Slava

Slava's story

The word "Slava" itself means "glory" in Russian, and her representative ship is the last of the Borodino-class battleships to be built. She was launched in 1903 and commissioned in 1905, making her a "pre-dreadnought" battleship. Her class design was copied from the Russian battleship "Tsesarevich", which was itself built in France, to a design developed by a team of French and Russian engineers. Because Russia lacks shipbuilding space, many of their surface ships are built through these foreign port agreements. Slava was belatedly commissioned to participate in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, although the other four ships of the class were either sunk or transferred to the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN).

By the end of the hostilities, Russia had lost many capital ships, making Slava one of the most powerful ships still in service with the Baltic Fleet.

Her Krupp steel belt armor is 5.9-9.0 in (150-230 mm) thick, and the deck is covered with 2.25 in (57 mm) of armor to protect her from onslaught. The 12" main turret and its crew received 10" (250mm) armor, while the 6" secondary turret received 5.9" (150mm) armor.

Along with the bridge, the conning tower is protected by armor plates up to 250 mm (10 in).

The Baltic Fleet was still short of ships, with only four ex-dreadnoughts in service before the First World War. In 1914, Slava was stationed at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland. At the start of World War I, she was sent to the Gulf of Riga to support Russian troops against German surface ships. In August 1915, the German High Seas Fleet sailed into the Gulf and was encountered (and eventually defeated) by the Russian Gulf of Riga squadron led by Slava.

By 1916, Slava remained a mobile artillery platform and was called upon to bomb German positions along the Riga coast.

In 1917, Slava continued to defend the Gulf of Riga and shelled these German land positions. Two German dreadnoughts, Konig and Kronprinz, were dispatched to the Gulf to provide cover for Allied minesweepers and clear mines in the Russian Gulf in preparation for the German landings.

The Russian squadron - consisting of the Slava, the ex-dreadnought Grazdanin, and the armored cruiser Bayan - sailed south to meet the Germans, leading to the Battle of the Moon Sounds. The Slava, which was caught up, was hit several times by the German ship Konig, and the Russian squadron was forced to retreat. The Slava ran aground near Woodlake Island and had to sink.

Russian destroyers evacuated Slava's crew, and Russian torpedoes eventually sank her.

Slava excelled in the Russian Navy during his tenure and was officially removed from the Naval Register on May 29, 1918.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Wing