Marine collection. Marine collection Destroyers marine collection

Now the third issue of the new magazine "Marine Collection" has gone into your home filing, and the editors recent times more and more letters from readers come with an alarming question: will the release of the application affect the existence of the rubric “ Marine collection" in the magazine "Model Designer"? I would like to immediately reassure all admirers of this section: no, it will not affect, it will continue in the future. And for those who are not subscribers of the "Modeler-Constructor", we inform you that a series dedicated to the history of the development of battleships is being published now. Here is a list of articles for Last year(in brackets - the number of the magazine and the name of the ship depicted in the color drawing):

The first, English dreadnoughts (No. 4/1994, "Dreadnought").

The first US dreadnoughts (No. 6/1994, "South Caroline").

Battleships of Germany (No. 7/1994, "Koenig").

Battleships of Italy and Austria-Hungary (No. 8/1994, Viribus Unitis).

French battleships (No. 10/1994, Courbet).

English superdreadnoughts (No. 12/1994, "Iron Duke").

The first English battlecruisers (No. 1/1995, "Indomitable").

German battlecruisers (No. 2/1995, Seidlitz).

American battleships with 14 inch artillery (No. 3/1995, "Mississippi").

Russian dreadnoughts (No. 5/1995, Izmail).

Battleships for Latin America(No. 6/1995, "Egincourt").

In the future (before the end of the year), articles about Japanese battleships (“Ise”) will be published in this section. dreadnoughts of small countries ("Espana"). the latest English and German dreadnoughts with 15-inch artillery ("Hood"), about the modernized English ("Royal Sovereign"), American ("Tennessee") and Soviet ("Paris Commune") dreadnoughts that learned in World War II.

And now we appeal to all readers, adherents maritime theme, with a somewhat unusual offer to take part in the preparation of future issues of the Marine Collection magazine. In its first issues, the editors mainly used illustrations from private collections. Now a decision has been made: to create our own archive - a database of data and images of a wide variety of ships from all over the world. And in this difficult work, the editors are counting on the help of their readers: send photos, drawings, drawings, postcards and engravings to the editorial address - everything that can be used to create the "Marine Collection". Valuable materials are returned after reshooting, and in the case of publication, the name of their owner will be indicated and paid with a readable fee. Even if amateur photographs of any ships do not meet the requirements of printing, they can still be of value to the editors - for example, when drawing diagrams and drawings, determining the differences between one ship, series from another, etc. The only wish is besides the name of the depicted vessel, if possible, indicate the date and location of the survey.

We would also like to have volunteer assistants in different cities of Russia and neighboring countries (primarily in maritime ones, such as St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Sevastopol, and others), who in the future would become official representatives in their region. peculiar special correspondents of the Marine Collection magazine. With their help, we expect to receive regular information about fleet-related events taking place in the city, for example, about visits by foreign ships (including detailed photography, preferably in the form of negatives), about naval parades on public holidays, anniversaries, conferences, ship modeling competitions and other events. The most active correspondents will be rewarded with a free subscription to the Marine Collection magazine.

Armored cruisers of the Garibaldi type are undoubtedly one of the most interesting ships of the Italian fleet, which is by no means poor in original designs. With their birth, these cruisers made a real sensation, enabling Italy for the first time to enter the world military shipbuilding market. Ten "Garibaldi" made up the largest series of large Italian warships of the era of steam and metal. They sailed under the flags of four countries, and only a combination of circumstances did not allow them to raise the St. Andrew's banner as well. Even while on the stocks, they served as trump cards in the political games of the beginning of our century. AT modern history there are few large combat units of the same type that participated in the three most important wars with the use of a linear armored fleet: the Spanish-American, Russian-Japanese and World War I - and this is not counting the actions in the Italo-Turkish war of 1912, and the cruisers of the Italian project always ended up in center of events. They left a noticeable mark in world history. military equipment, showing the possibility of creating a strong combat unit that combines the qualities of an armadillo and a cruiser, and to some extent became the prototype of the German "pocket battleships" of the Second World War.

Above: the first ship of the series - the Argentine cruiser "Garibaldi" before leaving for South America. Genoa, 1896

The appearance of new cruisers was closely connected with the general situation in the Mediterranean at the end of the last century. Defeated in sea ​​battle at about. Lissa, the Italians were able to outplay their opponent - the Austrians - in a shipbuilding competition. Moreover, Italy made an application for the role of one of the leading maritime powers, starting from the beginning of the 80s to build powerful ocean warships according to the designs of the talented designer Benedetto Brin. He tried to create the largest ships in the world with good speed, armed with the largest caliber artillery. However, this version of the shipbuilding race was beyond the power of the finances and industry of the Italian kingdom. Neighboring France could build large ironclads faster and in greater numbers. Therefore, already at the end of the same decade, the Minister of the Navy, Admiral Saint-Bon, proposed adopting a medium-sized warship with "moderate" caliber artillery as the main type. This decision very well coincided with the advent of medium-caliber rapid-fire guns. The requirement for speed remained, and since the difference in speed, armament and protection between the new battleships and cruisers was not so significant, the Italian Naval Ministry established for them general classification. All Italian ships were divided into 5 classes, with no distinction between cruisers and ironclads.

In the project of the "combat ship of the 2nd class" (this class included all combat units that had a displacement of 6 to 9 thousand tons) of the "Garibaldi" type, both lines of its predecessors are clearly traced, both from battleships and from cruisers . The armored cruisers Carlo Alberto and Vettor Pisani, laid down in 1892 according to the project of Lieutenant General Eduardo Masdea, were well protected and fast enough (20 knots) for their time, turned out to be very successful. So successful that they ... were criticized - for too weak armament, consisting of only 1 20-mm and 152-mm rapid-fire guns. Naval specialists also demanded the installation of large-caliber guns. Chief designer Navy Benedetto Brin recognized the validity of such criticism and presented to the Minister of the Navy, Admiral Rakkia, and then to his successor Admiral Morin, a report on the possibility of creating an armored cruiser of limited displacement with more powerful weapons and better protection compared to Pisani.

Supplement to the magazine "Modelist-constructor", published since 1995. A specialized magazine for lovers of the history of the fleet and ship modellers.

This is a series thematic issues about the fleets and ships of the whole world and of all times. it encyclopedic reference books about fleets different countries in different historical periods. These are detailed "biographies" of warships, famous sailboats with drawings and diagrams, rare photos and archival materials.

Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2001/6
Pages: 54
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the history of the creation, construction and service of patrol (initially - large anti-submarine) ships of the "Vigilant" type (project 1135, 1970) - landmark ships of the Soviet Navy, for their time one of the most advanced in the world. TFR project 1135 consisting of Russian fleet serve to this day.

The issue contains drawings, diagrams, 64 photographs, color options for coloring.

The size: 200


Zablotsky V.P.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2006/5
Pages: 35
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The issue is dedicated to the history of the creation, construction and combat service of the BOD "Nikolaev", built at the Shipbuilding Plant named after 61 Communards in the city of Nikolaev and launched in December 1969. It was a very well-deserved ship - it had 15 combat services in the seas of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The size: 200


Krestyaninov V.Ya., Molodtsov S.V.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 1997/3
Pages: 36
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the history of the creation, design and combat path of armored cruisers of the Bayan type - active participants in the Russo-Japanese and World War I.

The release contains detailed drawings, drawings, 51 photographs, 3 color drawings and 2 color schemes.

Supplement to the magazine "Modeler-constructor"

The size: 200


Likin Yu.A.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2006/3
Pages: 36
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The issue is dedicated to the history of the creation of sail-screw clippers - they appeared during the Crimean campaign as a reaction to the rapid development of the steam and armored fleet of Great Britain and France, which at that time were opponents of Russia.

Clippers (a total of 21 ships of this type were built), which had no analogues in any of the fleets of the world, became important element domestic fleet and continued until the First World War.

Our issue tells about the latest, most numerous series of clippers, which includes eight ships of the "Cruiser" type.

Supplement to the magazine "Modeler-constructor"

The size: 200


Vinogradov S.E.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2001/1
Pages: 44
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the history of the creation and design of the battlecruiser Izmail, the most powerful superdreadnought. Russian Empire. Four ships of this type were laid down in 1912, but never entered service.

The issue contains detailed drawings, 32 photographs, color drawings and diagrams.

Supplement to the magazine "Modeler-constructor"

The size: 200


Khromov V.V.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2005/11
Pages: 36
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the history of the creation, construction and combat path of the nautical gunboat "Brave" ("Red Banner"), which participated in four wars and served in the Russian and Soviet Navy for more than 60 years.

The issue contains detailed drawings, drawings, 32 photographs and 3 color schemes - coloring options.

Supplement to the magazine "Model Designer".

The size: 200


Shirokorad A.B.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 1997/2
Pages: 44
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The handbook contains a description of the design and statistics on all serial samples artillery systems Russian fleet 1967-1922 In particular, it tells about the guns of Hotchkiss, Kane, Lander.

Supplement to the magazine "Modeler-constructor"

The size: 200


Zablotsky V.P.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2007/5
Pages: 36
Quality: good
Language: Russian

We present to the readers the next issue of the Marine Collection magazine, dedicated to the history of the creation, design and combat service of the unique Berezina complex supply ship, the creation of which was due to the entry of Soviet ship formations into the World Ocean in the mid-1960s.

Supplement to the magazine "Model Designer".

The size: 200


Shirokorad A.B.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 1998/2
Pages: 29 (36)
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the history of the creation, construction and service of light cruisers of the Sverdlov type (Project 68-bis), the last artillery ships of the Soviet Navy, built taking into account the experience of the Second World War.

Supplement to the magazine "Model Designer".

The size: 200


Kachur P.I.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 1998/6
Pages: 35
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the history of the creation, design and combat path of the Soviet destroyers of the "Leningrad" type (project 1) and the "Minsk" type (project 38) - the first large warships of the Soviet Navy, active participants in World War II.

The issue contains drawings, drawings, 60 photographs, 3 color schemes.

Supplement to the magazine "Modeler-constructor"

The size: 200


Berezhnoy S.S.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2001/2
Pages: 36
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The directory contains technical data and a description of the service history of each representative of the classes of small anti-submarine and small missile ships (MPK and RTO) of the domestic fleet built before 2000. The directory also includes border guard ships created on the basis of the MPK projects.

Supplement to the magazine "Model Designer".

The size: 200


Kostrichenko V.V., Prostokishin A.A.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 1999/1
Pages: 35
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the history of the creation, construction and service of large anti-submarine ships of the Komsomolets Ukrainy type (project 61) - the first gas turbine missile carriers of the Soviet Navy, one of the most advanced in its class.

The release contains detailed drawings, 42 photographs, a color drawing and 3 color charts.

Supplement to the magazine "Model Designer".

The size: 200


Balakin S.A.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2002/5
Pages: 36
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the creation, design and service history of the anti-submarine cruisers-helicopter carriers "Moscow" and "Leningrad" (project 1123, 1967-1969) - the first aircraft-carrying ships of the Soviet Navy.

The issue contains drawings, diagrams, 62 photographs, color drawings.

Supplement to the magazine "Modeler-constructor"

The size: 200


Apalkov Yu.V.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 1998/4
Pages: 36
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The reference book contains detailed data on the ship composition of the Russian Imperial Fleet during the First World War. A complete list of ships is given, their performance characteristics, Short story services.

The release contains 9 color and 118 black and white schemes.

Supplement to the magazine "Model Designer".

The size: 200


Berezhnoy S.S.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 1995/1
Pages: 36
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The reference book contains technical data and a description of the service history of each representative of the class of cruisers, large anti-submarine ships (BOD) and destroyers (destroyers) of the Russian fleet, built in 1945-1995.

The release contains 34 black and white and 9 color schemes for warships, as well as 4 color schemes for carrier-based aircraft and helicopters.

Supplement to the magazine "Model Designer".

The size: 200


Berezhnoy S.S.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2000/6
Pages: 36
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The reference book contains technical data and a description of the service history of each representative of the class of patrol ships (TFR) of the domestic fleet, built in 1945-2000.

Supplement to the magazine "Model Designer".

The size: 200


Morin A.B., Chernyshev A.A.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2005/4
Pages: 34
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the history of the design, construction and construction of the Soviet patrol ships of the "Hurricane" type - the first serial surface ships of the Soviet Navy and active participants in the Second World War. The issue contains detailed drawings, drawings, 24 photographs and 4 color schemes - coloring options

Supplement to the magazine "Model Designer".

The size: 200


Zablotsky V.P.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2004/4
Pages: 40
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the history of the creation, construction and service of heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers of projects 1143, 11433 and 11434 "Minsk", "Novorossiysk", "Baku" ("Admiral Gorshkov"). The issue is a continuation of the theme started by the Marine Collection issues 5-2002 (anti-submarine cruiser Moskva) and 7-2003 (Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Kyiv).

Detailed drawings, drawings, 59 black and white, 9 color photographs and 2 color diagrams are provided.

Supplement to the magazine "Modeler-constructor"

The size: 200


Zablotsky V.P.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2005/7
Pages: 36
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the history of the creation, design and service of the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser of project 11435 "Admiral of the Fleet Soviet Union Kuznetsov" ("Tbilisi") - the first full-fledged aircraft carrier and the largest warship in the history of the national fleet.

Drawings, diagrams, 45 black and white, 7 color photographs and a color scheme are provided.

Supplement to the magazine "Model Designer".

The size: 200


Zablotsky V.P.
Publisher: Model designer
Year, number: 2003/7
Pages: 36
Quality: good
Language: Russian

The monograph tells about the history of the creation, design and combat path of the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Kyiv" (project 1143), the birth of Soviet carrier-based aviation. The issue contains drawings, diagrams, 65 photographs, color options for coloring.

Supplement to the magazine "Modeler-constructor"

The size: 200

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Issue: 36 True admirers of battleships

• TTX schemes
• Texas
• Nevada
• Nevada
• Pennsylvania
• Maryland

• 183 "New York", USA, 1914
• 184 "Nevada", USA, 1916
• 185 "Pennsylvania", USA, 1916
• 186 "Mississippi", USA, 1917
• 187 "Tennessee", USA, 1920.

Laid down in 1911, launched in 1912.

Normal displacement 27,000 tons, total displacement 28,400 tons.

Overall length 174.7 m, width 29.1 m, draft 8.7 m.

Engine power 28,000 hp, speed 21 knots.

main belt 305-254 mm, upper belt 280-229 mm, casemate 165 mm, towers 356-203 mm, barbettes 305-254 mm, deck 51 mm, wheelhouse 305 mm.

Armament:

ten 356 mm guns, twenty-one 127 mm guns, four 533 mm torpedo tubes.

A total of 2 ships were built:

"New York" and "Texas" (1914).

Laid down in 1912, launched in 1914.

Displacement normal 27 500 tons, full 28 400 tons.

Overall length 177.7 m, beam 29.1 m, draft 8.7 m.

Turbine power 26,500 hp, speed 20.5 knots.

belt 343-203 mm, towers 457-229 mm, barbettes ZZO mm, deck 76 mm, wheelhouse 406 mm.

Armament:

ten 356 mm guns, twenty-one 127 mm guns, two 533 mm torpedo tubes.

A total of 2 ships were built:

"Nevada" and "Oklahoma" (1916).

Laid down in 1913, launched in 1915.

Displacement normal 31 400 tons, full 32 600 tons.

Overall length 185.4 m, width 29.6 m, draft 8.8 m.

Turbine power 31,500 hp, speed 21 knots.

Armor: as on the Nevada.

Armament:

twelve 356 mm guns, twenty-two 127 mm guns, two 533 mm torpedo tubes.

A total of 2 ships were built:

"Pennsylvania" and "Arizona" (1916).

Laid down in 1915, launched in 1917.

Normal displacement 32,000 tons, total displacement 33,000 tons.

Overall length 183 m, width 29.7 m, draft 9.1 m.

Turbine power 32,000 hp, speed 21 knots.

Armor: as on the Nevada, but the armor deck is thickened to 89 mm.

Armament:

twelve 356 mm guns, fourteen 127 mm guns, four 76 mm guns, two 533 mm torpedo tubes.

A total of 3 ships were built:

"Mississippi", "New Mexico" (1918) and "Idaho" (1919).

Laid down in 1917, launched in 1919.

Normal displacement 32,300 tons, total displacement 33,200 tons.

Overall length 183 m, width 29.7 m, draft 9.2 m.

Turbine power 26,800 hp, speed 21 knots.

Armor and armament as on the New Mexico.

A total of 2 ships were built:

"Tennessee" and "California" (1921).

On the eve of the First World War, the Americans understood the idea sea ​​power simple and straightforward: since the main force is battleships, then you need to build as much of this "main force" as possible. And the first industrial power of the world launched the construction of the main combat units with might and main, almost completely ignoring the light forces, especially the cruiser.

But during the construction of battleships, all the rules of fashion were observed. Immediately after Britain across the ocean, fourteen-inch guns appeared on them. The gun itself was still undergoing the last tests in 1911, when the New York and Texas intended for it had already been laid down. At the same time, the Americans kept general arrangement and the booking scheme of the predecessors - "Arkansas" and "Wyoming". As a result, the "Texas" remained very ordinary, albeit quite powerful ships. But in the bowels of the Naval College and design bureaus The United States is already ripe for a real battleship revolution.

And here comes finest hour and for American designers: they managed to create a project that left an almost as noticeable mark on the history of shipbuilding as the famous Dreadnought. "Nevada" became the first battleship designed specifically for combat on long distances. Her booking scheme, called "American", became universal for all countries, but only ten to twenty years later.

Since it was difficult to expect a large number of hits at a long distance (and 50 cables were already considered such at that time), in order to disable a target, it was required that successful hits cause significant damage to it. Therefore, even at such a range, the gunners tried to use armor-piercing shells that could penetrate armor protection and hit vital parts, such as engine installations and magazines of ammunition. The traditional Anglo-German defense system, in which they tried to cover the maximum side area with armor, varying its thickness depending on the importance of the place it protected, made the ship's armor scheme look like a patchwork quilt. The side could be covered with slabs of a dozen varieties in thickness and size. This provided reasonable cover from high-explosive shells, even large calibers; armor-piercing shells could penetrate thin and medium armor at almost any combat distance. And precious weight was spent on it, weakening the protection of those objects, without which the ship became a useless and motionless mass of metal, unless it was blown into the air.

But the negative role of thin armor on battleships was not limited to this. Making sense with a flat trajectory of shells falling into it, it became simply harmful at long distances, when the fire became hinged. At the same time, an armor-piercing projectile could easily penetrate the upper belt with a thickness of about 6 inches, and then penetrate from above through the armored deck, which usually did not exceed two inches in the horizontal part, or penetrate the lower part of the barbets, which also had weak protection in this zone (only from flat fire they were covered with a thicker lower belt). History has shown the danger of such hits: at least some of the British battlecruisers that died in the Battle of Jutland, as well as the famous "Hood", most likely for this reason, flew into the air.

Having studied everything possible options, American designers proposed to completely change the very idea of ​​\u200b\u200bbooking a battleship, generally abolishing thin armor. This scheme is called "all or nothing". Indeed, only the huge "box" that stretched from the front to the rear towers, as well as the main battery turrets themselves, their ammunition supply systems and the conning tower, remained booked. But everywhere the armor was as thick as the technology of its production at US factories allowed. The upper belt has completely disappeared, as well as thin plates in the bow and stern. Anti-mine artillery also became completely undisguised. It was believed that a direct hit on small 127 mm guns at long ranges was unlikely, and a heavy armor-piercing projectile would fly further without causing any harm to them.

Innovations were not limited to the scheme itself. The Americans approached the very design of the armor belt in a new way. In the battles of the Russo-Japanese War, cases were repeatedly observed when armor plates that were not pierced by a projectile moved from their place from a strong blow, and after the second hit they simply fell off, exposing an unprotected side. After the war, shipbuilders began to pay Special attention fastening of the components of the armor belt, but only in Russia and the USA the problem was solved radically. On the first Russian dreadnoughts - “gangu-tahs” - and on overseas “Nevadas”, the plates extended to the entire height of the belt, so that it only remained to fasten them together along the vertical edges. On an American battleship, the height of the plates reached 5.3 m - a practical limit that the factories producing armor could provide. Fastening only along the vertical edges significantly increased the overall rigidity and strength of the structure. Such technical solution appeared not by chance - it could only be realized if the upper belt was abandoned and a single thickness was maintained over the entire height, with the exception of a small area in the lowest part of the slab, where it gradually thinned from 343 mm to 203 mm. The fact is that the Nevada belt not only had a very high height, but also sank deeper into the water. This was also due to the peculiarities of combat at long distances. When a projectile fell at a significant angle ten meters from the ship, it could penetrate the water column and hit the unprotected side below the armor protection. Such cases were also observed more than once during the Russo-Japanese War. Therefore, the lower edge of the belt was lowered much deeper, and its thickness was somewhat reduced, since the water still slowed down such “undershoots”.

On the example of "Nevada", perhaps, it is especially clear how closely all the elements of armor protection are interconnected. It would be pointless to equip a battleship for long-range combat with a thick and uniform belt, while retaining the previous layout of armored decks. On the battleships of all other countries, horizontal armor was divided between several relatively thin decks, the number of which reached three or four. It is clear that to use them on the Nevada in the same form meant, in fact, to leave it uncovered from above. Any projectile that hit over the side into the "gap" between the decks would have pierced the bottom of them and exploded inside the armor box. This means that it should have been equipped with an equally powerful "cover", which was done - a flat 75-mm main armored deck rested on the upper edge of the 343-mm belt. Since it was located high above the water, the ship retained a large margin of buoyancy if its armor was not pierced. But for a guarantee, a second, anti-fragmentation lower deck was placed at the waterline level, the edges of which at the sides descended to the lower edge of the belt, forming bevels. And only under this deck were machines, boilers, cellars and other most important ship units.

Isn't it all very reminiscent of the defense system of the early French battleships? Indeed, the ideas laid down during the construction of Osh and Magenta surfaced 30 years later and turned out to be more than modern. The same thick belt, on top of which an unarmored side extended; two decks, and between them - small cells of the "checkered layer" ... Not without reason in Europe they often preferred to call the Nevada booking scheme "French" rather than "American".

It is appropriate to recall what ruined the French ideas in their time. A hail of shells filled with “lyddite” or “shimoza” fired from medium-caliber rapid-fire cannons turned the unprotected sides of Russian battleships at Tsushima into a sieve. The immediate reaction was the full armor of the board. Immediate, but by no means the most correct. Engineers, "smearing" the protection over the maximum area, did not notice that the combat distances increased significantly. Accordingly, an ever smaller value was reserved for medium artillery. Its rate of fire was no longer such an important factor, since the projectile flew to the target for almost half a minute, and still had to wait for it to fall. Accuracy was no match for big guns. As a result, a ship appeared only with large-caliber artillery - the Dreadnought. But due to a kind of inertia, the old armor scheme was preserved on the dreadnoughts for some time: the experience of Tsushima remained too close. And only the Americans took the next step - and thus completed a full round of the spiral of development.

Still, the defense of Nevada cannot be considered absolute. At short and medium combat distances, for example, in conditions of insufficient visibility, its sides unprotected from above were a tasty target for all high-explosive shells - from destroyer cannons to the main battery of battleships. But the American admirals were going to fight on the open ocean or in the southern seas, where almost all the time good weather and visibility was close to perfect. Under these conditions, the advantage of the new armor scheme, combined with powerful fourteen inches, became indisputable. For example, an American battleship could penetrate the protection of the Russian "Gangut" at almost all real combat distances, while remaining invulnerable up to 30-40 cables.

It was not in vain that we dwelled in such detail on the Oklahoma and Nevada project. Subsequent battleships of the United States differed from them only in small variations - as a rule, associated with a gradual increase in displacement. So, on the Pennsylvania, the admirals finally managed to “break through” four three-gun turrets of the main caliber through a stingy Congress (they were supposed to be installed on the Nevada, but cost and size restrictions forced them to make two-gun elevated towers on them). One 127 mm cannon was also added. On the new series the Americans put an end to the constantly renewed attempts to return to obsolete steam engines. If the Nevada, ultramodern in terms of protection and armament, had a turbine installation, then on its “sister” Oklahoma they managed to install a triple expansion steam engine. But this case was the last. Finally, overseas engineers managed to achieve acceptable efficiency of turbines, which finally established themselves as the main type of machine plant for many decades.

"Pennsylvania" differed from the rest of the battleships also in that from the very beginning it was supposed to be the flagship of the US Navy, for which a special huge two-story conning tower was erected on the upper deck. The ship faithfully carried out its command service until 1941, when Japanese bombs at Pearl Harbor interrupted its career.

One of the significant shortcomings of the American battleships was the unfortunate location of anti-mine artillery. 127-mm guns, placed in casemates in the upper part of the side, were flooded with a wave in the open sea. The bow installations, which turned out to be simply impossible to maintain, suffered especially hard. This became clear from the experience of overseas battleships in the British Grand Fleet at the end of the First World War. From outwardly powerful weapons, no more than half could shoot at more than two dozen guns at high speed, and some of them began to be removed immediately after they entered service. Therefore, on the next type - "Mississippi" - the number of five-inchers was reduced to fourteen, but ten of them were placed in the superstructure. Initially, it was supposed to install 4 more guns in the nose in ordinary casemates in the hull, but the gun ports were welded with thick sheets of steel at the construction stage. The outwardly unchanged main armament was actually strengthened: the new 356-mm guns had an increased initial speed and more effective projectiles.

American designers also constantly improved the underwater protection of battleships. With the adoption of oil heating, coal disappeared from ships - a convenient material for backfilling rooms near the sides, designed to absorb the energy of a mine or torpedo explosion. Instead, longitudinal bulkheads made of elastic armor steel appeared. Their number constantly grew and reached five from each side on the next type, the Tennessee. On it and the "California" the practicing captains finally managed to get the better of naval theorists and insist on more extensive superstructures and bridges, convenient for service in Peaceful time. Otherwise, this couple was very much like their predecessors.

The "Nevada line" of development ended with four battleships of the "Maryland" type, which almost completely repeated the "Tennessee" in architecture, internal layout and armor, but had a pair of 406-mm guns in each of its four towers instead of three 356-mm. Of these, only Maryland was laid down before the end of World War II. The construction of three more ships of the series began after the Treaty of Versailles, which sadly affected the fate of one of the four - "Washington". He fell victim to his "namesake" - the Washington agreement to limit naval armaments, not meeting the limit released by the United States. In 1924, he suffered the bitter fate of many battleships of that time: "Washington" for the last time served as a target for his own ships and aircraft.

The rest of the American "standard battleships" remained in service, forming the backbone of US naval power. Ahead of them was a long service, interrupted but not finished by a fateful morning in Pearl Harbor.

V. Kofman

Edited by Admiral N. N. Amelko