Page 1 of 1

“Paris”-battleship of the Black Sea Fleet (1849)

Posted: Wed May 01, 2024 3:22 pm
by Anatol
"Paris" is one of three sailing 120-gun battleships of the "Twelve Apostles" type, built in Nikolaev from 1838 to 1852. Ships of this type were the most advanced sailing ships of the Russian fleet at that time. They had no equal among sailing ships in terms of combat qualities, and at the same time they had beauty of form and grace. The ship's displacement was 4,790 tons, the length between perpendiculars was 63.6 meters, the length along the gondeck was 64.6 meters, the width was 18.1 meters, and the draft was 7.7 meters. The ship's armament, according to various sources, ranged from 120 to 130 guns. The ship was named in honor of the entry of Russian troops into Paris on March 18 (30), 1814, and was the last of the three sailing battleships of the Russian fleet that bore this name. Prior to this, ships of the same name were built in 1814 and 1826; both previously built ships also served in the Black Sea Fleet. On September 26 (October 8), 1835, Emperor Nicholas I approved the composition of the vessels of the Black Sea Fleet, which included three battleships of the 1st rank of the Twelve Apostles type. The battleship "Paris" was laid down on June 18 (30), 1847 on the slipway of the Spassky Admiralty in Nikolaev, and after launching on October 23 (November 4), 1849, it became part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The construction was supervised by Lieutenant Colonel of the Corps of Naval Engineers S.I. Chernyavsky, according to the drawings of the head of the Nikolaev Corps of Naval Engineers, Colonel I.D. Vorobyov. The following year, 1850, the ship moved from Nikolaev to Sevastopol. In the campaign of 1850, 1851 and 1852, as part of squadrons of ships of the Black Sea Fleet, the ship took part in practical and cruising voyages in the Black Sea. Moreover, in 1852, the ship’s commander was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, III degree. During the campaign of the following 1853, in July and August, he also took part in practical sailing, and during the training attack of the fleet on the Sevastopol roadstead on August 12 (24), he was on the side of the attackers. In the campaign of the same year from September 17 (29) to October 2 (14), as part of the squadron of Vice Admiral P. S. Nakhimov, he took part in the transportation of troops from Sevastopol to Sukhum-Kale, so 1483 soldiers and officers of Volynsky were transported on the ship regiment of the 13th division. He took part in the Crimean War, on October 29 (November 10), 1853, as part of the squadron of Vice Admiral V.A. Kornilov, he took part in the search for the Turkish fleet, first off the Rumelian and then off the Anatolian coast. It was not possible to find enemy ships, and the squadron, after transferring part of the ships on November 6 (18) to the squadron of P. S. Nakhimov, returned to Sevastopol on November 11 (23). The next day, the ship went to sea again at the head of the squadron under the overall command and flag of Rear Admiral F. M. Novosilsky. The squadron left with the aim of strengthening the squadron of P.S. Nakhimov, which was blocking the Turkish fleet in Sinop. Four days later, on November 16 (28), the squadrons united, and two days later the Battle of Sinop took place. "Paris" in the Battle of Sinop: In the battle, “Paris” entered the roadstead at the head of the left column under the command of F. M. Novosilsky. Together with the ship "Empress Maria", he bombed battery No. 5, then entered into a firefight with the corvette "Guli-Sefid" and the frigate "Damiad", which resulted in the explosion of the corvette, and the frigate washed ashore. After destroying two enemy ships, the Paris hit the drifting flagship frigate Auni-Allah with a longitudinal salvo and transferred fire to the frigate Nizamiye, which also forced it to be thrown ashore. In a report to the emperor, Vice Admiral P. S. Nakhimov especially noted the actions of the battleship Paris in the Battle of Sinop: It was impossible to stop admiring the beautiful and coolly calculated actions of the ship Paris. During the four hours of the Sinop battle, the ship fired 3952 shots at the enemy. Crew losses during the battle amounted to one person killed, 18 wounded, the ship itself received 16 holes, as well as damage to the stern, latrine and gon-deck. For his distinction in the battle, the ship's commander, Captain 1st Rank V.I. Istomin, was promoted to rear admiral on November 28 (December 10), 1853. After the battle on November 22 (December 4), the ship arrived in Sevastopol. In January of the following 1854, the ship’s crew built a coastal battery, called “Parisian”. In April of the same year, the ship took a position in the roadstead in the Kuriynaya Balka area, and in the 1855 campaign it moved to a position between the fourth and Pavlovsk batteries, by which time 214 crew members and 82 guns remained on it. On August 28 (September 9), 1855, the battleship Paris was sunk in the Sevastopol roadstead while leaving the city as a garrison. After the war, during the clearing of the Sevastopol Bay in 1857-1859, the metal parts of the ship were raised to the surface and the hull was blown up.
The stamp design was created based on a painting by I.K. Aivazovsky: “Black Sea 120-gun battleship “Paris”.
See also: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10661.
Source: Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia