. maximum thickness, and the main armament is protected by turrets 10 in. thick. She has 16,000 H.P. and a speed of 18 knots, and has stowage for 2000 tons of coal. EB1911 Ship - French battleship Danton.png

The “Kashima” (fig. 73, Plate XVII.) was laid down at Elswick in 1904 and the “Katori,” at Barrow in the same year; they were not delivered until the war was over. Also during the war Japan laid down two very much larger vessels, the “Aki” and “Satsuma.” The “Aki” is the larger of the two, being 492 ft. long, 83 ft. beam, 27 ft. draught, and 19,800 tons displacement; she carries four 12-in., twelve 10-in., eight 6-in. and twelve 12-pdr. guns and five torpedo tubes, and is protected by 9-in. to 5-in. armour. Curtis turbines of

24,000 H.P. are provided for a speed of 20 knots. It is noteworthy that this vessel was laid down on the 15th of March 1905, while the “Lord Nelson” of 16,500 tons was not laid down until the 18th of May 1905 and the “Dreadnought” of 17,900 tons not until the 2nd of October 1905. The “Aki” also exceeds in displacement the “St Vincent,” laid down in 1907–1908, and her tonnage was not reached in Great Britain until 1909, when the “Neptune” was laid down. The “Aki” was followed by still larger vessels, the “Kawachi” and “Settsu,” both of 20,800 tons. The “Kawachi” is thus 900 tons greater than the “Neptune,” and she was laid down one day before that vessel. The general arrangement of armour and guns of these large vessels is shown in fig. 74; they are protected by armour of 12 in. to 5 in. in thickness, and in addition to twelve 12-in. guns they carry ten 6-in., twelve 4·7 in. and four 12-pdrs.

Russia maintained in 1910 two fleets, one being in the Black Sea, prevented by treaty from passing through the Dardanelles, and the other, the main Russian Fleet, in the Baltic.

In 1882 three remarkable vessels were laid down for the Black Sea Fleet, the “Catherine II.,” “Tchesme” and “Sinope.” They were barbette ships of 10,180 tons displacement, with a compound armour belt of a maximum thickness of 16 in., armed with six 12-in. B.L. guns mounted in pairs on the upper deck in a large pear-shaped barbette, and seven 6-in. guns on the main deck; and having a speed of 16 knots. Other vessels built for this fleet were the “Twelve Apostles” of 8709 tons, “George the Victorious,” 11,032 tons, the “Three Prelates,” 13,318 tons, the “Rostislav,” of 8880 tons laid down in 1895 and the “Panteleimon” of 12,582 tons laid down in 1897. The latest vessels built on the Black Sea are the “Ioann Zlatoust” and “Evstali,” of 12,840 tons and 16 knots, carrying four 12-in., four 8-in., twelve 6-in., fourteen 12-pdr. and six 3-pdr. guns; both were laid down in 1903. EB1911 Ship Fig. 74 - 'Kawachi'.png

Of the main Russian Fleet outside the Black Sea only a few battleships survived the Russo-Japanese War; these included the “Tzesarevich” of 13,000 tons, built in France in 1899, carrying four 12-in. guns in two barbettes, and twelve 6-in. guns in pairs in turrets; also the “Slava,” laid down on the Neva in 1902, 370 ft. long, of 13,516 tons displacement, 16,000 I.H.P. and 18 knots speed, her hull protected by armour of 9 in. to 4 in. in thickness. The “Slava.” carried four 12-in. guns in barbettes having 10-in. armour, and twelve 6-in. guns in turrets having 6-in. armour.

In January 1903 Russia laid down the “Imperator Pavel I.,” a larger and more powerful vessel than any then building by any other power, being of 17,400 tons displacement—almost that of the