Russian Ironclad Petropavlovsk

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The Russian ironclad ''Petropavlovsk'' (russian: Петропавловск) was a 22-gun armored frigate in the Imperial Russian Navy during the late 19th century. She was originally ordered as a 58-gun wooden frigate, but she was reordered as an ironclad while under construction and subsequently converted into one. She served as the flagship of the Baltic Fleet during the 1860s and 1870s. The ship was decommissioned in 1885, but was not sold for scrap until 1892.

Description

''Petropavlovsk'' was long between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a draft of (forward) and (aft). She displaced and was fitted with a blunt iron ram at her bow.Gardiner, p. 173 ''Petropavlovsk'' was considered to be seaworthy; her total crew numbered 680 officers and enlisted men.''Russian Ironclad Frigates Sevastopol and Petropavlovsk'', p. 415

The ship was fitted with a horizontal return-connecting-rod steam engine built by the Baird Works of Saint Petersburg. It drove a single four-bladed propeller using steam that was provided by an unknown number of rectangular boilers. During the ship's sea trials, the engine produced a total of and gave the ship a maximum speed of . The ship carried a maximum of of coal, but her endurance is unknown.Tredea & Sozea, p. 414 She was ship rigged with three masts.

As a heavy frigate, ''Petropavlovsk'' was intended to be armed with 54 of the most powerful guns available to the Russians, the 60-pounder smoothbore gun, and four long 36-pounder smoothbores. Her armament was revised when she was converted to an ironclad and she was completed with an armament of twenty rifled guns and two 60-pounder guns; all of the 8-inch guns were located on the lower deck and the 60-pounders were mounted on the upper deck as chase guns. Later another pair of 60-pounder guns were added on the upper deck. In 1877, the armament on her upper deck was changed and consisted of one 8-inch, one and ten rifled guns.

The entire ship's side was protected with wrought-iron armor that extended below the waterline. It was thick amidships, backed by of teak, that reduced to , backed by six inches of teak, in steps beginning from the ship's ends.

Construction and service

''Petropavlovsk'', named for the siege of Petropavlovsk during the Crimean War,Silverstone, p. 381 was laid down on 12 January 1861 as a 58-gun heavy frigate at the New Admiralty Shipyard in Saint Petersburg. She was reordered as (converted into) a 22-gun armored frigate on 29 October 1861 while still under construction. The ship was launched on 15 August 1865 and commissioned on 1 August 1867. During the 1860s and 1870s, ''Petropavlovsk'' served as the flagship of the Baltic Fleet. On 15 August 1869, she was taking part in an exercise off Hogland with , , and when ''Kreml'' rammed ''Oleg'', which sank with the loss of 16 of her 445 crew. ''Petropavlovsk'' rescued some of the survivors. On 13 September 1871, she collided with the Russian merchant ship ''Damrowsky'' off Reval, damaging the merchantman's rigging. Also in September, she collided with the British merchant ship ''Ecliptic''. She was decommissioned on 15 June 1885, stricken from the Navy List on 4 January 1892 and subsequently sold for scrap.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Petropavlovsk, Russian Ironclad
Naval ships of Russia
Ironclad warships of the Imperial Russian Navy
1865 ships
Ships built at Admiralty Shipyard