The ''Livadia'' was an
imperial yacht of the
House of Romanov
The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...
built in 1879–1880 to replace
a yacht of the same name that had sunk off the coast of
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
in 1878. The new ''Livadia'', intended for service on the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
, was a radically novel ship conceived by
Vice Admiral Andrey Popov, designed by
naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners.
{{Commons category, Architecture occupations
Design occupations
Architecture, Occupations ...
Erast Gulyaev
Erast Evgenievich Goulaeff or Erast Evgenievich Gulyaev (1846–1919) was a naval architect in the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts ...
and built by
John Elder & Co. of
Govan
Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...
on
the Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
. The ''Livadia'' continued Popov's line of
circular ships although this time Popov sacrificed geometrical perfection for seagoing capabilities. She had a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of against
overall length
The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...
of only .
[ An extreme example of ]tumblehome
Tumblehome is a term describing a hull which grows narrower above the waterline than its beam. The opposite of tumblehome is flare.
A small amount of tumblehome is normal in many naval architecture designs in order to allow any small projecti ...
architecture, she sported a conventionally shaped superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
mounted on a wide, flat-bottomed, turbot
The turbot (''Scophthalmus maximus'') is a relatively large species of flatfish in the family Scophthalmidae. It is a demersal fish native to marine or brackish waters of the Northeast Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is an ...
-shaped submerged hull or pontoon.
Construction of the ''Livadia'', "a gigantic life-size experiment"[ and a prototype for next-generation ]battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
s, was supervised by William Pearce. Bruno Tideman and Edward James Reed
Sir Edward James Reed, KCB, FRS (20 September 1830 – 30 November 1906) was a British naval architect, author, politician, and railroad magnate. He was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870. He was a Liberal politicia ...
acted as consultants, William Leiper
William Leiper FRIBA RSA (1839–1916) was a Scottish architect known particularly for his domestic architecture in and around the town of Helensburgh.[William De Morgan
William Frend De Morgan (16 November 1839 – 15 January 1917) was an English potter, tile designer and novelist. A lifelong friend of William Morris, he designed tiles, stained glass and furniture for Morris & Co. from 1863 to 1872. His tiles ...]
designed luxurious interiors. The ''Livadia'' turned out a surprisingly maneuverable and stable ship with a respectable maximum speed of 15.7 knots and her efficiency was comparable to conventional ships.[ Her performance at ]sea trials
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and i ...
surprised most naval architects and was attributed to the favorable placement of the propellers.[
The maiden voyage of the ''Livadia'' revealed that her wide flat bottom was highly prone to damage by wave ]slamming
Slamming is the impact of the bottom structure of a ship onto the sea surface. It is mainly observed while sailing in waves, when the bow raises from the water and subsequently impacts on it. Slamming induces extremely high loads to ship structure ...
. She spent her brief career as a yacht in the docks and was used for her intended purpose only once, carrying Grand Dukes
Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approx ...
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
and Mikhail across the Black Sea. Alexander III had no interest in resurrecting an inherently flawed ship, and in August 1881 ''Livadia'' was moored in Nikolaev and then hulked and stripped of her former luxuries. Her engines were removed and reused on the Russian cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s. The rusty hulk saw some use during World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and was finally decommissioned in 1926.
Background
The first ''Livadia'' was built in 1869–1873 by Leopold Schwede. She was a wooden seagoing paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...
displacing 1965 tons, 81 metres long and 10.9 metres wide (excluding wheel housings). The yacht was stationed in Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
and tended to the Romanovs from the summer of 1873. After the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 she was converted into an auxiliary cruiser
An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in ...
. She sank a Turkish schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
, survived the perils of the war but on the night of October 21–22, 1878 ran aground near Cape Tarkhan-Kut in western Crimea. Salvage attempts failed, and 47 days later the ''Livadia'' was destroyed by a violent storm.[ After the sinking, the Russian Department of the Navy proposed building a similar conventional yacht with improved speed and endurance. Vice Admiral Andrey Popov, the influential chairman of the Naval Technical Commission (MTK), objected and proposed a different concept based on his circular ships.][Andrienko 1994, p. 25.]
Naval architects of the 1860s tended to increase the beam and reduce the length of their armored ships.[Hovgaard 1920, p. 38.] This change of the proportions maximized the internal volume protected by the same amount of side armor.[ It was heralded by Sir ]Edward James Reed
Sir Edward James Reed, KCB, FRS (20 September 1830 – 30 November 1906) was a British naval architect, author, politician, and railroad magnate. He was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870. He was a Liberal politicia ...
and taken to its extreme by Popov. Popov's coastal battleships ''Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
'' and ''Kiev'' were perfectly circular in plan.[ The design attempted to circumvent the limitations of the ]Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
, although construction of the ''Novgorod'' and the ''Kiev'' began when the treaty had been effectively voided by the outcome of the Franco-Prussian War. Popov wrote that a circular shape results in minimal weight of armor belt for a given displacement.[ It also minimized the draft of the battleships, which was critical for their intended deployment in the ]estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
of the Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...
and the Kerch Strait
The Kerch Strait, uk, Керченська протока, crh, Keriç boğazı, ady, Хы ТӀуалэ is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from ...
.[ Their seagoing capacities, on the contrary, were deemed unimportant.][ The ''Novgorod'' and the ''Kiev'' were commissioned in 1873 and 1875.][ The enormous drag of their wide hulls made their engines ineffective][ and they could make only 8 knots.][Hovgaard 1920, p. 39.] Their steering was satisfactory against the stream, and entirely unmanageable downstream.[ Their rudders were ineffective while their outer propellers disturbed the steering][Hovgaard 1920, p. 40.] yet had no influence on the speed (and were soon removed).[ And, finally, these ships were too wide to fit into any existing ]drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
.[
]
Design
According to Popov, the new imperial yacht should have had a wide, flat-bottomed tumblehome
Tumblehome is a term describing a hull which grows narrower above the waterline than its beam. The opposite of tumblehome is flare.
A small amount of tumblehome is normal in many naval architecture designs in order to allow any small projecti ...
hull and sustainable speed of 14 knots
A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines.
Knot may also refer to:
Places
* Knot, Nancowry, a village in India
Archaeology
* Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life.
* Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot
Arts, entertainme ...
. Popov recruited Erast Gulyaev
Erast Evgenievich Goulaeff or Erast Evgenievich Gulyaev (1846–1919) was a naval architect in the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts ...
to produce initial drawings.[ The main, submerged hull of the new ''Livadia'' was 71.63 metres long and 46.64 metres wide. It was compared in shape to a ]pancake
A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a Starch, starch-based batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or fryi ...
, a turbot
The turbot (''Scophthalmus maximus'') is a relatively large species of flatfish in the family Scophthalmidae. It is a demersal fish native to marine or brackish waters of the Northeast Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is an ...
,[ a ]turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...
[ or even a pair of soup plates.][ The ]superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
perched on the hull was only 33.53 metres wide, and had a clipper bow
The bow () is the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway. The aft end of the boat is the stern.
Prow may be used as a synonym for bow or it may mean the forward-most part of ...
for an overall length
The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...
of 79.25 metres.[ Gulyaev explained that "as the ''Livadia'' had to be a yacht, it was decided to make all her qualities subordinate to the utmost safety of navigation, and to the utmost comfort depending on the possible limitation of rolling motion at sea, and on the provision of spacious apartments with a luxurious amount of light and air."][
The submerged hull was split into forty watertight compartments.][ Four housed the steam engines, placed forward, the boilers, electrical systems and store room. The rest were allocated to coal storage.][ A belt of forty smaller compartments wrapped around the hull, forming a rigid structural frame.][ Popov sent the drawings to the Dutch naval architect Bruno Tideman, who ran a series of tests of a ]paraffin wax
Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and begins to ...
model in a ship model basin
A ship model basin is a basin or tank used to carry out hydrodynamic tests with ship models, for the purpose of designing a new (full sized) ship, or refining the design of a ship to improve the ship's performance at sea. It can also refer to th ...
and concluded that the design was feasible.[Andrienko 1994, p. 26.] According to Tideman, the ship could reach 14 knots with 8,500 indicated horsepowers, below Popov's earlier estimate of at least 10 thousand horsepower[ (the first ''Livadia'' could make 13 knots on mere 460 horsepower). Tideman insisted that the contract must be awarded to a first-rate firm and that the plans be approved by him.
In the summer of 1879, the drawings were sent to Sir William Pearce of John Elder & Co.][ Pearce agreed to build it, and in August ]Tsar Alexander II
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Fin ...
gave his assent.[ Pearce and the head of the ]Baltic Shipyard
The OJSC Baltic Shipyard (''Baltiysky Zavod'', formerly Shipyard 189 named after Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze) (russian: Балтийский завод имени С. Орджоникидзе) is one of the oldest shipyards in Russia and is part o ...
Mikhail Casi, representing Alexander II, signed the contract on September 5, 1879.[ Pearce agreed to complete the job by July 1, 1880.][Andrienko 1994, p. 27.] The deal excluded interior finishes, to be completed in Russia.[ Unusually for the period, Pearce agreed to guarantee the speed of an experimental craft. According to the contract, the full price was payable only if the ship attained 15 knots.][ Under-performance was punishable by hefty liquidated damages, and the Russians reserved the right for a full ]money back guarantee
A money-back guarantee, also known as a satisfaction guarantee, is essentially a simple guarantee that, if a buyer is not satisfied with a product or service, a refund will be made.
The 18th century entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood pioneered many of ...
if the ship failed to make 14 knots.[ They agreed to pay generous premiums if speed and engine power exceeded design targets of 15 knots and 12,000 indicated horsepowers.][ Pearce was instructed to build his own state-of-the-art ]steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
s, with no cap on maximum power output.[ The Russians subscribed to supply the complete electrical system, including arc lighting by ]Yablochkov candle
A Yablochkov candle (sometimes electric candle) is a type of electric carbon arc lamp, invented in 1876 by the Russian electrical engineer Pavel Yablochkov.
Design
A Yablochkov candle consists of a sandwich of two electrodes, which are long car ...
s.[Andrienko 1994, p. 31.] The British press discussed the unusual project and concluded it was a test bed for future military ships and their powerplants in particular.[
]
Construction and trials
The pontoon hull was built of soft Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
steel framing 11 millimeters thick[MacLear 1967, p. 197.] sheet iron.[Andrienko 1994, p. 31.] In November 1879, when the double bottom was two-thirds complete[ (but not formally laid down yet),][Andrienko 1994, p. 30.] Popov persuaded the imperial authorities to award interior finishes contact to the British,[ and hired Tideman to review the design again.][ Tideman built another 1:10 scale model, ran another series of tests and recommended changes to the powerplant and propeller arrangement that caused a significant extension of the contract.][ The ''Livadia'' had a double, perfectly flat bottom and only 7 ft (2.1 m) of draft, excluding the propellers.][Hovgaard 1920, p. 40; Andrienko 1994, pp. 31–32.] Their blades projected 9 feet below the hull.[ Tideman found what he claimed was near-perfect propeller configuration: all three screws had the same diameter but varied in ]blade pitch
Blade pitch or simply pitch refers to the angle of a blade in a fluid. The term has applications in aeronautics, shipping, and other fields.
Aeronautics
In aeronautics, blade pitch refers to the angle of the blades of an aircraft propeller o ...
, which in practice required running the engines at different revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
.[
The ''Livadia'' was launched on July 7, 1880 in front of ten thousand][Ballantyne 1881, p. 162.] spectators and visitors which included Grand Duke Alexey,
A Steam Vessel Constructed on a Novel Model
'. The New York Times, July 8, 1880, p. 3. the future General Admiral of the Imperial Navy.[ She was christened by the Duchess of Hamilton.][ The visitors were impressed by the size and luxury of the ship's interiors which had been designed by ]William Leiper
William Leiper FRIBA RSA (1839–1916) was a Scottish architect known particularly for his domestic architecture in and around the town of Helensburgh.[William De Morgan
William Frend De Morgan (16 November 1839 – 15 January 1917) was an English potter, tile designer and novelist. A lifelong friend of William Morris, he designed tiles, stained glass and furniture for Morris & Co. from 1863 to 1872. His tiles ...]
[ and mostly completed before the launch. The decorators had used ]Louis XIV style
The Louis XIV style or ''Louis Quatorze'' ( , ), also called French classicism, was the style of architecture and decorative arts intended to glorify King Louis XIV and his reign. It featured majesty, harmony and regularity. It became the officia ...
for the reception rooms, " Crimean-Tartar style" for the drawing rooms and "the simple kind of modern English style" for the private rooms.[Brett 1992, pp. 21-22.] The total volume of the royal apartments reached 3,950 cubic meters, 6.7 times more than on the first ''Livadia''.[ Reporters hailed the technological novelties of the ''Livadia'': she had, in total, 23 steam engines for different jobs][ including powered steering.][ The on-board water supply system had backup accumulators that maintained pressure even when steam pumps were not at work.][ The show on ]River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
inspired Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
's unforgiving poem which ended with a prophecy
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...
:
And fear at hand for pilot over sea,
With death for compass and despair for star
And the white foam a shroud for the White Czar.
The engines and coal-fired boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...
s were installed in August. Pearce used steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
for the powerplant and manganese bronze
Manganese Bronze Holdings plc (MBH) was the holding company of Carbodies, LTI Limited. The firm's sole business in its final years as a company was Hackney carriage, London black taxicab manufacturing through the LTI subsidiary.
The Manganese ...
for the propellers and claimed that his engines were the world's most powerful for their weight.[ Back in Russia, terrorists were hunting down Alexander II, and the British press rumored that the ''Livadia'' "was about to be blown by the ]Nihilists
Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...
' infernal machines".["The Livadia"]
''The New York Times'', October 23, 1880, p. 4. According to '' The Herald'' of Glasgow, Russian authorities notified Glasgow police of a plot to place nitroglycerin time bomb
A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use (or attempted use) of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They ar ...
s into the ship's coal bunkers.
Current Foreign Topics
'. The New York Times, September 28, 1880, front page. The coal was unloaded, the divers examined the bottom of the ship and found no trace of the bomb or the three alleged terrorists.[ The ''Livadia'' did suffer an explosion - her boilers ruptured during cold pressure tests. The accident was traced back to hot bending of the ''Livadias boiler plates.][ It became a textbook example of unacceptable practice and instilled "a very justifiable dread of bending such plates while hot" into contemporary boilermakers.][Stromeyer 1893, p. 184.] Despite this setback, the ''Livadia'' was completely fitted out in three months.[
On September 24, 1880 Pearce personally steered the ''Livadia'' from Govan to ]Greenock
Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...
and then into the Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
, reaching 12 knots.[ Tideman, present at the trials, wrote that the ship steered "like a ]yawl
A yawl is a type of boat. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan), to the hull type or to the use which the vessel is put.
As a rig, a yawl is a two masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast p ...
."[ Next day, the ''Livadia'' ran her first, unofficial, speed trial and made 15 knots.][ On September 26 the ''Livadia'' performed six hour long official trials presided by Russian Admiral Ivan Likhachev.][ She reached 14.88 knots with the engines running at 10,200 horsepowers.][ This time Tideman recorded somewhat wider than expected ]turn radius
The turning diameter of a vehicle is the minimum diameter (or "width") of available space required for that vehicle to make a circular turn (i.e. U-turn). The term thus refers to a theoretical minimal circle in which for example an aeroplane, a g ...
under full power, but deemed it unimportant: the ''Livadia'' could still turn on a dime by disengaging one of the side propellers.[ On September 27 the ''Livadia'' reached her top recorded speed of 15.725 knots at 12,354 horsepower.][ Reports by Gulyaev and Reed compared ''Livadia'' to contemporary HMS ''Penelope'', HMS ''Orion'' and HMS ''Iris'' which had similar displacements and engine power, and concluded that her efficiency was on par with conventional ships.][MacLear 1967, p. 196.]
On September 30 the Russian crew of 24 officers and 321 enlisted men boarded the ship, raised the flag of Saint Andrew and began preparations for a homeward voyage.[ Their captain, Ippolit Vogak, had earlier commanded Popov's ''Novgorod'' and '' Petr Veliky''.][ Pearce completed his job and was rewarded with 414,000 roubles premium in addition to 2,700,000 roubles base contract price.][
]
Maiden voyage
The ''Livadia'' left Greenock on October 3 with Popov, Tideman, Edward James Reed
Sir Edward James Reed, KCB, FRS (20 September 1830 – 30 November 1906) was a British naval architect, author, politician, and railroad magnate. He was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870. He was a Liberal politicia ...
and William Houston Stewart
Admiral Sir William Houston Stewart, (7 September 1822 – 13 November 1901) was a senior British naval officer who, after a long, active career, eventually held the office of the Controller of the Royal Navy from 1872 to 1881.
Personal life
...
on board.[ She safely reached ]Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
on October 7, where she picked up General Admiral of the Imperial Navy Grand Duke Constantine.[ On October 8 the ''Livadia'' sailed into the ]Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
and was soon caught in a violent storm.[Andrienko 1994, p. 33.] According to Reed, sailing straight into the storm to test the ship was Constantine's idea and that no Russian dared to argue.[ Waves of six to seven meters failed to upset the ''Livadia'': transverse roll did not exceed 3.5 degrees, longitudinal pitch was within 5.5 degrees.][Andrienko 1994, p. 34.] Stewart praised the comfort of the ''Livadia'': "I never was in so comfortable a ship at sea in a gale of wind ... the absence of rolling, the easiness of motion, the great comfort on board, and the handiness of steering, were such as I have never seen before in any other ship under similar circumstances of weather and sea".[
However, the crew was alarmed by the thunder-like sound of the waves slamming against her flat bottom.][ Reed and Vogak wrote that at times it sounded as if the ship had hit a hard rock.][ Around 10 a.m. of the next day the hull cracked, the space between inner and outer bottoms was flooded, and Vogak rushed his ship to a safe anchorage in Ferrol.][ The divers discovered a five-meter-long dent and numerous cracks in the fore segment of the hull which were ultimately blamed on waves.][ Six of her 106 watertight compartments were flooded.] Popov concurred and admitted his failure "to foresee the effects of shallow draft". He wrote that the damage had dual mechanism: first, when the flat pontoon pitched above the waves, gravity subjected it to an enormous stress, bending the whole structure down. Next, as it plummeted down, the flat bottom hit water head-on, rupturing the rivets and tearing off the crossbeams.[Andrienko 1994, p. 36.] Reed noted that the radial framing pattern chosen by the designers resulted in a strong center section and inadequately weak extremities, and that any experienced shipbuilder should have discovered this weakness in advance.[
The ''Livadia'' could have been quickly repaired in a ]drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
, but none of world's docks was wide enough for her.[Andrienko 1994, p. 35.] The new drydock in Nikolaev, designed by Clark Stanfield specifically for the battleship ''Novgorod'' and the other ''popovkas'', had not yet been expanded to fit the ''Livadia''.[The ''Stanfield dock'', capable of servicing the ''popovkas'', was built in England in 1876, delivered to Nikolaev in 1877 and commissioned in 1878 - Andrienko 1994, p. 23. Its 1878 configuration was not enough for the larger ''Livadia'' and required almost a whole year of expansion work - Andrienko 1994, p. 35.] Moored in Ferrol, Spain
Ferrol () is a city in the Province of A Coruña in Galicia, on the Atlantic coast in north-western Spain, in the vicinity of Strabo's Cape Nerium (modern day Cape Prior). According to the 2021 census, the city has a population of 64,785, maki ...
, for seven months, she became an easy prey for the journalists.[ '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' ridiculed the ''Livadia'', her designers and her crowned patron: instead of blowing up the ''Livadia'', the "nihilists" ''designed'' her, for it was hardly possible to conceive a worse ship.[ According to the anonymous ]satirist
This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires.
Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...
she was "a yacht on board of which seasickness
Motion sickness occurs due to a difference between actual and expected motion. Symptoms commonly include nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, headache, dizziness, tiredness, loss of appetite, and increased salivation. Complications may rarely include d ...
would be wholly unnecessary", "a Nihilist device that no Nihilist would dream of destroying."[ Instead of hunting terrorists, "the English and Russian Police should seize the designer of the ''Livadia'' and hang him on the spot."][ In November the newspaper changed its attitude, this time praising the ''Livadia'' for her stability on the high seas; the speed attained by "an enormous iron ]turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...
" impressed the reporter who suggested that the ''Livadia'' "may possibly lead to considerable changes in the art of ship-building."
Czar's Gorgeous Yacht
'. The New York Times, November 5, 1880, p. 3.
According to the ''New York Times'', on December 10 the Russians dispatched 83 men to assist repairs on the ''Livadia'' while still entertaining plans to build a 12,000-ton ''Livadia''-style armed ironclad.["Current Foreign Topics"]
''The New York Times'', December 10, 1885, p. 2. Repairs proceeded slowly, and the ''Livadia'' left Ferrol only on . The ''Livadia'', captained by Vice Admiral Ivan Shestakov
Ivan Alexeyevich Shestakov (russian: Ива́н Алексе́евич Шестако́в; 13 April 1820 – 3 December 1888) was a Russian naval officer, statesman, and writer.
Early years
Shestakov was born in the village of Syrok ...
, proceeded with utmost caution, evading rough waves at all costs. She passed the Bosphorus on . and reached Sebastopol
Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
on the next day. She made 3,890 miles in 381 hours, consuming more than 2,900 tons of coal.[ Shestakov reported easy steering, perfect stability and good build quality of the ''Livadia'' but advised against using her as a royal yacht until further tests could attest to her safety for Black Sea operations.][
]
Abandonment
On the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
was shaken by the murder of Alexander II. His successor, Alexander III, was facing continuing terrorist threat, civil unrest, pogroms of the Jews and other problems of far greater importance than Popov's yacht. Popov fell out of favor: Alexander III had no faith in old Navy brass and delegated naval matters to his younger brother Grand Duke Alexey.[ He publicly chided Popov's extravagant and wasteful experiments.][ The indifference of the tsar and the rise of Alexey doomed the ''Livadia''.][
On the ''Livadia'' sailed for her first and last voyage across the Black Sea.][ She raised the ]ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
of the Commander of the Black Sea Fleet
Chernomorskiy flot
, image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet
, dates = May 13, ...
, picked up Grand Dukes Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
and Mikhail in Yalta
Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...
and carried them to Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...
and back. The sea was choppy, making the Romanovs concerned about waves slamming against the bottom of the vessel and shaking the superstructure.[
Later in June the ''Livadia'' was raised in dry dock.][ The inspection found her structure to be weak and recommended proper reinforcement of the hull.][ The Department of the Navy at first agreed, but then issued a countermanding order subjecting the ''Livadia'' to speed trials ''before'' any major repairs.][ In August 1881 she made 136 speed runs and barely reached 14.46 knots and 9,837 horsepower.][ The failure to make 15 knots sparked allegations of fraud against Popov and his Scottish contractor, but was ultimately explained by the incompetence of the crew and low quality of local coal.][ the ''Livadia'' was sent to an anchorage in Nikolaev where she was stripped of all the luxuries.][Andrienko 1994, p. 36.] Her retirement had not been formally announced, and the Russian press cautiously called her "the former yacht".[
Popov's attempts to save the ''Livadia'' were cut short by Shestakov's report that the Tsar was determined to get rid of the ''Livadia''. Alexander agreed to convert her into a floating jail,][Russian: "Государь выразил согласие разделаться с яхтой во что бы то ни стало. Даже когда я сказал, что в Севастополе нужна тюрьма, то и на это употребление выразил готовность отдать «Ливадию»". - Andrienko, p. 36.] ruling out any seagoing in the future. Popov was again accused of fraud and embezzlement and struggled with imperial prosecution for four years.[
In April 1883 the ''Livadia'' was renamed ''Opyt'' (russian: Опыт, ''Experiment'' or ''Test'') and left to rot while the Navy discussed her fate.][ Plans to convert her into a ]troopship
A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
were discarded, and by the end of the decade her engines had been removed and installed in '' Minin'', '' General Admiral'' and '' Duke of Edinburgh''.[ The ]hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
was used as a floating barracks and a warehouse. In 1913 ''Opyt'' was recommissioned for port duties; she was finally struck off the Soviet Navy register in 1926.[Andrienko 1994, p. 37.] According to Andrienko, she was still afloat in late 1930s.[
Experience of the ''Livadia'' attracted shipbuilders' interest in the beginning of the 20th century, when the risk of ]torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
attack forced the navies to reconsider ship protection technique and employ submerged anti-torpedo bulge
The anti-torpedo bulge (also known as an anti-torpedo blister) is a form of defence against naval torpedoes occasionally employed in warship construction in the period between the First and Second World Wars. It involved fitting (or retrofittin ...
s.[
]
See also
* Russian yacht ''Livadia'' (1873)
Notes
References
* Andrienko, V. G. (1994, in Russian).
Kruglye suda admirala Popova (Круглые суда адмирала Попова)
'. Saint Petersburg: Gangut. . Chapter
and
* Ballantyne, Robert (1881).
Man on the Ocean
'. 2007 reprint: BiblioBazaar, LLC. .
* Brett, David (1992).
C.R. Mackintosh, the poetics of workmanship
'. Reaktion Books. .
* Dirkzwager, J. M. (1970, in Dutch with English summary).
Dr. B. J. Tideman, 1834–1883: Grondlegger van de moderne scheepsbouw in Nederland
'. Brill Archive.
* Hovgaard, William (1920).
Modern history of warships: comprising a discussion of present standpoint and recent war experiences for the use of students of naval construction, naval constructors, naval officers and others interested in naval matters
'. London: Conway Maritime Press. 1971 reprint: Taylor & Francis, .
* MacLear, Frank R. (1967). ''Catamarans as Commercial Fishing Vessels'', in: Traung, Jan-Olof (editor, 1967).
Fishing boats of the World 3
'. London: Fishing News (Books) Limited.
* Stromeyer, C. E. (1893).
Marine Boiler Management and Construction
'. 2009 reprint: Books On Demand, .
Further reading
* Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...
's '' Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving'' contains a chapter on Pearce and the ''Livadia''. According to Stoker, the real purpose of the ''Livadia'' was to provide Alexander II a refuge from the terrorists. Delay at Ferrol, wrote Stoker, cost Alexander his life.
External links
Photographs of the ''Livadia'' in Saint Petersburg Archive
Detailed photographs of a scale model
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Livadia
Royal and presidential yachts
Ships of the Imperial Russian Navy
Ships built in Govan
1880 ships
Experimental ships
Shipwrecks in the Black Sea
Shipwrecks of Russia
Maritime incidents in October 1880