RUSSIAN BATTLESHIP PIETROPAWŁOWSK

Pietropawłowsk was a Russian battleship (the so-called pre-dreadnought or pre-dreadnought) from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The keel was laid under this vessel in 1893, it was launched in November 1894, and it was commissioned in 1899. The full displacement of the ship at the time of launching was approx. 11,350 tons, her length - 114 m, and width - 21.3 meters. The maximum speed of the vessel did not exceed 17 knots. The ship's deck armament at the time of launching consisted of: four 305 mm guns, twelve 152 mm guns and 6 533 mm torpedo tubes. Petropavlovsk was one of the three Poltava-class battleships. These types of ships were designed and initially built primarily to operate in the Baltic Sea, and their main enemy was seen in the rapidly expanding German fleet. However, their transfer to the Far East and de facto ocean activities were not ruled out. In general, it can be assumed that the project of Poltava-type units was quite successful. It assumed the use of the main armament typical of battleships of that time and gave the battleships decent naval properties and speed. However, due to the long construction process and the rapid development of naval technology at that time, the Poltava-class battleships, when entering service, gave way to their potential opponents in many fields. Petropavlovsk, shortly after entering service, because already in 1901 he was assigned to the East Asia Squadron - later the 1st Pacific Squadron, based in Port Arthur. The unit took part in only one armed conflict: the Japanese-Russian war of 1904-1905, in the course of which it sank after entering a sea mine on April 13, 1904.