Ironclad Battery Pervenyets (1863)
Purchased from Britain in 1863, the Lairds-built floating battery Pervenyets was the first ironclad in the Russian fleet. Carrying 34 smoothbore cannon, Pervenyets was mobile under her engine or sail power, but by definition spent much of her time anchored near the fairway into Petersburg. Reflecting imperial patronage and popular nationalism, ironclad shipbuilding flourished in Russia until the Bolshevik takeover. By the first years of the 20th century when she was condemned to be broken up, Pervenyets had been joined by no less than 28 ironclad brethren in the Baltic Fleet, beginning with her 2 sisters ships built in the mid-1860s.
Specifications:
Dimensions: 221'9" x 53'9" x 19'6" Displacement: 3,277 tons. Armament: (34) SB cannon of various sizes. Armor: all wrought iron type. Propulsion: Coal-fired boilers; single shaft 1067-HP horizontal direct-acting steam engine. Speed: 9 knots. Built at Laird's, Birkenhead.
Metric Specifications:
Dimensions: 67.59m x 16.5m x 5.9m. Displacement: 3,277 tons. Armament: (34) SB cannon of various sizes. Armor: all wrought iron type. Propulsion: Coal-fired boilers; single shaft horizontal direct-acting steam engine developing 795.7 kW. Speed: 16.7 km/hr.
