Russian cruiser General-Admiral

General-Admiral was the lead ship of her class of armored cruisers built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the early 1870s. She is generally considered the first true armored cruiser.

The Russian armored cruiser General-Admiral
History
Russian Empire
Name	General-Admiral
Namesake	Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia
Builder	Society of Metal and Mining Works Shipyard
Laid down	27 November 1870
Launched	2 October 1873
Completed	1875
Renamed	Narova, 25 October 1909 25 Oktiabrya, 1922
Reclassified	Training ship, 24 March 1906 Minelayer, 1909
Fate	Scrapped 1953
General characteristics
Class and type	General-Admiral-class armored frigate
Displacement	5,031 long tons (5,112 t)
Length	285 ft 10 in (87.1 m)
Beam	48 ft (14.6 m)
Draft	24 ft 5 in (7.4 m)
Installed power	4,772 ihp (3,558 kW)
Propulsion	1 shaft, 1 Vertical compound steam engine 5 cylindrical boilers
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range	5,900 nmi (10,900 km; 6,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	482 officers and crewmen
Armament	- as build - 4 × single 8-inch (203 mm) /22 guns 2 × single 6-inch (152 mm) /23 guns 4 × single 1.75-inch (44 mm) Engstrom guns - since 1881 - 6 × single 8-inch (203 mm) /22 guns 2 × single 6-inch (152 mm) /28 guns - after 1887 - 6 × single 8-inch (203 mm) /30 guns 2 × single 6-inch (152 mm) /28 guns 6 × single 3.4-inch (86 mm) guns 8 × 5 rev. 37-millimeter (1.5 in) Hotchkiss guns 2 × 15-inch (381 mm) submerged torpedo tubes - since 1898 (as training ship) - 4 × single 6-inch (152 mm) /45 Canet guns 6 × single 47-millimeter (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns 2 × 15-inch (381 mm) submerged torpedo tubes - since 1911 (as minelayer) - 4 × single 75-millimeter (3.0 in) /50 Canet guns
Armor	Belt: 6 in (152 mm) Battery: 6 in (152 mm) Deck: .5 in (12.7 mm)

Design and description

Originally classified as an armored corvette, General-Admiral was redesignated as a semi-armored frigate on 24 March 1875. She was laid out as a central battery ironclad with the armament concentrated amidships. The iron-hulled ship was not fitted with a ram and her crew numbered approximately 482 officers and men.

General-Admiral was 285 feet 10 inches (87.1 m) long overall. She had a beam of 48 feet (14.6 m) and a draft of 24 feet 5 inches (7.4 m). The ship was designed to displace 4,604 long tons (4,678 t), but displaced 5,031 long tons (5,112 t) as built, an increase of over 400 long tons (410 t).

Propulsion

The ship had a vertical compound steam engine driving a single two-bladed 6.25-meter (20 ft 6 in) propeller. Steam was provided by five cylindrical boilers at a pressure of 4.24 kg/cm² (416 kPa; 60 psi). The engine produced 4,772 indicated horsepower (3,558 kW) during sea trials which gave the ship a maximum speed around 12.3 knots (22.8 km/h; 14.2 mph). General-Admiral carried a maximum of 1,000 long tons (1,000 t) of coal which gave her an economical range of 5,900 nautical miles (10,900 km; 6,800 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). She was ship-rigged with three masts. To reduce drag while under sail her funnel was retractable and her propeller could be hoisted into the hull.

See also

• List of Russian inventions

References

• Beeler, John Francis (1997). British Naval Policy in the Gladstone-Disraeli Era. San Francisco: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2981-6.
• Campbell, N. J. M. (1979). "Russia". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 170–217. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
• Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
• Watts, Anthony J. (1990). The Imperial Russian Navy. London: Arms and Armour. ISBN 0-85368-912-1.
• Wright, Christopher C. (1972). "Cruisers of the Imperial Russian Navy, Part I". Warship International. IX (1): 28–52.

External links

• Media related to General-Admiral (ship, 1873) at Wikimedia Commons