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Post by janxol on Oct 22, 2020 13:35:45 GMT -6
For all his other faults, Yevtushenkov seems at least to be a competent commander. The fact that his flagship had the best (or at least least worst) gunnery of the whole exercise speaks volumes. I wonder which Mikhail finds less painful to deal with -- the diplomatic crisis with the Japanese, or the personal crisis brought on by painful memories from the past. Yevtushenkov showed competence, but can he really take all the credit for the accuracy? All four battleships involved are part of the same squadron under his command (split 2-2 for the exercise). So maybe its Evstafi's captain who put some more emphasis on his crew's training. Or maybe they were lucky and it is Bayan's crew that are the best least bad shot, since they were "out of position", as rationalized by kontr-admiral Dmitri Vedernikov.
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Post by janxol on Oct 22, 2020 14:43:53 GMT -6
A whole year passed? Already?
October of 1900 brought more development in the East. While the Japanese activity decreases somewhat in face of Russian warships conducting patrols, they did their best to turn the situation around and claim on the international stage that it was Russia who threatened the stability of the region, attempting to gain more influence in Asia. Great Britian and Germany, both having colonies in North-East Asia were not particularly impressed or convinced by these claims, but USA decided to take the side of Japan in this dispute. This, in turn, lead to increased tensions between USA and Russia, and Japan again seemed to gain some courage. On October 25th an incident occurred in which Japanese armored cruiser Tokiwa refused to alter course and collided with Russian protected cruiser Flora at the edge of Russian territorial waters east of Sakhalin. The ships sustained moderate damage, with both managing to get back to port without much issue. While the captains of both vessels were cool enough not to escalate the incident any further, the event sparked more outrage and tensions on the St.Petersburg-Tokyo line. The American diplomats were also relentless in their criticism of Russian conduct. There were however some good news as well. The Engineering Committee has developed, tested and approved a new device aimed to increase accuracy of naval gunnery - a coincidence rangefinder. Admiralty lieutenant-colonel Artem Ivanovitch Sapalyov also reported that they are currently investigating the concept of a double bottom, which would increase the survivability of ships. It was promising, but they were yet to work out how to best incorporate it into ship design without negatively affecting the ship's characteristics. In November the Engineering Committee presented yet another advancement - a hydraulic recoil absorber which would allow to increase the rate of fire. Since more shells fired towards the target meant more shells that may hit, general-admiral Mikhail Koshkin was pleased and the devices, as well as the coincidence rangefinders, were scheduled to be mounted on every ship. He also realized that he can't count on the rangefinder providing much of an advantage, as other navies were quick to copy the concept. Japan again increased naval budget, which could be yet another concern. In early December general-admiral Koshkin approved budget for expansion for naval shipyards, intending to continue development started by his predecessor. Additionally the Engineering committee approved new improved surface condensers as reliable enough to be used in warships, which would allow for construction of more efficient and more powerful engines, which could potentially lead both to greater speeds and weight savings. Russian metallurgy was also capable of copying properties of the Krupp armor, introduced by the British in October. This meant stronger armor plates and increased protection of new warships. Apart from that Tula armory presented a new model of a 250mm naval gun, which was outperforming the similar-caliber models of other nations, as well as the 254mm guns of the Bayan-class. While originally kontr-admiral Vedernikov recommended the replacement of of cruiser guns to the new models, the idea was shelved for now, as the costs appeared greater than the benefits. The new gun was however ordered for the second stage of Port Arthur expansion, which would consist of construction of a 250mm shore battery, extension of minefields and additional military warehouses in the docks.
16:00, December 31st, 1900, St.Petersburg, General-admiral's office "I look like a stuffed buffoon", said Mikhail, as he looked in the mirror. He was wearing his brand new dress uniform, the most extravagant outfit any admiral would ever dare to put on. "At least you look like a buffoon in a nice uniform.", responded Dmitri, causing both of them to chuckle. "This outfit really needs some work...", said Mikhail. "I like the white color, I like the hat. But the thing is incredibly stiff and difficult to move in. And it has these... What is that even?" He tried to brush off white ornamental strands of fabric, descending from his epaulette. "All of these issues could've been fixed if you actually tried it on about a month ago, rather than now, just before the party.", said Dmitri. "Also, these are supposed to take away attention from the fact that your chest display can be less impressive than other admirals, junior to you." "What do you mean by less impressive chest display?" Mikhail only pointed to his own chest. He was also wearing his best dress uniform, and looking at his chest Mikhail realized it's about the medals. He skipped many ranks and years of service by gaining this promotion, which meant that his own collection - two medals, both making him very proud of himself - was simply not as impressive as collections of other admirals. As such, the tailor has apparently thought it best to make him look a bit like a Christmas tree - that will certainly distract anyone from the lack of medals. "By the way, that was an interesting speech at the Navy League gathering last week.", said Dmitri. "I particularly liked the part where you started ranting about the imperialistic ambitions of Japan. It was good, entertaining and to the point, but I doubt it will help to ease off tension." "Japan doesn't want to decrease tensions. Whatever I'd say would matter little, so might as well be honest. And if in the process I inspire someone to defend their country, then so be it.", responded Mikhail. "I think we should leave. I don't want to be late for once." "There's one more thing, that you would've been aware of you've read the letter that I can see un-opened on your desk", said Dmitri. "As general-admiral - since this year we have one - you are meant to give an opening speech at the party..." "I am? In front of the Tsar?", asked surprised Mikhail. Dmitri nodded. After a few seconds of silence Mikhail put on his admiral's hat and looked at his friend with a smirk. "Well then...", he said. "Show-time..."
That's a nice budget you got there, Great Britain
This concludes the first year of Admiral Koshkin on his station.
What will the future bring...? What will the past bring...?
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Post by janxol on Oct 25, 2020 4:30:42 GMT -6
New Year, same problems
9:00, January 2nd, 1901, St. Petersburg, General-admiral's office Mikhail took a deep breath, looking around the office. "How drunk was I?, he asked, turning around to look at Dmitri. "Not drunk enough to get a promotion, apparently.", he said. "Good. Well, I wanted to make sure, since the hangover was terrible and I only have a very vague recollection of certain events." "That is certainly better than no recollection. So I would call it a victory." "Hey, I'll drink to that.", said Mikhail. "No, Mikhail. Please don't." They both laughed. Mikhail walked around his desk, taking a short glance out the window before sitting down. "What do you think about bringing the floating art installation back into active service?", he asked unexpectedly. "Do you think Andrei will be very offended if I transfer it over to the Pacific Squadron?" "Only if he's as *fond* of the ship as you are. And nobody is as fond of it as you.", responded Dmitri. "I am also quite impressed that you're already thinking about the Japanese problem. I thought it would take you a bit longer to get back to your senses after the party." "Thinking about this issue is my job, Dmitri. And it is an issue I must figure out how to resolve. And then there's the bloody Americans... I'm pretty sure they're just running their self-righteous mouth through the diplomatic channels and that they have something to gain from Japan for it, but I doubt they would be that quick to join a war, should it come to that. Though if they do we're in trouble. They have a decently-sized ship[s and their battleships are quite formidable.", mused Mikhail. "The good news is, our new battleships are almost complete. In fact, the first two are scheduled to commission in two weeks. And when they do I want both Yevtushenkov and Artem to take a good look at them, observe the sea trials, make sure they don't have any unnervingly French traits, like the humble-home does. One more thing to consider is that we should come up with a new fleet expansion program. Completion of the battleships, as well as nearing completion of the Boyarin, as well as the rest of the Bayan-class warships, means that freeing up funds which should be directed towards new construction. I was looking at all of these numbers and reports throughout December to get a picture of where we stand and what the other navies are doing... And of course I welcome your advice, so... Advise me, advisor." Mikhail smiled and interlocked his fingers, looking at Dmitri over his desk. The kontr-admiral chuckled. "I must say that I sometimes underestimate what a productive thinker you are. One would think that your alcohol intake and your... well... Whatever issues you have that you're not telling me about... One would assume they'd impede your reasoning.", he said. Mikhail laughed. "One: I am not a drunk. Not usually, at least. Two: being drunk doesn't prevent me from thinking, it merely makes it harder.", he responded. "But, getting back to the state of the fleet..." "Armored cruisers...", said Dmitri immediately. "Ours are large and we do have the Bayan, soon to be three Bayans, but we have significantly less than other navies. Currently four are in service with the Russian navy. Germany has ten, with three more under construction, USA has at least nine, even Japan fields six, and they're building five more." "And you consider these ships to be crucial to our efforts..." "I do consider cruisers to be versatile ships useful for various purposes. Armored cruisers in particular are vessels which I appreciate for their power, speed and range, and they have significantly better protection than protected cruisers. The Bayan is a perfect example, it's a ship known world-wide. Foreign captains know it, foreign captains fear it. Under certain conditions it could even take on a battleship. Hell, it's larger than most battleships.", said Dmitri. "Those conditions being actually being able to hit more than once with primary guns, I assume?", said Mikhail, chuckling. "You can laugh at the exercise, but you realize Bayan is a good ship." "I do. But it is also an expensive ship and a lot of its cost came from the machinery. It's fast, yes, but is that speed worth the cost? Even with design updates to incorporate the improved surface condensers, the cost wouldn't be that much less. And in terms of cruisers, we need more numbers, especially if surface raiding is to be our tactic of choice against opponents such as Germany or USA, who field a larger navy. That would have to mean cutting the costs of individual ships. And then we need to also consider construction of additional battleships, to ultimately try to catch up to larger navies, which requires significant budget, which leads to the conclusion that... Everything costs too much.", Mikhail sighed. "Doesn't it always?" "I suppose it does...", said Mikhail with a chuckle. "Armored cruisers for fleet duty. Small cruisers for raiding. Battleships for battleline. That's the general idea, then... Numbers and costs will come in a bit. Also, mobilize the French hotel... I just realized by sending it to Port Arthur I will dramatically decrease chances of laying my eyes upon it. If Andrei doesn't like it, he can always run it aground and have another shore battery. Give the thing the necessary maintenance, give the crew a week or two to get up to speed and send them to the Pacific." While displeased with the fact of receiving an order from Koshkin, Yevtushenkov didn't resist, as he seemed to agree with the order's content. On 12th of January he boarded protected cruiser Svetlana and travelled to France to watch over sea trials of first two battleships of the Dvenadtsat Apostolov-class - the Dvenadtsat Apostolov and Imperator Aleksandr II. On 20th of January a 1901 Fleet Expansion Program was announced, calling for construction of four new battleships, two armored cruisers, two medium cruisers and four small cruisers. 1901 FLEET EXPANSION PROGRAM - GENERAL SHIP REQUIREMENTS
Battleships - Admiralty calls for construction of 4 battleships. By decision of general-admiral Koshkin the technical requirements will be defined at a later date, pending the commissioning and evaluation of Dvenadtsat Apostolov-class. Armored cruisers - Admiralty calls for construction of 2 armored cruisers. The vessels are to be armed with new 250mm guns. The vessels are to have protection against shells up to 10-inch caliber at all expected combat ranges. The vessels are to have a speed of minimum 21 knots, 22 is preferred. Medium cruisers - Admiralty calls for construction of 2 medium cruisers. The vessels are to be armed with weaponry appropriate to combat enemy cruisers of similar size and torpedo boat destroyers. The vessels are to have a speed of minimum 22 knots. Small cruisers - Admiralty calls for construction of 4 small cruisers. The vessels are to be armed with weaponry appropriate to combat enemy cruisers of similar size and torpedo boat destroyers. The vessels are to have a speed of minimum 22 knots. Thought is to be given to range and reliability of the engine. Thought is to be given to reduce vessel costs to any extent that will not impair it's function.
Upon receiving the general requirements, the Engineering Committee quickly came up with several preliminary designs. Armored cruisers: Design CA1901-1 - A ship of about 14 000 tons of displacement. Speed of 22 knots. Based on the Bayan-class, the design seemed focused on decreasing costs, while simultaneously incorporating new 250mm guns and maintaining Bayan's thick armor and firepower. Design CA1901-2 - A ship of about 12 00 tons of displacement. Speed of 22 knots. More akin to the previous armored cruiser of Gromoboi-class and Pamyat Azova-class the design was cheaper of the two. Maintaining the 250mm battery, decrease in displacement would mean decreasing armor thickness or coverage and reducing the gun count of secondary battery. The design should still be capable of taking on majority of foreign cruisers, though not nearly as fearsome as the Bayan. While Mikhail was yet to made a decision on any of the designs, he favored the smaller ship, primarily because of its price. He didn't want another Bayan, another endless abyss swallowing funding. In his mind the smaller design should be perfectly capable of performing tasks expected of the ships. Medium cruisers:Design CL1901-3 - A ship of about 5200 tons of displacement. Speed of 23 knots. Based somewhat on the Avrora-class of ships and intended for similar purpose, it would have similar speed and protection, but increased firepower. Incorporation of technologies introduced since the Avroras were designed should amount for improvement in ship capabilities. Design CL1901-4 - A ship of about 6000 tons of displacement. Speed of 23 knots. Interestingly armed with a pair of 203mm guns in two single turrets in addition to a 152mm battery, the design was certainly intriguing. Not particularly expensive, though definitely pricier than the conventional 152mm-armed concept and not making any compromises in speed or armor to carry the increased firepower. Small cruisers:Design CL1901-1 - A ship of about 4300 tons of displacement. Speed of 23 knots. A concept similar to Svetlana-class of protected cruisers, armed with a fairly small 152mm battery. The design was basically a study in weight-saving to reduce ship size and cost. Design CL1901-2 - A ship of about 2500 tons of displacement. Speed of 22 knots. Possibly one of the smallest cruisers ever on a drawing table, the ship certainly had general-admiral's interest, particularly because if it's incredibly low price. The small size and low price meant that compromises had to be made, however, and the ship would only carry 125mm guns as opposed to standard 152mm. The speed would also be lowered by one knot in comparison to CL1901-1.
Dvenadtsat Apostolov-class battleship
On February 4th battleships Dvenadtsat Apostolov and Imperator Aleksandr II arrived in St. Petersburg after passing their sea trials and a ceremony was held, commissioning of both ships into service. Ultimately Mikhail was glad he sent Yevtushenkov, as the admiral identified several minor issues during the sea trials and ordered them fixed by the shipbuilder. As per Yevtushenkov's incredibly concise report: "Ships performing to specifications. Minor adjustments were necessary and have been made". As per more detailed report from Artem, all of Yevtushenkov's concerns appeared valid and at least two of the problems could've been easily missed by someone who didn't spend all their career on a battleship. The remaining two vessels of the class were scheduled to be delivered in April. On February 10th Engineering Committee reported that a new model of torpedo entered production. Utilizing an improved hydrostatic valve, these were supposed to be more reliable and achieve greater speed than previous model. 11:00, February 15th, 1901, St. Petersburg "I am incredibly surprised you agreed to this...", admitted Dmitri. "Ah, well. The Tsar came up with this idea. Might as well.", responded Mikhail. "It makes us look good, and gives the impression we have even more funding than we do" He was careful to use the word "even", as he was perfectly aware that there may be foreign dignitaries within earshot. As much as everyone seemed mostly focused on the sailing regatta taking place before them, overhearing what the Russian general-admiral has to say was certainly not outside of the scope of responsibilities of many people present. Dignitaries, diplomats, even naval officers were invited from various countries. Only Japan was not invited to the event, and as much as it was probably angering them, Mikhail was certain they had no intention of showing up, as it would be a "show of good will" which they certainly appeared to be lacking lately. Americans, on the other hand, were invited and not only did they send dignitaries to attend, they also sent a sailing team to take part in the regatta. "You think we have a chance to win?", asked Dmitri. "Well... As long as it's not a shooting competition...", whispered Mikhail, causing them both to chuckle. The sailing boats, racing around the Kotlin Island, came into view, eliciting some cheers and cries from the general public. It was difficult to say who was in the first place at first, but as the boats got closer to the finish line it looked like the Italian team is firmly in the lead, with Russian and British teams fighting fiercely for second place and chased by the French boat, which was itself running away from the Germans, who were incredibly fast catching up to them. In fact, the German team overtook the French and gave chase to the British. And they were really going for it, it paid off when by the end of the race the Germans crossed the finish line in second place. Italians won, Germans second, Russian team came in third. After them the finish line was crossed by the British, French and Austro-Hungarians with Americans coming in last.
New year, new ships to be built. Feel free to comment your opinions on the preliminary designs or their requirements. Or anything else, really.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Oct 25, 2020 9:31:43 GMT -6
(One thing I find it difficult to do is put aside my fore-knowledge of the coming dreadnaught revolution, but I do so with your marvelous story in mind. ) When considering the state of foreign navies Russia is shockingly close to being able to fight for the Penultimate position in battleships, as it is entirely feasible to consider overtaking the sleepy democracy of the western hemisphere. To do so would require a commitment to 6 years of building, but might be a possible goal. As such choosing designs with a bit of economy will certainly add up. The 13" short-barreled designs available in England and France can be discounted, for while lofting a hefty shell the reduced weight and cost and improved range of an 11 or 12" battery should suffice. It would seem that a 10,000 ton design could work, avoiding the vainglorious largess of the English-speaking world, and if a commitment to building 2 a year could be maintained, 25 battleships could form the Tsar's fleet by the end of the decade. 2x2 10/11/12" main battery 7x2 casement 7" secondary gallery 10,000-11,000 tons 18 knots And while in the previous decade I had argued for the largest possible tertiary battery on our Dvenadtsat Apostolovs, given the recent gunnery tests and the raw economy we need to seek, I propose the radical suggestion of a minimal or non-existent tertiary armament.
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Post by akosjaccik on Oct 26, 2020 3:04:51 GMT -6
Finally managed to catch up with your AAR, the situation looks intriguing. One might start thinking about how to make sure to keep the american hands idle through diplomatic means - surely an over-extending Japan in the region threatens rightful US interests in the Pacific region, besides, perhaps the newly announced fleet program could use some "foreign expertise in industrial manufacturing" to a minor degree, it may even be the expertise of say, the Betlehem Iron Works or something. "Joke" aside, I will be curious about how the armored cruiser focus will turn out, considering I myself took virtually the opposite path in my game out of financial reasons á la Bayan. No love for the thumblehomes though. One day they (or in this particular case - it) will show you all! Funny thing is, if I think about the russo-japanese war, if my memory serves, arguably the best battleship of the russian Navy was the french-built Tsesarevich (apologies if I screwed up the english transscription).
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Post by janxol on Oct 26, 2020 6:46:00 GMT -6
Finally managed to catch up with your AAR, the situation looks intriguing. One might start thinking about how to make sure to keep the american hands idle through diplomatic means - surely an over-extending Japan in the region threatens rightful US interests in the Pacific region, besides, perhaps the newly announced fleet program could use some "foreign expertise in industrial manufacturing" to a minor degree, it may even be the expertise of say, the Betlehem Iron Works or something. "Joke" aside, I will be curious about how the armored cruiser focus will turn out, considering I myself took virtually the opposite path in my game out of financial reasons á la Bayan. No love for the thumblehomes though. One day they (or in this particular case - it) will show you all! Funny thing is, if I think about the russo-japanese war, if my memory serves, arguably the best battleship of the russian Navy was the french-built Tsesarevich (apologies if I screwed up the english transscription).
The Humble-home might get its chance to shine (or not), seeing how its sent to to join Pacific Squadron, in a place where the action is most likely to begin.
I don't know about Tsesarevitch being the best battleship, but I do know that it was actually the events of Russo-Japanese war that demonstrated the weakness of tumblehome design and caused it to be abandoned. (loss of Borodinos, for example - Tsesarevitch's step-sibling ships).
Interesting thing regarding the transcription of Russian names is that there are several possibilities, some of which I find more accurate than others. For example you may sport that the class name of Tri Svyatitelya is Tri Sviatitelia, which is how I orgiginally transcribed it and how I personally find more akin to the actual pronounciation of the thing, only to find the game is proposing a random name of Tri Svyatitelya for another battleship. I can't rename the class, so I need to look out for the random name generator.
That doesnt mean that one is more correct than the other though. And there are many such examples. For example the common ending of patronymic names in -itch vs -ich. Even in cyrylics there are Russian names that are considered legally different because of different spelling, but are considered (and essentialy are) the same name, for example Natalya and Nataliya. So as long as transcription is anywhere close in pronounciation you can't really say you screwed it up.
Also a disclaimer that Russian is not my native language, though I somewhat speak it (can read and write, accent travels all over places it shouldnt though).
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Post by janxol on Oct 27, 2020 15:40:30 GMT -6
The expansion program continues, time to lay down some ships
He hated these parties. As Mikhail wandered through the garden, he took exceptional care to navigate between guests. Smiling at everyone like a polite idiot, he suffered. He craved intellectual stimulation. He craved a meaningful conversation, which he knew he would not find here. Not with these people, focused on their lineages, distant relatives and family histories. Time and again, Mikhail ventured into the garden in search of anything even mildly interesting to hear about, to talk about... But no. He was surrounded by snobs, half of them living fossils to boot. And so once again, he found himself by the stairs leading up to terrace overlooking the garden. "Why do we exist? Just to suffer?", he said, taking a sip of champagne from the glass he was carrying with him all the time. "Oh, you're back so soon, Misha?", responded a feminine voice. "Your ventures seem to be growing shorter each time." "That's because each time I meet a new group of people who I then know to avoid in the next attempt. And so I find myself back here. Congratulations, Katya. Once more you prove to be the least un-interesting person in the immediate vicinity.", he said with a smirk, turning to his interlocutor. She was standing next to the stairs, on the opposite side from Mikhail. Her chestnut hair waving in the passing gust of wind, her smile, her green eyes, it all shook something within Mikhail. And as reality seemed to crumble around him, he opened his eyes to look at his bedroom's ceiling. February 26th saw the commissioning of armored cruiser Oleg, second of the Bayan-class. Greatly publicized, the vent rode the wave of fame surrounding the original ship, in an attempt to make it seem much more significant than it really was. To boost morale and intimidate foreign navies the fame of the Bayan had to be upheld. The commissioning ceremony and the ships were important enough for Germany, who were kind enough to send an... Unsanctioned observer to inspect the vessel. Unfortunately the gentleman was captured by the Russian guards and after some intense persuading confessed to the charges of espionage. General-admiral Koshkin was both happy for the spy being captured and quite angry at the fact of there being one in the first place. While accepting that espionage is just something that will always happen, Mikhail sent an appropriate letter to Berlin, telling that such practices on Russian soil will not be appreciated. As he received no response he would deem appropriate, the story of capture of a German spy was soon in every Russian newspaper and at least several of the German and French publications. After careful evaluation of preliminary designs of new ships the general-admiral made the choice of direction which should be pursued and communicated with the Engineering Committee to make certain adjustments and authorized further design work. These ships were designated as "Project 131", "Project 132" and "Project 141". As Project 131 was largely based on the design of Avrora-class protected cruisers the design work moved extremely fast and two ships were laid down on March 26th. The two ships were to be named Rynda and Pamyat Merkuriya and as such Project 131 would officially be named Rynda-class. Rynda-class protected cruiser (Project 131)
On April 6th battleships Imperator Pavel I and Imperator Petr Velikii of the Dvenadtsat Apostolov-class were officially commissioned. Mere two days later, on April 8th, their sister ships reported for active duty after the period of working up. On April 12th the third of the Bayan-class - the Bogatyr - was commissioned.
Dvenadtsat Apostolov(1899) Ships in class: 4 Dvenadtsat Apostolov, Imperator Pavel I, Imperator Petr Veliki, Imperator Aleksandr II Dvenadtsat Apostolov-class battleship
The ships were ordered from French shipyards due to lack of availability of slipways at the time of their construction. They were meant as a direct improvement over the previous Rostislav-class and successfully managed to avoid being bestowed with any design quirks that could be considered offensively French. With a displacement of 14 000 tons they were about 500 tons larger than the Rostislavs. The ships were armed with four 305mm(12") guns in two twin turrets, a standard arrangement on most battleships. The secondary battery consisted of sixteen 152mm(6") guns in casemates and the tertiary armament consisted of sixteen 76mm(3") guns in deck mounts and fighting tops. Additionally the ships were equipped with two submerged torpedo tubes, one on each broadside. Belt armor was 9"-3.5" thick and the sloped deck had a thickness of 1.5", but only covered the ships vitals, as opposed to the Rostislav-class which had a 1" thick extended section of the deck. Triple expansion steam engines providing over 18 000 horsepower were driving two propeller shafts for a top speed of 18 knots. The ships made a positive impression at the time of their commissioning, but only time can tell how successful they will be. 11:00, April 16th, 1901, St. Petersburg, General-admiral's office "Welcome, Artem Ivanovitch. It is fortunate that you requested a meeting, as I did in fact have a matter to discuss as well.", said Mikhail, greeting Artem as he came into the office. "But first, please, what is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" "Greetings, general-admiral. Actually what I wanted to speak about is the ships for the expansion program. Mainly the battleships, even though you have not provided the requirements for them.", explained Artem. "Coincidentally, I also wished to discuss precisely the matter of battleships with you.", said Mikhail, as both of them sat down at the desk. "Please, continue." "Alright...", started Artem, gathering his thoughts. "Seeing the firing tests of the new 250mm guns, the very same we are incorporating into the armored cruiser design, I couldn't help but notice their excellent performance. And so, with several other ideas on the table, I have come to approach the idea of arming the new battleships with said 250mm." "That's an interesting notion, which I'm sure you're about to expand upon... I admit I see no benefit in reducing the caliber of the main battery." "That's the thing, general-admiral...", said Artem, as he unfolded several technical sketches which he brought in a small suitcase. "The idea was to arm the battleships with 250mm guns... In addition to the usual 305mm battery..." Mikhail raised an eyebrow, leaning forward to look at the pictures. "You certainly got my attention, continue.", he said. "As you know, various navies have been experimenting with the idea of increasing the caliber of secondary battery on battleships. It is fair to assume that with technology improvements in fire control the range of engagement will increase, which will likely require larger guns other than the four of the main battery to have hopes of doing any damage to the opposing ships. As such, the idea shared among nations is to include an intermediate battery of 8-10" caliber to increase the ship's firepower at range and increase chances of penetrating armor. It is my belief that this is a sound reasoning, and the idea is worth investigating. Now, all of the foreign navies, as far as we know, have so far limited this experimentation to theoretical models and no ships with such arrangement are being built, or they keep their construction in secret, so it could very well be a venture into the unknown, pioneering ship design." "How feasible would it be to build such a ship?", asked Mikhail. "These guns would be quite heavy..." "It is feasible, general-admiral, though the ships would have to be larger than current battleships to accommodate this heavy battery... This would also mean that while the program calls for four battleships, only two slipways in admiralty shipyard are large enough to allow for construction of such vessels, at least according to my initial calculations. The other two battleships, should you decided to go ahead with construction of the two heavy ships, would need to be smaller, or ordered from abroad. Ordering from abroad would also mean they would need to be equipped with different guns for the heavy battery, or the 250mm guns would need to be installed after ships completion, as I don't think transporting a set of 250mm guns to France is a feasible endeavor. " "I see. These are some detailed calculations for a preliminary design, Artem Ivanovitch. I'm impressed. Incidentally, this issue of lack of slipways of this size ties in with the thing I was intending to ask you about.", said Mikhail. "I have received a letter from a certain person in the admiralty, who was advocating that the navy should focus on economy of battleship design and rather than going large, should intend for more numerous, but smaller battleships. I'll relay the letter to you, so you can evaluate the exact propositions listed to reduce tonnage, but my primary question to you is this: How small can you make a battleship?" Artem was thinking for a few seconds. "Off the top of my head, about 13 000 tons, if we're talking about standard layout of 305mm, 152mm and 76mm guns with sufficient protection. Lower tonnage could possibly be achieved by sacrificing armor, range... I reckon a short range battleship with reduced armor could be about... 12 000 tons. Further reductions would require reduction of main battery caliber to 280 or even 250mm, though this may not be something that is wanted in a battleship design. A coastal defense battleship similar to Navarin-class could probably be about 10 000 tons in size, though as I said, it would be a coastal ship, not a battleship in full sense of the word." "Off the top of your head...", repeated Mikhail. "Again, I'm impressed with your natural aptitude for numbers. Here's what we're going to do... I want prelimanry designs for following cases: One, the ship you proposed, with 250mm guns. Two, a similar ships, but built to the limits of the largest slipway. If we can only build two at a time, it may be beneficial to make them really count. Three, I want a design with a standard layout, make it as small as possible, but keep it a full-size battleship. I will relay said letter to you, so you can evaluate all of its suggestions. Depending on the designs and what they offer I will decide whether to build four standard battleships, or two standard battleship and two of these heavier vessels." "Very well, general-admiral. I will get to work immediately."
On April 20th four ships were laid down to the Project 132. The four ships would be Almaz, Voevoda, Oprichnik and Griden and the class would be officially named Almaz-class.
Almaz-class protected cruiser (Project 132)
Mikhail decided to proceed with the smaller design for purely economic reasons. He envisioned these ships as scouts and raiders and admittedly they would be at a disadvantage when facing larger protected cruisers. While being very small, they were still outgunning or matching firepower of many foreign scout cruisers. On April 26th yet another incident with Japan occurred, as Japanese cruiser fired upon Russian fishing boats present at the edge of the Sakhalin territorial waters. Yet again Russian patience was tested, yet again diplomatic channels exchanged furious words, yet again Mikhail thought that this time war is certain. Perhaps it was, but it was not the day it would be declared. The question remains, what is project 141? Did they go with the big armored cruiser like the Bayan or the smaller design?
What will the battleship design bring? Who is the mysterious woman? Find out in next episode of..
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Post by janxol on Oct 29, 2020 13:46:01 GMT -6
The Expansion Program continues, all designs complete, all major slipways busy
10:00, May 2nd, 1901, St. Petersburg, General-admiral's office As soon as Dmitri entered the room he knew that Mikhail is... "Not in the mood". He could hear it in his voice, when he let him into the office, he could see it in his eyes - absent, deep in thought. His mind was at work, but Dmitri feared that it is not the navy he is focused on, but on the many things that bothered him. Mikhail refused to share his worries, but it was clear that he is deeply troubled. Dmitri knew only some of the things he experienced, some of the things that scarred him forever, others remained a mystery. And Dmitri was worried for his friend. Even more so that Mikhail was stubborn in his defiance, and as long as he didn't want to share his issues, nobody could help him to deal with them... "Are you alright, Mikhail?", asked Dmitri after a few seconds have passed and the general-admiral has still not acknowledged his presence. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you.", responded Mikhail, snapping back to reality. "Just in thought." "You need to get a hobby..." "A hobby.", repeated Mikhail, raising an eyebrow. "Something to focus on. It isn't healthy for your mind to be focused on nothing but your work... Or bad memories...", said Dmitri. "Hmm. Kontr-admiral, cruiser enthusiast, psychologist... You truly are a man of renaissance.", responded Mikhail. "I fear I have no time for hobbies in the current situation. Nor any particular activity that I would enjoy." "I suggest you find such an activity. Retirement will be incredibly boring for you otherwise." Mikhail chuckled. "Retirement... I don't think I'm in danger of retiring any time soon. I hope so, at least. What do you think about Artem's design proposition and the idea of an intermediate battery on a battleship?" "It could be beneficial. The engagement ranges are expected to increase and with advancements in armor manufacturing one is going to need more powerful guns to have a chance of penetration. At the same time, my expertise is primarily in cruisers. Battleships were always too slow for my liking, too cumbersome." "Too cumbersome, he says, while having his flag flying on the Bayan. Remind me, what is her turning radius again?" "She's large, but she handles better than a battleship and is obviously faster. Fares better in high seas, too. My point about battleships being that if you want opinion from a person versed in art of line warfare, you need to ask Yevtushenkov, I am afraid.", responded Dmitri. "I will not ask Yevtushenkov a damn thing. He knows about the design work, if he wants to contribute in any way, shape or form, he knows where my office is.", said Mikhail. "And in other news... Japan is really annoying me..." "Well they seem to be trying pretty hard to do just that..." "Mobilize the fleet...", said Mikhail after a few seconds. "Every single ship. We keep having this dangerous dance with the Japanese, but it will not last. They had more than enough opportunities to back down... We won't back down and if neither do they... Only one way to solve this issue." "So... What are we doing?", asked Dmitri, somewhat surprised by Mikhail's sudden decision. "I will actively push for war with Japan when possible. They have ambitions and are expanding the fleet, but for now our fleet is larger. As such, I would want this war, if we cannot avoid it, to come sooner rather than later. The reason why I won't send the Baltic Fleet right now is that we have to appear reasonable to the western powers. USA also remain a concern as it would be unfortunate to fight a war against them, especially if fighting Japan at the same time... My intention is to keep all major powers calm, but push every button of Japan. They will have their war... I would like it to be on our terms."
By May 15th two designs of battleships were chosen for further development. One was a "standard" battleship, designated Project 151, which was being designed with economy in mind, but still maintaining tactical and strategic capabilities expected of every battleship. The other was a "heavy" battleship, designated Project 152. These were being designed with the heavy intermediate battery. They would be large enough that only two slipways of the admiralty shipyard could accommodate them, but decision was made not to push the very limits of dimension, as it was considered unnecessary cost which didn't contribute much to the capabilities of the design. Another interesting thing that happened is that a certain French company started advertising 10-inch guns with performance similar to the new Russian 250mm guns. This apparently wounded the Russian pride and by the end of the month Tula arsenal presented an improved model of 250mm naval gun which outperformed both their earlier design and the French weapon. As such the decision was made to redesign Project 141 and Project 152 to incorporate the improved gun. On June 20th the design of Project 141 was finalized and two ships were laid down - Vityaz and Voin.
Vityaz-class armored cruiser (Project 141)
This was soon after followed with laying down of two battleships of the Project 151 on July 5th - the ships would be Pobeda and Petropavlovsk.
Pobeda-class battleship (Project 151)
With that, majority of large slipways in admiralty shipyards became occupied, and the dockworkers would have their hands full, even prompting the shipyard to significantly expand its construction crews. Thing would only get more hectic when on July 18th battleships Poltava and Knyaz Potemkin of Project 152 were laid down. The design was mostly classified, but it was clear, not least by the size of the assigned slipways, that they would be rather large ships. Poltava-class battleships (Project 152) [DETAILS CLASSIFIED]
With that, one could also say that all ships intended as part of the 1901 Fleet Expansion Program have been laid down. The general-admiral's attention was now turned entirely towards the Sakhalin Crisis, as it was named. Japan has admittedly "calmed down" a bit, though they insisted on playing their new-found national sport of "stick the katana into Russian territorial waters". However, it is clear that they realized that USA, despite their initial support for the Japanese, made no concrete promises to anyone, and that they may not be willing to get themselves involved in this conflict.
Ships laid down, Japan still at it and Mikhail get in the "mood" again...
10" guns Q1 in 1901 are pretty nice. As always feel free to comment on anything you wish. Feedback always appreciated, both about form and content.
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Post by janxol on Oct 31, 2020 10:30:41 GMT -6
The Fleet Departs
18:00, September 8th, 1901, St. Petersburg, General-admiral's office As Mikhail took a deep breath, his eyes wandered down, towards the silver locket in his left hand. As he was idly rotating the trinket between his fingers, his mind raced. All at once, he thought of the present - his position, his responsibility - and of the past... Neither seemed real, as he was neither here nor there. Neither now not then. In this endless cycle of restless thoughts time had no meaning. And as he struggled against this feeling of nothingness, this sense of doom that surrounded him, his eyes darted around the room. They found the wall lined with pictures of admirals past, they passed across their faces, barely visible in the dimly lit room. Names and ranks, all without meaning. And then at the end of the line of pictures there was one more, one he couldn't remember being there, and one that was the most real of all. Not an admiral, but a captain. His eyes directed straight at Mikhail, his face twisted in pain. His chest full of shrapnel wounds. "The ships is yours... Remember me..." Realizing that he can hear his accelerated breathing, Mikhail turned his head away from the captain, and as more traitorous thoughts surrounded him, his gaze landed on the bullet. There it was, sitting on the desk, right next to his personal revolver and a glass of vodka. Just standing there, defiant, mocking Mikhail with its very existence. Very slowly, the admiral leaned forward over the desk and took the bullet into his hand. It was cold, as he turned it between his fingers. For a moment he let go of the locket, holding the bullet with both his hands letting it slide between his fingers. Mikhail's right hand reached for the glass, but instead it found itself touching the revolver. Peculiar. His eyes drifted towards the silver locket lying on the desk. It was closed, and yet he could see Katya's face, as vivid as ever. This memory, it burned inside. He could not run. And he could not hide.
As October came, reports reached Mikhail of increased Japanese naval spending. All of Japanese fleet was now mobilized and ready for action and they were pouring more and more resources towards construction of new vessels. On October 20th the second phase of Port Arthur expansion was completed, with the 250mm coastal battery ready for action. Soon after Artem Sapalyob reported that the double bottom idea finally came to fruition and a way was devised to incorporate it into ship hull without weight, stability or cost issues. Unfortunately the ships of 1901 Expansion Program were too advanced in their construction to benefit from this. In early November the Engineering Committee introduced hardened AP penetrators and lyddite bursting charges which would improve both the penetration and destructive potential of shells. The Japanese have yet again poured more resources towards the navy. Additionally another incident took place, in which a Japanese warship collided with a Russian fishing boat after it "failed to give way". The boat was sunk, with three people dead. The Japanese warship ignored survivors and it was only five hours later that they were found and rescued by a Russian vessel. Interestingly, the American support for Japan was growing less and less vocal as Japan was increasing its military budget, and it seemed Americans finally realized what they can get dragged into. December 4th the Engineering Committee reported a breakthrough in hull construction technology and introduced a new riveting technique which would lead to reduction in weight. On December 10th USA made a proposition to mutually reduce naval spending in the interest of keeping peace. After consultations with general-admiral Koshkin, that proposition was reduced, as the current situation with Japan didn't allow for such reductions. The only other option would be a wider armament treaty and to that neither Russia nor Japan could agree at the present time. This refusal wasn't received well by the USA, but even Americans were surprised by Japan's actions that followed.
02:00, December 17th, 1901, St. Petersburg, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dmitri had to run to catch up with Mikhail, who was storming down the hallway, fire pouring from his eyes and causing anyone before him to instantly jump out of the way. "The order was passed, ships will be ready in twenty-four hours. Yevtushenkov says his division can be ready in eight.", reported Dmitri. "He will have to wait regardless. The fleet moves together and we can't waste coal to catch up to him.", responded Mikhail. "Any more news from Andrei?" "Nothing new. It's likely he left Port Arthur after the initial communications and is currently at sea." "It's all on him until we get there... And here I thought we live in a civilized world, where at least war is declared BEFORE shots are fired... You have duties to attend to, Dmitri, and your presence is not required here. Start making necessary preparations, I will join you in the office once I'm done here." "Understood.", responded Dmitri, before turning back and hurrying towards the exit. As Dmitri left, Mikhail accelerated his already brisk pace. As he reached the office of the minister , he opened the door with a little too much force, slamming it into the wall. The minister winced at the sound, before trying to smile politely, though the fury in Mikhail's eyes seemed to intimidate even a man of his positions. As such, it was the naval secretary who greeted him first. That greeting, however, was almost entirely ignored. "Gentlemen, with all due respect, I appreciate the need for this meeting, but fleet is preparing to move and I have many matters to attend to. I do not believe there's much to discuss here, other than the lack of declaration of war and necessity of delivering it to the Japanese doorstep at muzzle velocity.", said Mikhail. "I understand you anger, general-admiral, but you are acting too hastily! No war was declared, this must be a mistake, a miscommunication...", said the minister. "Such incidents were ongoing for the past year, we didn't let ourselves be provoked before, we shouldn't do so now. This must be resolved peacefully..." "There were no such incidents before, minister!", interrupted him Mikhail. "Japanese warship have shelled the port of Korsakov on the southern tip of Sakhalin. Japanese troops have landed on the island. Our troops are sitting in trenches, taking and returning fire as we speak. Five hours ago a flotilla of torpedo boats tried to get into Port Arthur to torpedo the ships of the Pacific Squadron that were moored there, failed only because of minefields and sharp eyes of the crews of coastal batteries. Shots were fired and there are foreign troops on Russian soil! If you don't think this is war, I fear you do not know what war is. All that is lacking is the declaration, which in this situation we should hastily deliver in order to not risk looking like barbarians when we put a twelve-inch shell through the window of the Imperial Palace! "I told you I will do what is in my power to avoid this war, I will not be the one to start it!", responded the minister, now also raising his voice. "War is already upon us and they started it!", at this point Mikhail was looking at the minister like he was looking at an idiot, and there was no point to pretend otherwise. "Why do you ask for my advice or opinion, if you have no intention of listening to it? There is only ONE logical course of action now." "The general-admiral is correct. There is no mistake that we are at war." Everyone froze. The voice was unexpected, yet very familiar. In their argument they didn't notice another person enter the office. As much as Mikhail wanted to turn around to face the new guest, he continued to stare down the minister. "We are at war with Empire of Japan. Make sure that every nation knows this, Japan most of all, and that every nation knows who the real aggressor is, minister. And if that was the main purpose of this meeting, then I believe it can now end. General-admiral Koshkin, I understand that you have already taken appropriate action?" "Yes, my emperor...", said Mikhail. "The fleet is preparing to move as we speak."
Armored cruiser Bogatyr (Bayan-class) - the Fleet Flagship
18:00, December 18th, 1901, St. Petersburg Mikhail and Dmitri were walking down the wharf, passing docked ships. Smoke was rising from the funnels and the crews were making final preparations to get underway. On their left the Gromoboi was preparing to cast off, on their right and across a turning basin, a Dvenadstsat Apostolov-class battleship assisted by tugboats was making its way out of its assigned docking space. "I guess there will be no party this year. One less occasion to get drunk.", said Mikhail. Dmitri chuckled. "Damned Japanese. Here's hoping Andrei can hold them until we arrive.", he said. "He has no other choice.", responded Mikhail. "This is my stop, take care!", said Dmitri as they reached the Bayan. "And you too!", Mikhail shook his hand. As Dmitri boarded the Bayan, Mikhail continued onwards, slightly increasing the pace. He walked past the Bayan and the Oleg moored behind her to finally reach the third ship of the class - the Bogatyr, newly designated as the fleet's flagship. As he boarded, he was greeted by the bosun's whistle and its typical mating call, and a line of "side boys". As he moved up the stairs towards the ship's bridge he was greeted by the ship's captain and his aide, Eugeni. "Welcome aboard, admiral. The ship is ready to depart.", reported the captain. Mikhail nodded and looked at his watch. "Undock and move to port entrance at your discretion, captain. Fleet should be ready.", he said. With that he walked out to the flying bridge to cast his eyes across the harbor, or at least parts of it that were within view. With the corner of his eye he spotted the general-admiral's flag being hoisted onto the ship's mast. He took a deep breath, glanced towards the Bayan, the kontr-admiral's flag on its mast. They have half a world to travel and until then the Pacific Squadron is on their own. He could only hope admiral Andrei Maximovitch Yablokov has enough ships, because he certainly had no doubt about his skills.
Well there's that war with Japan that was looming.
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Post by boomboomf22 on Oct 31, 2020 21:18:32 GMT -6
I continue to be impressed by the quality of your writing. Most impressive and chilling have been your depictions of depression and contemplation of suicide, and I am talking from a place of experience.
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Post by janxol on Nov 1, 2020 15:46:53 GMT -6
Efforts of Admiral Yablokov
Armored cruiser Rossiya (Pamyat Azova-class) - flagship of the Pacific Squadron
9:00, December 22nd, 1901, Port Arthur As Andrei hurried down the pathway leading to the docks, he heard rapid steps behind him, followed by the voice of one of the staff officers. "Admiral, message from St. Petersburg." "Be quick about it. I'm fifty-two, I ran out of time to waste.", responded Andrei, not even slowing down. The staff officer followed him, doing his best to keep up with him, pace approaching jogging, while reading the piece of paper in his hand. "The Baltic Fleet has departed. All nations, including USA, announced their neutrality in regards to this conflict, though France also denounced Japan and their surprise attack." "Changes nothing.", dismissed it Andrei. "What else?" "Until the arrival of the Baltic Fleet, admiral Koshkin expects the Pacific Squadron to resist the Japanese aggression in whatever possible capacity. He urges you to preserve the ships to the best of your ability, however." "Best of my ability, HA!", Andrei chuckled. As the staff officer left, the admiral continued moving through the harbor, making his way towards armored cruiser Rossiya. As he came aboard, he managed to storm past the welcoming party before the bosun even managed to blow his whistle. "Captain, are we ready?", he asked, as he entered the bridge. "We can depart within ten minutes, admiral." "Make it so." The admiral looked at the ships stationed in the harbor. The Japanese had five battleships, while he had four - the difference was that his ships were coastal vessels - short-ranged and has a low freeboard. Well, then there was also that thing... Admiral's gaze landed on the Tri Svyatitelya. In addition to that the admiral had at his disposal one armored cruiser and two protected cruisers of the Avrora-class. The Nadezhda, a Svetlana-class protected cruiser was not in port, as it was on the eastern side of Sakhalin when the war begun and for the time being it remained there, doing its best to hunt supply ships for the Japanese invasion force on Sakhalin. As Rossiya started to make its way out of the harbor, Andrei thought about the enemy he'll be facing. The Japanese had fourteen cruisers against his three, including nine armored cruisers. Five more armored cruisers were in construction, though that meant they were rather far from being an issue for the Pacific Squadron. The good news was that the Japanese battleships were using a rather low-caliber main battery, which meant that in a fleet engagement the coastal battleships of the Navarin-class could hope to match them, despite their other drawbacks, such as low freeboard and lack of sloped deck. Assuming good weather, at least.
Japanese Fuji-class battleships. All five battleships of Imperial Japanese Navy were of this class
He sighed. That's also for later, right now he had to focus on the operation at hand. As Rossiya left Port Arthur accompanied by cruisers Flora and Diana and five destroyers, he directed his thought towards Sakhalin. His intention was to hamper the progress of the invasion by attacking supply ships, troop ships and maybe even light coastal positions, if any can be found. He wanted to give the defending forces on Sakhalin time to dig in, as well as to draw towards him any warships that would otherwise hunt for Russian supply ships traveling across Tatarskiy Proliv. If this supply line can maintain open and free of Japanese interference, the army would avoid having to transport supplies by land, from the coast of Amurskiy Liman, which would be slow and difficult considering lack of infrastructure on the island. However, Andrei wasn't sure if keeping the Japanese away from Tatarskiy Proliv could be possible, considering the great numerical superiority of Japanese cruisers... While Andrei initially had high hopes, he was soon let down. His force was spotted by the Japanese and as it was approaching Sakhalin smoke of Japanese warships was spotted, arriving from Hokkaido. While initially Andrei contemplated taking the engagement, he decided against it once it became clear that he's dealing with at least five armored cruisers and several smaller vessels. The Russian task force turned back south, with Japanese in pursuit. About two hours later the admiral made the decision to detach Diana and the protected cruiser made its way west, with intention to loop back north and break out towards Sakhalin on its own. With Japanese warships focused on Rossiya, the smaller protected cruiser successfully made its escape, and Andrei could count one more Russian raider in action as part of his success. The Japanese warships were persistent in the chase, but were eventually forced to brake off, once it became clear that they cannot catch the Russian vessels. As such, Andrei's force returned to Port Arthur and no battle was fought on that day. It was however clear that the Japanese have put a high priority on putting the Pacific Squadron out of action. The attempted torpedo boat raid was proof enough, and the reasoning behind eliminating the Squadron was also sound, as it would grant them full freedom of operation until the Baltic Fleet arrives. The Japanese were so determined for a decisive fleet action that they chose to fight the Russian navy at its very doorstep. And so on January 19th, 1902 the fleets have finally met.
13:52, January 19th, 1902, Yellow Sea, Armored cruiser Rossiya "There they are.", noted Andrei, looking through his binoculars. He could see the protected cruiser Flora in company of two destroyers as it made its way back towards the main fleet. It was signalling in a hurry, and from her flags it was apparent that she has sighted Japanese battleships. In addition to that the admiral himself, standing on the wing of Rossiya's bridge, could see a pair of small Japanese cruisers maneuvering behind Flora, no doubt the Japanese scouts. "Battlestations.", ordered Yablokov. "Signal the ships into battle formation." Yablokov moved through the bridge to other side, to stand on the port wing and look west, at the rest of his task force. About 800 yards away a line of battleships was steaming alongside Rossiya, and behind them a screen of destroyers. The battleship line was led by Tri Svyatitelya, the Humble-home itself, followed by the four Navarins - Tsesarevitch, Pervenets, Navarin and Retvizan. Looking at the ships Andrei one last time pondered the matchup of forces. He had to assume all Japanese battleships will be present and he had to assume being outmatched in cruiser numbers. Seeing how the Japanese battleships are armed with 10-inch and 7-inch guns, he made the decision that Rossiya will follow battleships as part of the battleline, since he had no cruiser force of his own. The armored cruiser had sufficient armor and firepower to stand in the line until necessity dictated otherwise. If need be Andrei also had the option to retreat to Port Arthur under cover of its coastal batteries. The distance between the port and the fleet right now was only about twenty five nautical miles. As Rossiya was forming up with the battleships, taking up the last place in the line, Andrei realised that his main concern was the weather. The wind was decently strong and if it were to get any worse the low-freeboard Navarins may suffer. Additionally with its current direction the wind would blow the Russian smoke towards the Japanese and hamper the aiming. It's always one issue on top of another, isn't it? At this point Andrei could see the Japanese battleship, all five of them, and to the south of them another column of four ships, looking to be armored cruisers. As the fleets closed with one another, Andrei gave the order to change course. The fleet, until now moving in a south-eastern direction now turned towards the north, and so did the Japanese. As the range closed further, Navarin fired the first salvo of the battle, followed shortly after by her sister ships, all four blessed with long range of their 305mm guns. The shells were nowhere near on target, but it's always better to shoot first. The Japanese responded as soon the range of their 10-inch guns allowed, and a few moments later every ship was firing, both primary and secondary batteries. "Close to 5 000 yards and hold the range. Maintain at 16 knots.", ordered Yablokov. His command was soon signaled to the rest of the fleet and the admiral could now focus on watching the Japanese ships. The battleships were slightly ahead of the Russian ships, while the armored cruisers followed them at some distance and somewhat behind the Russian fleet. It wasn't perhaps ideal, but Andrei's focus was entirely on the battleships for now. They were the primary threat and issue, as the Japanese armored cruisers lacked firepower to inflict any significant damage at this range. As the engagement was continuing it became clear that the wind speed is increasing and the waves are getting bigger. It was only a metter of time before the coastal battleships start having issues with their casemates, and in fact the rate of fire of casemated weapons was already visibly dropping. The Japanese appeared to concentrate their fire on the Tri Svyatitelya, most likely because the low freeboard Navarins had a slightly lower silhouette than an average warship of their size, while the humble-home's silhouette was... Taller... As the two fleets approached the coast of Liaotung Peninsula the weather only kept getting worse, to the point where even destroyers began to have difficulties going against the waves, their speed significantly decreased. This also meant that Andrei cannot count on utilising them to charge the Japanese battleline when opportunity arises. On the other hand, he could also discount the possibility of a torpedo attack by Japanese destroyers, which he could see behind the battleships, equally struggling with the sea state. As time went on, rain begun, which had a detrimental effect on visibility and accuracy, though at this range the visual contact between the fleets was still pretty solid. "Admiral, the Retvizan appears to have issues with her casemates.", noted the ship's captain, looking at the battleship in front of them. Indeed, not only the casemates were the issue but the entire bow of the ship and the forward turret was regularly flooded whenever waves washed over it. "Admiral, we appear to have issues with casemates as well.", added the captain, after hearing a report from one of the voice tubes. The sea was so rough that soon casemates on all warships fell silent. Well, all except on the Tri Svyatitelya, as the casemates on that particular vessel were uncharacteristically high above the water due to the unique shape of its hull... "We're approaching the coast. All ships turn to port, follow the coastline west!", ordered Andrei. The formation turned, and so did the Japanese, though the nature of the maneuver meant that while until now the Japanese were at starboard, they were now at port side. This meant that both fleets had to traverse their turrets to the opposite side, and there was a brief period of no gunfire after the turn. Then the shells started flying again. The good news was that at least the rain stopped, though the wind was still very much a detriment to the effectiveness of Russian coastal battleships. As Andrei moved from starboard to port bridge wing a shell struck the ships superstructure right aft of the bridge. Not even dazed, the admiral looked towards the impact point, but it seemed that there were no wounded and no significant damage. Once again he looked towards Japanese warships. "Follow me, you bastard. I dare you...", he muttered, looking at the Japanese flagship and the signal flags hoisted on its mast. And indeed the Japanese dared. Realizing that the weather is affecting Russian ships more than their own, they chose to close the distance and pursue the Russians before they could reach Port Arthur. Suddenly a flame erupted into the air from one of the Russian destroyers. Realizing that a torpedo exploded upon getting hit, Andrei looked towards the ship. It was certainly a stubborn and still in one piece, defiantly keeping on with the fleet and struggling against the waves. The Japanese kept closing, firing the casemated guns whenever the waves allowed them to. And in fact, the weather seemed to get better, though only slightly. And regardless, soon another law of nature would press its mark upon the battlefield - the hours of daylight were ending. The Japanese needed to press on now, getting closer, looking for the decisive blow. And that's exactly what Yablokov wanted. He wanted them as close the coast when he passed the Laopian Island. Island which the ships were passing right now... And as muzzle flashes lighted the shore, and shells started falling upon the Japanese warships the enemy has come to realize they sailed into range of fire of one of coastal batteries. Accurate fire of 250mm guns, pre-ranged to fire at the vicinity of Laopian Island. The Japanese were quick to turn away, trying to get away from the shore, but didn't get out of the coastal battery's range before several shells found their mark. Now Andrei had to make a choice. Retreat to the port or continue the engagement, hoping that the weather will improve. "All ships turn to port, ahead flank.", he ordered after a few seconds. He chose to press on. He was close to a friendly port and coastal batteries and his ships, apart from the unlucky destroyer, sustained fairly little damage. He still had about an hour of sunlight he could utilize, after which he intended to break contact when visibility drops at dusk. And he did exactly that - the fleets continued the exchange of fire before breaking contact at dusk and heading their separate ways in a mutual "agreement" that this engagement is over. As his ships were entering the harbor of Port Arthur, Andrei could finally relax somewhat. "That wasn't terrible. " Nelson of the east", my ass!", he murmured, before turning to his flag lieutenant. "I want reports from each ship as soon as possible, and estimated repair times."
In the engagement only light damage was suffered and inflicted. Apart from destroyer Boiki, which suffered a torpedo detonation, the ships only needed minor repairs. Out of the battleship Tri Svyatitelya suffered the most, though Yablokov was assured that the repair will not last more than a month. Unfortunately the Japanese fleet also suffered only minor damage, as hits were scarce and weather not only acted to degrade Russian aim even further than it was usually degraded, it also limited the fighting capabilities of the coastal battleships of the Navarin-class. However, the outcome of the battle made Andrei feel hopeful. The Japanese sortied in an attempt to put the Pacific Squadron out of action, and they failed. While neither force sustained significant damage, Andrei still considered this a tactical victory, though a very minor one. To him the most important part was that this engagement showed that - should the armored cruisers stay out of the equation, the Russian battleship division can fight the Japanese battleships on equal footing, as long as the weather is favorable...
First major engagement of the war... What will the next one bring?
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Nov 1, 2020 16:52:33 GMT -6
Brilliant, the classic pre-dreadnought "indecisive action" made riveting. And; "Well, then there was also that thing... " - delightful. :}
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Post by janxol on Nov 2, 2020 14:50:47 GMT -6
Shoot for the Japanese. Even if you miss, the shell will land among the stars.
As soon as battle of Port Arthur came to an end, admiral Yablokov started planning the next move. The invasion of Sakhalin remained his primary strategic concern. Nadezhda and Diana were hunting for Japanese troop ship with limited success, but more effort was needed to seriously impede the Japanese progress. Additionally, as Andrei feared, Japanese cruiser were raiding in the Tatarskiy Proliv, making it more difficult to resupply the defending forces on the island. Faced with vast numerical superiority of Japanese cruisers, while only having two of his own at his disposal - The Rossiya and Flora - he made the somewhat risky decision to utilize the battleships. This would at least force the Japanese to bring out their own battleship force to stop him, though admittedly the battleships of the Navarin-class also suffered from limited range and low freeboard. Regardless, Andrei planned the operation and left Port Arthur as soon as he was able to, considering the repairs that had to be carried out and after being "assured" that the weather should be good enough for utilizing the coastal ships. The downside of departing in such hurry was that the Tri Svyatitelya had to be left behind in Port Arthur, as repairs to the ship have not yet been completed. Yablokov's force made its way through the Korea Strait and headed north-east, towards Sakhalin. They were spotted when passing past Ulleung Island, but the Japanese crusiers were quickly scared off upon realizing they are dealing with Russian battleships. The Russian force made its way towards Sakhalin, stalked by Japanese scouts. At several points in time during this journey the scouts briefly exchanged fire with Russian cruisers attempting to chase them off from battleships. After little success in finding Japanese cargo ships - still managing to sink four - and conscious of the limited range of the Navarins, the admiral finally ordered to turn back. It would be during this return jounrey that the Japanese battleships would finally arrive, and the forces met on February 13th, 1902 off the coast of Hokkaido.
14:36, February 13th, 1902, Sea of Japan, Armored cruiser Rossiya As a shell entered through the window of Rossiya's bridge everyone inside was very much concerned by that fact, though didn't quite have enough time to put their worry into words. They did, however, feel much relief as the shell in question zoomed through the bridge and left it through the window on opposite side, which resulted in mild shock where there could be severe casualties. One person seemed to not be shocked at all, even, and that was admiral Andrei Yablokov, who seemed perhaps too focused on the Japanese ships in the distance to register the passing of the shell through his bridge. "Close, but not close enough...", he murmured grumpily, finally acknowledging the event. "You have to do better than that, you dizzy-eyed louts..." This entire time he was looking through binoculars at five Japanese battleships about 8 000 yards to port, sailing in a line and accompanied by seven armored cruisers, as well a group of destroyers. "Continue on course. Inform me on the grate situation.", he commanded. With that, he thought of the situation at hand and possible outcomes. Rossiya was leading the line of four Navarin-classs coastal battleships and facing against five of the Fuji-class battleships and seven armored cruisers - two of the Asama-class, four of Yakumo-class and one of Nisshin-class. The odds were not in favor of the Russian force. As such it was very much a running battle, with Russian ships headed towards the Korean Peninsula and highest speed they could manage - for the time being that would be 18 knots, but Andrei was aware that the battleships can only maintain this speed for a limited time. Somewhat disappointed that all five Japanese battleships showed up, Andrei noted that the weather was good - gentle breeze and clear skies - which meant the Navarins could fight with their full effectiveness. Admittedly the Russian gunnery was exactly what Andrei expected it to be, though the admiral was quite content with his being scarce, as long as they were equally scarce on both sides. Each time the Japanese tried to close distance, Andrei would signal his destroyers forward, forcing them to move back. Additionally, due to some unconventional maneuvering prior to the engagement the cruiser Flora, which was acting as fleet scout, was actually trailing behind the Russian battleships and engaging in a gun duel with her Japanese counterpart. A counterpart she could easily outmatch, provided her gun crews were actually capable of hitting their shots. Right now it definitely looked like the accuracy is quite abysmal, despite the wind blowing the smoke clear of obstructing the sight-lines. If Andrei dared to move closer he could hope to score hits on the Japanese battleline, but at the same time he thought such an endeavor unwise. His ships had a heavier primary battery, but the Japanese were equipped with heavier and more numerous secondaries. The engagement continued and it wasn't particularly thrilling to behold. Some could even say boring, but Andrei would be hesitant to use that word to describe anything involving these amounts of shells flying through the air. It's just the hits that were scarce. For a second he thought he spotted a hit on the bridge of Japanese flagship, but as he saw no explosion and there was no visible reaction from the vessel, he might have been deceived by his hopeful eyes. The fleets broke contact after about five hours, when both sides started to run out of ammo, with very little effect on either side. The Pacific Squadron returned to Port Arthur, for admiral Yablokov to continue thinking what his strategic options are.
Tactical comparison - Navarin-class coastal battleship (top) and Fuji-class battleship (bottom)
Built as coastal vessels, the Navarins were smaller than their adversaries, had shorter range and low freeboard. They maintained the 305mm guns of the larger russian battleships, but their secondary battery was both reduced in count and more prone to being affected by sea state. In turn, the Japanese ships had a lower caliber main battery and its guns were comparable to those used on the Russian armored cruisers of Bayan-class. They did, however, posses a battery of 7-inch secondary guns. The Navarins' protection values may be misleading, as they are utilizing a flat deck on top of belt rather than traditional sloped deck behind belt, in order to save tonnage. As such, while they have nominally thicker belt armor than the Fuji-class, they lack the added protection of the deck behind it, which the Japanese battleships can count on. Another thing to note is that the Russian analysts believe that the ships are actually faster than the usual 18 knots and they have been observed - though the measurement could be inaccurate - to be capable of at least 19 knots.
Admiral Andrei Yablokov's decision to use his armored cruiser to bolster the battleline is largely based on the fact that Pamyat Azova-class cruisers are quite capable vessels for their class despite their age, and they can almost match the protection and firepower of Japanese battleships.
Pamyat Azova-class armored cruiser Note the thick armor belt, which provides acceptable protection against guns of Japanese battleships
It wouldn't be untill later in the war that the admiral would realize that he was correct in spotting the hit on enemy flagship, and that the Japanese admiral was wounded as its result.
Minor update this time, there really wasnt that much happening on this particular occasion. Accuracy is bad. In other news - water is wet.
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Post by boomboomf22 on Nov 3, 2020 18:31:42 GMT -6
It might have been worthwhile building (or rebuilding in the future) the coastal battleships with their secondaries in shielded (2" armor single turrets) mounts to increase their effectiveness in rough seaways. I think there were a couple coastal ships that did that? Anyway I believe that does increase the chance they will be operable in rough seas, but I have no proof of it.
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Post by tsoukthegreat on Nov 4, 2020 3:45:22 GMT -6
It might have been worthwhile building (or rebuilding in the future) the coastal battleships with their secondaries in shielded (2" armor single turrets) mounts to increase their effectiveness in rough seaways. I think there were a couple coastal ships that did that? Anyway I believe that does increase the chance they will be operable in rough seas, but I have no proof of it. I'm not sure its worth it to rebuild coastal battleships, I mean , they are already half obsolete. Personally I would rebuild some of the better pre dreads and send them in the far east or reserve them in foreign stations when the dreadnoughts become hot ****.
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