Charodeika-class monitor
 Charodeika at anchor; her two turrets are painted white
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Galernyi Island Shipyard, Saint Petersburg |
| Operators |  Russian Navy |
| Preceded by | Smerch |
| Succeeded by | Admiral Lazarev class |
| Cost | 762,000 roubles |
| Built | 1866–69 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Scrapped | 1 |
| General characteristics (as completed) | |
| Type | Monitor |
| Displacement | 2,100 long tons (2,134 t) |
| Length | 206 ft (62.8 m) (waterline) |
| Beam | 42 ft (12.8 m) |
| Draft | 12 ft 7 in (3.8 m) |
| Installed power | list error: <br /> list (help) 875 ihp (652 kW) 2 rectangular boilers |
| Propulsion | 2 shafts, 2 Horizonal direct-action steam engines |
| Speed | 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) |
| Complement | 172 officers and crewmen |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 2 × 9-inch (229 mm) Smoothbore guns 2 × 15-inch (381 mm) Rodman guns |
| Armor | list error: mixed text and list (help)
|
The Charodeika class was a pair of monitors built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the late 1860s. They were designed by the British shipbuilder Charles Mitchell and built in Saint Petersburg.
Design and description
By late 1863, the Russian Admiralty Board had begun planning for the second generation of ironclads to succeed those ships then under construction and issued a requirement on 12 November[Note 1] for a twin-screw low-freeboard ship that could sail throughout the Baltic Sea. It was to be armed with 15-inch (381 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren guns and protected by up to 6 in (152 mm) of armor. Before even deciding which designs to accept, the Admiralty decided to order eight ships of various types in March 1864. Charles Mitchell was allocated only one of the eight ships before he submitted four different designs for the competition in May-June. Two ships of his simplest design were awarded to a new builder, S. G. Kudriatsev, who was provided facilities at the state-owned Galernyi Island Shipyard. In addition the Admiralty committed itself to furnishing the armament, armor, engines and boilers as well as a variety of smaller components for the two ships.[1]
The Charodeika-class monitors were significantly larger than their predecessor, Smerch, and were 206 feet (62.8 m) long at the waterline. They had a beam of 42 feet (12.8 m) and a maximum draft of 12 feet 7 inches (3.8 m). The ships were designed to displace 1,882 long tons (1,912 t), but turned out to be overweight and actually displaced 2,100 long tons (2,100 t). They were fitted with a plough-shaped ram that projected Template:Convert/spell forward of the bow. The Charodeikas were fitted with a double bottom and their hulls were subdivided by watertight bulkheads into 25 compartments. Their crew numbered 13 officers and 171 crewmen in 1877.[2]
The ships had a freeboard of only Template:Convert/spell and their decks were often awash in any sort of moderate sea. They rolled heavily and were very unmaneuverable, often not responding to the ship's wheel until 20 degrees of rudder was applied.[2]
Construction and service
The monitors were intended to be delivered by 27 May 1867, but construction was held up by delays in delivery of the blueprints, armor, changes made while under construction and the untimely death of Kudriatsev in August 1865. The contract was transferred to Mitchell who completed them in 1869, two years after their scheduled delivery date.
| Name | Builder[3] | Ordered[3] | Laid down[3] | Launched[3] | Entered service[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charodeika | Galernyi Island Shipyard, St. Petersburg | 26 January 1865 | 6 June 1866 | 12 September 1867 | 1869 |
| Rusalka |
Notes
Footnotes
Bibliography
- Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|lastauthoramp=ignored (|name-list-style=suggested) (help) - McLaughlin, Stephen (2013). "Russia's Coles 'Monitors': Smerch, Rusalka and Charodeika". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2013. London: Conway. pp. 149–63. ISBN 978-1-84486-205-4.
- "Russian Monitors and Coast Defense Ships". Warship International. IX (3). Toledo, Ohio: Naval Records Club: 304–05. 1972.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
- Watts, Anthony J. (1990). The Imperial Russian Navy. London: Arms and Armour. ISBN 0-85368-912-1.
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