Improved and enlarged Navarin design. Building started in January 1891, officially laid down at the Nikolayev Dockyard on 15 August 1891, launched on 12 November 1893, completed at Sevastopol in 1896, commissioned in the Black Sea Fleet in 1895, sea trials in September-October 1896, modernized November 1911-August 1912, when the February Revolution broke out was she lying at Sevastopol to be refitted, captured at Sevastopol by German forces in May 1918, handed over to the Allied forces after the Armistice in November 1918, when the British forces evacuated the town were her engines destroyed to make her useless for the Bolsheviks in their struggle with the White Russian forces. Left behind when the White Russian left yhe Crimea in 1920, broken up in 1923 although nor earlier stricken from the Navy list as on 21 November 1925. During the First World War she was involved in bombardments of the Turkish coast and in twice occasions she met the Turkish battle cruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim (1) although without results at both sides.
Former German SB Goeben, the later Turkish Yavuz Sultan Selim
Displacement 12.680/12.480 long tons (design)-13.532 tons/13.318 long tons and as dimension 113,1 (waterline)-115,2 (over all) x 22,3 x 8,7 x 1,5 (metacentric height) metres or 371-378 x 73.3 x 28.6 x 5.58 feet. The 2-3 cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines of the British company Humphreys&Tennant and 14 cylindrical coal-fired boilers supplied via 2 shafts 10.600 ihp (design)-11.308 (ihp). Speed 16 (after 1911 modernisation) 16,4 (trials-maximum) knots. With a maximum coal bunker capacity of 1.000 tons was her range with a speed of 10 knots 2.250 nautical miles. The three dynamos were unable to deliver at the same time the by the electric equipment needed full power. The armament consisted of 2x2-30,5cm/12” Obukhov Model 1894 /40 guns, 8x1-15,2cm/6” Canet Pattern 1892 /45 guns in casemates situated on the upper deck, against torpedo boats were available a mixture consisting of 4x1-11,9cm/4.7” Canet Pattern 1892 /45guns, 10x1-4,7cm/1.9” Hotchkiss guns, 40x1-3,7cm/1.5” Hotchkiss guns and 6x1-38,1cm/15” torpedo tubes.(2 forward broadsides submerges, 4 surfaced, 2x1 broadsides, 1 bow, 1 stern). The Harvey armour was manufactured by the British company Vickers and the French companies Schneider et Cie and Saint Charmond and consisted of a 40,6/16”-45,7cm/18” abreast the magazines covering 75,0 metres/246 of the hull with a height of 2,4metres/8’at the bottom still 22,9cm/9” thick and. Due to her overweight was the belt mainly below the waterline instead of the planned 45,72cm/18”. Furthermore were 35,6-40,6cm/14-16” thick transverse bulkheads placed. The nickel steel made armour deck was 5,1cm/2” thick over the lower casemate but forward and aft of the main belt towards the stern and bow increased the thickness to 7,6cm/3”. The sides of the gun turrets and conning tower were protected by respectively 40,6cm/16” and 30,5cm/12”, the lower casemate of 66,4cm/21‘ x 8‘(height) was protected at the ends by 16“ thick transverse bulkheads and with 16“ thick sides. The upper casemate had sides of 12,7cm/5” thick armour and was to protected the 15,2cm/6” guns.
Note
1. SMS Goeben of the Moltke-class battle cruisers. Sister ship Moltke. Building ordered on 8 April 1909, laid down at the shipyard of Blohm&Voss, Hamburg, Germany on 28 August 1909, launched on 28 March 1911, commissioned on 2 July 1912, handed over to the Turkish government on 16 August 1914, renamed Yavuz Sultan Selim and commissioned in the Turkish navy. Decommissioned on 20 December 1950, renamed Yavuz in 1935, stricken on 14 November 1954 and finally broken up in 1973. Main armament consisted of 5x2-28cm/11” guns.
