http://humus.livejournal.com/3880036.html

Photos of the construction of the Russian battleship Poltava of 1911

Interesting.

I don't know the first thing about ship building, but I wonder about the fire hazard, welding with all that wood laying around seems like quite the risky business to an ignoramus like me.

The danger is always there so they used skilled welders who are careful not to spill globs of molten steel onto the woods.

In that period it would have been rivets, not welds, holding the ship together. Parts that couldn't be riveted would have most likely been made with an interference fit, heated to expand their mating surfaces, then allowed to cool to their original clearances after assembly. Of course, riveting requires forges to heat the rivets, but wood isn't really that easy to set on fire. It can always be wet down to increase fire resistance as well.

That's awesome. So very, very different from how we build warships today. It's always cool to me taking a look back at where ships were.

Weird gun layout, wonder why ?

You know, I was looking at the pictures again, and like every time I see old pictures, I got into the "old days of yore" mode. Looking at those workers I can't help but picture them in the 1900, when everything was made of either wood or metal, or leather, using their pocket knives (which they all had) to peel an apple or maybe slice a salami at lunch time, maybe rolling up a some tobacco (no filter of course).

Not true story, I know, it's an idealization, but still... I don't know why I like to entertain that thought.

Anyways, off-tipic rambling, move along please.

Because the open sight hoods made superfiring turrets unusable firing 'overhead' so the fore and aft firepower is the same as a superfiring battleship of this period. Her hull length is slightly increased over a superfiring arrangement, but at least all the battery is on the centreline, where it is given some protection by distance from the belt.

The Ganguts had a broadside of 12 12" guns, compared to around 8 for RN ships (Hercules "technically" had a ten gun broadside, but in practice the staggered wing turrets weren't suitable for firing across the deck, limiting her to 8 guns still). Only with the Orions in the next year did the broadside reach 10 guns in RN ships, though these were also much harder hitting 13.5" guns.

Ok...i'm gonna need someone to explain open sight hoods to me now

Health and safety would have a fit.

Greast pictures ...but the writing was all backwards !!

For local fire control, and pointing, the individual turrets used openings (covered by an armoured hood cover over the sides/rear/top and open in the front) on the turret roof.

When Turret B fires ahead, the muzzle blast enters through these openings and the concussion could disable the turret temporarily (crew stunned, not any significant injuries or damage).

Later these opening are plated over and centralised director control preferred to local control. Over time, armoured sighting hoods on the turret sides, with sealed optics prevent this problem (see most WW2 heavy vessels with the "Ears" on the turret sides)

Some designs also couldn't fire ahead from "A", or across decks using "P" or "Q". The naming convention for main battery turrets is "A", "B", "C" etc ahead of the superstructure, "X", "Y", "Z" abaft the superstructure, and "P", "Q", "R" etc in gaps within the superstructure cluster. Often the angles available to fire are limited by blast considerations on the superstructure. Although the forward guns may traverse +/- 135 degrees or more, they are often unworkable over +/- 90(ish).

Thanks for that Lieste, interesting stuff

Thank you, what a great series of pictures.

A drawing to help with Lieste's explanation showing arcs of fire.