Battleship Potemkin - the ship of revolution

The battleship Potemkin was launched inSeptember 1900 with the stocks of Nikolaev. At that time it was considered the most powerful in the Black Sea Fleet. The creation of this ship became a landmark for the process of transition from more technical solutions that have become obsolete to more modern ones.

The development of the project and construction was carried out by the engineer E. Schott - a student of the famous shipbuilder NE Kuteinikov.

The battleship Potemkin had an elevated half-tank,allowing to reduce the floodability of its bow during a storm, and also was able to raise up to seven and a half meters above the water axis of the guns. It was for the first time that centralized control was established in the artillery fire, carried out from the post in the wheelhouse.

In addition, the battleship "Potemkin" is the mostThe first ship with new boilers, in the construction of which water-tube units for liquid fuel were used. It was the first time that cranes were installed on the Black Sea Fleet for the lifting of boats and boats.

In the summer of 1902 this modern ship,swimming only two years, was sent for completion and re-equipment. The initial terms of return to service were disrupted by the fire of the boiler room. The damage was significant. As a result,

replace boilers by adjusting them to solid fuel. Defects were also found in the tower armor. As a result, the ship's return to service was postponed until 1904.

The battleship Potemkin possessed a displacement of 12.9 tons, the length of its hull was 113 meters, width 22 at a draft of 8.4. The ship moved at full speed of 16.7 knots with a fuel reserve of 1100 tons.

The battleship team was formed from the momenthis bookmarks. Specially for him was formed the 36th naval crew with various ship specialists: artillerymen, machinists, miners. When in 1905 "Prince Potyomkin-Tavrichesky" was finally launched, on board there were 731 people, of whom 26 were officers.

The crew literally from the beginning of constructionThe ship began close contacts with the revolutionary-minded dockers of Nikolaev. On board, even the Bolshevik literature was distributed. Apparently, therefore, it was decided to carry out the completion in Sevastopol.

At this time in the fleet began to create mugsSocial Democrats under the leadership of the Bolsheviks Yakhnovsky, Gladkov, Petrov. They included an officer on the Potemkin, an artillery officer Vakulenchuk, who maintained constant contacts with local revolutionary organizations of many Russian ports.

In the autumn of 1905, an armeda riot, which was to be decisive for the general appearance. However, the battleship Potemkin, the rebellion which erupted months earlier, outstripped the planned events. The reason was the reprisal, which the command wanted to inflict on the rebel members of the crew who refused to eat rotten meat. The response to repression was the disarmament of sailors by officers and a skirmish. The commander of the ship, as well as several senior officer ranks, were killed. The rest are under arrest.

At the same time, Vakulenchuk, who was originallyagainst the insurrection on the battleship Potemkin-Tavrichesky flashed apart from the general movement, nevertheless took command of the ship for himself. However, soon, already in the course of a general uprising, he was killed, and the Bolshevik Matyushenko rose at the head of the revolutionary minded ship. They were joined also by the destroyer N 267, who was stationed at Tenderovsky raid. The Tsar's battleship "Potemkin" became

the ship of revolution.

However, on June 18 he was surrounded by a powerful squadron ofeleven military ships, which intended to destroy it. When the rebel ship dared to ram, there were no shots from the destroyers: their crews, standing on the side of their comrades, went to the decks with shouts of "hurray."

The battleship, on board which was no longerprovisions and water, tried to moor in the port of Odessa, and after - Feodosia, where he was already waiting for the royal army. I had to go to Constantia and surrender to the Romanian authorities, who returned the ship to Russia.

In an effort to erase from memory even his name battleship was renamed, and his team remained in Romania as political emigrants.

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