Russian Cruiser Novik (1900) High Speed Proposal

[Rainbow1910]

Hello all,

I was doing some reach on the Russian cruiser Novik laid down in 1900 and I found some interesting information regarding some alternate proposals. Apparently the German shipbuilder Howaldtswerke AG proposed a 30 knot capable cruiser design in 1898! As far as I am aware, Novik was a very fast cruiser for her day and such a design would have eclipsed even her. Does anybody have any additional information?

Much appreciated.

An article on topwar.ru says the following:

Apparently, the tender for the design of the 2 high-speed armored cruiser of the X rank was announced in early April 1898. At April 10, the attorney of the German shipbuilding company Howaldtswerke AG was assigned to design the 25 hub cruiser, and a day later - "30-node". And April 28 (in the previous article, alas, 10 April was mistakenly stated) was answered, apparently putting an end to the idea of the "30-nodal" cruiser.

Representatives of the German company reported that in order for a cruiser in 3 000 t to develop 25 units, it would need machines with a combined power of 18 000 hp. But in order to reach 30 nodes, this power should be brought to 25 000 hp, while the power plant with a machine of such power will have 1 900 - 2 000 tons weight and it turns out that all the other elements of the ship: , weapon, fuel supplies, etc. only a thousand tons or a little more will remain. It is obvious that in such a displacement reserve it would be impossible to create a warship of any acceptable quality. These considerations were very convincing, and Vice-Admiral I.M. Dikov accompanied the German calculations with a note: “I believe that the 25-node motion is sufficient. It is hardly possible to demand more. ”

Interestingly, in this matter the Germans, perhaps, slightly exaggerated paint. The fact is that the actual mass of the power plant "Novik" nominal power 17 000 hp amounted to about 800 t, thus, it can be assumed that 25 000 hp could be provided by bringing the mass of the power unit to 1 150 - 1 200 t, and not 1 900 - 2 000 t. However, it should be noted that this value is not acceptable for the cruiser 3 000 t. is acceptable armed and protected ship so that it does not break on the first wave.

The Russian Wikipedia page on the Novik also says:

The German company Hovaldtswerke from Kiel was the first to respond to the competition announced by MTK. On April 10, 1898, her attorney F. Gokh received from the GUKiS requirements for a “25-knot” cruiser, and a day later - for a “30-knot” cruiser. Already on April 28, the answer came that in the first case, the cruiser would have a length of 103.63 m, a width of 12.8 m, and a draft of 4.88 m. The project included the installation of two vertical triple expansion machines with a capacity of 9000 hp each. With. each and Thornycroft water tube boilers. Attached was a calculation from which it followed that in order for the ship to reach 30 knots, a machine of 25,000 liters was needed. pp., the mass of which will be at least 1900-2000 tons, and with a given displacement of 3000 tons, only 1000 tons remain for the hull, artillery and fuel. I. M. Dikov considered these calculated arguments convincing and, forwarding the documents for consideration to the shipbuilding department , accompanied them with a resolution: “I believe that a 25-knot speed is sufficient. It’s hardly possible to demand more . ”