Armored cruiser 2nd rank "Novik"
building Schichau, Elbing, Germany
laid down autumn 99/29.2.00
launched 2.08.00
completed 1901
displacement 3.000/3.080 t
dimensions 106/109.9/110.5x12.2x5.0 m
mechanisms 3 VTR shafts, 12 Schultz-Thornycroft boilers; 17.800=25 knots. / 19.000=25.6 knots.
coal 400/500 t
range 3,500 miles at 10 knots
armor deck (nickel steel) 37-51 (bevels), glacis MO 70, wheelhouse (croup) 30, gun shields 25 mm
armament 6-120/45, 6-47/43, 2-37/23, 2 bullets, 5 overhead. TA 381 mm
crew 12/316 people
The fastest cruiser in the world, but high speed was achieved by weakening the hull structures. According to his design, 2 more Russian cruisers were built. Served as a prototype for large series the so-called "scouts" in the English and some other navies.
The most active ship of the squadron, taking part in all operations. After the battle on July 28 (3 surface holes, 2 killed, 1 wounded) he broke through to Qingdao. Then, having rounded Japan from the east, he came to the port of Korsakovsk (Sakhalin Island). Sunk there by the crew after a battle with Japanese cruisers on August 7, 1904 (3 underwater and 2 surface holes, 2 killed, 17 wounded). Raised by the Japanese, repaired (new boilers and weapons) and since 1908. served in the Japanese navy under the name "Suzuya". Removed from the lists in 1913 and dismantled for metal.
In accordance with the program “For the needs of the Far East”, adopted in 1898, MTK developed technical task for the design of a cruiser with a displacement of 3000 tons, intended both for the reconnaissance service of the squadron, and for its protection from attacks by enemy destroyers and to support attacks by its own destroyers.
The contract for the construction of such a cruiser, called Novik, was signed with the German company Schichau on August 5, 1898. The ship was built by the branch of this company in Danzig, the mechanisms were manufactured in Elbing. The official laying of the ship took place on February 29, 1900, when the hull was built up to the armored deck. On August 2, Novik was launched, and on May 3, 1901, the cruiser was under Russian national flag went out for the first seven-hour factory test.
Normal displacement is 3080 (according to the project 3000), full - 3180 tons. Length between perpendiculars 106, maximum 111, at the waterline 110.1 m, maximum beam 12.2 m, draft 5 m (on tests 4.7 m). The thickness of the armored deck (along the entire length from the ram to the sternpost) is 30 mm in the horizontal part and 51 mm at the bevels (chromium-nickel armor). Parts of the main vehicles protruding above the armored deck were covered by 70-mm glacis. (According to other sources, the glacis is 25 mm). Gun shields - 25 mm, conning tower - 30 mm (Krupp cemented armor). Power plant: three vertical triple steam expansion machines with a total capacity of 17,800 hp. With. (design - 17,000 hp) and twelve water-tube boilers of the Shihau system. There are three screws. The test speed was 25.1 knots. Normal coal reserve is 400 tons, full - 510 tons. Cruising range at a speed of 10 knots is 2900 miles. (Design - 5000 miles).
Armament: six 120 mm Kane guns (45 calibers), six 47 mm Hotchkiss guns (43 calibers) and two 37 mm 23 caliber Hotchkiss guns on boats, a 64 mm Baranovsky landing gun (19 calibers), two 7.62 -mm three-line Maxim machine guns, aft and four onboard 381-mm mine (torpedo) tubes. The conning tower was protected by 30 mm armor plates. The crew (by staff) is 12 officers and 316 conductors and lower ranks. On May 18, 1902, after completion of acceptance tests, Novik arrived in Russia.
On September 14 of the same year, the cruiser under the command of Captain 2nd Rank P.F. Gavrilov left Kronstadt, heading for Far East. On December 6, when Novik was in Piraeus (Greece), Captain 2nd Rank N. O. Essen took command of it.
The cruiser arrived in Port Arthur on April 2, 1903. Literally from the first minutes of the Russo-Japanese War, Novik’s active service began. Immediately after the attack by Japanese destroyers on the Russian squadron on the night of January 27, 1904, the commander of the cruiser received an order to pursue the enemy, but while the Novik was separating couples, the Japanese destroyers managed to leave. In a battle with a Japanese squadron the next day, Novik made a daring attempt to get closer to the enemy squadron, but a 203-mm shell that hit the cruiser (in the waterline area) forced it to turn back. Only after ten days of intensive repairs was the ship able to be put back into service. It was on the Novik that the fleet commander, Admiral S. O. Makarov, raised his flag when he tried to recapture the destroyer Steregushchy, surrounded by the enemy and dying. More than once the cruiser covered the exits to the sea of destroyers and gunboats, and took part in the shelling of the coast occupied by the enemy.
After the battle on July 28/10, 1904 (3 surface holes, 2 killed, 1 wounded), Novik broke through to Qingdao. Then, having rounded Japan from the east, he came to the port of Korsakovsk (Sakhalin Island). Sunk there by the crew after a battle with the Japanese cruisers "Tsushima" and "Chitose" on August 7/20, 1904 (3 underwater and 2 surface holes, 2 killed, 17 wounded). Raised by the Japanese, repaired (new boilers and weapons) and from 1908 served in the Japanese fleet under the name "Suzuya". Removed from the lists in 1913 and dismantled for metal.
Armored cruiser 2nd rank "Emerald"
construction Nevsky Zavod, St. Petersburg
laid down Jan 1901/1.06.02
launched 10/9/1903
completed October 1904
displacement 3.103; 3.333 t.
dimensions 106/109.9/110.9x12.8x5.0 m
mechanisms 3 VTR shafts, 16 Yarrow boilers; 17.000=24kt/ 11.000=21kt
coal 510/660 t.
range 2,090 (10) miles
armor cabin 140/25 (croup), deck (nickel steel) 30-50 (bevels) mm
armament 8-120/45, 6-47, 2-37, 2 bullets, 3 TA 381mm (surface)
crew 350 people.
Repetition of "Novik" with reinforced weapons and three masts, but with reduced speed
After the battle, he broke into the Sea of Okhotsk, but jumped onto the rocks in the bay. Vladimir was blown up by the crew.
Armored cruiser 2nd rank "Pearl"
The cruiser "Novik" or as it is also called "Sakhalin Varyag" is the best "walker" of the Russian fleet, the "champion" of the longest distances.
During the Russo-Japanese War, the cruiser Novik had great fame. Even the Japanese admired the cruiser’s exploits, believing that she was “bewitched” from defeat.
Show in full..
On July 28, 1904, our Port Arthur squadron entered the Yellow Sea to take on an unequal battle with Japanese fleet. This battle ended tragically for us. But the brigade of cruisers bravely broke through the Japanese barriers; firing back, our cruisers full speed propellers were leaving the battle, among them the cruiser Novik was torn apart.
The next day the cruiser appeared in the German colony of Qingdao, and German officers quite sympathetically they counted the holes in the sides of the cruiser. No matter how much the Germans tried to persuade them to lower the St. Andrew’s flag and intern in Qingdao, the cruiser went to sea ten hours later; for Novik the war was not over yet. In the wardroom it was decided: to break through to Vladivostok open ocean, go around Japan from the east, refueling the Korsakov bunker with Sakhalin coal.
While the cruiser was loading coal in Korsakov, two Japanese armored cruisers Tsushima and Chitoza entered Aniva Bay. The Japanese plainly said in Russian: “Honor to your courage. We offer honorable surrender." The “Novik” responded to this with the work of cannon plutongs - from the bow and stern, beating and mutilating the superstructures of the “Tsushima” until it withdrew to Hokkaido due to heavy damage. But the Japanese did not stop fighting. "Chitosa" began to approach. The Novik also had hits; the dead were not even removed from their posts: water flooded the tiller compartment, and water gushed through the holes.
It became clear that a further breakthrough was impossible, the ship was blocked in Aniva Bay, and there was no repair base in Korsakov.
- Just don't explode! - the officers decided. The Novik vehicles are magnificent, we will sink through the kingstons in order to raise the cruiser after the war, and it will still serve Russia. The crew left the cruiser, and the Novik, without lowering its flag, slowly sank into the sea, but the aft part of its deck remained above the water.
While waiting for the Chitose, the cruiser Tsushima “looked with all eyes wide open all night, fearing that the Novik would be able to escape again,” the Times newspaper wrote, according to a Japanese officer. The battle with Novik became the first baptism of fire for the Japanese cruiser. “One can imagine,” the Japanese officer concluded his story, “how the gunners tried and how they were proud that they managed to damage the Russian cruiser, which, thanks to its speed and brilliant crew, took such an outstanding part in all the battles starting in January.”
When dawn broke, the “Chitose” could see that the “Novik” was flooded, and boats and a steam launch were scurrying between it and the shore. Having approached, “Chitose” shot at the sunken cruiser for an hour, and then, coming closer, transferred the fire to the shore, firing about a hundred shells, even shooting at individuals. On the Novik, two smokestacks were destroyed, the mast was damaged, the stern bridge was broken, and there were many holes from shrapnel in the deck and the surface of the side.
On August 7, our fleet lost the dashing and glorious, the fastest of our cruisers, which was the beauty of the Russian fleet and the threat of the Japanese. At the Korsakov post they solemnly buried the killed Novikovites and those who died from wounds.
After consulting, the command of the cruiser decided that part of the team for further service Motherland, goes to Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, and then to Khabarovsk. This is about 600 versts on foot through the wilds of the taiga. And the other part remains on the island and, in the event of an invasion, takes part in the defense.
The ship's guns were removed almost manually from the sunken ship and installed according to coastline to strengthen the island's defense. Whole year the sailors kept watch at the guns of the cruiser Novik. And in August 1905, the Japanese invaded.
Historically, Sakhalin Island was not a fortified defensive point; at that time there were only a few prisons and hard labor on it. Of course, the combat garrison numbered 2-3 thousand soldiers (some of whom were prisoners who stood up to defend the island), but that was probably all that was available. No structures, no trenches, no equipment were brought in. Of the artillery, only 4 cannons from the time of Napoleon and those were shot. Therefore, the Novik battery was a great help in the defense of the island.
The brave sailors had a very difficult time from the very beginning of the battle: 11 destroyers came from the sea, covering a significant part of the coast with fire; Meanwhile, Japanese troops had already landed near the village of Mereya and it was urgently necessary to cover the uninvited guests with “throwover” fire; information was also soon received that the Japanese had appeared at the Korsakov pier and an order was received to break up the pier.
The enemy invaders fired all their guns, trying to disable the snarling battery. Shells were exploding everywhere, those killed by shrapnel were removed from the guns, and others took their place.
- We're lost, the mother of them all!
- We'll all be lost! But the cruiser "Novik" has never given up... fire, brothers!
The Novik battery heroically defended its positions until the last shell. After the ammunition ran out, the island’s defenders blew up their cannons and joined partisan movement, continuing to fight for native land.
Novik's feat has not been forgotten! Now a quiet river flows on Sakhalin - Novikovka, and on the shore of Aniva Bay fishermen live in the village of Novikovo, and a monument to the cruiser "Novik" appeared near Korsakov. Ship's cannon of old times gloomily looks from the pedestal towards the Strait of La Perouse, as if reminding all uninvited strangers - here live the heirs of the former glory - the loud glory of the “Sakhalin Varyag”!
Sakhalin "Varyag". The cruiser "Novik" is a hero Russian-Japanese war 1904-1905 August 4th, 2012
All the best.
........The London Times correspondent in Tokyo wrote: “Hardly any other event during this spring has attracted attention in Japan more attention than the fate of Novik. The small cruiser won the hearts of her opponents with unprecedented exploits. Starting from the first sea battle On January 27, when he bravely left the ranks of his more powerful comrades and rushed towards the Japanese squadron, Novik, under the command of N. O. Essen, distinguished himself at least six times. However, he never suffered any serious damage. He seemed to be under a spell! And more than once Japanese sailors blessed fate that they had to deal with only one Novik - otherwise the whole fate naval campaign could have been completely different..."
The whole world knows about the feat of the cruiser "Varyag". And songs are sung about him different languages. And here unprecedented feat"Novika" somehow remained little noticed by the general public and, what is much more offensive, by descendants. But the younger generations of Sakhalin residents and Russia can and should be educated on the combat history of the small Russian ship.
By the way, here you need to do small retreat and remember once and for all: Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 Russia cannot in any way be considered lost in military-economic terms. The loss of the fleet was not the only measure of victory or defeat in that war - everything was decided on land. But there, by the end of the war, we were doing much better than Japan, which by that time was completely exhausted - the Japanese lost 2 (twice!) times more in manpower than we did. Nowadays it is not customary to remember that Japan was financed and armed by England (not without the participation of the USA and France), the Japanese army was built according to the German model, and the navy according to the English one. Actually, the Japanese did not have their own developments in the field of weapons - everything came from overseas “friends” who passionately wanted, as usual, to spoil Russia with the wrong hands and pull chestnuts out of the fire.
And when we specifically pressed the Japanese land front, suddenly, out of nowhere, those same overseas intermediaries appeared, who, through diplomatic and economic means, suddenly began to put so much pressure on the government of Nicholas II that shameful world We signed with the Japanese at the most critical and favorable moment for us. And Count “Polus-Sakhalinsky” gave away Southern Sakhalin somehow unpredictably..., in Once again confirming the superior role of the economic (or, more correctly, political) factor over the military one.
Admire this “map” (photo below). The year is 1900, the first grandiose redivision of the world is brewing. The Anglo-Boer War is still going on, during which the “civilized” British successfully tested the idea concentration camps(didn’t know? Yes, this is not a fascist, but a British invention. By the way, one of last ships left Africa with black slaves for the United States around the turn of the century. Slaves, as you probably know, were brought to the USA by the enterprising children of the “world citadel of democracy” - the Britons), and in Europe it is in full swing information war against Russia. As another bearer of “democracy” once bequeathed to everyone who wants it and, even more so, to those who don’t want it - Napoleon.
Know, friends, that we have always beaten the Japanese. Both in 1904-1905, and during the expulsion of the interventionists in the early 1920s (when the Japanese and Americans massacred our civilians and they exported everything in a row), under Hassan and Khalkhin Gol and, of course, in the great 1945! Do not forget that this country has always been used in their geopolitical and economic interests by our eternal enemies - England, the USA, Germany and the USA. And remember that a peace treaty has not yet been signed between Russia and Germany, that the American occupation forces that are “sworn friendly” to us are still stationed on Japanese territory, and zealous heads in Japan itself are increasingly calling for the reform of Japan’s self-defense forces into a full-fledged army and navy . We remember well what this has led to twice already...
Okay, I got distracted, let's go back to Novik.
Graphic model of the cruiser "Novik"
The combat history of Novik began in Port Arthur.
Literally from the first minutes of the Russo-Japanese War, Novik’s active service began. Immediately after the attack by Japanese destroyers on the Russian squadron on the night of January 27, 1904, the commander of the cruiser received an order to pursue the enemy, but while the Novik was separating couples, the Japanese destroyers managed to leave. It should be noted here that Novik was one of the fastest warships of its time - during testing it produced a little more than 25 knots!
In a battle with a Japanese squadron the next day, Novik made a daring attempt to get closer to the enemy squadron, but a 203-mm shell that hit the cruiser (in the waterline area) forced it to turn back. Only after ten days of intensive repairs was the ship able to be put back into service. It was on the Novik that the fleet commander, Admiral S. O. Makarov, raised his flag when he tried to recapture the destroyer Steregushchy, surrounded by the enemy and dying.
After the battle on July 28/10, 1904, Novik broke through to Qingdao. Then, having rounded Japan from the east, he came to the Sakhalin port of Korsakov. Sunk there by the crew after a battle with the much more powerful Japanese cruisers "Tsushima" and "Chitose" on August 7/20, 1904, and one Japanese cruiser received serious damage.
h part of the Novik team with midshipman Maximov at the Korsakov post
Before the battle, the captain of the Novik, A.P. Shter, wrote in his diary: “...If Japanese telegrams are heard, then it is clear that the enemy is not alone... But how many? And who exactly? All Japanese cruisers are stronger even alone.” Novik", and here also full speed it’s impossible to give... Undoubtedly, the denouement was approaching...”
The battle with superior enemy forces has begun. The Japanese fully appreciated the valor and skill of the Novik's crew, bitterly recording heavy damage and losses in manpower in their ship's logs.
At first, the Japanese shells were flying, but soon they began to land closer. To disrupt the zeroing, "Novik" began to describe a series of different coordinates*, keeping the enemy within 35-40 kb. [* A maneuver consisting of two consecutive turns to the same angle in opposite sides to shift the track line.] But already at 17:20 the Novik came under cover. One of the enemy shells made a hole in the steering compartment under the armored deck, which began to fill with water. Immediately there was an alarming cry: “There’s a hole in the senior officer’s cabin!”, and then new cries: “There’s a hole in the living deck!.. In the wardroom!..” The emergency team rushed to repair it (as far as possible during the battle) damage. After another 5 minutes, the shell destroyed the commander's and navigational rooms, destroying all the charts and navigational instruments, except for one sextant. Fortunately, there have been no casualties yet. "Novik" even began to get ahead of the enemy, moving on a parallel course...
But this was the last stress on the cruiser's machines - the water-heating tubes burst in two boilers, and the speed dropped sharply. “Involuntarily, impotent anger began to boil in my chest, rolled up in a ball to my throat and burst out with rude curses,” wrote A.P. Shter, “against whom this anger was - I was not aware of it, but I tried to pour it out on the enemy.”
"Novik" had to return to the Korsakov roadstead, where it turned out that the ship had received too much damage and it would not be possible to pump out the water. They removed what they could from the ship, opened the congs and took the crew ashore. The commander assumed that in the near future the Novik would be raised and it would once again become part of the Russian fleet. Who would have imagined that southern Sakhalin would soon go to Japan for 40 long years...
sunken cruiser "Novik" off the coast of Sakhalin
While waiting for the Chitose, on the cruiser Tsushima, “they looked with all their eyes all night, fearing that the Novik would be able to escape again,” the Times newspaper wrote, according to a Japanese officer. The battle with Novik became the first baptism of fire for the Japanese cruiser. “One can imagine,” the Japanese officer concluded his story, “how the gunners tried and how proud they were that they managed to damage the Russian cruiser, which, thanks to its speed and brilliant crew, took such an outstanding part in all the battles starting in January.”
Until the morning of August 9, telegrams arriving in St. Petersburg about the death of Novik were not allowed to go into print. But since information continued to come from both the Reuters agency and the Wolf agency, they decided to officially notify Russia: “On August 7, our fleet lost the dashing and glorious, the fastest of our cruisers, which was the beauty of the Russian fleet and the threat of the Japanese... 14 lower ranks were lightly wounded, 2 were seriously wounded, 2 were killed. Lieutenant Stehr, who remained at his post all the time, was wounded in the head."
The Novikovites who remained on Sakhalin, having removed the 120-mm and 47-mm guns from the ship, under the command of midshipman A.P. Maksimov, defended the sunken cruiser from Japanese sabotage to the last, and after that they took a direct part in the defense of Sakhalin from the invaders.
120-mm gun from the cruiser "Novik" at a coastal position near the Korsakovsky post
47-mm gun from the cruiser "Novik" in the Sakhalin exposition local history museum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
Photos from the stand in the museum:
The coastal part of the village "Novikovo", named after the heroic Russian cruiser. Several photos taken in July 2012.
Monument to "Novik"
The administration of the village "Novikovo" is located in such a house with a couple of rooms.
And these are information plaques on the monument
So far everything is extremely condensed and simplified. I think whoever is interested will find the opportunity to use the search. There is more than enough online full chronology through the life of the Novik and its heroic crew.
See you.
With uv.
In accordance with the program “For the needs of the Far East”, adopted in 1898, MTK developed technical specifications for the design of a cruiser with a displacement of 3000 tons, intended both for the reconnaissance service of the squadron and for its protection from attacks by enemy destroyers and to support attacks by its own destroyers.
The fastest cruiser in the world, but high speed was achieved by weakening the hull structures. According to his design, 2 more Russian cruisers were built. It also served as a prototype for a large series of so-called “scouts” in the English and some other navies.
The most active ship of the squadron, taking part in all operations. After the battle on July 28 (3 surface holes, 2 killed, 1 wounded) he broke through to Qingdao. Then, having rounded Japan from the east, he came to the port of Korsakovsk (Sakhalin Island). Sunk there by the crew after a battle with Japanese cruisers on August 7, 1904 (3 underwater and 2 surface holes, 2 killed, 17 wounded). Raised by the Japanese, repaired (new boilers and weapons) and since 1908. served in the Japanese navy under the name "Suzuya". Removed from the lists in 1913 and dismantled for metal.
In accordance with the program “For the needs of the Far East”, adopted in 1898, MTK developed technical specifications for the design of a cruiser with a displacement of 3000 tons, intended both for the reconnaissance service of the squadron and for its protection from attacks by enemy destroyers and to support attacks by its own destroyers.
The contract for the construction of such a cruiser, called Novik, was signed with the German company Schichau on August 5, 1898. The ship was built by the branch of this company in Danzig, the mechanisms were manufactured in Elbing. The official laying of the ship took place on February 29, 1900, when the hull was built up to the armored deck. On August 2, Novik was launched, and on May 3, 1901, the cruiser under the Russian state flag entered the first seven-hour factory test.
Normal displacement is 3080 (according to the project 3000), full - 3180 tons. Length between perpendiculars 106, maximum 111, at the waterline 110.1 m, maximum beam 12.2 m, draft 5 m (on tests 4.7 m). The thickness of the armored deck (along the entire length from the ram to the sternpost) is 30 mm in the horizontal part and 51 mm at the bevels (chromium-nickel armor). Parts of the main vehicles protruding above the armored deck were covered by 70-mm glacis. (According to other sources, the glacis is 25 mm). Gun shields - 25 mm, conning tower - 30 mm (Krupp cemented armor). Power plant: three vertical triple steam expansion machines with a total capacity of 17,800 hp. With. (design - 17,000 hp) and twelve water-tube boilers of the Shihau system. There are three screws. The test speed was 25.1 knots. Normal coal reserve is 400 tons, full - 510 tons. Cruising range at a speed of 10 knots is 2900 miles. (Design - 5000 miles).
Armament: six 120 mm Kane guns (45 calibers), six 47 mm Hotchkiss guns (43 calibers) and two 37 mm 23 caliber Hotchkiss guns on boats, a 64 mm Baranovsky landing gun (19 calibers), two 7.62 -mm three-line Maxim machine guns, aft and four onboard 381-mm mine (torpedo) tubes. The conning tower was protected by 30 mm armor plates. The crew (by staff) is 12 officers and 316 conductors and lower ranks. On May 18, 1902, after completion of acceptance tests, Novik arrived in Russia.
On September 14 of the same year, the cruiser under the command of Captain 2nd Rank P.F. Gavrilov left Kronstadt, heading for the Far East. On December 6, when Novik was in Piraeus (Greece), Captain 2nd Rank N. O. Essen took command of it.
The cruiser arrived in Port Arthur on April 2, 1903. Literally from the first minutes of the Russo-Japanese War, Novik’s active service began. Immediately after the attack by Japanese destroyers on the Russian squadron on the night of January 27, 1904, the commander of the cruiser received an order to pursue the enemy, but while the Novik was separating couples, the Japanese destroyers managed to leave. In a battle with a Japanese squadron the next day, Novik made a daring attempt to get closer to the enemy squadron, but a 203-mm shell that hit the cruiser (in the waterline area) forced it to turn back. Only after ten days of intensive repairs was the ship able to be put back into service. It was on the Novik that the fleet commander, Admiral S. O. Makarov, raised his flag when he tried to recapture the destroyer Steregushchy, surrounded by the enemy and dying. More than once the cruiser covered the exits to the sea of destroyers and gunboats, and took part in the shelling of the coast occupied by the enemy.
After the battle on July 28/10, 1904 (3 surface holes, 2 killed, 1 wounded), Novik broke through to Qingdao. Then, having rounded Japan from the east, he came to the port of Korsakovsk (Sakhalin Island). Sunk there by the crew after a battle with the Japanese cruisers "Tsushima" and "Chitose" on August 7/20, 1904 (3 underwater and 2 surface holes, 2 killed, 17 wounded). Raised by the Japanese, repaired (new boilers and weapons) and from 1908 served in the Japanese fleet under the name "Suzuya". Removed from the lists in 1913 and dismantled for metal.
Based on the magazine "Gangut" and materials from some sites.
During the Russian-Japanese War of 1904 -1905. fleet Russian Empire suffered catastrophic losses. At the same time, against the background general defeat Russian fleet, some Russian ships, outstanding for their time, managed to distinguish themselves. One of them was the 2nd rank cruiser Novik, which, through its participation in hostilities, had a great influence on the development of the class of cruisers.
The armored cruiser 2nd rank "Novik" was built in 1901 in Danzig (Germany) by the famous shipbuilding company "Schihau", which won the competition of the Russian Maritime Department in 1898 for the construction of a high-speed reconnaissance cruiser for the Russian Pacific squadron. The new 2nd rank cruisers were supposed to perform various combat missions under the squadron - reconnaissance and messenger service, protection of the squadron from enemy mine (torpedo) attacks, fire support for attacks by friendly destroyers. The possibility of participation in cruising operations on enemy communications has not been ruled out.
The cruiser "Novik" during tests in Germany, 1901-1902
The main feature of the cruiser with a displacement of 3000 tons was supposed to be its speed - 25 knots. No cruiser in the world had such an unusually high speed at that time. Thanks to its high speed, the new cruiser should have been able to escape from any enemy cruiser. Such a ship could “intercept” a detachment of enemy destroyers and use artillery fire to force them to abandon the mine attack. The cruiser would not constrain its destroyers with speed, covering their attacks. The choice of the caliber of the main artillery should also be considered successful. 120-mm guns were optimal for repelling a mine attack and made it possible, if necessary, to engage in battle with an enemy cruiser (displacing about 3,000 tons). It was assumed that the new cruiser would take part in laying minefields, and 6 mine vehicles, combined with high speed, made it possible to hope that they would become a weapon not only of defense, but also of attack.
It was decided to build a 2nd rank cruiser abroad. Thanks to this, one could hope to build a ship in short term, and subsequently repeat the successful project on domestic shipyards. The cruiser was built over 25 months at the company's plant in Danzig, the mechanisms were manufactured in Elbing. The work was carried out efficiently. The fit of all parts was very precise. On August 2, 1900, the cruiser was launched into the water. After completion, the cruiser reached a speed of 25 knots during testing. The machines worked flawlessly. On May 15, 1902, Novik left Russia and was soon sent to the Far East. On December 6, 1902, Captain 2nd Rank N.O. became the commander of the Novik. von Essen.
Cruiser "Novik" in Port Arthur, 1904
On the night of February 9, 1904, the Russian squadron was attacked on external roadstead Port Arthur by the Japanese fleet - the Russian-Japanese War began. Immediately after the attack, Novik received an order to pursue the departing Japanese ships, but the pursuit did not bring results, since the cruiser was not under steam on the night of the attack. Distributing the steam took a lot of time and the enemy managed to leave.
During the battle on February 9, 1904, Novik, at a speed of 22 knots, attempted to approach the Japanese flagship battleship Mikasa, but at 15 cables it was forced to turn back and during the turn received an underwater hole from a shell with a caliber of 152 mm or more.
The cruiser was repaired at the dock in 10 days. “Novik” had to carry out various combat missions near Port Arthur; he went out on reconnaissance and entered into battle with Japanese cruisers. It was also necessary to perform the functions of a high-speed gunboat. Since June, the Novik often went out to fire at Japanese ground positions, coming close to the shore, at the risk of damaging the underwater part or being blown up by a mine. But there was an urgent need for such exits ( gunboats were too slow and carried insufficiently effective artillery). I had to put up with the risk of losing the cruiser to a minefield; Novik became the most active ship of the Russian squadron and went to sea more often than others. On March 29, 1904, Captain 2nd Rank M.F. became the new commander of the cruiser. von Schultz ( former commander destroyer "Bold").
“Novik” went out to sea with the squadron, the cruiser almost did not take part (due to the long battle distance), but when “Askold” went to break through the formation of Japanese cruisers, only “Novik” was able to follow it. During the breakthrough, it developed a speed of up to 24 knots, but when the enemy fell behind, it was necessary to reduce the speed due to malfunctions (Novik had not stopped steaming since the beginning of May, being in 40-minute readiness, and was not able to make even minor corrections in mechanisms). "Novik" became separated from "Askold" and it was decided to go independently to Vladivostok around Japan.
on the deck of the cruiser "Novik"
M.F. von Schultz decided to go for coal at Qiao Chao (Qingdao), a German naval base. The reason for this is the large consumption of coal during the breakthrough on August 10 (in addition, the cruiser did not receive 80 tons of coal in Port Arthur until it was fully stocked). In Kiao-Chao, Novik did not receive the full supply of coal - M.F. von Schultz hurried to go to sea before dawn to avoid meeting the Japanese cruisers. On the way to Vladivostok, it was necessary to repair boilers that often failed (a consequence of the cruiser’s intense service). It turned out that there would not be enough coal to reach Vladivostok.
On August 20, at 6 o’clock in the morning, the Novik went to pick up coal at the Korsakov post (a village in the southern part of Sakhalin Island). The appearance of a military ship on the horizon initially caused panic there, but when they saw St. Andrew's flag, almost the entire population gathered at the pier. As soon as the longboat from the Novik docked, a march began from the local orchestra. Of course, no one in the village expected the Russian cruiser, about which there was no news in Russia for eight days after it left Qingdao “in an unknown direction.”
officers of the cruiser "Novik"
Lieutenant A.P. Shter and part of the team supervised the loading of coal on the shore. “I cannot describe vividly enough the joyful feeling,” he later recalled, “that gripped me when I went ashore; after a tedious 10-day journey, find yourself on the shore, on your Russian shore, with the consciousness that most of the task has already been completed, with the hope that in a few hours we will be on the way to Vladivostok... - all this filled me with some kind of childish delight! The luxurious nature of Southern Sakhalin further contributed to this mood; the crew apparently experienced the same feelings, because everyone energetically and cheerfully set about the dirty work of loading coal.”
Coal began to be loaded at 9:30 a.m.; it had to be transported to the pier in carts, loaded onto barges, towed to a cruiser, and reloaded. Coal was carried in bags, baskets and, most of all, in buckets, and even those were not enough. All the residents helped the Novikovites - the military crew, the exiles, old men and women worked together with the sailors, of course, and the children came running!..
Behind the cloud of coal dust that enveloped the Novik, it was difficult to see what was happening at sea, but the horizon was undoubtedly clear. At about 14:30 the cruiser's radiotelegraph began to receive unintelligible signals - only the enemy could transmit them! Since, using the parking lot, the steam in all but two boilers stopped and the burst pipes were suppressed, it was now necessary to dilute the steam in seven boilers, which had just been repaired. There were still two more barges with coal left to accept, but the cruiser sent a semaphore signal to the shore crew to return urgently! A.P. Shter wrote: “Immediately something broke inside, the consciousness of something hopeless flashed through and the mood changed abruptly from joyful to highest degree oppressed. I really didn’t want to leave this cozy and cheerful-looking corner to embark on such a dubious undertaking as a fight with an as yet unknown enemy. If Japanese telegrams are heard, then it is clear that there is more than one enemy... How many? And who exactly? All Japanese cruisers, even alone, are stronger than the Novik, and here you can’t even give full speed... Undoubtedly, the denouement was approaching...”.
last Stand cruiser "Novik"
At 16:00 “Novik” weighed anchor, heading south, and when smoke appeared on the horizon, it gained maximum possible speed- 18-19 knots and rushed into the wide eastern part Aniva Bay, trying to mislead the enemy and hoping to set a return course to the La Perouse Strait after dark. The feeling of a decisive moment affected everyone! The final preparations for the battle were made with concentration, they peered intensely at the enemy, trying to determine who they would have to deal with. And, as they approached, they identified it as a Niitaka-class cruiser.
Japanese armored cruiser"Tsushima"
In fact, it was the same type as the Tsushima (the weight of the broadside was 210 kg versus 88 for the Novik). The cruiser Chitose, guarding the La Perouse Strait in the narrowest part (about 23 miles), met Tsushima in the morning, and the commander of Chitose, Captain 1st Rank Takachi Skeichi, ordered Tsushima, under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Sento Takeo, to inspect the Korsakov post. The silhouette of “Tsushima” was very similar to a cruiser Vladivostok detachment“Bogatyr”, and the Japanese hoped that while they were recognized from the Russian cruiser, “Tsushima” would be able to get closer to the faster “Novik” (the true state of the mechanisms of which they, naturally, did not know), and “Chitose” would remain at the exit from the bay Aniva.
At 17:00 the cruiser “Tsushima” turned to cross the “Novik”, giving a radiogram on the “Chitoz”: “I see the enemy and am attacking him.” After 10 minutes, the distance decreased to 40 kb, and from the “Novik” the superstructures of the “Tsushima” became visible to the naked eye, and even the people on its deck became visible through binoculars. The “Novik” opened fire on the starboard side, and bursts of shells landed next to the enemy. The cruiser Tsushima responded - the lights of shots from its port side flashed.
At first, the Japanese shells were flying, but soon they began to land closer. To disrupt the enemy's sighting, the Novik began to maneuver. One of the enemy shells made a hole in the steering compartment under the armored deck, which began to fill with water. Immediately there was an alarming cry: “There’s a hole in the senior officer’s cabin!”, and then new cries: “There’s a hole in the living deck!.. In the wardroom!..” The emergency team rushed to repair it (as far as possible during the battle) damage. After another 5 minutes, the shell destroyed the commander's and navigational rooms, destroying all the charts and navigational instruments, except for one sextant. Fortunately, there have been no casualties yet. “Novik” even began to get ahead of the enemy, moving on a parallel course...
But this was the last stress on the cruiser’s machines—the water-heating tubes burst in two boilers, and the speed dropped sharply. “Involuntarily, impotent anger began to boil in my chest, rolled up into a ball in my throat and burst out with rude curses,” wrote A.P. Shter, “against whom this anger was, I was not aware of, but I tried to pour it out on the enemy.”
An enemy shell killed the commander of the poop gun, N.D. Anikin, and mortally wounded non-commissioned officer P.I. Shmyrev and sailor M.P. Gubenko. The commander of the gun on the left non-firing side himself ran to replace the dead man and continued to send one shell after another. "Began! - thought Stehr. “Now it will be my turn!” And indeed: “There was an explosion behind me... It felt like a piece of my side had been torn out. The drummer, holding his head, in a crying voice: “Your Honor, your brains are out!” “It’s unlikely that I could stand if my brains were gone!..” This shell demolished the aft bridge and engine fans and, in addition to Lieutenant Stehr, wounded ten more sailors. Having bandaged himself right there on the deck, Stehr continued to control the fire of the stern guns.
The enemy's fire weakened noticeably. But at about 17:35, two shells simultaneously hit below the waterline in the steering and rib compartments. The Novik sank almost a meter deep with its stern, and water above the armored deck poured into the wardroom. And then two more boilers failed, the speed was halved, and it became clear that it would not be possible to escape.
officers of the cruiser "Novik" on the ship
A quarter of an hour later, “Novik” turned to the shore to return to the Korsakov post. To our surprise, the cruiser Tsushima also turned to the right, on a diverging course, and stopped firing! “Novik” continued to fire, now from the left side, until the distance increased to 50 kb. We saw that the departing cruiser, when it turned its stern to the Novik, had a list and, being controlled by machines, it went in zigzags.
“Novik” approached the shore as close as possible so that, if necessary, it would be easier to rescue the crew, and when the steering compartment reported that the steering wheel drive was not working, then, driving the onboard vehicles, at 18:20 it came to the Korsakov roadstead, brought the plaster and started pumping out water...
The enemy ship, having left the affected area, also put on a patch and, being unable to continue the battle, sent a radiogram to the “Chitoz”, which was 4 hours away. He asked about the whereabouts of Novik. And although the latter tried to interfere with the negotiations with his apparatus, Tsushima was still able to report that Novik was heading to the Korsakov post.
When the enemy disappeared over the horizon, “Novik” tried to approach the shore, but in doing so, the attached plaster was torn off. Having anchored 960 m from the shore, they found out that the ship had taken in about 250 tons of water through three underwater holes: two in the steering compartment and one under the senior officer’s cabin. There was another hole near the waterline, and in total the cruiser received about ten hits, and six, wooden and metal whaleboats were destroyed. An inspection showed that one of the holes in the steering compartment could not be repaired on our own - a shell hit the joint between the side and the armored deck, causing long cracks. But the most deplorable thing is that at most six out of twelve boilers remained in working order; “Novik lost its speed in the incessant work, Sivka was pushed down steep hills,” A.P. Shter stated with bitterness.
cruiser "Novik" at the bottom of Aniva Bay
It turned out that it would not be possible to pump out the water from the compartments overnight - there were no means for this in the village, and their own were out of order. Because of these damages to the Novik, and also foreseeing that the exit from Aniva Bay was blocked by another enemy cruiser, M. F. Schultz decided to scuttle the ship on the shallows.
At about 10 o'clock in the evening, when the barges requested from the shore were taken from the cruiser personnel and everything that could be removed from useful things was opened by kingstons. It could not have occurred to them to blow up the “Novik” at that moment! They hoped later, having requested the appropriate funds from Vladivostok, to raise the ship sunk in a Russian port, and hoped that the “Novik” would still serve Russia! The sailors could not imagine that in a year According to the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, the southern part of Sakhalin, where their ship was sunk, will be given to the Japanese...
At 11:30 p.m., “Novik” lay on the bottom at a depth of 9 m, listing to starboard up to 30°. The stern disappeared under the water, and pipes, a mast and a significant part of the upper deck remained on the surface...
While waiting for the Chitose, the cruiser Tsushima “looked with all eyes wide open all night, fearing that the Novik would be able to escape again,” the Times newspaper wrote, according to a Japanese officer. The battle with Novik became the first baptism of fire for the Japanese cruiser. “One can imagine,” the Japanese officer concluded his story, “how the gunners tried and how they were proud that they managed to damage the Russian cruiser, which, thanks to its speed and brilliant crew, took such an outstanding part in all the battles starting in January.”
Japanese armored cruiser "Chitose"
By nightfall, “Chitose” moved towards the Korsakov post. The beams of his three searchlights illuminated body of water towards the shore, the Novikovites saw all night. When dawn broke, the “Chitose” saw that the “Novik” was flooded west of the cape Enduma, and between it and the shore there are boats and a steam boat scurrying about. Having approached, “Chitose” with 45 kb shot at the sunken cruiser for an hour, and then, approaching 13 kb, transferred the fire to the shore, firing about a hundred shells, even shooting at individual people who appeared on the shore, damaging a church, five government buildings and eleven private houses. “The defensive detachment was in position, there were no killed or wounded,” the military governor of Sakhalin, Lieutenant General M.N. Lyapunov, telegraphed to the Tsar on the night of August 8th. On the Novik, two smokestacks were destroyed, the mast was damaged, the stern bridge was broken, and there were many holes from shrapnel in the deck and the surface of the side.
On August 21, at the Korsakov post, the Novikovites who were killed and died from wounds were solemnly buried. On the high shore of Aniva Bay near Cape Enduma rested: Pavel Ilyich Shmyrev, engine quartermaster of the 1st article; originally from the village of Serebryano-Prudovskoye, Venevsky district, Tula province; Dmitry Ivanovich Grishin, driver of the 1st article, the village of Kazanskaya Archada, Archada volost, Penza province; Nikolai Dmitrievich Anikin, senior gunner, village of Kalisikha, Vetluzhsky district Kostroma province; Moisey Petrovich Gubenko, sailor of the 1st article, Podshoy settlement, Akkerman district, Bessarabia province.
officers and sailors of the cruiser "Novik"
Until the morning of August 21, telegrams arriving in St. Petersburg about the death of Novik were not allowed to go into print. But since information continued to arrive from both the Reuters agency and the Wolf agency, they decided to officially notify Russia: “On August 7, our fleet lost the dashing and glorious, the fastest of our cruisers, which was the beauty of the Russian fleet and the threat of the Japanese... 14 lower ranks were lightly wounded, 2 were seriously wounded, 2 were killed, Lieutenant Stehr, who remained at his post all the time, was wounded in the head.”
120-mm Novik gun and commandant sailors on the shore during the defense of Sakhalin
After the war, under the Treaty of Portsmouth, Japan received southern part islands. On July 16, 1906, the Japanese raised the Novik, repaired it and commissioned it into their fleet under the name Suzuya. But the bow boiler room was not restored (it was blown up after the threat of landing Japanese landing) and the speed dropped, according to Japanese data, to 20 knots. Having lost its high speed, the cruiser turned into an ordinary ship and on April 1, 1913, Suzuya was scrapped.
Japanese cruiser Suzuya
According to the Novika project, the cruisers Zhemchug and Izumrud were built in Russia, which took part in Battle of Tsushima(“Emerald” died on its shores). These cruisers tried to correct some of the shortcomings of the Novik. They became the best cruisers- scouts of their time and influenced the development of light cruisers not only in Russia, but also abroad.