The service of the squadron battleship “Prince Suvorov” was short and tragic. Launched in 1902, the ship was preparing a special military role. In the framework of the state shipbuilding program, five most powerful battleships of the Borodino type were built, which made up the pride and main strength of the Imperial Navy.
During the war with Japan, "Prince Suvorov" became the flagship of the Second Pacific Squadron, which was supposed to bring Russia an advantage over the gaining strength of the Japanese fleet. Under the leadership of the admiral of the Christmas squadron, half the world heroically passed, breaking 18, 000 miles from the native Baltic harbor to Japan, gave a fierce battle and almost completely died.
The battleship "Suvorov" found its rest at the bottom. Photos of this ship were left to posterity as evidence that even defeats are sometimes an example of heroism and courage. The flagship crew fought with dignity even in a hopeless, completely desperate situation. Sailors and officers cannot be blamed for anything. Not surprisingly, the models of the battleship “Prince Suvorov” made of paper and plastic are popular with modellers and occupy an honorable place in their collections.
Ship description
"Prince Suvorov" was one of the best battleships of his time. It was a floating armored fortress with huge firepower, which helped these types of ships destroy any naval target. But even the best pictures of the squadron battleship “Prince Suvorov” cannot convey its greatness and power.
The weight of the battleship when descending from the slipway without loading with coal, equipment, ammunition was 5, 300 tons. The hull is 119 meters long, 23 meters wide, and a displacement of 15, 275 tons. Armor made of high-quality Krupp steel, on the sides reached 140 millimeters, on decks ranged from 70 to 89 millimeters, in gun turrets and the conning tower ranged from 76 to 254 millimeters.
Thanks to two steam engines with a total capacity of 15, 800 horsepower, the enormous battleship “Prince Suvorov” could reach speeds of up to 17.5 knots (32.4 kilometers per hour) and go 4800 kilometers without reloading coal at an average speed of 10 knots (18.5 kilometers in hour).
The armament of the battleship was: four guns with a diameter of 305 mm, twelve - 152 mm, twenty - 75 mm, twenty - 47 mm, two guns of Baranovsky - 63 mm, two guns of Gochkis - 37 mm and four torpedo tubes. The ship literally bristled with weapons and posed a threat to any naval rival. The abundance of small parts and guns makes the model of the battleship “Prince Suvorov” especially difficult, turning it into a professional challenge for real modelers.
Before going on their last campaign, the flagship crew consisted of 826 officers, non-commissioned officers, conductors and sailors. In addition to them, on the ship were 77 people from the squadron headquarters led by Admiral Rozhestvensky. Armadillo officers were considered the elite of the Russian Imperial Navy. Almost all of them died along with the battleship “Prince Suvorov”. A photo of the officers shortly before the campaign on the Russo-Japanese War is presented above.
Construction
Grand Duke Alesei Alexandrovich, who was the chief commander of the Russian fleet and the naval department of the Empire, in April 1900 ordered the construction of an armadillo at the Baltic Shipyard. In June of the same year, the future ship received a name in honor of the illustrious commander, in July, the procurement of materials began, in August the construction of the hull began.
The battleship “Prince Suvorov” descended from the slipway on September 25, 1902, and during the first descent, an event occurred that some took as a bad sign. The ship broke two main anchor ropes, having developed a dangerous speed of 12 knots, only spare anchors could stop it.
By the fall of 1903, the armadillo's equipment was almost finished. In May 1904, he made his first transition to Kronstadt. In August, official tests of vehicles took place, during which the battleship developed a maximum speed of 17.5 knots, steam engines worked perfectly. Apart from minor manufacturing shortcomings, the commission as a whole recognized the ship as ready for campaigns and military operations.
The eve of war
The construction of the battleship “Prince Suvorov” was carried out as part of the modernization of the fleet, which was supposed to withstand the Japanese fleet. The spirit of near war was in the air. The prerequisites for it appeared at the end of the 19th century, when Japan defeated the Chinese troops and wanted to appropriate the Liaodong Peninsula along with Port Arthur.
The strengthening of the Japanese empire alarmed Germany, Russia and France. They opposed the occupation of the Liaodong Peninsula and in 1895 entered into negotiations with Japan. As a powerful argument in the nearby waters, powerful military squadrons of these countries appeared. Japan succumbed to power and abandoned claims on the peninsula.
In 1896, Russia entered into a landmark friendship treaty with China and began to build a railway in Manchuria. Two years later, Russia even leased the entire Liaodong Peninsula with ports for 25 years. In 1902, the tsarist army entered Manchuria. All this annoyed the Japanese authorities, who did not cease to claim the peninsula and Manchuria. Diplomacy was powerless to resolve this conflict of interest. A great war was approaching.
War to Tsushima
In early 1904, Japan first broke off diplomatic relations with the Russian Empire, and on January 27 attacked Russian warships near Port Arthur. On the same day, Japanese squadrons attacked the Korean boat and the Varyag cruiser, located in the Korean port. The "Korean" was blown up, and the "Varyag" was flooded by sailors who did not want to hand over the cruiser to the Japanese.
Then the main hostilities took place on the Liaodong Peninsula, where Japanese divisions invaded from Korea. In August 1904, the battle of Liaoyang took place. According to some historians, in this battle, the Japanese suffered significant losses, in fact, losing the battle. The Russian army could destroy the remnants of the Japanese troops, but because of the indecision of the command missed an opportunity.
There was a lull before winter. Both sides accumulated strength. And in December, the Japanese went on the offensive and were able to take Port Arthur. There is an opinion that soldiers, sailors and officers were sure that they could defend the city, but General Stessel, the commander of the Russian troops, decided differently and surrendered Port Arthur. Subsequently, he was tried and sentenced to death for this act, but the king had mercy on the military leader.
Second Pacific Squadron
The war did not go according to the scenario of St. Petersburg. The main battles were too far from the supply bases. The Far East was connected with central Russia by one railway line, which could not cope with the flow of troops, weapons, supplies needed by the Far Eastern armies and navy. The military leadership decided to form a powerful squadron that could turn the tide of the war in favor of Russia.
The flagship of the squadron was the battleship “Prince Suvorov”, and the commander was Vice Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky. In society and the military, this appointment has often been criticized. Many believed that Rozhdestvensky was not suitable for such a responsible and complex role. Indeed, before that, Zinovy Petrovich had never commanded such a large group of ships.
However, the choice of Nicholas II was not very great. There was a problem with personnel, almost all experienced and verified admirals were already in the Far East. In favor of Rozhestvensky said his personal courage, knowledge of the Far Eastern ports and seas, administrative talent, which manifested itself in all its splendor during the campaign of the squadron.
Great hike
Specialists initially doubted that the squadron could even reach Africa, not like the Japanese coast. In addition to storms and bad weather, it was necessary to overcome the provocations of the Japanese and their allies - the British, the incessant problems with coal and calling at ports due to the diplomatic protest notes of Japan, which it put forward to neutral countries.
But the Second Pacific Squadron did the incredible. She left October 15, 1904 from the last Russian port of Libava for her and without loss reached Japan, leaving 18, 000 miles behind the stern. In January 1905, the squadron was forced to stand idle off the coast of Madagascar, waiting until the issue of replenishing coal was resolved. At this time, sad news came about the death of the First Pacific Squadron.
From now on, the squadron of Rozhdestvensky remained the only naval force capable of withstanding the Japanese fleet. On March 16, Russian ships were finally able to go to sea and head towards Japan. The leadership of the squadron decided to go to Vladivostok on a short but dangerous route through the Korea Strait, which the ships reached on May 25. Before the fateful battle, two days remained.
Before Tsushima
On May 26, before a decisive collision, Rozhdestvensky arranged exercises to increase interaction between ships and improve the maneuverability of the squadron. Perhaps during this time it would be possible to go unnoticed past the Japanese coast, but these are only speculations.
In fact, on the night of May 26-27, Russian ships were noticed by a Japanese reconnaissance cruiser. All morning on the day of the battle, enemy reconnaissance ships sailed in parallel with the Second Pacific Squadron. The Japanese admirals thoroughly knew its location, composition, and even battle formation, which gave them their original advantage.
Tsushima
On May 27, at about two in the afternoon, one of the largest and most tragic naval battles in the history of the Russian fleet began. It was attended by 38 Russian ships and 89 Japanese. The Japanese squadron, making a roundabout maneuver, swept the Russian squadron in front and concentrated all the fire on the head battleships. Within half an hour, due to the hurricane fire, the battleship “Oslyabya”, marching at the head of its column, flared up, fell out of action, and soon turned over.
The battleship “Prince Suvorov” could not stand the attack. It caught fire, the fiercely fighting crew melted before our eyes. Forty minutes after the start of the battle, the fragments fell into the slots of the command cabin, seriously injuring Rozhestvensky in the head. The flagship lost contact with the squadron and could no longer influence the course of the battle. At one point, he was surrounded by twelve Japanese ships and shot with torpedoes and shells, like a target in exercises. At seven o’clock in the evening, the flagship of the Second Pacific Squadron sank.
The salvation of Christmas and his trial
The wounded Rozhdestvensky was removed from the dying flagship on the destroyer “Violent. Together, the commander of the destroyer passed part of his headquarters. These were the only people on board the battleship who survived Tsushima. Later, the rescued switched to the destroyer "Bedovy", on which they were captured by the Japanese.
Later in court, Rozhestvensky took all the blame for the capture and death of the squadron, defending the panicked officers who surrendered to the Japanese. However, the Maritime Court fully acquitted the Vice Admiral, given the serious wound that Zinovy Petrovich received at the very beginning of the battle. Society also treated Christmas with understanding, sympathy and respect.
The fate of the squadron
Having lost control, the squadron broke into Vladivostok. However, she walked in the waters teeming with Japanese cruisers and destroyers, which were constantly attacking Russian ships. The battle lasted two days; it did not subside even at night. As a result, 21 out of 38 ships of the Russian squadron were sunk, 7 were surrendered, 6 were interned, 3 reached Vladivostok, and one auxiliary ship was able to reach its native Baltic coasts under its own power.
More than five thousand Russian sailors and officers were killed, more than six thousand were captured. The Japanese lost three destroyers and a little more than a hundred people dead. As a result of the battle, Russia practically lost its fleet, and Japan gained supremacy at sea and a serious advantage in the further course of the war.
Combined model battleship “Prince Suvorov” (“Star”)
The photos and drawings of the battleship serve as a visual material for modelers, which helps to more accurately recreate the model of the ship. The Zvezda company is a large domestic manufacturer of board games and prefabricated models. Its products are created in alliance with professional consultants in the historical and military fields, therefore it is distinguished by high-quality elaboration of details and historical authenticity.
The model of the battleship “Prince of Suvorov” (“Star”) is no exception. It is difficult for a beginner, but it becomes a real challenge for an experienced modeler. To make this model, preliminary work with literature, great patience, sleight of hand and several months of systematic work are required. Some missing parts have to be created by yourself.
