His name and glory of the Russian navy St. Andrew's flag battleship "Empress Maria" taken from the sailing flagship of the famous Russian Admiral P. FROM. Nakhimov, participated in the Battle of Sinop. It is also, that the battleship was named after the wife of Emperor Alexander III.
In May 1911 the Emperor Nicholas II approved the program of renovation of the Black Sea Fleet. 17 October 1911 year at a shipyard in Nikolayev was held a ceremony of laying of three similar battleships: "Empress Maria", "The Emperor Alexander III of" and "Empress Catherine the Great".
Doom subsequently destroy these three mighty Dreadnought in their military youth, and they do not fully fulfill, Unfortunately for the country, foreordained their mission of strengthening and elevation of the sea and the majesty of the state Russia. Two years later, after laying, 6 October 1913 of the year, battleship "Marie Empress was launched. Twelve 305-mm guns for his four three-gun turrets were manufactured at the Obukhov plant in St. Petersburg. Sami tower installations were built at the Nikolayev plants according to the drawings of the St. Petersburg Metal Plant.
28 May 1915 , the battleship "Empress Maria" was commissioned and together with the cruiser "Cahul" formed 1 -w strategic maneuver group. 30 June 1915 year battleship with such gentle and sonorous name, emits as much human warmth and generosity, escorted by ships of the Black Sea Fleet for the first time he entered the harbor of Sevastopol, He was solemnly greeted the crews of ships and residents of the city. "Empress Maria" managed to take an active part in the First World War, in combat operations against the German-Turkish fleet.
FROM 13 by 15 October 1915 Year covered battleship action 2nd Brigade battleships "Panteleimon", "Ioannn Chrysostom" and "Eustace". with 2 by 4 and 6 by 8 November 1915 year contributed to the 2nd Brigade during the shelling of Varna and Evsinograda. FROM 5 February to 18 April 1916 He has participated in Trabzon offensive. During June and October 1916 year "Empress Maria" made 24 effective military campaigns. In particular, 22 May 1916 , she intercepted the German cruiser "Breslau". If the German cruiser is not hiding behind a solid wall of rain in the Bosporus Strait, the 305-mm shells Russian battleship certainly "scratched" to his armor back.
The death of the battleship “Empress Maria”
7 October 1916 year 00 hours 20 minutes in the cellars of ammunition, right under the nose of an artillery tower three 305-mm guns of the battleship, powerful explosion. Then for the next 48 minutes there was still 15 explosions, and 7 hours 16 minutes of the most powerful Russian ship, which he kept his pennant Black Sea Fleet Commander Admiral Alexander Kolchak, I began to heel to starboard, then he rolled up keel and sank in North Bay Sebastopol. At the same time killed 217 sailors. The reasons for this catastrophe historians, engineers and experts specialized departments lead the discussion so far. From myself say, that with an abundance of all sorts of points of view one immutable: such incidents are never accidental. While full-raging World War, "Foreign soglyadataystva" was beyond measure, German intelligence led a very active subversive work.
Academic A. n. Krylov, member of the Commission of Inquiry into the death fact of the battleship "Empress Maria", He wrote in his memoirs: "By comparing the relative probability made three assumptions about the causes of fire, Commission finds, the possibility that malicious intent is not excluded, bring the same effect to it was facilitated by the available space on the ship significant deviations from the requirements in relation to access to the powder room and imperfection are checking the ship workers'. After years, when it became known that, since the beginning of the First World War "for reasons, It remains unknown "in their harbors blew up three British and two Italian ship, A. n. Krylov was even more categorical: "If these cases were known to the Commission, about the possibility of "malice" Commission expressed would be more strongly ".
Work to raise the battleship "Empress Maria" began almost immediately after his death. Were sealed compartments of the ship, they pumped air, and 8 May 1918 the ship floated. He entered the floating dock, and then 1927 It was cut into scrap metal. But the tower battleship with 305-mm guns, are taken away from the hull of the ship while it is sinking and tilting, remained on the seabed. They were brought to the surface only in the 1928-1932 gg.
305-mm "Empress Maria" guns were subsequently set on the famous Battery number 30 the fortress Sebastopol train and TM-III-12 conveyors.
The performance characteristics of the battleship "Empress Maria"
| Displacement | normal - 22 600 t, full - 25 465 t |
| dimensions | Length – 168 m, Width – 27,3 m, Draft – 9 m |
| booking | Belt - 262 ... 125 mm, the upper belt - 100 mm, Tower - to 250 mm, three decks - 37+25+25 mm, cutting - up 300 mm |
| engines | 4 steam turbines, 20 Yarrow boilers system |
| Power | 26 500 l. from. (19,5 MW) |
| Dvizhitely | 4 |
| speed | 21 node (38,9 kmh) |
| Cruising range | 3000 nautical miles |
| weaponry | 12 × 305 mm artillery, 20 × 130 mm artillery, 5 × 75mm guns, 4 x 457-mm torpedo tubes |
| Crew | 1220 sailors and officers |
Photos raise the sunken battleship “Empress Maria” North Bay of Sevastopol, April 1918 of the year.
30-I coastal battery (Fort Maxim Gorky 1) (BB№30) in the Sevastopol
with 305-mm guns from the battleship "Empress Maria"
