Pervenetz class ironclad
 A postcard of Pervenets at anchor
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Pervenetz |
| Operators: |
 Imperial Russian Navy
|
| Preceded by: | Sevastopol |
| Succeeded by: | Kniaz Pozharsky |
| Built: | 1861–1866 |
| Completed: | 3 |
| Scrapped: | 3 |
| General characteristics (Pervenets as built) | |
| Type: | Armored frigate |
| Displacement: | 3,277 long tons (3,330 t) |
| Length: | 220 ft (67 m) |
| Beam: | 53 ft (16 m) |
| Draft: | 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) |
| Installed power: |
|
| Propulsion: | 1 shaft, 1 Horizontal direct-action steam engine |
| Speed: | 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
| Complement: | 430 officers and crewmen |
| Armament: |
|
| Armor: |
|
The Pervenets-class ironclads were a group of three armored frigates built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1860s. The first ship was built in England because the Russian Empire lacked the ability to build its own ironclads, but the other two were built in Russia. All three ships differed from one another as the design evolved over time. None of the ships ever saw combat and only Kreml had an eventful career, sinking a wooden frigate in an collision in 1869 and sinking herself in 1885. She was refloated and returned to service. They were assigned to the Baltic Fleet upon completion and never left Russian waters. They served with the Gunnery Training Detachment for the bulk of their careers before being reduced to reserve in 1904. They were sold four years later and Pervenets and Ne Tron Menia were converted into coal barges. Pervenets survived World War 2 and was scrapped in the early 1960s, Ne Tron Menia was sunk during the war and scrapped around 1950, while Kreml's fate after her sale is unknown
The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells as demonstrated by the Russian destruction of a Turkish squadron at the Battle of Sinope. The first ironclad battleship, La Gloire, was launched by the French Navy in November 1859. It was followed by the British Warrior-class ironclad. Russia was among the first countries to follow.
...
Wikipedia