On October 20, 1916, the newest Black Sea battleship Empress Maria exploded in the Sevastopol Bay. The mystery of the death of this ship still worries historians and ordinary citizens.
Line flagship
Not much has been said about the death of the battleship Empress Maria in Soviet historiography. These events are somewhat indirectly told famous writer Anatoly Rybakov in his story "Dagger". All events there revolve around the dagger of one of the officers of the Empress Maria. It is at the moment of the explosion of the ship that the owner of the dagger dies, and the further plot is based on the relationship between those who took possession of this dagger. But this piece of art, and it does not shed light on the events of October 20, 1916. We will tell you what is known about these events now.
Source: https://iz.ru
In front of Ottoman Empire began to strengthen its fleet in the Black Sea. It was modernized, in addition, the Turks bought two battleships and four new destroyers from Germany, and France, which was Russia's ally, decided to support Turkey - it also sold four destroyers to them. This, of course, alarmed Russia, and it began to take appropriate measures. Significant sums were allocated for the construction of three dreadnoughts, which were supposed to strengthen the Black Sea Fleet.
Three battleships were laid down at the Nikolaev shipyard - the Empress Maria, the Emperor Alexander III and the Empress Catherine the Great. "Empress Maria" was the main one in this wonderful trinity. In March 1913, she was launched, but the finishing touches dragged on and were completed at the beginning of 1915.
The commissioning of the ship immediately changed the balance of power in the Black Sea basin. The battleship took an active part in the combat operations of the First World War. In the autumn of 1915, he shelled the Bulgarian ports, and in the spring of 1916 he took part in the Trebizond landing operation.
In 1916, the vice admiral became the new commander of the Black Sea Fleet, and he appointed the Empress Maria as the flagship of the fleet. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Kolchak was one of the best naval officers of his time. But it was this appointment that later became one of the largest losses and failures of the Black Sea Fleet.
Explosion at dawn
On the morning of October 20, 1916, the whole of Sevastopol was rocked by a deafening explosion. The battleship "Empress Maria" standing in the Northern Bay took off into the air. Surviving eyewitnesses said that at 6:20 in the morning the sailors of casemate No. 4 drew attention to a strong hiss that was heard from the bow tower of the main caliber. After that, smoke poured out of the hatches and fans, and a flame appeared. A fire alarm was announced, the sailors rushed to put out the fire, but the strongest explosion demolished all the sailors. The next explosion tore out the steel mast of the battleship and threw up the armored cabin. After that, the cellars began to explode.
On alarm, rescue tugs and fire boats approached the ship. They pulled apart other ships that were standing near the burning battleship and put out the fire. Soon, the fleet commander Kolchak arrived on the ship, who led the rescue work. But it was already impossible to help the battleship. After 50 minutes, another explosion occurred, which surpassed the first in power. The ship lay down on the starboard side, turned upside down with a keel and quickly went to the bottom. 152 people died, almost the same number later died in hospitals from wounds and burns.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org
Investigation continues
The explosion of the battleship made a lot of noise not only in the Black Sea Fleet. A commission of the Naval Ministry was immediately appointed, headed by Admiral Nikolai Matveevich Yakovlev, a respected sailor who was captain of the battleship Petropavlovsk during the Russo-Japanese War. Other high-ranking officials also arrived. Despite the fact that the commission worked very carefully, it did not achieve much success. All the participants and witnesses of the tragedy were interviewed, but the physical evidence was at the bottom and could not help the experts in determining the causes of the tragedy.
Nevertheless, there were versions of the tragedy. Of the most likely, as many as three were identified: a spontaneous explosion caused by technical reasons or negligence, and, finally, sabotage. The commission considered all versions and did not exclude any of them. A special place was occupied by non-compliance with statutory requirements, or simply negligence. Now this disgrace is denoted by the expression "human factor". This "factor" included, for example, improper storage of keys to rooms with powder charges, and some compartments were generally open. There were strangers on the battleship: 150 engineers and workers came on board every day and carried out repairs.
Battleship "Empress Maria" after the death
Empress Maria. Until now, the minds of historians and specialists are haunted by the tragic death in 1916 of one of the best combat Russian ships - the Black Sea battleship Empress Maria.
Ships, like people, have their own destiny. Some of them, having lived a long and glorious life and served their due time, went down in history, others, whose life was fleeting, like a magnesium flash, left a trace of their short but bright biography forever. Such is the short combat fate of the battleship
Battleship "Empress Maria"
The birth of this ship falls on the period of development of the Russian navy, when the revival of domestic naval power after the tragedy of Tsushima became one of the main tasks.
The predecessors of "Maria" - a brigade of battleships of the Baltic Fleet "Sevastopol", "Poltava", "Gangut" and "Petropavlovsk" - an example high level development of domestic shipbuilding and craftsmanship of shipbuilders.
The appearance in the Baltic of a powerful grouping of modern warships reliably protected Russia's interests in this theater of operations. But there was also the Black Sea Fleet, which included obsolete battleships (former squadron battleships), according to their tactical and technical data, were no longer capable of performing combat missions in accordance with the new conditions of war at sea.
The decision to strengthen the Black Sea Fleet with new battleships was also caused by the intention of Russia's eternal enemy in the south - Turkey - to acquire three modern battleships of the Dreadnought type abroad, which immediately provided her with overwhelming superiority in the Black Sea.
It was supposed to launch four battleships, the tactical and technical data of which surpassed even the Baltic battleships of the Sevastopol type.
After numerous competitions and examinations, the honor of building the first battleship on the Black Sea was granted to the Russud shipbuilding joint-stock company in Nikolaev. On June 11, 1911, simultaneously with the official laying ceremony, the new ship was enrolled in the Russian imperial fleet under the name "Empress Maria".
And on June 23, 1915, "Empress Maria" was accepted into the fleet. The battleship had a displacement of 25,465 tons, the length of the ship was 168 m, speed - 21 knots. "Maria" carried twelve 305-mm guns of the main caliber, twenty 130-mm guns, there was anti-mine artillery and torpedo tubes, the ship was well armored.
By this time, the fighting in the Black Sea was in full swing. real danger to Russian fleet represented the German battlecruiser Goeben, which broke through the Black Sea straits, and the light cruiser Breslau, which was always accompanied by it, renamed by the Turks, respectively, Yavuz Sultan Selim and Midilli.
Excellent "walkers" with powerful weapons, they brought a lot of trouble to our sailors with their raids.
A few months after arriving at the main base - Sevastopol - "Maria" takes an active part in military operations against the German-Turkish fleet. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Alexander Kolchak, holds the flag on the battleship.
Volleys of guns of the main caliber of a high-speed battleship, as well as the commissioning of the same type of ship - "Catherine the Great" - put an end to the brazen actions of the German cruisers.
The load on battleships increased especially in the second half of 1916. In June-October alone, 24 military campaigns were carried out. The combat activity of the enemy was constrained by the actions of "Empress Mary" and "Catherine the Great".
But ... in the early morning of October 7, 1916 at 00 hours 20 minutes on the battleship Empress Maria, which was standing in the Northern Bay of Sevastopol, an explosion thundered. Then within 48 minutes - another fifteen explosions. The ship begins to list to starboard and, turning over, sinks.
The Russian navy lost 217 sailors and the strongest warship that morning.
The tragedy shook the whole of Russia. The commission of the Naval Ministry, headed by a combat officer, a member of the Admiralty Council, Admiral Yakovlev, took up the cause of the death of the battleship.
In the years he commanded the battleship "Petropavlovsk" and was on the command bridge of the ship when it went to the bottom after being blown up by a Japanese mine, along with Admiral Makarov and the headquarters of the 1st Pacific Squadron.
The ship's captain himself was thrown from the bridge by a blast wave and picked up by a boat sent from one of the squadron's cruisers to rescue the Petropavlovsk crew.
A well-known shipbuilder, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Krylov, who became the author of the conclusion approved by all members of the commission, was also a member of the commission.
During the investigation, three versions of the death of the battleship were presented:
1. Spontaneous combustion of gunpowder.
2. Negligence in handling fire or gunpowder.
3. Malicious intent.
However, after considering all three versions, the commission concluded that “it is not possible to come to an accurate and evidence-based conclusion; one only has to assess the likelihood of these assumptions by comparing the circumstances that have emerged during the investigation.”
Of the possible versions, the first two commissions, in principle, did not exclude. As for malicious intent, even after establishing a number of violations in the rules for access to artillery cellars and a lack of control over the repair workers who were on the ship, the commission considered this version unlikely.
The possibility of malicious intent was not confirmed by Admiral Kolchak, who already 15 minutes after the start of the fire arrived on the doomed ship. In his testimony after his arrest by the Extraordinary Investigative Commission on January 24, 1920, Kolchak stated:
“As far as the investigation (the commission of the Naval Ministry. - Auth.) could find out, how clear it was from the whole situation, I believed that there was no malicious intent here.
There were a number of such explosions abroad during the war - in Italy, Germany, England.
I attributed this to completely unforeseen processes in the masses of new gunpowder that were prepared during the war ...
Another reason could be some kind of negligence, which, however, I do not assume. In any case, there was no evidence that this was malicious intent.”
In other words, none of the versions put forward by the commission found sufficient factual confirmation.
Immediately after the death of the battleship, the gendarme department in Sevastopol unfolds a flurry of activity - searches are carried out in apartments and arrests of 47 persons suspected of involvement in the explosion.
A week after the tragic events, Redlov, using the data received from the agents, in a letter addressed to the chief of staff of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, gives possible versions of the causes of the explosion, not excluding that the ship was blown up by spies.
"In a sailor's environment,
he writes,
- there is definitely a rumor that the explosion was carried out by intruders with the aim of not only destroying the ship, but also killing the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, who, by his actions, behind Lately, and especially by the fact that he scattered mines near the Bosporus, he finally stopped the piratical raids of the Turkish-German cruisers on the Black Sea coast, in addition, with his energetic actions in this direction, he caused dissatisfaction in the command staff, especially among people with German surnames who, under the former commander of the fleet (Admiral Eberhard. - Auth.)
did absolutely nothing."
However, none of the versions put forward by the gendarmes subsequently collected a sufficient number of facts.
New documents already from the archives of the Soviet counterintelligence show close attention to the "Empress Maria" and other ships of the Black Sea Fleet of military intelligence of Russia's main enemy in the First World War
- Germany.
It is quite possible that the persons to be discussed were also related to the death of the ship.
In 1933, the OGPU of Ukraine in the large shipbuilding center of the country, Nikolaev, exposed a German intelligence residency operating under the guise of the Control-K trading company, headed by Viktor Eduardovich Verman, born in 1883, a native of the city of Kherson, who lived in Nikolaev and worked as the head of a mechanical assembly shop "Plow and Hammer".
The purpose of the organization is to disrupt the shipbuilding program of the growing military and merchant fleet of the Soviet Union. Specific tasks are to commit sabotage at the Nikolaev plant named after Henri Marty, as well as to collect information about the ships being built there, most of which were military.
This largest shipbuilding plant in the country was formed on the basis of the same Russian shipbuilding joint-stock company Russud, from the stocks of which the Empress Maria and the same type battleship Alexander III left.
The investigation revealed many interesting facts, rooted in pre-revolutionary Nikolaev.
Verman himself was an experienced scout. During interrogation, he said: “I began to engage in espionage activities in 1908 (it is from this period that the implementation of the new Russian naval program begins. - Auth.) in Nikolaev, working at the Naval plant in the department of marine engines.
Involved in espionage activities, I was a group of German engineers of that department, consisting of engineer Moor and Hahn. And further: "Moop and Hahn, and most of all the first, began to indoctrinate me and involve me in intelligence work in favor of Germany."
Wermann's activities are described in detail in that part of the archival investigative file, which is called "My espionage activities in favor of Germany under the tsarist government."
It so happened that he was instructed to take over the leadership of the entire German intelligence network in southern Russia: in Nikolaev, Odessa, Kherson and Sevastopol.
Together with his agents, he recruited people for intelligence work, collected materials on industrial enterprises, data on military submarines and surface ships under construction, their design, weapons, tonnage, speed.
During interrogation, Verman said: “Of the persons personally recruited by me for espionage work in the period 1908-1914, I remember the following: Steivech, Blimke, Naymeier, Linke Bruno, engineer Schaeffer, electrician Sgibnev.”
All of them are employees of shipyards who have the right to enter ships under construction.
Of particular interest was the electrician Sgibnev. He was responsible for the work on equipping temporary lighting for warships being built on the Russud, including the Empress Maria. In 1933, during the investigation, Sgibnev testified that Verman was very interested in the scheme of the artillery towers of the dreadnoughts.
But the first explosion on the battleship "Empress Maria" was heard precisely under the bow artillery tower. “In the period of 1912-1914,” Sgibnev said, “I verbally transmitted information to Verman about the battleships of the Dreadnought type under construction: Maria and Alexander III, within the framework of what I knew about the course of their construction and terms of readiness of individual compartments of ships.
Thus, Verman concentrated in the hands of the most valuable information about the growing power of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. After the occupation of the south of Russia by the Germans, his intelligence activities were rewarded at their true worth.
From the interrogation protocol:
“In 1918, on the recommendation of Lieutenant Commander Kloss, I was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd degree by the German command for selfless work and espionage in favor of Germany.”
But back to the explosion on the Maria. During that period, Verman was deported and could not organize an explosion. But in Nikolaev and Sevastopol, he left a well-trained intelligence network.
There are many questions. But one thing is clear - the construction of the newest battleships of the Black Sea Fleet, including the Empress Maria, was "patronized" by German intelligence agents in the most dense way. The Germans were very worried about the Russian military potential in the Black Sea, and they could go to any lengths to prevent Russian superiority there.
In this regard, the information of the foreign agent of the Petrograd Police Department, who acted under the pseudonyms "Alexandrov", "Lenin" and "Charles", is interesting. His real name is Benzian Dolin.
During the First World War, Dolin, like many other agents of the political police, was reoriented to work in the field of foreign counterintelligence. As a result of the operational combinations "Charles" came into contact with the German military intelligence and received the task of incapacitating the "Empress Maria".
A representative of the German secret service named Bismarck told him: “The Russians have one advantage over us on the Black Sea - this is“ Maria ”. Try to remove it. Then our forces will be equal, and with equality of forces we will win.
The investigation into the case of the German agents arrested in Nikolaev was completed in 1934. Causes bewilderment and lightness of the punishment suffered by Verman and Sgibnev. The first was expelled from the USSR in March 1934, the second was sentenced to three years in the camps. However, what is there to wonder? They destroyed the hated tsarism!
In 1989, both of them were rehabilitated.
And what happened to the remains of the once powerful warship of the Black Sea Fleet?
Krylov, a member of the commission investigating the cause of the death of the Empress Maria, was appointed chairman of the commission organized under the Marine Technical Committee to raise the battleship.
It was necessary to seal the compartments of the ship and supply compressed air to them, to force the ship to float up with the keel. Then, in the dock, having completely sealed the hull, in deep water, put the ship on an even keel.
Work in accordance with the proposed project progressed successfully. By the end of 1916, all the stern compartments were squeezed out, and the stern floated to the surface. The battleship completely (or rather, what was left of it) surfaced on May 8, 1918.
However, the Civil War, intervention, post-war devastation made us forget about the "Empress Maria", and in 1926 it was dismantled for scrap. Later, the artillery turrets of the ship were also raised, the guns of which continued their combat service. In 1941-1942, they were installed near Sevastopol on the 30th coastal defense battery.
They inflicted considerable damage on the advancing Nazi troops. Only on June 25, 1942, storming the 30th battery, the enemy lost up to a thousand people killed and wounded.
Thus ended the combat biography of the ship, which died for "unspecified reasons."
Empress Maria inherited her name and heroic past from the flagship of Admiral Pavel Nakhimov. The sailing "Maria" led the Russian squadron in the famous battle of Sinop on November 18, 1853, which added another worthy page to the annals of the glorious victories of the St. Andrew's flag.
The battleship of the same name adequately carried the combat watch in 1915-1916, increasing the glory of its predecessor.
And both ships have only one year of service and the common place of death is the native Sevastopol Bay. Why the sailing "Empress Maria" lay at the bottom of the bay is known. In August 1854, she was scuttled to block the Anglo-French squadron from entering the Sevastopol Bay.
What made the battleship "Empress Maria" plunge into the waters of the Black Sea is still a mystery
Empress Maria video battleship mystery
They were built according to the bill "updating the Black Sea Fleet", proposed by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers P.A. Stolypin. The bill was passed State Duma and approved by Emperor Nicholas II in March-May 1911. It implied a qualitative strengthening of the Black Sea Fleet's ship structure with new battleships to maintain parity with Turkey, which planned to acquire three modern battleships abroad. To speed up the construction, the project of battleships of the Sevastopol type, laid down in 1909 in St. Petersburg, was adopted as a basis. The terms of reference for the Black Sea battleships provided for the following differences: reduced full speed to 20 knots; increased turret armor up to 250 mm and gun elevation angle up to 35°; increased to 130-mm caliber anti-mine artillery. The ships were laid down, simultaneously on October 17, 1911, at the plant of the Russud Joint Stock Company (Empress Maria and Emperor Alexander III) and at the Naval plant (Empress Catherine the Great). The project provided for a displacement of up to 22,500 tons, a cruising range of up to 3,000 miles, a full speed of 20 knots, and armament of twelve 305-mm, twenty 130-mm guns and four torpedo tubes. The chief builder of the battleships "Empress Maria" and "Emperor Alexander III" was the chief ship engineer Colonel L.L. Coromaldi. Colonel R.A. supervised the construction of ships at the plant of the Joint Stock Company "Russud". Sailors.
The battleship's hull was made of three grades of steel: ordinary mild shipbuilding steel with an ultimate resistance of 42 kgf / mm2 and an extension of at least 20%; increased resistance up to 63 kgf/mm2 and stretching not less than 18%; high resistance up to 72 kgf/mm2 and stretching not less than 16%. The ship had a smooth upper deck with a slight rectilinear rise at the bow by 0.6 meters and two more full decks, middle and lower. The basis of the hull set was a box-shaped keel up to 2 meters high, 140 frame frames and a straight stem. Transverse watertight bulkheads were located on 6, 13, 20, 25, 35, 39, 49, 55, 63, 69, 74.5, 80, 88, 100, 118, 121, 128 and 137 frames and were supported by vertical posts (pilers) . Throughout the turret compartments (except for the stern), a second bottom was installed. The bottom belts of the outer skin in the middle part had a sheet thickness of 14 mm, decreasing towards the extremities to 12 mm. The battleship placed two side armored longitudinal bulkheads, which were installed 3.5 meters from the sides and served as additional mine protection for the ship. The armor protection system consisted of vertical belts along the waterline and the upper belt, two internal side longitudinal bulkheads, 305-mm main-caliber turrets, boiler casings and conning towers. Horizontal armor protection included armored decks: lower (carapace), middle and upper. The plates of the side belt armor along the waterline had a thickness of 262.5 mm in the middle part of the hull, decreasing towards the extremities: in the bow and stern to 125 mm. The main armor belt with a height of 5.06 meters, fell, with a design draft, 2 meters below the waterline and relied on a special shelf with its lower part, which took on its weight. The plates were attached to the hull with armor bolts, without the use of a wooden lining, and passed through the 14-16 mm thick side plating, contacting the hull power set. Armor plates 125 mm thick were attached to the sides of the upper armor belt, decreasing towards the bow end to 75 mm. In the region of the aft end, the upper belt was absent. The bow traverse of the upper belt had a thickness of armor plates of 50 mm, and the stern - 125 mm. The lower armored (carapace) deck with a thickness of 12 mm lay on a steel deck plating with a thickness of 12 mm. To the sides, the lower armored deck had bevels of armor plates 50 mm thick. At the aft end, the lower deck was horizontal across the entire width of the hull (without bevels) and had a thickness of 50 mm. The average armor deck, in the middle part of the ship, had a thickness of 25 mm and 19 mm in the space between the sides and the longitudinal armored bulkheads. At the fore end, the thickness of the middle deck was 25 mm across the entire width of the ship, and at the stern end, 37.5 mm across its entire width, decreasing to 19 mm above the tiller compartment. The upper armored deck with a thickness of 37.5 mm covered the citadel and the fore end, decreasing at the aft end - up to 6 mm, and a flooring of 50 mm thick pine boards was laid on top of the armor plates. The combat bow and stern cabins were protected by side armor that had a thickness of 300 mm, the roofs of the cabins were covered with armor plates 200 mm thick, and the floors - 76 mm. The pipes protecting the wires between the conning towers and the central post had a thickness of 76 mm, and in the cabins themselves - 127 mm. The turret mounts of the 305 mm main battery guns were protected by armor plates 203.2 mm thick, and the rear plates were 305 mm thick. The roofs of the tower installations were covered with armor 76 mm thick, and the armor of the fixed barbettes was 150 mm thick above the upper deck and 75 mm below. The casings of the chimneys were closed with armor plates 22 mm thick. The elevators were protected by armor plates 25.4 mm thick. On the upper deck, linearly in the diametrical plane, there were four three-gun turrets of the main caliber, two chimneys, two conning towers with bridges and rangefinders and two masts. On the middle deck there were casemates of 130-mm guns, a wardroom for officers and conductors, cabins for the commander, senior officer and mechanic, cabins for officers and conductors, an infirmary, an operating room, cabins for a doctor and paramedics, a ship's church and a priest's cabin, turret spaces of the main caliber towers , dressing station and pharmacy, office, hairpin device. On the lower deck there were provisions rooms, a wine cellar, tiller compartments, a room for large generators, aft central post, a radiotelegraph cabin, a forward central combat post, dry provisions rooms, crew rooms, a bathhouse and a room for small generators. Ammunition cellars, compartments for bilge pumps and pumps were arranged in the hold. Heating on the ship was provided by steam heating. Steam heating was effective at outdoor air temperatures down to -15°C, heating living and working premises to a temperature not lower than +15° - +17°C.
The unsinkability of the ship was ensured by dividing the hull by transverse watertight bulkheads into 19 main compartments:
- nasal compartment;
- skipper compartment;
- Spire compartment;
- Bow compartment of auxiliary mechanisms;
- The bow compartment of the main caliber;
- Bow artillery cellars;
- First stoker compartment;
- Second stoker compartment;
- The second compartment of the main caliber;
- Third stoker compartment;
- Fourth stoker compartment;
- Fifth stoker compartment;
- The third compartment of the main caliber;
- Engine compartment;
- Aft compartment of auxiliary mechanisms;
- Aft compartment of the main caliber;
- Aft capstan compartment;
- Steering compartment;
- Aft compartment.
The drainage system, autonomous, included 14 drain pipes and 14 hydraulic centrifugal pumps (turbines) of the Ilyin system, which pumped out the water that got into the compartments and threw it overboard at a level above the waterline. The turbines had a capacity of 500 tons of water per hour and, if necessary, through a bypass system, they could pump water from neighboring rooms. The control of sump pumps and valves of the bypass system was carried out from the upper deck, with the exception of valves located at the ends of the ship. Also on the battleship were installed 9 Worthington steam pumps with a feed rate of 75 t / h. The pumps were located one in each of the boiler and turbine compartments and one in each of the two compartments of refrigerators (condensers).
The fire system included an annular 150 mm main pipeline, which passed under the lower armored deck and rose from the extreme towers under the middle deck. The main line had jumpers in the boiler rooms and turbine compartments, refrigerator compartments (condensers). From the highway, branches went up and down to 76 fire valves. The system was serviced by 9 bilge fire pumps with a capacity of 75 t/h and 2 more pumps - 150 t/h each.
The heeling system included pipes that flooded four opposite side compartments through the kingston and bypass valves.
The trim system ensured the elimination of trims on the bow and stern. The filling of the corresponding ballast tanks was carried out through kingstones and bypass valves.
The steering device included two rudders: a large area of 28.3 m2 and a small area of 13.5 m2. The longest time for shifting the large rudder from the middle position to the board (35°) was 30 seconds. The radius of the steady circulation reached 239 meters at a bank angle of 3.4°. The greatest possible roll, with a sudden shift of the rudder, did not exceed 10 °.
The anchor device included two Hall anchors, which were drawn into the side fairleads, and one spare Hall anchor, each weighing 8 tons and two dead chains with a caliber of 76 mm and a length of 320 meters (150 fathoms), as well as a spare anchor chain with a length of 213.36 meters (100 fathoms). The lifting and recoil of the anchors was carried out by two steam spiers in the bow.
The battleship's rescue equipment consisted of two steam boats, two motor boats, two 20-oared barges 11.6 meters long, two 20-oared motor boats, two 6-oared yawls and two 6-oared whaleboats 8.5 meters long, two cork boats of the Kebke system 5.6 meters long, as well as sailor bunks that were knitted into a cocoon and could keep a person afloat for up to 45 minutes, and then sank.
The main power plant of the ship is mechanical, four-shaft with 8 steam turbines and 20 water-tube boilers, which were located in five boiler rooms and two engine rooms. The turbines transmitted rotation to four three-bladed, brass propellers with a diameter of 2.4 meters.
Steam turbine "Parsons"
multi-stage, jet with an initial working steam pressure of 11.3 atmospheres had a power of 5333 hp. The maximum use of steam energy was achieved due to the gradual expansion of steam as it passed through 15 stages (wheels), each of which was a pair of blade rims: one was fixed (with guide vanes fixed on the turbine housing), the other was movable (with rotor blades). on a disk mounted on a rotating shaft). All blades were given such a shape that the cross section of the interblade channels decreased in the direction of steam flow. The blades of the fixed and movable rims were oriented in opposite directions, i.e. so that if both crowns were movable, then the steam would make them rotate in different directions. Rotating, all the wheels rotated the turbine shaft. Outside, the device was enclosed in a strong casing. The exhaust steam from the turbines entered the two main coolers (condensers). Passing through the condensers, the steam was cooled to the state of water and, with the help of two centrifugal pumps, entered the boilers for heating. Turbines were divided into forward and reverse turbines, as well as high and low pressure turbines. One turbine was installed in each of the two onboard engine rooms. high pressure forward (TVDPKH), one reverse high-pressure turbine (TVDZH), which were located in separate cylindrical casings and worked on two side propeller shafts and one forward low-pressure turbine (TNDPKH), as well as one reverse low-pressure turbine (TNDZH), which worked on two medium propeller shafts. The total power of the turbines reached 21,000 hp. at a speed of 300 rpm, which ensured the achievement of a speed of 20.5 knots. In the forced mode, these values increased - the power reached 26,000 hp. at a speed of 320 rpm, and a speed of 21.5 knots.
Steam water tube boiler system "Yarrow"
triangular type produced steam with a pressure of 17.5 atmospheres, its heating surface for 20 boilers was 375.6 square meters each. meters. All boilers had mixed heating - coal and oil. To burn oil, the boilers were equipped with Thornycroft nozzles, which were turned on when the boilers were boosted at full speed. The total supply of coal included 2000 tons, fuel oil 500 tons, which allowed the battleship to travel about 3000 miles at a speed of 12 knots.
electric power system alternating current had a voltage of 220 V, 50 Hz and included 4 turbogenerators with a capacity of 307 kW each and 2 diesel generators with a capacity of 307 kW. Thanks to compound excitation and the use of equalizing connections, the generators could work in parallel, two by two. Protective equipment included fuses and circuit breakers. In combat conditions, all communication systems and devices, firing, ship control, as well as two-thirds of lighting devices were provided with electricity.
The armament of the battleship consisted of:
- Of 12 single-barreled 12-inch (305-mm) guns of the Obukhov Plant with a barrel length of 52 calibers, located in four three-gun swivel turrets of the Metal Plant. The tool is steel, rifled, with an electric drive of the lock and a piston lock. It did not have trunnions, and the lock opening time was no more than 4 seconds. The compressor of the machine is hydraulic, spindle type, hydropneumatic knurler. The tower had a base in the form of a rotating table, on which a shirt for armor was attached and gun mounts were installed. A central feed pipe was attached to the bottom of the table, which served as a combat pin. The rotating table of the tower rested on a rigid drum fastened to the ship's hull. The rotation of the tower was carried out using horizontal rollers (144 balls with a diameter of 102 mm), which rolled in special shoulder straps. The top shoulder strap was attached to the bottom of the rotating table, and the bottom strap was attached to the top of the fixed rigid drum. In the lateral direction, the tower was held by 20 vertical rollers, which rolled in shoulder straps located between a rigid drum and a supply pipe. The rollers rotated on axles fixed in sliders with the help of Belleville springs, which were compressed during firing, creating shock absorption in relation to the rigid drum. For the repair and inspection of the rollers, it was planned to lift the tower on eight 100-ton hydraulic jacks. The towers were for the first time equipped with ventilation and heating. For the rotation of the turret installations and the vertical guidance of the guns, electric drives were provided, equipped with hydraulic speed controllers (Jenny clutches). The turn time of the turret installation by 180 ° was 1 min at a roll of 8 °, and the horizontal firing sector was equal to the first - 0-165 °, for the second - 30-170 °, for the third - 10-165 ° and for the fourth - 30- 180° on both sides. The shells were sent using an electric breaker. Kinematically connected with the drives of the vertical guidance of the gun, the piercers could operate at loading angles from + 3 ° to - 3 °. The loading time of the gun was no more than 40 seconds. The calculation included 10 people. The composition of the ammunition, out of 400 shots per barrel, included armor-piercing, semi-armor-piercing and high-explosive shells weighing 470.9 kg and charges for them weighing 132 kg of smokeless powder, as well as shrapnel shells weighing 331.7 kg with a TM-10 tube. Ammunition was stored in the cellars and in the turret compartment, in the upper part of which there was a charging cellar, in the lower part - a projectile one. The air temperature in the cellars was maintained automatically (15-25 °C) using the Westinghouse-Leblanc air refrigeration device. The cellars were equipped with irrigation and flooding systems. The angle of maximum elevation of the guns reached +35°, and the projectile speed was 762 m/s with a maximum firing range of about 26 km. The weight of the turret with 3 guns and armor is about 778 tons.
- Of the 20 single-barreled 130-mm cannons of the Obukhov plant with a barrel length of 55 calibers, located in 10 side plutongs (batteries) on the middle deck. The gun was steel, rifled, with a piston lock, placed on a machine with a central pin. Hydraulic compressor, spring knurler. The lifting mechanism is sectorial. Swivel mechanism worm type. The height of the pin axis from the base of the pedestal is 1320 mm, from the base of the drum 1635 mm. The gun had an armored box-shaped shield with a thickness of 76 mm. The sectors of fire of the guns, equal to 125-130 °, were chosen so that a target located at any heading angle could be fired at simultaneously by four guns. Vertical and horizontal guidance was carried out manually. The loading time of the gun was about 9 seconds. Cartridge loading. The ammunition included semi-armor-piercing and high-explosive shells weighing 36.86 kg with an explosive weighing 4.74-3.9 kg and a 1913 fuse. Ammunition was 250 rounds per barrel and was placed under each pluton, consisting of 2 guns. The angle of maximum elevation of the gun reached + 20 °, and the projectile speed was 823 m / s with a maximum firing range of 15.36 km. The total weight of the installation is 17.16 tons.
- Of the 5 single-barreled 75-mm Kane guns with a barrel length of 50 calibers, designed to combat aircraft (anti-aircraft). The steel gun, rifled, with a piston breech was placed on an anti-aircraft mount of the 1911 model with a hydropneumatic knurler. The horizontal guidance mechanism was abolished, and the gun was rotated by the gunner's shoulder. The lifting mechanism had a gear arc. The height of the axis of the trunnions from the base of the pedestal was 1800 mm. The loading of the gun is unitary. The supply of ammunition was carried out manually. Ammunition consisted of 200 shots per barrel and included shrapnel shots weighing 4.91 kg, containing 184 bullets each with a diameter of 12.7 mm and a weight of 10.6 g with a 10-second tube. The vertical aiming angle was up to + 50 °. With an initial projectile velocity of 747 m / s. and an elevation angle of + 50 °, the firing range at an air target was up to 6.5 km. The weight of the installation reached 2 tons.
- Of 4 single-tube, fixed 450-mm underwater torpedo tubes (TA) installed in the onboard compartments. The “wet heated” torpedo, model 1912, had a warhead weight of 100 kg, while the weight of the torpedo itself was 810 kg. The speed of the torpedo was 28, 30 and 43 knots, and the range was 6 km, 5 km and 2 km, respectively. Ammunition consisted of 12 torpedoes.
The Geisler artillery fire control system included:
- 2 devices for transmitting horizontal angles to gun sights, twin spotting scopes (sight posts) located on the side. The heading angle of the target determined by the sights was transmitted to the central post by telephone.
- 2 devices for transmitting the distance to the target, stereoscopic rangefinders located on the bridges of the bow and stern conning towers. Rangefinders had a base of 6 meters. The rangefinder readings were taken by rangefinders at intervals of 3-5 seconds and transmitted by telephone to the central post.
- Instruments and magnetic compasses in the conning tower, aft conning tower and control room, which showed the senior artillery officer his own course and speed, direction and strength of the wind.
- 1 sight setting device - a mechanical calculating device (arithmometer) for developing the current (accurate) distance to the target and making adjustments to the rear sight. Giving devices for the vertical and horizontal angles of pointing the guns of the main and anti-mine calibers were located in the central post. Receiving devices (angle pointers) were mounted on the sights of the guns.
- 1 roll detection device that automatically closes electrical circuits firing of all main battery turrets upon reaching a bank angle of 0 ° and automatically opened the firing circuit at elevation angles of less than -5 °.
- Howlers and bells installed at each gun. The contactor for howlers and calls was located in the central post.
- Station of measuring instruments located in the central post. The station gave voltage readings at the installation site and current consumption for the entire system.
- Two fuse boxes "PC" with fuses for each group of devices and a general switch. The main wires from the transformer came up to them and the wires giving power to each group of devices departed.
- Switches and junction boxes for powering and disconnecting fire control system devices.
- Transformer station.
The battleships were equipped with two radio telegraph stations with a capacity of 2 kW and 10 kW.
Battleships of the type "Empress Maria" were supposed to form the main striking force of the Black Sea Fleet, the 1st brigade of battleships. During the First World War, the new battleships were assigned the task of providing a stable defense and the task of preventing the penetration and deployment of the German Navy in the Black Sea. In the event of an attempt to break through the German squadron, the battleships of the "Empress Maria" type were supposed to engage her in battle at the maximum firing range of their main battery guns.
Battleship "Empress Maria"
, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, sank on the roads of Sevastopol, October 20, 1916, after the explosion of a powder magazine (225 dead, 85 seriously wounded).
Battleship "Empress Catherine the Great" ("Free Russia")
was sunk by torpedoes at Novorossiysk fired from the destroyer Kerch in 1918 to prevent it from being captured by German troops.
Battleship "Emperor Alexander III" ("Will" - "General Alekseev")
in 1920, as part of the Russian squadron, he led the ships that evacuated the remnants of the White Guard from the Crimea. Based in Bizerte, a French naval base on the African coast. Andreevsky naval flag on the ship was lowered on November 30, 1924. Subsequently, the battleship was transferred to the possession of the USSR, but due to the inexpediency of repairs, it was sold for scrap and dismantled for metal.
Battleship "Emperor Nicholas I" ("Democracy")
launched on October 5, 1916, but due to the revolution and the Civil War, it was not completed. After the occupation of Nikolaev by the Red Army, the battleship was laid up. In 1927, the ship, 70% complete, was scrapped and cut into metal.
Battleships were built at the plant of the Joint-Stock Company "Russud" ("Empress Maria" and "Emperor Alexander III") and at the plant "Naval" ("Empress Catherine the Great" and "Emperor Nicholas I") in Nikolaev.
The lead battleship "Empress Maria" entered service with the Black Sea Fleet in August 1915.
Tactical and technical data of battleships of the type "Empress Maria"
| standard 22600 tons, full 25450 tons. | |
| Maximum length: | 169.1 meters |
| Length according to design waterline: | 168 meters |
| Maximum width: | 27.3 meters |
| Nose side height: | 15.08 meters |
| Midship Height: | 14.48 meters |
| Board height in the stern: | 14.48 meters |
| Hull draft: | 8.36 meters |
| Power point: | 8 steam turbines of 5333 hp each, 20 boilers, 4 FSH propellers, 2 rudders. |
| Electric power system: |
alternating current 220 V, 50 Hz, 4 turbogenerators of 307 kW, 2 diesel generators of 307 kW. |
| Travel speed: | full 20.5 knots, maximum 21 knots, economic 12 knots. |
| cruising range: | 2960 miles at 12 knots. |
| Autonomy: | 10 days at 12 knots. |
| Seaworthiness: | no limits. |
| Armament: | . |
| artillery: | 4x3 305mm turrets, 20x1 130mm guns, 5x1 75mm Kane guns. |
| torpedo: | 4x1 450-mm underwater TA. |
| radio engineering: | 2 radiotelegraph stations for 2 kW and 10 kW. |
| Crew: | 1220 people (35 officers, 26 conductors). |
From the conclusion of the commission that conducted the tests of the ship: “The air refrigeration system of the artillery cellars of the Empress Maria was tested for a day, but the results were uncertain. The temperature of the cellars almost did not drop, despite the daily operation of refrigeration machines.
Captain 2nd rank A. Lukin
"Pre-dawn breeze. The silhouettes of ships, graying in the early morning mist, turn their bows to him. Pulled cold. Dew wet the deck, the towers. The sentries wrapped themselves more tightly in sheepskin coats - the officer in charge of the watch, midshipman Uspensky, glanced at his watch. Wake up in a quarter of an hour. I went up to the wheelhouse once again to look at the book with the orders of the senior officer. On all ships, the flasks struck at 6 am.
Wake up!
Horns blew. Whistles whistled. Sleepy people run out reluctantly. Downstairs, by the ladders, the sergeant majors cheer them on bass. The team huddled in the washbasins, at the first tower ...
The ship shook. The cabin was shaking. The lamp went out. Confused as to what had happened, the senior officer jumped up. An inexplicable crack was heard. An ominous glow illuminated the cabin.
In the washbasin, putting their heads under the taps, the team snorted and splashed when a terrible blow rumbled under the forward tower, knocking half the people off their feet. A fiery stream, shrouded in poisonous gases of a yellow-green flame, burst into the room, instantly turning the life that had just reigned here into a pile of dead, burned bodies ... ".
Sailor T. Yesyutin
“There was such a deafening explosion that I involuntarily froze in place and could not move further. Lights all over the ship went out. There was nothing to breathe. I realized that gas was spreading through the ship. In the lower part of the ship, where the servants were placed, an unimaginable cry arose:
— Save!
- Give me the light!
- We're dying!
In the darkness, I could not come to my senses and understand what finally happened. In desperation, he rushed up the compartments. On the threshold of the fighting compartment of the tower, I saw a terrible picture. The paint on the walls of the tower burned with all its might. Beds and mattresses were burning, comrades were burning, who did not have time to get out of the tower. With a scream and a howl, they rushed around the fighting compartment, rushed from one side to the other, engulfed in fire. The door leading out of the tower onto the deck is a continuous flame. And all this whirlwind of fire rushed into the tower just from the deck, where everyone had to break out.
I do not remember how long I was in the fighting compartment. From gases and heat, my eyes were very watery, so that I could see the entire fighting compartment of the tower, engulfed in fire, as if through mica. On me, in one place, then in another, the vest began to light up. What to do? No commanders are seen, no commands are heard. There was only one way out: throwing himself through the flaming door of the tower, the only door that gave access to the deck. But there is no strength to rush out of the fire into an even greater fire. And standing still is also impossible. The vest is on fire, the hair on the head is on fire, the eyebrows and eyelashes are already burned.
The situation is desperate. And suddenly, I remember, one of the team of Comrade Morunenko (served since 1912), was the first to rush through the blazing door - onto the deck. We were struck by such heroism, and all the sailors, and I with them, one by one, began to rush through this terrible door. I do not remember how I flew through the furiously raging fire. I still don't understand how I survived...
Swimming was difficult. Throat dried up. I felt sick. The burnt places hurt from the salt water. The right leg was cramping. It became difficult not only to swim, but even to stay on the water. Well, I think it's gone! Salvation is nowhere to be seen. He looked back and was even frightened: he swam, swam, and left the ship only some twenty or thirty meters away. This circumstance, I remember, greatly debilitated me. I began to faint and no longer swam, but only tried to stay on the water. To this end, I greedily grabbed the floating pieces of wood from the deck of the ship and tried to hang on to them. But the forces were falling, and the shore was still far away.
At that moment I saw that a small two-oared boat was coming towards me. When she came up to me, I began to grab her sides, but I could not climb into her. Three sailors were sitting on the boat, and with their help I somehow got out of the water. Others floated near us. We did not have time to save them, and the poor fellows went to the bottom. Not because the boat did not want to take them - the sailors on it made every effort to save them - but they could not do anything.
At this time, a longboat from the battleship "Catherine the Great" approached us. The boat is very large and could take on board up to 100 people. We managed to approach the side of the longboat and transfer to it. We began to rescue the drowning. It turned out not to be so easy. There were no poles, no circles, no hooks. I had to give the floating and exhausted man an oar, then take him by the hands and drag him on board. But we still caught 60 people, took 20 people from other boats and went to the battleship Catherine the Great. This ship was not far from our flaming ship. We approached the board of the Ekaterina. Many of the burned and wounded sailors could not go. They were supported by less disfigured sailors. We were accepted onto the ship and sent straight to the infirmary for dressing.”
The conclusion of the commission to investigate the events: “There were significant deviations from the statutory requirements regarding access to the artillery cellar on the battleship Empress Maria. In particular, many tower hatches did not have locks. During the stay in Sevastopol, representatives of various factories worked on the battleship. There was no surname check of the artisans.”
“In the depths of the bay near the North Side, the battleship Empress Maria, which exploded in 1916, floats with a keel up. The Russians continuously worked to raise it, and a year later, they managed to raise the colossus with a keel up. Under water, a hole in the bottom was repaired, and heavy three-gun turrets were also removed under water. Unbelievably hard work! Day and night, the pumps worked, which pumped out the water located there from the ship and at the same time supplied air. Finally, his compartments were drained. The difficulty now was to put it on an even keel. It almost succeeded - but then the ship sank again. They started work again, and after a while, the Empress Maria again sailed up with a keel. But how to give it the right position, there was no decision on this matter.
100 years ago, on October 20, 1916, in Sevastopol, on one of the most modern ships of the Russian fleet, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the battleship Empress Maria, a powder magazine exploded, after which the ship sank.
There could have been much more victims if during the explosion that occurred in the bow gun turret of the battleship, the crew of the ship did not stand on the deck in prayer. In addition, some of the officers were on shore leave. "Empress Maria" was the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, on which, when going to sea, was the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral A. V. Kolchak.
In a telegram from Kolchak to Tsar Nicholas II, it was reported: “To Your Imperial Majesty, I most humbly inform: “Today at 7 o’clock. 17 min. on the roadstead of Sevastopol, the battleship "Empress Maria" was lost. At 6 o'clock. 20 minutes. there was an internal explosion of the bow cellars and an oil fire started. The rest of the cellars were immediately flooded, but some could not be penetrated because of the fire. Explosions of cellars and oil continued, the ship gradually set bow and at 7 o'clock. 17 min. overturned. There are many saved, their number is being clarified.
A special commission was created to investigate the tragedy, but it failed to find out the causes of the explosion. Until now, historians do not have an unequivocal opinion about the cause of the tragedy: whether it was a diversion or just a tragic accident.
background
During World War I, the enemy of the Russian Empire in the Black Sea was the German-Turkish fleet. Before the war, the Black Sea Fleet in all respects had complete superiority over the Turkish naval forces. Our fleet surpassed the enemy in the number of pennants, in firepower, in combat training, in the training of officers and sailors, etc. It consisted of: ”, “John Chrysostom”, “Panteleimon” (former “Prince Potemkin-Tauride”), “Rostislav”, “Three Saints”, “Sinop”; 2 Bogatyr-class cruisers, 17 destroyers, 12 destroyers, 4 submarines. The main base was Sevastopol, the fleet had its shipyards in Sevastopol and Nikolaev. 4 powerful modern-style battleships (dreadnoughts) were built: "Empress Maria", "Empress Catherine the Great", "Emperor Alexander III", "Emperor Nicholas I".
The Turks had only a few more or less combat-ready ships: 2 armored cruisers Medzhidie and Gamidie, 2 squadron battleships Torgut Reis and Hayreddin Barbarossa (Brandenburg-class battleships), 8 French and German-built destroyers. At the same time, the Ottomans practically did not have their own shipbuilding industry, they did not have enough money, naval personnel, there was no combat training, and discipline was low. The Turkish government before the war tried to renew the fleet by ordering new ships in France and England. But the war with Italy, the two Balkan wars and the outbreak of the First World War thwarted these plans. There was no money in the treasury, and those ships that were built in England were confiscated by the British in their favor.
As a result, the exit of the Turkish fleet from the Bosporus to fight the Russian fleet was basically impossible. However, although the Black Sea Fleet was significantly stronger than the Turkish naval forces, it was forced to remain inactive. Petersburg was afraid of provoking Turkey's entry into the war on the side of Germany and instructed to avoid aggressive actions that could cause a war with the Ottoman Empire. Although the experience of the war with the Japanese showed the fallacy of passive tactics, the tsarist government, 10 years later, "stepped on the same rake", the commander of the fleet, A. A. Ebergard, was bound by the directive of the government.
Meanwhile, Germany changed the balance of power in the Black Sea. On August 10, 1914, two of the newest German cruisers arrived in Turkey: the heavy Goeben (called the Sultan Selim) and the light Breslau (Midilli). The commander of the German Mediterranean Division, Rear Admiral V. Souchon, led the combined German-Turkish forces. "Goeben" was more powerful than any Russian battleship of the old type, but together Russian battleships would have destroyed it. Therefore, in a collision with the entire squadron, the Goeben left, using its high speed. Under pressure from Germany, the Turkish "war party" took over, and the Ottoman Empire decided to enter the war.
On October 29-30, the German-Turkish fleet launched an artillery strike on Sevastopol, Odessa, Feodosia and Novorossiysk. This event was called - "Sevastopol wake-up". Thus, the fighting in the Black Sea began unexpectedly for the Russian Empire. The Black Sea Fleet was taken by surprise by the enemy. However, the German-Turkish forces were unable to inflict great harm on the Russian fleet: the forces were dispersed, and there was not enough firepower.
Almost immediately, the Russian fleet made a return “visit”: the fire of the Cahul cruiser destroyed huge coal storage facilities in Zonguldak (Zunguldak), and the Panteleimon battleship and destroyers sank several enemy troop transports and minesweepers. In addition, destroyers, under the cover of armadillos, laid mines near the Bosphorus itself. In November, the Russian squadron goes out to search for enemy ships, fires on Trebizond and meets German cruisers on the way back. The battle at Cape Sarych on November 18, 1914 was reduced to a skirmish between the battleship "Evstafiy" and "Goeben". Both ships were damaged ("Goeben" had to be repaired). The Germans could not fight with the entire brigade of Russian battleships and, taking advantage of the speed advantage, the German cruisers were able to break away from the Russian squadron and leave.
In December, the "Goeben" was blown up by a Russian mine near the Bosphorus Strait, the area of the hole on the left side was 64 square meters. meters, and the right - 50 square meters. meters, "drank water" from 600 to 2000 tons. For repairs, specialists from Germany had to be called in, restoration work was basically completed by April 1915. However, at the very end of 1914, 5 German submarines crossed into the Black Sea from the Mediterranean, which complicated the situation in the Black Sea theater.
In 1915, the Black Sea Fleet consistently increased its advantage: the Russian squadron made trips to enemy shores, launched artillery strikes on Zonguldak, Trebizond and other ports. Dozens of enemy ships, sailing ships with military cargo were sunk. For reconnaissance of Turkish routes, destroyers, hydroaviation began to be used, Russian submarines began to patrol the Bosphorus area.
In early April 1915, the plan of the German-Turkish command to attack Odessa failed. It was assumed that Odessa would become the base for the Russian landing (Bosphorus operation) and Souchon wanted to destroy the Russian transports. However, the case was spoiled by Russian minefields. The cruiser "Medzhidie" was blown up by a mine. He did not drown completely, the depth was too small. The destroyers removed the crew. The German-Turkish detachment retreated. In the summer, the Turkish cruiser was raised. Initial repairs were carried out in Odessa, then a major overhaul in Nikolaev, re-equipped, and a year later, in June 1916, the ship became part of the Black Sea Fleet as the Prut. As part of the fleet, he participated in several operations, in May 1918 he was captured by the Germans, transferred to the Turks, and there, thanks to Russian repairs, he was in the service of the Turkish fleet right up to 1947.
Plan of the Bosphorus operation
After the Crimean War, the Russian Empire worked out various options for waging war with Turkey. After the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1877. it became finally clear that a strong fleet was needed. It is extremely difficult to take Istanbul by land forces alone: the distance from the Danube and the Caucasus to the Ottoman capital is too great, and it is also protected by strong fortresses and natural barriers. Therefore, with the revival of the Black Sea Fleet, the idea of conducting the Bosphorus operation arose. The idea was tempting - to decapitate the old enemy with one blow and realize the age-old Russian dream, to return the ancient Tsargrad-Constantinople to the bosom of the Orthodox, Christian world.
To implement this plan, a powerful armored fleet was needed, an order of magnitude stronger than the Turkish naval forces. The fleet has been built since 1883, battleships of the Empress Catherine the Great type were laid down, a total of 4 ships were built, and two of them participated in the First world war. In addition, the destroyer fleet and the Volunteer fleet (for the transport of troops) were intensively developed. The battleships were, if necessary, to crush the enemy fleet and destroy land fortifications and batteries.
The idea of operation was returned during the First World War. The appearance of German ships put aside these plans. When Russia's allies launched the Dardanelles operation (February 1915), plans to capture the Bosphorus were resumed. The Russian fleet systematically carried out demonstrative actions against the Bosphorus. If the Allies were successful in the Dardanelles, the Black Sea Fleet would have to occupy the Bosphorus. Russian troops were drawn to Odessa, a demonstrative loading was carried out on transports. Eager activity created the appearance of preparing a large-scale landing operation. True, before the commissioning of new battleships, the success of this operation was in doubt. In addition, the German offensive of 1915 did not allow the allocation of large forces for the operation.
The real opportunity arose only in 1916. The Caucasian front carried out a successful Erzerum operation, taking the largest Turkish stronghold and base in the Caucasus, and then succeeded in other battles. The Southwestern Front successfully launched the Lutsk operation (Brusilov breakthrough), the Austro-Hungarian troops suffered a heavy defeat. The German troops were tied up on the French front by heavy fighting at Verdun and then on the Somme. The Russian Headquarters had the opportunity to allocate forces for the landing. In addition, the Black Sea Fleet now had two newest dreadnoughts - the Empress Maria and the Empress Catherine the Great, which neutralized the Goeben.
On the whole, from that time on, the Russian fleet gained great superiority over the enemy; it constantly fired on the Turkish coast. With the advent of new submarines in the fleet, including the Crab-type mine layer, it became possible to cross enemy communications with the help of them. The novelty of the Russian fleet was the interaction of submarines and destroyers, which increased the effectiveness of the blockade of the Bosphorus and the coal regions of Turkey.
Thus, in 1915, the Black Sea Fleet strengthened its superiority and almost completely controlled the sea. Three brigades of battleships were formed, destroyer forces were actively operating, submarine forces and naval aviation were increasing their combat experience. Conditions were created for the Bosphorus operation.
1916
In 1916, Russia received a number of unpleasant “surprises” at the Black Sea Theater: on August 14 (27), Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente, but since its armed forces were of very dubious combat effectiveness, they had to be strengthened by Russian troops. The Black Sea Fleet now assisted the ally from the Balkan coast and the Danube. The submarine threat to the fleet increased, the German submarine forces in the Black Sea grew to 10 submarines. The Black Sea Fleet did not have anti-submarine protection, so it had to be created on the outskirts of Sevastopol.
Also, the Black Sea Fleet continued to solve the same tasks: it blocked the Bosphorus; supported the right flank of the advancing Caucasian front; violated enemy sea communications; defended its bases and communications from enemy submarine forces; supported Russian and Romanian troops.
One of the main tasks was the blockade of the strait. Using the mine experience of the Baltic Fleet, it was decided to close the Bosphorus with mines. From July 30 to August 10, a minefield operation was carried out, 4 barriers were set up, in total about 900 mines. Until the end of the year, 8 more mine installations were made, with the task of strengthening the main barrier and blocking coastal waters (to interfere with small ships and submarines). To protect minefields from minesweepers, a patrol of destroyers and submarines was established. In the minefields, the enemy lost several warships, submarines, and dozens of transports. The mine blockade disrupted Turkish shipping, Istanbul began to experience difficulties in supplying food and fuel. But a complete blockade of the Bosphorus was still not possible.
The Black Sea Fleet also actively supported the Caucasian Front. The ships supported the ground forces with artillery, landed distracting assault forces, sabotage groups, covered from a possible strike from the sea, and carried out the supply of supplies and reinforcements. Transportation of troops and supplies was carried out by a special transport flotilla (in 1916 - 90 ships). The ships of the Black Sea Fleet supported our troops during the Erzurum and Trebizond operations.
"Empress Maria" in 1916
The death of the battleship
The ship was laid down in 1911 in Nikolaev at the same time as the battleships of the same type "Emperor Alexander III" and "Empress Catherine the Great". The ship was named after the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife of the late Emperor Alexander III. It was launched on October 6, 1913, and arrived in Sevastopol on June 30, 1915.
On October 13-15, 1915, the battleship covered the actions of the 2nd battleship brigade in the Zonguldak area. In November 1915, he covered the 2nd brigade from the sea during the shelling of Varna and Evksinograd. From February 5 to April 18, he assisted the Trebizond operation. During the hostilities, it became clear that the battleships of the "Empress Maria" type justified the hopes placed on them. During the first year of service, the ship made 24 military campaigns, sank many Turkish ships.
In the summer of 1916, by decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the Black Sea Fleet was headed by Vice Admiral Alexander Kolchak. The admiral made the "Empress Maria" the flagship of the fleet and systematically went to sea on it. Having laid a glorious initiative, in the autumn of 1916 the battleship was put in the Sevastopol raid for preventive maintenance. However, this autumn became fatal for the "Empress Maria".
The morning of October 20, 1916 did not portend trouble, an ordinary day began. Over the North Bay, a wake-up call was given to the crews of the ships every day. On the battleship, everything went according to a certain routine. Suddenly at 6 o'clock. 20 minutes. the neighborhood was rocked by a powerful explosion.
Captain 2nd Rank A. Lukin wrote: “In the washbasin, putting their heads under the taps, the team snorted and splashed when a terrible blow slammed under the bow tower, knocking half the people off their feet. A fiery stream, shrouded in poisonous gases of a yellow-green flame, burst into the room, instantly turning the life that had just reigned here into a pile of dead, burned bodies ... ". A new explosion of terrible force tore out the steel mast. Like a reel, he threw an armored cabin to the sky. The bow stoker on duty took off into the air. The ship plunged into darkness. The ship was on fire, bodies lay in heaps. In some casemates, people were stuck, barricaded by an avalanche of fire. Get out and burn. Stay - drown. Cellars of 130-mm shells were torn. Within an hour there were about 25 more explosions. The crew fought to the last for their ship, many heroes died trying to put out the fire.
Frightened Sevastopol residents ran out onto the embankment and witnessed a terrible picture. Standing on the roads in his native bay, the battleship "Empress Maria" was dying. The ship listed to starboard, capsized and sank. The wounded were located right on the shore and the first medical care. Black smoke hung over the city. By evening, the extent of the disaster became known: 225 sailors died, 85 were seriously injured (various figures are given in the sources). So, the most powerful ship of the Black Sea Fleet died. It was the largest loss of the Russian Imperial Navy in all the years of the First World War.
The tragedy shook the entire Russian Empire. The commission of the Naval Ministry, headed by a combat officer, a member of the Admiralty Council, Admiral N. M. Yakovlev, took up the cause of the death of the ship. A well-known shipbuilder, one of the authors of the project of the Black Sea battleships, an associate of Admiral S. O. Makarov, academician A. N. Krylov, also became a member of the commission, who drew up a conclusion that was approved by all members of the commission. Three main versions of the death of the battleship were put forward: 1) spontaneous combustion of gunpowder; 2) negligence in handling fire or gunpowder; 3) malicious intent.
The commission leaned towards the second version (negligence), since the gunpowder was, in the opinion of all the gunners of the battleship, of high quality. As for malicious intent, the commission considered this version unlikely. Although violations were established in the rules for access to artillery cellars and a lack of control over the workers on the ship. The commission noted: “... On the battleship Empress Maria, there were significant deviations from the statutory requirements regarding access to the artillery cellar. In particular, many tower hatches did not have locks. During the stay in Sevastopol, representatives of various factories worked on the battleship. There was no surname check of the artisans ... ". As a result, none of the hypotheses put forward by the commission found sufficient facts to confirm.
In addition, the Sevastopol Gendarmerie Directorate and the counterintelligence of the Main Staff of the Black Sea Fleet, created at the initiative of the sailors at the end of 1915, were investigating the causes of the explosions. But they were also unable to reach true reason death of the flagship. Revolutionary events finally stopped the investigation.
Already in 1916, work began on raising the ship, according to a project proposed by A. N. Krylov. The ship was raised in 1918 and taken to the dock. However, under the conditions civil war and revolutionary devastation, the ship was never restored. In 1927 it was demolished.
Battleship Empress Maria after docking and pumping out water, 1919
Versions
Already in Soviet period it became known that Germany was closely watching all the changes in the Russian fleet, including the new dreadnoughts. In Berlin, they feared that the Russians would take Constantinople, where the battleships were to play a decisive role in breaking through the Turkish defenses. In 1933, during the investigation of sabotage at the Nikolaev shipyard, Stalin's Chekists revealed a network of German intelligence led by V. E. Verman. The main task of the German spies was to disrupt the shipbuilding program of the military and merchant fleet of the USSR.
During the investigation, many interesting details were revealed, rooted in the pre-revolutionary period. Verman himself was an experienced intelligence officer (he was a senior electrical engineer), he began his career back in 1908, when a large-scale program for the restoration of the Russian fleet began. The network covered everything big cities Black Sea coast, special attention was given to Odessa, Nikolaev, Sevastopol and Novorossiysk. The group included many well-known people in the city (even the mayor of Nikolaev, a certain Matveev), and most importantly, shipyard engineers Sheffer, Lipke, Feoktistov and electrical engineer Sgibnev. In the early thirties, some members of the spy group were arrested. During the investigation, they spoke about their involvement in the explosion on the battleship. The direct perpetrators of the sabotage - Feoktistov, Sgibnev and Verman - were to receive a "fee" of 80 thousand rubles in gold, and the head of the group, Verman, also received the Iron Cross.
During interrogation, Werman said that German intelligence was planning a sabotage on the battleship, and the saboteur Helmut von Stitthoff led the group. He was considered the best specialist in the field of mining and undermining ships. In the summer of 1916, Helmut von Stitthoff began working at the Nikolaev shipyard as an electrician. It was planned to blow up the battleship right at the shipyard. However, something broke. Stitthoff urgently curtailed the operation and left for Germany. But the Verman group continued to work independently and did not curtail its activities, it had the opportunity to access the battleship. Stitthoff command transferred to the next task. In 1942, the honored German saboteur von Stitthoff was shot by the secret police. The trace leading to the unraveling of the death of the battleship "Empress Maria" was erased.
In addition, there is a British footprint. On the night before the death of the giant, Commander Voronov was on duty at the main tower. His duties were: inspection and measurement of the temperature of the artillery cellar. This morning, Captain 2nd Rank Gorodyssky was also on combat duty on the ship. At dawn, Gorodyssky ordered his Voronov to measure the temperature in the cellar of the main tower. Voronov went down to the cellar and no one saw him again. And after a while the first explosion thundered. Voronov's body was never found among the bodies of the dead. The commission had suspicions about him, but there was no evidence and he was recorded as missing. Later it turned out that Lieutenant Colonel British intelligence John Haviland and the gunner of the battleship "Empress Maria" Voronov, apparently, this is one and the same person. The lieutenant of British naval intelligence served in Russia from 1914 to 1916, a week after the explosion he left Russia and arrived in England as a lieutenant colonel. After the end of the war, he retired ordinary life rich gentleman. And in 1929 he died at strange circumstances.
Thus, it is quite possible that Germany was able to conduct a covert operation to eliminate the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. Or our "partner" - Britain did it. As you know, the British have long resisted Russia's plans to capture the straits and Constantinople-Tsargrad. It is known that in England, before anyone else, a powerful reconnaissance and sabotage service appeared, which waged a secret war against the competitors of the British Empire. The British elite could not allow the "shield of Oleg" to reappear on the gates of Constantinople. This would be the day of the collapse of the age-old machinations and intrigues of England against Russia. The Straits were not to be taken by the Russians at any cost.
The possibilities of British intelligence in Russia were no worse than those of Germany, and besides, England often did its business by proxy. It is possible that the battleship was destroyed by the Germans, but with the covert support of the British. Taking into account the fact that the security service in the Russian Empire was poorly organized (in particular, high-ranking conspirators, Western agents and revolutionaries calmly prepared the overthrow of the autocracy), and there was a weak organization of the protection of especially important objects and structures, the ability to carry the "hellish machine" to the battleship was .
ctrl Enter
Noticed osh s bku Highlight text and click Ctrl+Enter
