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Tsesarevich

1903 WORLD WAR 1

Tsesarevich's story

In the late 1800s, Russia acquired (through compulsory lease) Port Arthur in Manchuria, which famously provided its navy with an ice-free port with free access to the Pacific Ocean. To defend his control, Russian leader Tsar Nicholas II ordered the construction of several warships, one of which became the Tsesarevich. Due to Russia's lack of shipbuilding capabilities, the warship was built in France and delivered to the Russian Navy upon completion. Ordered on 20 July 1898, Tsesarevich was built by Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranee in France. The keel was laid on 8 July 1899 and launched on 23 February 1901.

It was commissioned on August 31, 1903.

Tsesarevich is a former dreadnought built before the arrival of HMS Dreadnought (1906). HMS Dreadnought ushered in the rise of steam-powered battleships with cannons, making hybrid-gun coal-powered battleships obsolete. Thus, the mixed artillery armament carried by Tsesarevich consisted of 2 x 305 mm (12 in) main guns, 6 x 152 mm (6 in) secondary guns, 20 x 75 mm (3 in) guns, 20 x 47 mm (1.9 in) guns) . artillery and 8 x 37 mm (1.5") guns. Also fitted with 4 x 381 mm (15") torpedo tubes. Power comes from 20 Belleville boilers feeding 2 triple vertical expansion steam engines driving 16,300 hp to 2 shafts.

It has a top speed of 18 knots and a range of up to 5,500 nautical miles.

Tsesarevich was 388.8 feet long, 76 feet wide, and had a draft of 26 feet when built. Her 778 crew and armor protection reached 10 inches at the conning tower. Straps can hold up to 9.8 inches and decks can hold up to 2 inches. Her profile features a former bridge superstructure, midship-based funnels and a double mast arrangement.

Broadly speaking, her appearance matches the design of warships of the late 19th century.

After commissioning in 1903, Tsesarevich was sent to the Far East and served in Port Arthur until the end of the year. She was the most powerful warship in the Russian naval fleet at the time and a formidable enemy of Japan when it went to war in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

Early in the conflict, Japanese torpedo boats hit a moored Russian fleet on the night of 8 February - Tsesarevich was one of the targets. The ship had a torpedo by her side, creating an obvious list, but the tide managed to correct the warship and keep it afloat. However, when she began to move, she ran aground at the port entrance and remained damaged until June 7. She then fell while trying to break through the Japanese blockade and was involved in several indeterminate operations against the Japanese fleet thereafter.

She reached the German trade port of Qingdao, and was disarmed and detained during the war.

The ship then returned to Russia and became part of the Baltic Fleet. In 1906, it participated in the suppression of the Sveaborg Uprising, a Russian military rebellion that stemmed from the 1905 Russian Revolution.

That same year, her image changed a bit when her superstructure was shortened and she lost some of her 75mm guns. Their next engagement was in response to the Messina earthquake of December 1908. Their propulsion plan was substantially updated in 1909-1910.

Tsesarevich remained in service during the First World War (1914-1918), but took little action during the conflict. Another rebellion broke out in early 1917, this time involving Tsesarevich as the host ship. After the February Revolution, on April 13, the warship was renamed "Grazdanin". They then participated in the Battle of the Moon Sounds in October 1917, which ended with a German victory in the Baltic.

Grazdanin received several direct hits from German artillery fire and retreated.

Before the end of the year, she was taken over by the Bolsheviks and retired in May 1918. She was scrapped in 1924 and her name was removed from the Naval Register on November 21, 1925.