Russian ironclad Ne Tron Menia

The Pervenents-class ironclads were designed as Coastal defence ships to protect the approaches to Saint Petersburg and were referred to as "self-propelled armored floating batteries". As such, a heavy armament and protection were the most important factors in their design. Ne Tron Menia means Touch Me Not and refers to the Biblical verse, John 20:17.McLaughlin, pp. 115, 127

Ne Tron Menia was {{convert|220|ft|m|1}} long overall, with a beam of {{convert|53|ft|m|1}} and a designed draft of {{convert|14|ft|6|in|m|1}}. She displaced {{convert|3340|LT|t}} and her iron hull had a pronounced tumblehome. She was fitted with large rams at bow and stern; the stern ram also serving to protect her rudder and propeller.McLaughlin, p. 117 The ship did not steer well and had "an unpredictable habit of suddenly lurching to one side or another", probably as a result of poor water flow to the rudder. Ne Tron Menia required six men to man her wheelMcLaughlin, p. 119 and her total crew numbered 459 officers and enlisted men.

She received the refurbished engine from the steam ship of the line {{ship|Russian ship of the line|Konstantin||2}} as a cost-cutting measure, originally intended for her sister {{ship|Russian ironclad|Pervenets||2}}. This was probably a direct-acting steam engine and was built by the British firm of Humphrys & Tennant. Steam was provided by four rectangular fire-tube boilers. During sea trials on 18 July 1865, the engine produced a total of {{convert|1200|ihp}} and gave the ship a maximum speed of {{convert|7.75|-|8|kn|lk=in}}. She carried a maximum of {{convert|500|LT|t}} of coal, but her endurance is unknown. Ne Tron Menia was schooner-rigged with three iron masts. Under a combination of sail and steam the ship could reach a speed of {{convert|10|kn}}McLaughlin, pp. 117, 124–26

Ne Tron Menia was completed with seventeen {{convert|8|in|0|adj=on}} rifled guns. Fifteen were mounted on the broadside on the main deck and two guns were placed in pivot mounts on the upper deck to serve as chase guns. One of the main deck guns was removed and a {{convert|7.72|in|adj=on|0}} 60-pounder smoothbore gun was added on the upper deck in 1868.McLaughlin, pp. 120, 122

Unlike Pervenets, the ship's tumblehome of 27°, intended to deflect shells, began above the waterline so the narrow vertical strake of wrought iron armor at the waterline was increased to a thickness of {{convert|5.5|in|0}} in compensation for its reduced protective abilities. The rest of the ship's side was protected with 4.5 inches of armor that reduced to {{convert|4|in|0}} beginning {{convert|30|ft|m|1}} from the ship's ends. It backed by {{convert|10|in|0}} of teak and extended {{convert|4|ft|m|1}} below the waterline. The ship's hull was divided by six watertight transverse and two longitudinal bulkheads for protection against underwater damage. The open-topped conning tower was also protected by 4.5 inches of armor.McLaughlin, pp. 122, 124

Ne Tron Menia, Touch Me Not (from the biblical Latin phrase Noli me tangere which appears in John 20:17),Silverstone, p. 379 was ordered on 31 May 1862 when a contract was signed with the British shipbuilder Charles Mitchell. The total price of the ship was 923,500 rubles. The state-owned Galerniy Island Shipyard in Saint Petersburg was leased to Mitchell and the Naval Ministry agreed to upgrade the facilities to handle iron-hulled, ironclad warships. The construction of a new slipway large enough to handle the ship delayed the start of construction until 30 January 1863 and the delay allowed the design to be modified to handle larger and more powerful eight-inch rifles about to enter service. These guns required more room to operate than the older, ineffectual smoothbore guns, so the main deck was slightly widened by raising the point at which the hull's tumblehome began. Based on the experiences with her sister, bilge keels {{convert|12|in|0}} deep and {{convert|20|ft|1}} were fitted to reduce the ship's rolling. Ne Tron Menia was not formally laid down until 1 December 1863 and she was launched on 23 June 1864.McLaughlin, pp. 115–16, 119

The ship entered service on 18 July 1865 with the Baltic Fleet. She collided with the armored frigate {{ship|Russian ironclad|Petropavlovsk||2}} in July 1869, and was frequently assigned to the Gunnery Training Detachment after 1870. As part of this formation, Ne Tron Menia was frequently rearmed to train officers and men on some of the latest guns to enter service. In 1880 she mounted a dozen 8-inch on her gun deck. On her upper deck, sometimes mounted on platforms that extended over her bulwarks, were a {{convert|9|in|adj=on|0}} mortar, a {{convert|3.42|in|adj=on|0}} four-pounder, four-barreled gun, a {{convert|1.75|in|adj=on|0}} Engstrem gun, and a {{convert|1|in|adj=on}} Palmcrantz auto-cannon. The mortar was removed in 1881 as it strained the ship's structure.

To alleviate the cramped conditions of the steersmen, the ship's wheel was transferred from the gun deck to a platform that spanned her bulwarks in front of the mizzenmast in 1871. The conning tower was removed 1876–77 and new boilers were installed. These increased the engine's power to {{convert|1700|ihp}} and Ne Tron Menia reached 8.5 knots on sea trials. In 1883, she rammed the Norwegian ship Heiden in 1882 and the ship was placed in reserve three years later. She was reclassified as a coast defense ironclad on 13 February 1892 and was hulked on 23 March 1895. Ne Tron Menia served with the Mine School at Kronstadt before she was disarmed on 15 September 1905 and stricken from the Navy List on 11 October. Turned over to the Port of Kronstadt for disposal, she was sold on 8 September 1908 to be used as a barge. Ne Tron Menia was acquired by the Soviets after the Russian Civil War and then sold to the Leningrad Metal Works on 24 June 1925. During World War II, she was sunk in the Neva River. She was raised in 1950 and subsequently scrapped.McLaughlin, pp. 124, 126–27

• List of ironclads of Russia

{{reflist|group=Note}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|editor=Robert Gardiner|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}
• {{cite book|chapter=Russia's First Ironclads: Pervenets, Ne tron menia and Kreml|author=McLaughlin, Stephen|editor=Jordan, John|publisher=Conway|location=London|date=2011|title=Warship 2011|isbn=978-1-84486-133-0|pages=112–29}}
• {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}
• {{cite book|last=Watts|first=Anthony J.|title=The Imperial Russian Navy|publisher=Arms and Armour|location=London|year=1990|isbn=0-85368-912-1}}

{{Pervenetz class ironclad}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ne Tron Menia}}

Category:Naval ships of Russia

Category:1864 ships

Category:Ironclad warships of the Imperial Russian Navy

Category:Ships built in Saint Petersburg