Armored Deck Cruiser "Svetlana": history, photo

The Russian Imperial Navy conquered the sea for a long time. His ships showed themselves in battles as brave and strong "fighters". The fate of each battleship, destroyer, cruiser was completely different. Some served for many years, others were destined to remain on paper. Cruisers such as "Svetlana" have not been fully realized. What can not be said about the armored decker cruiser of the 1st rank.

The first "Svetlana"

For the first time a ship with this name appeared in 1896. It was an armored decker, which was built on French soil. Initially, his main task was to accompany the Imperial yacht Alexei Alexandrovich. Regarding the combat mission, no one could speak.

Before designing for a long time could not determine the task of the ship. What should the "Svetlana" be: an armored decker or a heavy battleship? What are its volumes, armament and booking? All these meditations continued until 1894.

For work

It was in the summer of this year that the design of a new "fighter" began. Many candidates contended for the workplace over the cruiser. This is the Franco-Russian plant, several companies from Great Britain, Germany and France. Among the many proposals, only seven variants were accepted, most of which were the modernization of one of the cruisers of England.

The next stage consisted of the selection of existing proposals. Finally, a choice was made in favor of the company from France. The project resembled one of the cruisers of the French Friant. After the ship went through all the paperwork, he could only give a name. "Svetlana", the cruiser of 1896, gained its name, thanks to Nicholas II, in 1985.

From paper to conveyor

Already at the end of 1895 the cruiser "Svetlana" was laid down officially. Various mechanisms along with the hull were built in Le Havre itself, boilers were also created in Belleville. The work went so fast that in less than a year the cruiser was launched. The following year it was decided to conduct tests.

Naturally, the main judge was the customer Alexei Alexandrovich, who already in 1897 set foot on board the "floating machine". The next stage was followed by various kinds of combat tests of progress and artillery, and, finally, in 1898 the "Svetlana" could enter into service, and the Grand Duke accepted it without reproaching.

Appearance - not the main thing?

It is worth noting that the appearance of the cruiser was not devoid of the features of French ships. The deck was slightly saddled in the bow, the ram was developed and rounded, and masts and pipes were tilted to the stern.

Considering the fact that Svetlana is an armored decker, it is not deprived of high reservation rates. The deck had a thickness of 25 mm, its bevels were larger - 25 and 50 millimeters. The control room was reliably protected by armored walls of 100 mm and a roof of 25 mm. The guns were also protected by 25 mm shields.

Features

According to the draft, only 270 people could accommodate "Svetlana". The cruiser, whose history of creation did not differ anything remarkable, showed in trials that it can assemble 400 people on its board. Although this was not enough. According to the head of the naval staff, the crew had to acquire 73 more sailors.

Some inaccuracies also occurred with speed. According to the initial idea, the cruiser developed a speed of more than 20 knots. The same was shown by the tests. But then the ship was not fully loaded, so it can be considered incorrect. This discrepancy later revealed a test in which "Svetlana" was equipped fully armed. Despite the fact that the power figures increased to almost 9,900 horsepower, the "floating machine" scored only 19 knots.

Another feature is the so-called "stuffing". The cruiser "Svetlana" was equipped with separate luxury apartments, which were supposed to comfortably accommodate Prince Alexis. There was an entrance hall, a reception room, a workplace, a bedroom and other rooms. The arrangement of the dynamo machines also should be moved away from the resting place, in the bow platform, to reduce the noise level.

Not in service, but in friendship

At the beginning of its operation the ship was a kind of exhibit, which attracted attention. He plowed the waters of Europe, visited Portugal, Kronstadt. At the end of the century, he went to the opening of Catherine's Harbor. Until 1903 he served as the personal yacht of Prince Alexei.

Already at the beginning of 1904, it was decided to take the cruiser into service with the Pacific Squadron. The crew was enlarged and sent to the Suez Canal. "Svetlana" became a detachment of intelligence and slowed noticeably, to 18 knots. Shooting had only educational character.

Fatal battle

The last battle of "Svetlana" was the battle on May 15. Before that, the cruiser participated in a battle in which he got hit and scored 350 tons of water. His nose sank under the water for almost one and a half meters. Accordingly, the speed dropped to 15 knots. The ship remained invisible for a long time. He lagged behind the "Aurora" and "Oleg", but late at night he was discovered by the destroyer "Fast" and escorted him further.

At five o'clock in the morning the captain saw Islet Island and wanted to approach him, in order to fix the malfunctions, pump out the water and put the ship in order. Once the danger passed by Svetlana, but a little later the ship was seen by two Japanese cruisers and a destroyer. When the officers realized that they could not leave at such a low speed, they decided to take the fight, and in case of defeat, sink the ship.

Of course, with such damage against the three "Svetlana" could not stand. By 11 o'clock in the afternoon the cruiser was lying on the left side, and began to sink to the bottom. Japanese ships left to die an armored deck in the open sea, and themselves rushed for the "Quick" and other "victims". Surviving officers and sailors rescued the cruiser America-Maru.

The new "Svetlana"

Already in 1907 it was decided to create a light cruiser such as "Svetlana". This step was caused by failures in the Russo-Japanese War. By the First World they did not have time to complete it, in the future the revolution slowed down the work on the series of cruisers.

As a result, of all the plans conceived, the cruiser "Svetlana" of 1913 was realized. He was launched into water in a couple of years, but he was destined to enter the battle only in 1928. Light cruiser "Svetlana" was later renamed "Profintern", later in "Red Crimea". Under the last name took part in the Great Patriotic War.

"Admiral Butakov" from the same series went down to water in 1916, but he was never destined to enter service. The remaining two cruisers Admiral Greig and Admiral Spiridov were rebuilt in tankers in 1926. The first sank in Tuapse because of the storm, the second one was killed fighting in the Azov Sea during the Great Patriotic War.