Peresvet Class Battleship - Design and Description

Design and Description

These ships were inspired by the British Centurion-class battleships. They were second-class battleships designed for service on foreign stations and to defeat enemy commerce raiders like French and Russian armored cruisers, not to fight first-class battleships in a battle line. The Peresvet-class ships were intended to counter ships like the Centurion class and support the Russian armored cruisers in any guerre de course. This role meant that the primary considerations of the ships' design were long range, high speed and seakeeping ability at the cost of weaker armament and armor than contemporary first-class battleships.

Only two ships were originally planned, but a third was ordered to keep the Baltic Works shipyard gainfully employed until a new design could be prepared. Ironically, it was completed before the second ship, despite having been laid down over three years later.

The Peresvet-class ships were 434 feet 5 inches (132.4 m) long overall, had a beam of 71 feet 6 inches (21.79 m) and a draft of 26 feet 3 inches (8.0 m). Designed to displace 12,674 long tons (12,877 t), they were 500–1,700 long tons (510–1,700 t) overweight and actually displaced 13,810–14,408 long tons (14,030–14,639 t). To reduce biofouling, the hulls of the first two ships were sheathed with wood and copper, but this was eliminated in Pobeda to reduce weight. They had a partial double bottom and the hull was divided by 10 watertight transverse bulkheads; a centerline bulkhead divided the forward engine rooms. Their crew consisted of 27 officers and 744 enlisted men.

The ships were powered by three vertical triple-expansion steam engines using steam generated by 30 Belleville boilers. The engines were rated at 14,500 indicated horsepower (10,800 kW), using forced draft, and designed to reach a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). All three ships slightly exceeded their specifications and reached a top speed of 18.3–18.5 knots (33.9–34.3 km/h; 21.1–21.3 mph) from 14,532–15,578 indicated horsepower (10,837–11,617 kW) during their sea trials. They carried a maximum of 2,060 long tons (2,090 t) of coal which allowed them to steam for 6,200 nautical miles (11,500 km; 7,100 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). The electrical equipment consisted of four steam-driven dynamos with a total capacity of 555 kilowatts (744 hp).