Before the outbreak of the First World War, the great powers paid great attention to their Naval Forces, and large-scale naval programs were being implemented. Therefore, when the war began, the leading countries were numerous and powerful. Particularly stubborn rivalry in building up naval power was between Great Britain and Germany. The British at that time possessed the most powerful navy and merchant fleet, which made it possible to control strategic communications in the oceans, to link together numerous colonies and dominions.

In 1897, the German Navy was significantly inferior to the British Navy. The British had 57 battleships I, II, III, classes, the Germans had 14 (4: 1 ratio), the British had 15 coastal defense battleships, the Germans had 8, the British had 18 armored cruisers, and the Germans had 4 (4.5: 1 ratio). ), the British had 125 cruisers of 1-3 classes, the Germans had 32 (4: 1), the Germans were inferior in other combat units.

Arms race

The British wanted not only to maintain the advantage, but also to increase it. In 1889, parliament passed a law, according to which more funds were allocated for the development of the fleet. London's naval policy was based on the principle that the British navy was to outnumber the two fleets of the most powerful naval powers.

Berlin initially did not pay much attention to the development of the fleet and the seizure of colonies, Chancellor Bismarck did not see much sense in this, believing that the main efforts should be directed to European politics and the development of the army. But under Emperor Wilhelm II, the priorities were revised, Germany begins the struggle for colonies and the construction of a powerful fleet. In March 1898, the Reichstag adopted the "Law on the Fleet", which provided for a sharp increase in the Navy. For 6 years (1898-1903), it was planned to build 11 squadron battleships, 5 armored cruisers, 17 armored cruisers and 63 destroyers. Germany's shipbuilding programs were subsequently constantly adjusted upward - 1900, 1906, 1908, 1912. According to the law of 1912, the number of the fleet was planned to be increased to 41 battleships, 20 armored cruisers, 40 light cruisers, 144 destroyers, 72 submarines. Particularly great attention was paid to ships of the line: in the period from 1908 to 1912 in Germany, 4 battleships were laid annually (in previous years, two).

In London, it was believed that Germany's naval efforts posed a great threat to Britain's strategic interests. England stepped up the naval arms race. The task was to have 60% more battleships than the Germans. Since 1905, the British began to build a new type of battleship - "dreadnoughts" (after the name of the first ship of this class). They differed from squadron battleships in that they had more powerful weapons, were better armored, with a more powerful power plant, greater displacement, etc.

Battleship "Dreadnought".

Germany responded by building its own dreadnoughts. Already in 1908, the British had 8 dreadnoughts, and the Germans had 7 (some were in the process of being completed). The ratio of the "pre-dreadnoughts" (squadron battleships) was in favor of Britain: 51 versus 24 German. In 1909, London decided to build two of its own for every German dreadnought.

The British tried to preserve their naval power by diplomatic means. At the Hague Peace Conference of 1907, they proposed limiting the construction of new warships. But the Germans, believing that this step would be beneficial only to Britain, rejected the proposal. The naval arms race between England and Germany continued until World War I. By its beginning, Germany had firmly taken the position of the second naval power, overtaking Russia and France.

Other great powers - France, Russia, Italy, Austria-Hungary, etc., also tried to build up their naval armaments, but for a number of reasons, including financial problems, were unable to achieve such impressive successes.

Queen Elizabeth is the lead ship of the Queen Elizabeth series superdreadnoughts.

The value of fleets

The fleets had to carry out a number of important tasks. First, to protect the coast of countries, their ports, important cities (for example, the main purpose of the Russian Baltic Fleet is to defend St. Petersburg). Secondly, the fight against enemy naval forces, support of their land forces from the sea. Thirdly, the protection of sea communications, strategically important points, especially Britain and France, they owned huge colonial empires. Fourthly, to ensure the status of the country, a powerful navy showed the position of the state in the world informal table of ranks.

The basis of the then naval strategy and tactics was linear combat. In theory, the two fleets were supposed to line up and find out who the winner was in an artillery duel. Therefore, the basis of the fleet was squadron battleships and armored cruisers, and then dreadnoughts (from 1912-1913 and superdreadnoughts) and battle cruisers. Battlecruisers had weaker armor and artillery, but were faster and had a longer range. Squadron battleships (battleships of the pre-dreadnought type), armored cruisers were not written off, but they were relegated to the background, having ceased to be the main striking force. Light cruisers were supposed to carry out raids on enemy sea communications. Destroyers and torpedo boats were intended for torpedo strikes, destroying enemy transports. Their combat survivability was based on speed, agility and stealth. The navy also included special-purpose ships: minelayers (placed sea mines), minesweepers (made passages in minefields), transports for seaplanes (hydro-cruisers), etc. The role of the submarine fleet was constantly growing.

Battle cruiser "Goeben"

United Kingdom

At the beginning of the war, the British had 20 dreadnoughts, 9 battle cruisers, 45 old battleships, 25 armored and 83 light cruisers, 289 destroyers and destroyers, 76 submarines (most of them were outdated, they could not operate on the high seas). It must be said that, despite all the might of the British fleet, its leadership was distinguished by great conservatism. New items hardly found their way (especially, not related to the linear fleet). Also Vice-Admiral Philip Colomb, naval theorist and historian, author of the book "Naval warfare, its basic principles and experience" (1891), said: have changed in the way. " The admiral substantiated the theory of "ownership of the sea" as the basis of British imperial policy. He believed that the only way to achieve victory in a war at sea is to create complete superiority in naval forces and the destruction of the enemy's Navy in one general battle.

When Admiral Percy Scott suggested that "the era of dreadnoughts and superdreadnoughts is irrevocably over" and advised the Admiralty to focus on development and submarine forces, his innovative ideas were sharply criticized.

The general management of the fleet was carried out by the Admiralty, headed by W. Churchill and the first sea lord (chief of the main naval headquarters), Prince Ludwig Battenberg. British ships were based in the harbors of Humberg, Scarborough, Firth of Forth and Scapa Flow. In 1904, the Admiralty considered the issue of redeploying the main forces of the Navy from the English Channel to the north, to Scotland. This decision removed the fleet from the threat of a blockade of the narrow strait by the growing German naval forces, and allowed operational control of the entire North Sea. According to the British naval doctrine, which was developed shortly before the war by Battenberg and Bridgman, the basing of the main forces of the fleet in Scapa Flow (a harbor in Scotland on the Orkney Islands), outside the effective range of the German submarine fleet, should have led to a blockade of the main forces of the German fleet, which and happened during the First World War.

When the war began, the British were in no hurry to pry into the German shores, fearing attacks from submarines and destroyers. The main hostilities took place on land. The British limited themselves to covering communications, protecting the coast and blockading Germany from the sea. The British fleet was ready to join the battle if the Germans brought their main fleet out into the open sea.

British "Big Fleet".

Germany

The German Navy had 15 dreadnoughts, 4 battle cruisers, 22 old battleships, 7 armored and 43 light cruisers, 219 destroyers and torpedo boats, and 28 submarines. For a number of indicators, for example, in travel speed, german ships were better than the British. Technological innovations received much more attention in Germany than in England. Berlin did not have time to complete its naval program, it was supposed to be completed in 1917. Although the German naval leaders were quite conservative, for example, Admiral Tirpitz initially believed that getting carried away with building submarines was "frivolous." And dominance at sea is determined by the number of ships of the line. Only realizing that the war would begin before the completion of the program of building a linear fleet, he became a supporter of unlimited submarine war and the forced development of the submarine fleet.

The German "High Seas Fleet" (German: Hochseeflotte), based in Wilhelmshaven, was to destroy the main forces of the British fleet ("Grand Fleet" - "Big Fleet") in open battle. In addition, there were naval bases in Kiel, about. Helgoland, Danzig. The Russian and French navies were not perceived as worthy opponents. The German High Seas Fleet posed a constant threat to Britain and forced the British Grand Fleet to be constantly in the North Sea region on full alert throughout the war, despite a shortage of battleships in other theaters of operations. Due to the fact that the Germans were inferior in the number of battleships, the German Navy tried to avoid open clashes with the Grand Fleet and preferred the strategy of raids into the North Sea, trying to lure out part of the British fleet, cut it off from the main forces and destroy it. In addition, the Germans focused on waging unrestricted submarine warfare to weaken the British Navy and lift the naval blockade.

The factor of the absence of autocracy affected the combat effectiveness of the German Navy. The main creator of the fleet was Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz (1849 - 1930). He was the author of the "risk theory", in which it was argued that if the German fleet was equal to the English in strength, then the British would avoid conflicts with German Empire, because in the event of war, the German Navy will have a chance to inflict damage on the Grand Fleet, sufficient for the British fleet to lose its supremacy at sea. With the outbreak of war, the role of the Grand Admiral fell. Tirpitz became responsible for building new ships and supplying the fleet. The "High Seas Fleet" was led by Admiral Friedrich von Ingenol (1913-1915), then Hugo von Pohl (from February 1915 to January 1916, before that was Chief of the General Naval Staff), Reinhard Scheer (1916-1918). In addition, the fleet was the favorite brainchild of the German Emperor Wilhelm, if he trusted the generals to make decisions on the army, then the Navy controlled itself. Wilhelm did not dare to risk the fleet in an open battle and allowed only a "small war" to be waged - with the help of submarines, destroyers, mine laying. The line fleet had to adhere to a defensive strategy.

German "High Seas Fleet"

France. Austro-hungary

The French had 3 dreadnoughts, 20 old-type battleships (battleships), 18 armored and 6 light cruisers, 98 destroyers, 38 submarines. In Paris, they decided to focus on the "Mediterranean Front", since the British agreed to defend the Atlantic coast of France. Thus, the French saved expensive ships, since there was no big threat in the Mediterranean Sea - the Navy Ottoman Empire were very weak and tied by the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Italy was at first neutral, and then went over to the side of the Entente, the Austro-Hungarian fleet chose a passive strategy. In addition, there was a fairly strong British squadron in the Mediterranean.

Austro-Hungarian Empire had 3 dreadnoughts (the 4th entered service in 1915), 9 battleships, 2 armored and 10 light cruisers, 69 destroyers and 9 submarines. Vienna also chose a passive strategy and "defended the Adriatic", almost the entire war the Austro-Hungarian fleet stood in Trieste, Split, Pula.

"Tegetgof" in the pre-war years. Austro-Hungarian battleship of the Viribus Unitis class.

Russia

The Russian fleet under Emperor Alexander III was second only to the British and French navies, but then lost this position. The Russian Navy received a particularly big blow during Russo-Japanese War: almost the entire Pacific squadron and the best ships of the Baltic Fleet sent to the Far East were lost. The fleet needed to be rebuilt. Several naval programs were developed between 1905 and 1914. They provided for the completion of 4 previously laid down squadron battleships, 4 armored cruisers and the construction of 8 new battleships, 4 battle cruisers and 10 light cruisers, 67 destroyers and 36 submarines. But by the beginning of the war, not a single program had been fully implemented (the State Duma, which did not support these projects, also played a role in this).

By the beginning of the war, Russia had 9 old battleships, 8 armored and 14 light cruisers, 115 destroyers and torpedo boats, 28 submarines (a significant part of the old types). Already in the course of the war, the following were put into operation: in the Baltic - 4 dreadnoughts of the "Sevastopol" type, all of them were laid down in 1909 - "Sevastopol", "Poltava", "Petropavlovsk", "Gangut"; on the Black Sea - 3 dreadnoughts of the "Empress Maria" type (laid down in 1911).

"Poltava" during the First World War.

The Russian Empire was not a backward power in the naval area. It was even in the lead in a number of areas. In Russia, excellent destroyers of the "Novik" type were developed. By the beginning of the First World War, the ship was the best destroyer in its class, and served as a world model in the creation of destroyers of the military and post-war generation. The technical conditions for it were created at the Marine Technical Committee under the leadership of the outstanding Russian shipbuilding scientists A.N.Krylov, I.G. Bubnov and G.F.Shlesinger. The project was developed in 1908-1909, by the shipbuilding department of the Putilovsky plant, which was headed by engineers D.D.Dubitsky (mechanical part) and B.O. Vasilevsky (shipbuilding part). At Russian shipyards, in 1911-1916, in 6 standard projects, 53 ships of this class were laid down. The destroyers combined the qualities of a destroyer and a light cruiser - speed, maneuverability, and rather strong artillery armament (4 102-mm guns).

Russian railway engineer Mikhail Petrovich Naletov was the first to implement the idea of ​​a submarine with anchor mines. Already in 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War, participating in the heroic defense of Port Arthur, Nalyotov at his own expense built a submarine with a displacement of 25 tons, capable of carrying four mines. He carried out the first tests, but after the surrender of the fortress, the apparatus was destroyed. In 1909-1912, a submarine was built at the Nikolaev shipyard, which was named "Crab". She became part of the Black Sea Fleet. During the First World War, the "Crab" made several combat exits with mines, even reached the Bosphorus.

The world's first underwater mine layer - the submarine "Crab" (Russia, 1912).

Already during the war, Russia became the world leader in the use of hydro cruisers (aircraft carriers), the benefit of this was the dominance factor in the creation and use of naval aviation. Russian aircraft designer Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich, since 1912 he worked as the technical director of the plant of the First Russian Aeronautics Society, in 1913 he designed the world's first seaplane (M-1) and immediately began to improve the aircraft. In 1914, Grigorovich built the M-5 flying boat. It was a two-seater biplane of wooden construction. The seaplane entered service with the Russian fleet as a scout and artillery fire spotter, and in the spring of 1915 the plane made its first combat mission. In 1916, a new Grigorovich aircraft, the heavier M-9 (naval bomber), was adopted. Then the Russian nugget designed the world's first seaplane fighter M-11.

On Russian dreadnoughts of the "Sevastopol" type, for the first time, they used a system of installing not two, but three-gun turrets of the main caliber. In England and Germany initially were skeptical about the idea, but the Americans appreciated the idea and battleships of the "Nevada" type were built with three-gun turrets.

In 1912, 4 battle cruisers of the Izmail type were laid down. They were intended for the Baltic Fleet. These would be the most powerful battlecruisers in the world in terms of artillery armament. Unfortunately, they were never completed. In 1913-1914, eight light cruisers of the Svetlana class were laid down, four each for the Baltic and Black Sea fleets. They were going to be commissioned in 1915-1916, but did not have time. Russian submarines of the Bars type were considered one of the best in the world (they began to be built in 1912). A total of 24 Bars were built: 18 for the Baltic Fleet and 6 for the Black Sea Fleet.

It should be noted that in the Western European fleets in the pre-war years, little attention was paid to the submarine fleet. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, previous wars have not yet revealed their military significance, only in the First world war their great significance became clear. Secondly, the then dominant naval doctrine of the "open sea" assigned the submarine forces one of the last places in the struggle for the sea. The domination of the seas was to be conquered by the ships of the line, having won a decisive battle.

Russian engineers and artillery sailors made a great contribution to the development of artillery. Before the start of the war, Russian factories mastered the production of improved models of naval guns of 356, 305, 130 and 100 mm caliber. The production of three-gun turrets began. In 1914, the engineer of the Putilov plant F.F.Lander and the artilleryman V.V. Tarnovsky became pioneers in the creation of a special anti-aircraft gun with a caliber of 76 mm.

In the Russian Empire, before the war, three new types of torpedoes were developed (1908, 1910, 1912). They surpassed similar torpedoes of foreign fleets in speed and range, although they had a lower total weight and weight of the charge. Before the war, multi-tube torpedo tubes were created - the first such device was built at the Putilov plant in 1913. He provided volley fire with a fan, Russian sailors mastered it before the start of the war.

Russia was the leader in the field of mines. In the Russian Empire, after the war with Japan, two special minelayers "Amur" and "Yenisei" were built, and the construction of special minesweepers of the "Zapal" type also began. In the West, before the start of the war, no attention was paid to the need to create special ships for setting and sweeping sea mines. This is proved by the fact that in 1914 the British were forced to buy a thousand ball mines from Russia to protect their naval bases. The Americans bought not only samples of all Russian mines, but also trawls, considering them the best in the world, and invited Russian specialists to train them in mine business. The Americans also bought the Mi-5 and Mi-6 seaplanes. Before the start of the war in Russia, they developed galvanic and shock-mechanical mines of the samples of 1908 and 1912. In 1913, a floating mine (P-13) was designed. It was kept underwater at a certain depth thanks to the action of an electric swimming device. The mines of the previous models were kept at a depth by means of buoys, which did not give great stability, especially during storms. The P-13 had an electric shock fuse, a charge of 100 kg of tar and could stay at a given depth for three days. In addition, Russian specialists have created the world's first river mine "Rybka" ("R").

In 1911, the fleet entered service with snake and boat trawls. Their use reduced the time of sweeping operations, since the cut and pop-up mines were immediately destroyed. Previously worn out mines had to be towed in shallow water and destroyed there.

The Russian navy was the cradle of radio. Radio became a means of communication and control in battle. In addition, before the war, Russian radio engineers designed radio direction finders, which made it possible to use the device for reconnaissance.

Considering the fact that the new battleships in the Baltic did not enter service, besides the Germans had complete superiority in the forces of the linear fleet, the Russian command adhered to a defensive strategy. The Baltic Fleet was supposed to defend the capital of the empire. The basis of naval defense was minefields - during the war years, 39 thousand mines were placed at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland. In addition, there were powerful batteries on the coast and islands. Under their cover, cruisers, destroyers and submarines made raids. The battleships were to meet the German fleet if it tried to break through the minefields.

By the beginning of the war, the Black Sea Fleet was the master of the Black Sea, since the Turkish Navy had only a few relatively combat-ready ships - 2 old squadron battleships, 2 armored cruisers, 8 destroyers. Attempts by the Turks before the war to change the situation with a purchase newest ships abroad, they did not bring success. The Russian command planned to completely blockade the Bosphorus and the Turkish coast with the beginning of the war, to support the troops of the Caucasian Front (if necessary, the Romanian) from the sea. The issue of carrying out an amphibious operation in the Bosporus region to capture Istanbul-Constantinople was also considered. The situation was somewhat changed by the arrival of the newest battle cruiser Goeben and the light Breslau. The cruiser "Goeben" was more powerful than any Russian battleship of the old type, but together the battleships of the Black Sea Fleet would have destroyed it, therefore, in a collision with the entire squadron, "Goeben" retreated, using its high speed. In general, especially after the commissioning of dreadnoughts of the "Empress Maria" type, the Black Sea Fleet controlled the Black Sea basin - it supported the troops of the Caucasian Front, destroyed Turkish transports, and attacked the enemy coast.

Destroyer of the "Novik" ("Ardent") type.

A hundred years ago, one of the largest naval battles in the history of mankind, the Battle of Jutland, was fought in the waters of the North Sea, when the fleets of Great Britain and Germany met. This battle became the crown of the sea race at the beginning of the 20th century, during which a new type of ship appeared - the dreadnought.

Fischer is not crazy

Admiral Sir John Arbuthnot Fisher, First Sea Lord of Britain in 1904-1910, was an unpleasant person, but possessed a completely lethal combination of intelligence, will, efficiency, wild imagination, sharp tongue and that quality of nature, which is called "frostbite" in modern slang. Fischer said at every corner that the problem of the growing German fleet must be solved in the only way - to destroy it with a surprise attack at the base, to which in the end he received the highest resolution of King Edward VII: "God, Fischer, you must be crazy ?!"

It is not surprising that this man became one of the largest reformers of the Royal Navy - he managed to bend a "state-forming" corporation on one knee, whose inertia, served under the sauce of following traditions, by that time had already gone into jokes. “I don’t advise interfering with me,” he snapped, meeting resistance from the admirals. "I will pulverize anyone who dares to stand in my way."

The photo is not quite that era, but it perfectly conveys the character.

Fischer's merits in freeing the fleet from old ships, restructuring the officer training and basing system can be enumerated for a long time, but today we are only interested in one: the construction of the battleship Dreadnought, which launched the world's naval dreadnought race.

By the early 1900s, a de facto standard for battleships was formed in the world: a combat unit with a displacement of 14-16 thousand tons with a full speed of about 18 knots and armament of four 305-mm guns and 12-18 medium-caliber guns ( usually 12-14 six-inches).

The development of heavy artillery ships actually came to a standstill: further it was possible either to increase the displacement, or roll back to a smaller main caliber (203-254 mm), increasing the number of guns. For a while, hopes were pinned on a combination of a large 305 mm and intermediate caliber (for example, 234 mm on British battleships such as King Edward VII and Lord Nelson, 240 on French Dantons, or 203 on Russian Andreas First-Called "and" Eustathius "), but this option also did not work.

The main reason for the rejection of this decision was the insignificant power of such shells in comparison with heavy ones. There is a rough rule according to which the weight, and therefore the effectiveness of armor-piercing shells, can be estimated through the ratio of caliber cubes. As a result, the effectiveness of the fire dropped significantly, and the installations still took a disproportionate amount of the upper weight. In addition, the battle distances grew, and the accuracy of heavy shells was higher on them.

The concept of the All-Big-Gun was drawn: a battleship armed only with heavy caliber. The analysis of the Tsushima battle finally summed up the enthusiasm for rapid-fire six-inch battleships. Despite the barrage of medium-caliber shells that rained down on ships on both sides on May 14, 1905, critical damage was inflicted mainly by 305-millimeter paper.

Fischer did not come up with anything new. The Italian Vittorio Cuniberti published an article in 1903 under the heading "The Ideal Battleship for the British Navy", in which he proposed to build ships with a displacement of 17 thousand tons, a speed of 24 knots, armed with twelve 305-millimeter guns. In the same period, overseas, in Washington, the project of a ship of the "Michigan" type (17 thousand tons, 18 knots, 8x305) was discussed melancholy. The situation was close to the fact that the new class of ships would be called "Michigan", and not "dreadnoughts", but the speed of decision making and their implementation differed significantly: the Americans laid down the first such ship almost after the British, but commissioned only by January 1910 of the year.

As a result, in the fall of 1905, Britain began to build the battleship "Dreadnought" (21 thousand tons, 21 knots, 10x305 in five twin-gun turrets, main belt 279 millimeters). The ship was completely devoid of medium caliber (only "anti-mine" 76-millimeter paper), and its power plant was turbine.

Britain immediately began serial construction of ships of this concept. The idea of ​​the ship turned into a homogeneous fleet of a fundamentally new type: one dreadnought meant little, but the dreadnought fleet radically changed the balance of power at sea.

First, three Bellerophon-class ships went into action, then (until 1910) the Royal Navy received three more St. Vincent-class battleships, one Neptune-class, and two Colossus-class. All of them were similar to the "Dreadnought", carried five two-gun 305-millimeter installations and had a main armor belt of 254 or 279 millimeters.

At the same time, Fischer created another technical innovation, inventing a battle cruiser: a ship in the size of a dreadnought, with similar weapons, but much weaker armored - due to this, his speed was sharply increased. The task of these ships was to conduct squadron reconnaissance, finish off the "wounded" enemy after the dumping of the main forces and fight the raiders.

Subsequently, they were also entrusted with the task of forming a maneuverable wing during the general battle, and what came of this was well shown by the tragic fate of the first generation of British battlecruisers in Jutland. Oscar Parks, a historian of the British Navy, noted in this connection that the reflexive tendency of admirals to put "battle cruisers" in the battle line led to the fact that they lost their superiority in speed and received damage due to their thin armor.

Together with the Dreadnought, three Invincible-class ships were laid down at once (20.7 thousand tons, 25.5 knots, 8x305 in four towers, the main belt 152 mm). In 1909-1911, the fleet received three more similar ships of the "Indefatigable" class.

Sea alarm

The second after his namesake Schlieffen is the military mind of imperial Germany. If he was more interested in France, then Tirpitz challenged the naval rule of Britain.

The ships of the German school were different from the British ones. The "Mistress of the Seas" built her battleships for generalized combat in any available theater (which immediately set the requirements for autonomy and cruising range). On the other side of the Strait, Alfred von Tirpitz created a "counter-British" fleet, adjusted for the need for predominant action on its shores - in poor visibility conditions typical of the North Sea.

As a result, the German fleet regularly received ships with a short range, formally weaker artillery (by generations: 280 mm versus 305; 305 mm versus 343), but much better protected. The advantage of the British's heavier guns at short ranges was partially obscured by the flat trajectory and speed of the lighter German shells.

Germany responds to Fischer with a series of four Nassau-class battleships (21,000 tons, 20 knots, 12x280 in six towers, main belt 270-290 millimeters), commissioned in 1909-1910. In 1911-1912, the Kaiserlichmarine received a series of four Heligolands (24.7 thousand tons, 20.5 knots, 12x280 in six towers, the main belt is 300 millimeters).

In the same period (1909-1912), the Germans also build three battle cruisers: the non-serial Von der Tann (21 thousand tons, 27 knots, 8x280 in four towers, the main belt is 250 millimeters) and the Moltke with the Goeben of the same type. (25.4 thousand tons, 28 knots, 10x280 in five towers, main belt 280 millimeters).

The school's approach can be seen from the characteristics of Invincible's German rivals. The "Grosscrucians" had a different tactical niche - they were immediately created with the expectation of participating in a linear battle, hence the greater protection and increased attention to survivability. Again, the misadventures of the "Seydlitz" disfigured in Jutland, limping to the base in a half-flooded state, speak for themselves: in fact, they were not so much cruisers as the forerunners of a new class of high-speed battleships.

Britain did not stand aside. After receiving information about the German program of 1908, the British press went into hysterics with the replication of the slogan “We want eight and we won’t wait” (“We want eight [ships], we won't wait”). As part of this "sea alert" part of the ships with 305-mm guns from the list given above were laid down.

However, the designers looked ahead. The emergency shipbuilding program of 1909 provided for the development of "superdreadnoughts" - battleships with a 343mm main caliber. It was this "iron" that became the basis of the British linear fleet in the First World War: four "Orions" and four "King George V" (26 thousand tons, 21 knots, 10x343 in five towers, the main belt 305 millimeters) and four "Iron Duke" (30 thousand tons, 21 knots, 10x343, main belt 305 millimeters) - all of them were commissioned from 1912 to 1914.

The second generation of battlecruisers, introduced between 1912 and 1914, were represented by two Lion-class ships, one Queen Mary class (31,000 tons, 28 knots, 8x343 in four towers, 229 mm main belt) and one Tiger class. "(34 thousand tons, 28 knots, 8x343 in four towers, main belt 229 millimeters). The series received the unofficial nickname Splendid Cats ("Magnificent cats"), which, taking into account those times and customs, gave off some obscenity, because two cruisers were called "Princess Royal" and "Queen Mary".

The Germans responded by switching to a caliber of 305 millimeters. In 1912-1913, five dreadnoughts of the Kaiser type appeared (27 thousand tons, 21 knots, 10x305 in five towers, the main belt 350 millimeters), in 1914 - four König types (29 thousand tons, 21 knots, 10x305 in five towers, main belt 350 millimeters). In 1913, the transitional battle cruiser Seydlitz with 280 millimeters was completed, and then a series of three new ships of the Derflinger class began (31 thousand tons, 26 knots, 8x305 in four towers, the main belt 300 millimeters).

Life is everywhere

In the Mediterranean Sea, the local tasks of strengthening the fleet faced France, Italy and Austria-Hungary.

The Italians, following the non-serial Dante Alighieri, introduced five more ships of the Conte di Cavour and Cayo Duilio types. All of these were standard dreadnoughts with 305 mm artillery (already in the 1920s they will receive 320 mm paper and new power plants).

The Austrians responded to their enemies with four ships of the Viribus Unitis type, also with 305 mm artillery. These ships were notable for the fact that for the first time in history they combined three-gun towers with a linearly elevated layout.

The French, relying more on a land theater in the confrontation with Germany, first built four of the same "305-mm" dreadnoughts of the "Courbet" type, but during the war they managed to introduce three much more advanced ships of the "Brittany" type (26 thousand tons, 20 knots, 10x340, main belt 270 mm).

After the defeat at Tsushima, Russia found itself in a difficult situation: it was necessary to join the dreadnought race and at the same time build up the main composition of the destroyed Baltic fleet.

In 1909, Russia laid the first Sevastopol-class dreadnought in the Baltic (25 thousand tons, 23 knots, 12x305 in four towers, the main belt 225 millimeters). All four ships were commissioned by December 1914. In 1915-1917, three ships of the "Empress Maria" type appeared on the Black Sea (the fourth was never completed). They took the Sevastopoli as a basis, strengthening their protection and increasing the cruising range by reducing the speed to 21 knots.

Russian battleships were a very specific type. battleship with a linear-single-tier artillery position, intended for combat at the Central mine-artillery position (a giant minefield blocking the Gulf of Finland). Soberly assessing the capabilities of the German fleet, the Russian military saw the task of these ships in attacking enemy forces trying to force the minefields. However, it would be premature to demand heroism from Sevastopol in the ocean.

Before the war, some countries, including Turkey and the states of Latin America, tried to fit into the dreadnought race, but they did it at the expense of orders from foreign shipyards. In particular, the British voluntarily and forcibly acquired two Turkish and one Chilean dreadnought after the outbreak of the war, and finished building another "Chilean" after the war, turning it into an aircraft carrier "Eagle".

Over the oceans

In the Western Hemisphere, meanwhile, two future rivals were deciding their questions: Japan and the United States.

The Americans were rather sluggish in implementing the breakthrough idea with Michigan, despite all the efforts of Theodore Roosevelt. By the way, the Michigans were originally distinguished by a more progressive linear-elevated armament arrangement - in contrast to the British and German dreadnoughts of the first generation, which demonstrated various exoticism such as rhombic and diagonal turrets.

Following Michigan and South Caroline, they built in 1910-1912 two Delaware, two Florida and two Wyoming - standard dreadnoughts with 10-12 305 mm guns. The American school was distinguished by a rather conservative design, which assumed powerful booking with a rather modest power plant energy. Battlecruisers in Washington were not fond of.

Observing the pre-war hysteria unfolding in Europe, the States decided in 1908 to switch to 356 mm caliber - this is how two New York and two Nevadas appeared, which, with a displacement of about 27-28 thousand tons, carried 10x356. The Nevadas were a novelty in their design approach, with what they called an all-or-nothing booking scheme: a heavily armored central citadel with unprotected extremities.

After them, already in 1916, the fleet received two "Pennsylvania", and by 1919, three "New Mexico" - both types with a displacement of 32-33 thousand tons, a speed of 21 knots, with 12x356 armament in four towers, with the main belt 343 mm.

The Japanese have long been fond of "semidreadnoughts", experimenting with combinations of 305 and 254 mm cannons. Only in 1912, they introduced two Kavachi-type dreadnoughts with 305 mm (and then two different ballistics), and then immediately switched to 356 mm caliber and began to build future heroes of the Second World War. In 1913-1915 they built four Congo-class battle cruisers (27,000 tons, 27.5 knots, 8x356, main belt 203 mm), and in 1915-1918, two Ise-class battleships and two Fuso-class "(Both about 36 thousand tons each with 12x356 and a belt of 305 millimeters).

Heading to Jutland

An analysis of what was happening in the United States and Japan pushed the British to build an improved version of the Iron Duke with 343-millimeter paper, which everyone liked. So this "neither hot nor cold" battleship would have been born, if the personal factor had not intervened again.

In 1911, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, relatively young by the standards of big politics, became the First Lord of the Admiralty. This brilliant dilettante, who has never done anything in his life (from journalism and fiction to managing a superpower in a difficult war), left a mark on British shipbuilding - and such that it was enough for 30 years.

These two understood each other quite well.

Churchill, after talking with Fischer and some artillery officers, demanded to play ahead: to lay the ship under the 381-mm main caliber. "They will sweep everything they see to the horizon," Fischer succinctly commented on this choice.

The subtlety was that at the time the order was issued for the construction of battleships, such guns simply did not exist. The risk in this adventure was hefty, but the prize was worth it, but no one wanted to take responsibility. Churchill took it.

To understand the significance of these weapons and the rate of progress demonstrated in the seven years since the laying of the first "ship of a new type", we will simply give the main characteristics. The 305mm Dreadnought Mk X, like most guns of this caliber at the time, used a 385kg round. 343 mm - shells weighing 567 or 635 kilograms. In 381-millimeter guns, the weight of the projectile already reached 880 kilograms. The increase in caliber by only 25 percent increased the weight of the salvo almost threefold.

As a result, Britain in 1913-1915 received almost its best battleships - five ships of the Queen Elizabeth class (33 thousand tons, 24 knots, 8x381 in four towers, the main belt 330 millimeters). They became the first pure representatives of the class of "fast battleships", obtained by closing the classes of the dreadnought and battle cruiser. "Queens" after modernization served the British Empire in the Second World War - unlike most other heroes of Jutland, who went "on gramophone needles."

Just before the war, the British urgently laid down five R-class battleships (Rivenge or Royal Sovereign), which were a slower version of the Queens. After the start of the war, two more "extraordinary" battlecruisers were laid down - "Ripals" and "Rinaun" (32 thousand tons, 31 knots, 6x381 in three towers, main belt 152 mm). And in 1916, they began to build the battle cruiser "Hood", which is already known from the events of the Second World War.

The German response to this serial construction looked much paler: four Bayern-class battleships were laid (32 thousand tons, 21 knots, 8x380 in four towers, the main belt 350 millimeters), of which two were commissioned, but in Jutland they were already did not have time (unlike the Queens). They also laid four "Grosscruciers" of the "Mackensen" type (35 thousand tons, 28 knots, 8x350 in four towers, the main belt 300 millimeters), but they were never completed. Battlecruisers with 380-millimeter paper were also planned, but only one of them was formally laid down in July 1916 (Ersatz York, that is, the “deputy” of the cruiser York, sunk in 1914), and the realistic completion of such ships at the end of the war During the war, new ships were designed and laid by France (four battleships of the "Normandy" type with 12x340), Italy (four "Francesco Caracciolo" with 8x381) and Austria (four "Erzats Monarchs" with 10x350), but they were not completed or even laid down.

Out, gentlemen

Jutland Jutland, but Show must go on: after a gigantic positional battle in the North Sea, the race continued. The United States is building two Tennessee-class ships with 356 mm guns, commissioned by 1921, and the next three Colorado-class battleships already carried four twin turrets with 406 mm guns. By the same time, the Japanese were introducing a pair of Nagato-class battleships (46 thousand tons, 26 knots, 8x410, main belt 305 millimeters).

Then the race becomes more and more on paper. The Japanese laid the Tosa-class battleships and the Amagi battlecruisers, and also designed the Kii-class battleships. All these were ships with a displacement of 44-47 thousand tons with 410 millimeters, and four numbered orders were already ahead for high-speed battleships of the following class: 30-node, with 8x460.

The British drew battleships of the N-3 type and the battle cruisers of the G-3 type - with a displacement of 50 or more thousand tons and 457 millimeters. About what they were doing at that time in the States, you need to write a separate article - keywords for those interested: "Tillman's battleships" or maximum battleships. We will only point out that among the proposed options was a ship with 80 thousand tons with 24x406 in six-gun (!) Towers.

The project of battleships of the South Dakota class with 47 thousand tons, 23 knots and 12x406 in four towers, which grew out of this waste, looked more realistic, six such ships were laid down in 1920-1921, but abandoned. In parallel, they were to build the first six US battle cruisers of the Lexington class (45 thousand tons, 33 knots, 8x406).

On the boards of Russian engineers in 1916-1917, there were already drawings with ships with a displacement of 40-45 thousand tons, armed with 8-12 guns of 406 mm caliber. But this line of development no longer had a place in the reality of the crumbling empire, just as there was no place for the fantasies of Admiral Fischer, who by that time had already crossed the line separating the bold thinking of the visionary from outright madness. We are talking about the project of the battle cruiser "Incomparable" (51 thousand tons, 35 knots, 6x508 in three towers, the main belt is 279 millimeters).

This is what Fischer did achieve, so it was the construction during the war of the so-called light battle cruisers: Koreyges with Glories (23 thousand tons, 32 knots, 4x381 in two towers, 76 mm main belt) and Furies ( 23 thousand tons, 31 knots, 2x457 in two towers, the main belt is 76 millimeters). Some people consider this to be the leaps of the old senile, others - a consistent embodiment in metal of the pure idea of ​​the original Invincible: a squadron reconnaissance officer, a fighter with cruisers and a cleaner of the underdevelopment of a general battle.

After the war, they were rebuilt into aircraft carriers, as well as a significant part of the heavy artillery ships already laid down in the USA and Japan. Many aircraft carriers of the beginning of World War II are essentially werewolves: the British trinity of light battlecruisers, the battlecruisers Lexington, Saratoga and Akagi, and the battleships Kaga and Bearn.

The heavy curtain of the Washington Naval Agreement of 1922, which created the ultimate type of negotiated battleship (35 thousand tons with a caliber of no more than 406 millimeters) and introduced quotas for the tonnage of linear fleets, ended the race of dimensions and guns. Great Britain, which before the war strictly followed the "two-power standard" (the Royal Navy was supposed to be the first in the world and at the same time not weaker than the second and third, taken together), agreed to equalize tonnage quotas with the United States.

The countries exhausted by the First World War breathed a sigh of relief, having decided that a new arms race (already between the victors of Germany) was averted and an era of prosperity lay ahead. Reality, however, once again refused to comply with the plans of politicians, but this had nothing to do with the line fleets.

Warships of the world

Publication of the almanac "Ships and Battles"

St. Petersburg 1997

Warships of the world

On pages 1-4 of the cover there are photographs of light cruisers: "Munich" (1st page), "Bremen" 1906 (2nd page), "Magdeburg" (3rd page) and "Hamburg" (4- i page).

Popular science edition

Those. editor S. N. Rednikov

Lit. editor E. V. Vladimirova

Proofreader S. V. Subbotina

Development of German light cruisers during the First World War

V late XIX century Germany challenged England, which for two hundred years was the strongest maritime power. To counter the British fleet, a powerful fleet of the line was required. But the line fleet without reconnaissance is blind, and therefore there was a need for high-speed reconnaissance cruisers. In addition, Germany had already managed to acquire distant colonies, and cruisers were also needed to serve in them. But Germany did not have suitable ships for these purposes. There were either gigantic armored cruisers of the "Hertha" type, or weakly armed and poorly protected advice notes.

Thus, a new complex task arose before the creators of the German fleet. Unlike Britain, where two types of cruisers developed in parallel

- cruisers for servicing the squadron

- "Scouts" and cruisers for service in the colonies, in Germany decided to go along the path of creating a universal cruiser. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, it turned out to be economically profitable to focus efforts on the development of cruisers of the same type, and secondly, German officers and designers were well aware of the shortcomings of reconnaissance cruisers.

Light cruiser "Konigsberg"

The founder of the "Scouts" was the Russian cruiser "Novik", which was built in Germany. German experts considered this ship to be combat-weak, which was not even compensated for by its high speed. The first series of German universal cruisers were the "Gazelle" cruisers. They were followed by several more constantly improving series. Very soon, water-tube boilers and turbines appeared on the cruisers. Improvement of turbines, reduction of steam and fuel consumption made it possible to achieve a long cruising range and high speed, which increased over the period 1908-1912. from 25 to 28 knots.

Another major technical improvement that was introduced on these ships is the transition to liquid fuel. Initially, oil was used as a supplementary fuel for coal-fired boilers as well as for the operation of auxiliary boilers. Thanks to the use of liquid fuels, enormous savings in weight have been achieved and, as a result, an increase in the interior space has been achieved.

The armor of ships was also gradually improved. On the cruisers of the "Magdeburg" class, a side belt appeared for the first time. True, in this respect, the German cruisers were inferior to the British ones, but at the same time they had better horizontal protection.

By the beginning of World War I, the German cruisers had only one weak point - the artillery caliber, which was 105 mm, while the British cruisers were armed with 152 mm guns. German admirals hoped that a smaller caliber could be compensated for by better combat training of personnel, due to which it would be possible to achieve more hits and a higher rate of fire. The experience of the war showed that these calculations were not justified.

For example, the Emden was the first to get hits in the battle near the Cocos Islands, but the multiple superiority of the Sydney in artillery did its job (the Sydney's side salvo was 295 kg, and the Emden's - 72 kg). The British retained the advantage in artillery and on newer cruisers. So, the weight of the salvo of the "Bristol", built in 1910, was 161 kg, and the "Karlsruhe" built in 1912, only 95 kg.

After the first battles in Germany, they immediately developed a program for re-equipping cruisers with 150-mm guns. During the war, some of the outdated German cruisers were withdrawn from the fleet, and by 1917 Admiral R. Scheer noted with satisfaction: "Both reconnaissance groups of light cruisers now consisted of approximately equivalent high-speed and modern ships." But it was too late. Well-armed light cruisers did not have time to accomplish anything remarkable.

After the war, the well-known German specialist Professor Evers assessed the experience of using German light cruisers in combat: “Outdated ships of this type, armored only in the underwater part, turned out to be poorly protected even from the hits of medium and small artillery shells. The fires partially disabled the guns, making it impossible to maintain them. Often the fire destroyed the shells lying prepared for firing near the guns. The underwater part of the ships, on the contrary, was well protected from shells thanks to the armor.

Thus, during a five-hour battle near the Falkland Islands, the light cruiser Leipzig received, in addition to countless hits from 102-mm guns, at least 40 hits from 152-mm guns of the armored cruisers Cornwell and Kent. The shells caused severe destruction and fires on the surface of the ship, but probably only once pierced the armored deck. While the heavily armored (100 mm) conning tower proved to be quite reliable, the armor shields of the guns could not protect the servants from heavy losses, mostly due to the action of the fragments. The newer cruisers, with their waterline and surface covered with 50-75 mm armor, showed great endurance, withstanding heavy fire from medium-caliber guns at close range, as was the case during the night phase of the Jutland battle.

German submarine UB 148 at sea.

Interior view of an English submarine under construction. Newcastle, UK.

Allied troops evacuated from the Gallipoli Peninsula during the Dardanelles operation.

The allies detonate their own damaged ship, interfering with the passage of other ships. Strait of the Dardanelles.

The British aircraft carrier "HMS Argus" was created on the basis of a cruise liner and was capable of transporting up to 18 aircraft. The ship is painted in "blinding camouflage" which made it difficult for the enemy to determine the speed and weapons, as well as the distance to the ship.

US Marines and sailors on one of their ships (most likely either "Pennsylvania" or "Arizona"). The year is 1918.

Clearing a mine on one of the islands of the Heligoland archipelago in the North Sea. October 29, 1918.

The US Navy submarine USS Fulton departed from a shipyard in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. November 1, 1918.

American sailors clear the deck of the ship from ice.

Warships with cargo at the Andromeda cliffs, near Jaffa.

Unloading a 155mm cannon on the Gallipoli Peninsula, during the Dardanelles operation.

The sailors of the French cruiser "Admiral Aube" pose for photographers near the anvil installed on the deck.

German battleship SMS Kaiser at the Kaiser Wilhelm II parade in Kiel, Germany.

British submarine "HMS A5" - one of the first A-class submarines, which were listed in the British Navy and were intended for the defense of water areas.

Manufacturing of large-caliber naval guns. Washington DC. USA.

The cat, the mascot of the ship HMS Queen Elizabeth, walks along the barrel of a 15-inch cannon on deck in 1915.

US Navy transport ship Pocahontes. Converted from the German passenger ship Prinzess Irene, which was in New York at the start of the war. The year is 1918.

Departure of the crew on boats from a torpedoed German submarine.

The Burgess seaplane serves the US Naval Police in New York. The year is 1918.

German submarines in the harbor.

The battleship of the US Navy "USS New Jersey". The year is 1918.

Launching a torpedo by a British ship. 1917 year.

The British bulk carrier SS Maplewood is attacked by the German submarine SM U-35 off the coast of Sardinia. April 7, 1917.

Australians meet returning soldiers from the war at Outer Harbor, South Australia.

German cruiser SMS Emden, aground on Cocos Island in 1914. This cruiser, and the German East Asia Squadron, attacked and sank a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer at Penang, Malaysia, in October 1914. Then the order was received to destroy the British radio station on Cocos Island in the Indian Ocean. During this raid, he was attacked by the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney. He damaged Emden and caused him to run aground.

A German submarine stranded on the south coast of England after surrendering.

German submarine "U-10" at full speed.

German ship Schleswig-Holstein fires a cannon at the Battle of Jutland, May 31, 1916, in the North Sea.

"Life in the Navy", fencing aboard a Japanese battleship.

French transport ship "Levifan", former German passenger liner "Vaterland".

The engine compartment of an American submarine.

At the roadstead in Zeebrugge, Belgium, April 23, 1918. The Royal Navy tried to blockade the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge by sinking old ships at the entrance to the canal so that German ships could not leave it. Thus, two ships were successfully sunk in the canal, along with 583 sailors. Unfortunately, the barrage ships were sunk in the wrong place and the canal was soon reopened. Photo taken in May 1918.

A seaplane flies over allied warships, 1915.

Russian battleship Tsesarevich, ship of the Imperial Russian Navy, mooring, approx. 1915 year.

A British squadron commanded by Admiral John Jellicoe encountered ships of the German Imperial Navy on its way at the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea on May 31, 1916.

The crew of the HMS Audacious board the lifeboats of the RMS Olympic to receive the rescuers on board, October 1914. Audacious is a British battleship sunk by a German mine off the north coast of County Donegal, Ireland.

Destroyed and sunken German cruiser SMS Konigsberg, after a battle in the Rufiji River Delta (now Tanzania). Rufiji is a 100 km navigable river that flows into the Indian Ocean about 200 km south of Dar es Salaam.

The transport ship Sardinia in camouflage camouflage, at the dock, during the First World War.

The Russian flagship Tsesarevich passes by the ship HMS Victory, approx. 1915 year.

German submarine surrenders to the US Navy.

The sinking German cruiser SMS Bluecher, at the Battle of Dogger Bank, in the North Sea, between German and British warships, January 24, 1915. The Bluecher sank, losing nearly a thousand sailors. This photo was taken from the deck of the British cruiser Arethusia.