River Gunboats
Page 49
Displ: 45 tons, 55.6 tons full load; L: 32m/105ft; B: 3.4m/11ft 2in; D: 0.85m/2ft 9½in.
Crew:
13.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × 100bhp petrol engines/10 knots. 1941: 2 × 800bhp GAM-34 petrol engines/22 knots.
Guns/Armour:
Planned: 1 × 102mm. Fitted: 1 × 76.2mm L/30 Lender AA gun; 2 × Maxim MG/Bulletproof plating.
Fate:
Stricken 1950s.
BKA 1124
The old Imperial Navy gunboats and the converted merchant steamers had put in sterling service during the First World War and the Civil War. In the 1920s the surviving purpose-built gunboats were rebuilt as and when resources became available, and the converted steamers and tugs were returned to civilian use. In 1934 the navy issued a requirement for a new type of armoured cutter suitable for mass production. It was intended to use many of the components being produced for the tanks of the 1931 Programme. The navy wanted two turrets, light armour protection for the machinery, fuel tanks and magazines, and a shallow draught of just half a metre (1ft 7½).
Designer Yuliy Benoit advised that it would not be possible to build an armoured boat with two turrets on such a shallow draught, but that it could be possible to achieve the modest draught by producing a slightly smaller boat carrying just one turret. He also proposed to produce the original design with two turrets on a slightly increased draught. His Bureau’s proposals were accepted, and production began of the two different series, the BKA 1124 with two turrets and the BKA 1125 with just one.
In the foreground is a twin-turreted BKA 1124. The twin AA MG are 12.7mm calibre. Behind the BKA 1124 is a smaller BKA 1125.
BKA 1124 profile.
The turrets originally used on the BKA 1124 were two from the T-26 tank, armed with 45mm guns. Following successful testing of the prototypes, the turrets were changed for those from the T-28 medium tank, mounting a short 76.2mm gun and a 7.62mm MG. When the T-34 tank went into production just prior to the German invasion, it was decided to standardise on its turret with the longer 76.2mm gun, to arm the Bronekater as well. This sensible solution would soon become the source of problems and delays, as with the start of Operation ‘Barbarossa’, all turrets were allocated to the desperately-needed T-34 tanks. The mass-produced BKA hulls were therefore fitted with turrets taken from obsolescent T-28 or even T-35 heavy tanks, or when the supply of these turrets, which were no longer in production, ran out, 76.2mm Lender AA guns on unshielded deck mounts taken from warships were fitted instead. Bronekater with tank turrets needed an AA capability, and this was provided by fitting the small turrets on the BKA 1124s with 12.7mm DShK heavy machine guns, which had a much higher effective ceiling than the 7.62mm calibre weapons.
Launched:
97 BKA 1124 built 1936–45 by various yards.
Dimensions:
Displ: 49.7 tons, 52.2 tons full load; L: 25.3m/77ft; B: 4.1m/13ft 5½in; D: 0.9m/3ft 11½in.
Crew:
17.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × 750bhp or 900bhp petrol engines/18–19.4 knots.
Guns/Armour:
As designed: 2 × 76.2mm tank guns; 2 × coaxial 7.62mm MG. Alternatively: 1 × tank turret + 1 × Katyusha rocket launcher; 1 × twin 12.7mm AA HMG; + 10 mines/T-34/76 turret front 60mm, side 52mm, rear 30mm, roof 16mm; Citadel 12mm, Hull 7mm.
While several Bronekater are preserved in museum collections or on concrete plinths as monuments, one is still afloat, carefully restored by Russian enthusiasts, down to the tool kit and the wind-up gramophone to entertain her crew. Here is BK-73 in all her prime, receiving visitors. (Photo from Website: life34.ru)
BK-73’s wheelhouse. (Photo from vk.com)
Her turret from a T-28 tank. (Photo from vk.com)
BKA 1125
More than twice the number of the smaller BKA 1125 were produced, and like its larger cousin it went into combat on all the rivers and lakes where the Soviet Navy fought. It also went through the same permutations of various types of tank turret, or a 76.2mm Lender AA gun mount, and again a Katyusha rocket launcher could be mounted on the rear deck, providing devastating firepower in a bombardment role.
BKA 1125-type recognisable by the V-shaped stern in plan. Note she lacks the small MG turret on the bow. To give some AA capability the small rear turret has been replaced by an open gun tub mounting a single 12.7mm HMG. (Photo from Website: http://wio.ru/fleet/ww2armorb.htm)
BKA 1125 profile and plan, with a T-34/76 first model main turret.
Launched:
151 BKA 1125 built 1938–45 by various yards.
Dimensions:
Displ: 26.5 tons; L: 22.65m/74ft 3¾in; B: 3.5m/11ft 5¾in; D: 0.52m/1ft 8½in.
Crew:
12–13.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 1 × 750bhp or 900bhp petrol engine/19.7 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 76.2mm + 1 × 7.62mm MG in tank turret; 3 × 7.62mm MG in small turrets. Alternatively rear turret replaced by: 1 × 12.7mm DShK AA HMG or 1 × Katyusha rocket launcher; + 6 mines/T-34/76 turret front 60mm, side 52mm, rear 30mm, roof 16mm; Citadel 20mm, Hull 4mm.
BKA S-40
Designed under the overall supervision of Yuliy Benoit, this variant of the BKA 1125 type was originally intended for the Amur Flotilla, but with the diversion of diesel engines to tank production, just seven units were built in 1942.
Launched:
7 units launched in 1942.
Dimensions:
Displ: 31.9 tons; L: 24.7m/81ft; B: 3.85m/12ft 7½in; D: 0.60m/7ft 9in.
BKA S-40 with Katyusha launcher. Noted she lacks an MG turret in front of the T-34 main turret, and the turret on top of the bridge has only one MG, as on the type BKA 1125.
Crew:
13.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × diesel engines, total 800bhp/19 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 76.2mm + coaxial 7.62mm DT MG in T-34 turret; up to 4 × AA MG or Katyusha rocket launcher + 2 × AA MG or 2 × 76mm L/30 Lender AA/T-34/76 turret front 60mm, side 52mm, rear 30mm, roof 16mm; Bulletproof plating 4-8mm thick.
MBK Project 161
The illustraition below is an attempt to make sense of the well-known (and possibly unique) photo of an MBK. The strange lighter-coloured section of the bow in the original may represent a camouflage scheme, or even a large repair to the bow, but it is more likely to have resulted from a damaged photo negative. It seems that the line of strange mushroom shapes can be explained as covers welded over the scuttles, to try to keep the foredeck drier. Also, the starboard hawse hole has been welded shut, to avoid another entry point for water. If my interpretations are incorrect, the problem needs a researcher to discover another photo of an MBK.
These large Bronekater, or monitors, were intended to have seagoing capabilities, enabling them to operate on rivers but also beyond the river mouths in the open sea, where their size and increased draught were an advantage over the smaller shallow-draught BKA 1124 and BKA 1125. Their major limitation was the minimal freeboard aft of the forecastle, but they were also reputed to be extremely wet forward.
Launched:
20 MBK built 1943–5.
Dimensions:
Displ: 157.8 tons; L: 26.2m/85ft 11½in; B: 5.2m/17t 0¾in; D: 1.28m/4ft 2in.
Crew:
38.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × 1,200bhp diesel engines/13 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 76.2mm + 2 × 7.62mm MG in tank turrets; 1 × 37mm AA; Either 2 × 45mm AA or 2 × twin 12.7mm AA HMG or 2 × 81mm mortars/T-34/76 turret front 60mm, side 52mm, rear 30mm, roof 16mm; Hull 12mm.
Fate:
MBK-504, MBK-509 and MBK-514 sunk by mines 1944; rest scrapped October 1949 – March 1958.
MBK-506 amended.
MBK Project 161 of 1944, with two T-34 tank turrets, a 37mm AA gun on the stern and two 45mm AA guns on open mounts.
MKL Project 186
T
he final development of the wartime Bronekater type, the Project 186 had a heavier armament and deeper draught than the preceding Type 161. The two main turrets were now of the type used on the T-34/85, with 85mm guns, later changed to 100mm. Once again a 37mm AA gun was mounted, and two twin 12.7mm AA MG were fitted in enclosed turrets similar to those on the BKA 1124. Construction of the Type 186 continued up until 1947. For their river monitor successors, see Part II below.
MKL Project 186 of 1944, with 100mm turret guns.
Launched:
8 Project 186 built 1944–5, + 30 1945–7.
Dimensions:
Displ: 156 tons; L: 36.2m/118ft 9in; B: 5.2m/17ft; D: 1.5m/4ft 11in.
Crew:
42.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × 500bhp diesel engines/14 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 85mm (later upgraded to 2 × 100mm); 2 × coaxial 7.62mm MG; 1 × 37mm AA; 2 × twin 12.7mm AA HMG; 2 × 81mm mortars/T-34/85 turret front 90mm, side 52mm, rear 30mm, roof 16mm; Hull 8-20mm.
The Bronekaterin Retrospect
When Operation ‘Barbarossa’ began, eighty-five Bronekater had already been delivered, and a further fifty-nine were under construction. Bronekater crews were soon in action, on the Danube and with the Pinsk Flotilla. As the Germans advanced rapidly, many crews were forced to scuttle their boats when their river escape routes were blocked. The lack of T-34 turrets was a major problem, but Vyacheslav Malyshev, the People’s Commissar for Tank Production, eventually managed to get round the problem by apparently ordering more turrets than there were tanks. American Packard engines were also diverted to the Bronekater, since Malyshev favoured locally-produced diesel engines for the T-34s. Individual crews fitted electric heaters in their boats, and some had strengthened bows for ice operation. Both additions would become standard in the Model of 1944 which was not issued until after the war had ended. Although there are reports of Bronekater and Panzers engaging in artillery duels in the early stages of ‘Barbarossa’, the turret guns on the BKA 1124 and BKA 1125 models were never upgraded to the more capable 85mm of the late T-34, which meant that they were outmatched by the newer Tigers and Panthers. Despite this, the Bronekater crews were in the thick of the fighting right up to the end, bombarding Vienna and taking part in the Battle for Berlin. See also Volga Flotilla below.
Preserved Examples
As well as the working BK-73 illustrated above, Bronekater have been preserved as monuments in Blagoveshchensk, in Kiev, in Mariupol, in Pinsk and in Khabarovsk in the Far East. An example is on display on dry land in the Romanian Museum in Constanţa.
DANUBE FLOTILLA
Prut double-ender of 1853
Launched:
1851 in Birkenhead.
Dimensions:
Displ: 310 tons; L: 47.2m/154ft 10in; B: 7.01m/23ft; D: 1.98m/6ft 6in.
Power/Speed:
Side paddle wheels; steam engine, 100ihp.
Guns/Armour:
?
Prut, a double-ender on the Danube, preceding the American Sassacus class by some ten years. She would have made a handy auxiliary warship when armed. (Illustration from 1000 Years of Russian Riverine Flotillas by I I Chernikov)
Russo - Turkish War 1877 – 1878
Nicopol was the former Turkish Iskodra, captured in 1877 on the Danube, and Sistovo was the former Podgorica, trapped behind Romanian minefields on 7 November 1877, then sunk by a heavy mortar shell, and later salvaged by the Russians. Both were of the French-built Feth ül İslam class. They were stricken in 1889. For details, see TURKEY.
The monitor Nicopol in action, with a spar torpedo boat alongside. (Illustration from 1000 Years of Russian Riverine Flotillas by I I Chernikov)
First World War
Koriets Class
On 12 August 1916 a special unit to operate on the Danube was formed at Odessa. It included two gunboats, Donets and Kubanets, of the Koriets class.
Donets before the war. (Photo from Website: http://mideasti.blogspot.fr/2014/10/october-29-1914-admiral-souchonforces.html)
The gunboat Donets in 1915. (Illustration from 1000 Years of Russian Riverine Flotillas by I I Chernikov)
Launched:
Donets 1886 by Admiralty Shipyard, Nicolayev; Kubanets 1886 by Russian SS Co., Sevastopol.
Dimensions:
Displ: 1,224 tons; L: 67.2m/220ft 6in; B: 10.7m/35ft 1in; D: 3.7m/12ft 1½in.
Crew:
180.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; Kubanets 2 × horizontal compound steam engines; Donets 2 × VTE steam engines, total 2,500ihp/13.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 152mm; 1 × 120mm; 4 × 3-pounder QF; 1 × MG.
Fate:
Donets sunk in storm May 1919, salvaged 1921, scrapped 1928; Kubanets stricken December 1923, scrapped 1928.
K-Class Gunboats
These were converted from Russud class landing craft. Originally they were known as Samokhodnaya Barzha, or Self-propelled Gun Platforms. K-7 to K-14 appear to have been taken over by the Romanians then returned to Russian ownership. For K-15, see below. As there were insufficient Bollinder engines available, orders were placed in Sweden for Scania engines and in the USA for Avans engines. These appear to have been of lower power rating, producing a total of only 80bhp.
Launched:
K-1 to K-14 and K-16 to K-19 1916 by Nicolayev DY.
Dimensions:
Displ: 255 tons; L: 45.72m/150ft; B: 7.15m/23ft 6in; D: 1.22m/4ft.
Crew:
18 (Romanian vessels 37).
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × Bollinder semi-diesel engines total 100bhp/5.3 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 152mm; Except for K-14 and K-16: 1 × 203mm.
K-15 was converted from the steamer Kazatyn, with a draught of 1.19m/3ft 11in forward and 2.31m/7ft 6in aft. She was armed with 2 × 152mm and 4 × 6-pounder QF on AA mounts.
The gunboats K-1 to K-6 and K-17 to K-19. (Illustration from 1000 Years of Russian Riverine Flotillas by I I Chernikov)
K-14 and K-16. (Illustration from 1000 Years of Russian Riverine Flotillas by I. I. Chernikov)
K-15 in 1917. (Illustration from 1000 Years of Russian Riverine Flotillas by I I Chernikov)
Pulya Class
Sabliya and Kinzhal, two of the Pulya class armoured cutters ordered for the Amur Flotilla, saw service on the Danube. For details, see Amur Flotilla above.
The Great Patriotic War
See details of Udarnyi and Zhelezniakov in the section on the Dnieper Flotilla/Pinsk Flotilla below.
Captured Romanian Monitors
Following the Romanian Armistice in August 1944, the Soviets seized the monitors Lahovari and Bratianu. They were renamed Mariupol and Azov respectively, and served in the Soviet Navy until their return to Romania in August 1951. For details, see ROMANIA.
The monitor Mariupol, the ex-Romanian Lahovari, on the Danube in 1945. She has retained her Škoda main armament, but her AA guns have been replaced with Russian models.
DNIEPER FLOTILLA/PINSK FLOTILLA
Dnieper Flotilla March 1919 – December 1920
The turmoil in the Ukraine led the Bolsheviks to form a Dnieper Flotilla at Kiev on 12 March 1919. It began with the small former Imperial river gunboats Nos 1 to 5, plus the armed river steamers Charlotte, Courier, Apollo, Samuel, Arnold, Faithful and the flagship Admiral. The steamers had been requisitioned from Kiev shipowners and armed with guns ranging from 37mm up to 152mm, plus Maxim machine guns. They were protected by steel sheets bolted in placed over vulnerable areas. By late March their numbers had swelled to comprise a total of nineteen combat vessels.
However, on 11 April 1919, the Greens attacked Kiev and went on to seize the armed Red steamboats Dnieper, Salubrious, Gogol, Charlotte, and Zeus. The Flotilla riposted, Courier and armed tug Taras Bulba shelling the Greens’ HQ at Trypillia, and the Red Flotilla drove off the captured vessels. With Red forces now dominant, the vessels of the Pripyat Flotilla were
added to the Dnieper Flotilla, but during the battles with the Poles on 25–27 April 1920, the Dnieper Flotilla was defeated, and was disbanded the following December.
Dnieper Flotilla October 1925 – June 1940
A unit of armed river vessels was reformed at Kiev in October 1925, and in June 1931 this was formally established as the Dnieper Naval Flotilla. In 1939 the Flotilla participated in the invasion of the eastern parts of Poland, and in June 1940 it was disbanded, its vessels being divided between the new Danube Flotilla and the Pinsk Flotilla.
The armed side-wheeler Gromovoy’s forward 76.2mm field gun, still with its wheels, with its original gun shield.
Another poor-quality photo, but nevertheless interesting. In the background is Gromovoy, her two 76.2mm field guns now protected by large shields, and in the foreground an assortment of river craft, two armed with 3-pounder Hotchkiss QF on crinoline mounts and the vessel in the foreground with a 76.2mm field gun.
The armoured gunboat BK-2 on the Dnieper River, flying the first version of the Soviet ensign (adopted in 1923), repeated as a broad pennant (indicating the flotilla commander) at the mast-head. From the establishment of the Flotilla on 12 March 1919 up until 13 September 1919, the flotilla commander was A V Polupanov, and he may be the figure second from the right in this photo. The gunboat is armed with a 7.62mm Maxim in the turret and a 37mm Hotchkiss Model 1885 QF in the rear compartment.
A well-known photo showing perhaps BK-2 No 15 under way. The number is obscured by the landing plank.