Russian submarine fleet (part 2)
The first commander of the submarine forces of Russia was appointed Rear Admiral Eduard Nikolaevich Shensnovich. When he commanded the battleship Retvizan, the officers of this ship called Shchennovich among themselves Hidalgo. So it went then. He was very similar to Don Quixote, as he is drawn in books: antennae, goat beard (goatee). And how he fought for Russian boats. For example, story with Friedrich Krupp.
Submarine of the German company F. Krupp type "Karp" (3 units)
The beginning of the Russian-Japanese war 1904 - 1905 It was the impetus not only for the construction of a submarine in Russia (like the "Killer Whale"), but also for ordering them abroad, including in Germany. 6 March 1904 KLVahter, a trusted Friedrich Krupp company, made a proposal to build three submarines at the Germany plant (Kiel) for the “Russian imperial government” with the following readiness dates: first - through 9 months, the next two months - through 11 months from the date of signing the contract. Shipbuilding engineer IG Bubnov and 2 captain M.N. Beklemishev, who developed the technical conditions and test conditions, participated in the specific negotiations that began from the Russian side. They contained information about the "approximate" dimensions of the submarines: length - 39,5 m, diameter - 2,7 m, displacement - 170 t / 240 t. Two kerosene motors with a power of 200 hp. each. Surface speed - 11 nodes, cruising range - 1100 miles (9-node node - 1600 miles). Underwater travel range - 27 miles 9 node motion, 55 miles 5,5 node, 80 miles 4 node motion. Reserve buoyancy - not less than 15%. It was stipulated that the submarine "Must stay on the surface in any weather and make transitions with the wind with a force of 6 points and the corresponding sea state." Stock air on the 20 man for the 10 man crew. Two periscopes 4 each in length. Armament - one torpedo tube. The ammunition is the Whitehead 3 torpedoes (one in the device, two in special canisters over the TA.
4 on April 1904, the technical specifications were signed by the Chairman of the ITC Vice-Admiral F.V. Dubasov and the representative of the Krupp company K.L. Wachter. 10 April was followed by permission to order the firm of all three submarines. On May 24, Rear Head Admiral A. R. Rodionov and K. L. Vahter, head of the GUUPS department, signed a contract. The final assembly of the submarine required the mandatory presence of "one experienced engineer." The beginning of the first test was scheduled for January 10 1905, two - "a month from the previous one." The cost of each submarine was determined in 1 million 200 thousand marks.
Krupp "Germany" did not have sufficient experience in the construction of submarines. Immediately after the conclusion of the contract, the construction of ships that received the numbers "109", "110" and "111" began. 2 December 1904, the captain of the 2 rank M.N.Beklemishev and Lieutenant AOGadd arrived at the plant in Kiel, by that time the hull of the first submarine and batteries were almost ready, and the kerosene engines were assembled at the Curting factory in Hannover. In the first days of August, 1905 began testing the submarines "109", which were carried out only under electric motors. The maximum speed on the surface was 10,7 bonds, after which the boat was lifted to the stocks for inspection and elimination of comments, and there were a lot of them. It was necessary to increase the volume of fuel tanks, improve the system of immersion and ventilation, change the structure of the wheelhouse, increase the diameter of the access hatch, modify the steering device. The Russian-Japanese war was nearing its sad end, while the submarines were still under construction.
The Department of Structures GUKiS proposed to abandon the railway transport and overtake the finished submarines in Libauu on their own, retaining the amount for disassembly from the company. However, the costs of insurance and crew payments would exceed those 15 thousand marks for each of the submarines. We decided to take the submarine in Kiel and independently overtake them. December 21 1905 was considered the final decision.
31 January 1906, the Curting factory was finally able to produce the first engine, and a month later it successfully passed the test and the second. February 3 both engines were delivered to Kiel and began to prepare for installation on the submarine "110", which 30 May safely launched into the water. The receipt of the remaining four gasoline engines was delayed due to the workers' strike.
The German company Krupp didn’t stand the deadline for the construction of the submarine, and the reason for the delay became clear very simply
Along with the submarine for Russia, Krupp laid the first German U-1 submarine, about the same tonnage. F. Krupp built cunningly - compared to the "Russian" submarines, the German boat was built more slowly. Therefore the boats ordered by Russia in the sea left the first. This is where design flaws came from all the cracks. The point is something new. As soon as something happens, so the German designers in their precious "U-1" make amendments. For example, three prefabricated submarine compartments "U-1" were tested for watertightness. The nasal torpedo tube on the Russian submarines was displaced downward at an angle relative to the waterline, as on the old destroyers. You can't shoot at shallow depths - the torpedo will definitely crash into the ground. Having found this out, the German designers placed the torpedo tubes horizontally on their U-1 submarine. And in three submarines for Russia, this angle was preserved. Cuttings on the Russian boat turned out to be leaky, nobody could be in them under water. On its submarine "U-1" the cabin was sealed.
There were many flaws on these first ordered submarines.
In the end, the company received a domestic submarine of higher quality, avoiding the extra cost of building experienced boats. It was this circumstance that convinced E.N. Shhensnovich of the need to conduct the construction of submarines only in domestic factories and according to the designs of his engineers.
Only 12 June 1906 began to test the submarine "110", which during the two-hour surface run under the electric motors reached the speed 8,4 knots, and then proceeded to install kerosene engines. On all three Russian submarines, the torpedo tube was installed not horizontally, but with a significant downward slope, as on the destroyers. Whitehead's mine was sent from Sevastopol to Kiel to fit the torpedo tubes of the 1904 sample more accurately. 13 of September fired the first shot without a drummer, since his “mustache” would not allow the apparatus's nose cover to be closed. The results were recognized as “undoubtedly good,” but the company immediately installed the torpedo tube horizontally on its U-1 submarine.
26 September on the measured line submarine "110" has not reached the contract speed under the engines, showing the maximum total 5 knots on the 10,34 mileage.
On November 2, the plant’s management requested that a commission be sent to Kiel for acceptance testing. However, in view of the “late season”, E.N. Shhensnovich proposed to move the tests to spring, but for the time being, Lieutenant T. FAr lehr Raab-Tilena would be sent to Kiel. On the submarine "109" and "111" work was carried out "sluggishly", because in order to avoid alterations the German experts "want to use the results of the head submarine."
21 February 1907 was approved the composition of the commission chaired by captain 1 of the rank of M.N. Beklemishev for acceptance of submarines, which by that time were named "Carp" ("109"), "Crucian" ("110") and "Flounder" ("111"). Of the 9 members of the commission, 7 spoke in favor of accepting the submarines subject to the elimination of 60 points of comments, two abstained. A separate opinion was attached to the act by E.N. Shhensnovich, who considered the absence of high-pressure tanks to be a great constructive disadvantage. However, the project is not provided.
The submarine Karp was taken to the treasury according to an act of commission from 27 July 1907. The question of the two remaining submarines was postponed until the torpedo firing. During August, the submarines alternately independently went out to sea at a distance of 28 miles, made trial dives. Returning from a single cruise, the Kambala submarine collided with a German coaster in the Kiel Bay, which received a surface hole in the stern, and the submarine turned off the bow, fortunately without damaging the solid hull. The repair took 10 days, and 8 of September PRL "Flounder" was taken to the treasury, subject to the replacement of batteries, anchors of electric motors and a number of alterations in the ventilation system. After 2 of the day, the commission signed an act on the acceptance of the Karas submarine, which also had a lot of deficiencies.
During the summer of 1907, all the 3 submarines, accompanied by Khabarovsk transport, arrived in Libau and joined the Diving Training Team. Continuing testing revealed a number of design flaws. Thus, the batteries were not equipped with special ventilation, the compartments were not tested for pressure, the internal ballast tanks at a great depth were not blown through with compressed air, but pumped out by the pump. It was also possible to establish in external acceptance tests in Germany that external ballast tanks were filled with water for too long (7 minutes 38 seconds), although under the terms of the contract, the dive time was to be 5 minutes. Alteration of the immersion system in Kiel would further delay the acceptance date, so it was decided to perform it in Russia at the expense of the plant, which soon sent the fittings, documentation, and transferred the necessary funds. Alterations reduced the dive time by 2 minutes 20 seconds, which experts found satisfactory. The stopper laid in the hull delivered a lot of trouble - it swelled from the ingress of water and gave the submarine not positive but negative buoyancy. Separated keels designed to provide safety at the right time, either did not give up at all, or were disconnected with difficulty, as happened near Libava on the Karas submarine during training dives in September 1907.
On April 22, 1908, the Flounder and Karas submarines, and on April 26 the Karp submarines were sent by rail to Sevastopol, and after 2 days they were all transferred to the Black Sea Scuba Diving Squad fleet. In June, it was a question of re-equipping each submarine with two lattice torpedo tubes of Dzhevetsky and placing a high-pressure tank "by remaking the existing ones." However, these improvements were made on two submarines, since the submarine "Flounder" at the time of the first night attack on May 23, 1909 died, rammed by the battleship "Rostislav".
With the submarine "Karas" and "Karp" removed the 12 batteries, due to which one of the internal tanks was able to alter a high-pressure tank - safety was provided more than the imperfect tears of the keels.
By the beginning of the First World War in the Black Sea, the submarines "Salmon", "Sudak", "Karp" and "Karas" were in the ranks. With the entry into operation of the submarine type "Walrus" obsolete submarines surrendered to the port. The fate of the Karp and Karas submarines was decided in December by 1916 by a commission chaired by Captain 1 of the rank of P. P. Ostoletsky, who familiarized themselves with their condition. Acknowledging both submarines unsuitable for further service, the specialists noted, in particular, that even after repair, the "hull fortress remains greatly reduced ..." 12 February Submarines "Karp" and "Karas" surrendered to the port of Sevastopol, where they stood until April 1919. Leaving the city, the British, among other submarines, withdrew and flooded the Karp and Karas submarines in the roadstead.
The construction of Karp-type submarines, which had a number of significant design flaws, once again confirms the proven truth over the years - hasty decisions on placing orders without sufficient analysis of the manufacturer’s experience rarely bring favorable results.
21 June 1905. The Krupp company, through its representative K.Wachter, proposed to build a vessel with a displacement of 35 t, which was a further development of the Forel submarine, but equipped with two kerosene-motors according to 60 hp. for the surface course and hp 60 electric motor - for scuba diving and for charging batteries. The command tower now had a larger volume; both the commander and the navigator could accommodate in it, and in the forward part two bunks were supposed for the crew to rest.
However, based on the feedback on the project, Rear-Admiral E.N. Shensnovich, the head of the scuba diving, answered the representative of the Krupp company that "the proposed type of boat can be designed without difficulty by our engineers and built in Russia."
2 September 1905 in MTC via K. Wachter received drawings and a brief description of the submarine with a displacement of 21 t, speed 10 / 7 knots, cruising range 250 / 25 miles, equipped with a kerosene engine and an electric motor. IG Bubnov expressed the opinion that the construction of such submarines for domestic enterprises is not difficult.
But M.N. Beklemishev spoke in favor of the immediate order of 5 of such submarines. However, the proposal of F. Krupp was not accepted by the conclusion of E.N. Shhensnovich.
"4 December 1905 g. Very secret.
We currently own two types of submarines (Lack and Holland) in the Baltic, already swimming and more or less experienced. The Krupp boats will arrive from Kiel, the Beklemishev and Bubnov boats will end at the Baltic Shipyard. It is to be expected that these last boats will be completed by the plant and delivered in the next spring .. Thus, in the Baltic there will be 4 of the submarine type. Each of them will have its shortcomings and its advantages, and bringing the boats to life, but not throwing them, will be a matter of personnel, the preparation of which we must take care of. We have already more or less met two types of submarines. These both are foreign types.
Do we really have to be behind foreigners in this matter and give them the opportunity to learn, how can we win with our own means? And the order of boats abroad m even in Russia of foreign types to this leads. Four more 400-ton boats are being built, although in Russia, on Okhta, but by foreigners, and even the inventor, G.Lek, having received almost a million (958508) rubles from our government as the first payment for boats, immediately after signing a contract, opened an office for construction these boats in Berlin, where he works on the development of boats, and sends only finished projects for execution to Petersburg. With him a lot more will have to tinker ...
The shape of the Krupp boats is unsatisfactory and will never be repeated another time. This is realized, although the boats are not yet ready.
The case of diving can live an independent life, if we build boats at home and according to our projects, to which we already have enough practice. Our boats Beklemisheva and Bubnov sailed near Vladivostok on their own and gave results that were not worse than the boats of other tipolvs, the only thing they sinned with, these are mine apparatuses unsuitable for underwater ships - these are Dzhevetsky's apparatus.
We already have such experienced boat builders as Beklemishev and Bubnov. There are designs of boats Gavrilova, Macievich intends to design boats. Is it really to drop the case? It is necessary to allocate for the next year about 400000 rubles, so that the business of Russian construction of boats does not die. "(From the memorandum of the scuba diving director Rear-Admiral E.N. Shhensnovich).
"The Marine General Staff ... came to the conclusion that at the present time it is absolutely impossible to build a submarine that could be considered completely reliable and expedient weaponsbut what is possible to implement
"The Marine General Staff ... came to the conclusion that at the present time it is absolutely impossible to build a submarine, which could be considered quite reliable and expedient weapons, but that it is only possible to carry out such a boat that could be suitable for combat activity under certain favorable conditions." (from the report of the Marine General Staff to the Minister of the Navy of Russia. 1909)
"I donate that during the expiration of almost two years the state of the submarine did not change for the better, since the reasons causing it were not eliminated due to lack of funds ... It is necessary to replace all the boats of the division with others that the modern state of the underwater equipment can give us now "It is necessary to give the boats greater tonnage, greater surface and submarine speeds and a larger submarine region." (from the secret report of the captain of the submarine division in the Pacific Ocean of Captain 2 of the rank of Ivanov-13. 1910)
"Secret. Urgent.
Starting to implement the 50-year-old shipbuilding program in the part related to the construction of the submarine, the Marine Ministry stopped building the first two submarine series designed by engineer Major-General Bubnov. "(From the Representation of the Marine Ministry of Russia to the Council of Ministers. 1912)
At the same time, justice demands that the submarines of the “Russian type” had serious design flaws. In particular, their robust housing was not divided into compartments with watertight bulkheads. IG Bubnov mistakenly believed that the bulkheads may be ineffective on the submarine, and therefore in the interests of better internal location and habitability decided to completely abandon them. Subsequently, the practice showed a deep erroneousness of this decision when three injured Bars-type submarines died, having received relatively small holes. Another disadvantage of the "Russian type" submarine was the unsuccessful diving system, which ensured that the boat was too slow to sink (up to three minutes or more).
Like all submarines of the beginning of the century, the "Russian type" boats went under water only for a relatively short time, no more than 5-10% of time spent at sea. In connection with the new conditions of warfare, it became necessary to significantly increase the duration of the submarine stay under water. In 1914, IG Bubnov tried to solve this problem by creating a project of a submarine cruiser with a displacement of about 3500 t. It was envisaged that the main engines would be powerful steam turbines of the bearing type, which would be able to launch the submarine at positional speeds up to 25 nodes. The working depth of the submarine cruiser (100 m) was twice the depth of the submarine of the “Russian type” submarine. Under water, a cruiser could walk under electric motors at a speed of 3 - 4 knot within a few hours. This project was not approved by the ITC and remained unfulfilled.
IG Bubnov presented several variants of submarine projects of increased displacement (1915 t, 920 t and 854 t) for the competition of the Marine Ministry for the shipbuilding program 971. One of them was recognized as the best, and according to it in 1916, 10 PLs were ordered, which were never built.
The submarine displacement 971 t already had a two-part design. The main ballast tanks were placed in the inter-body space and, thus, the designer managed to bring the buoyancy of this submarine to 32%.
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