Russian monitor Charodeika

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image= Charodeika1865-1912c.jpg

|Ship caption=Charodeika at anchor

}}

{{Infobox ship career

|Hide header=

|Ship country=Russian Empire

|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Russian Empire|naval}}

|Ship name=Charodeika

|Ship namesake=Sorceress

|Ship ordered=26 January 1865All dates used in this article are New Style

|Ship builder=Admiralty Shipyard, Saint Petersburg

|Ship laid down=6 June 1866

|Ship launched= 12 September 1867

|Ship in service=1869

|Ship reclassified=As a coast-defense ironclad, 13 February 1892

|Ship struck=7 April 1907

|Ship fate= Scrapped 1911–12

|Ship notes=

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|Header caption= (as completed)

|Ship class={{sclass|Charodeika|monitor|3|warship}}

|Ship displacement={{convert|2100|LT|t|0}}

|Ship length={{convert|206|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} (waterline)

|Ship beam={{convert|42|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}

|Ship draft={{convert|12|ft|7|in|m|1|abbr=on}}

|Ship power=*{{convert|875|ihp|lk=in|abbr=on}}

2 rectangular boilers

|Ship propulsion=2 shafts, 2 Horizontal direct-action steam engines

|Ship speed={{convert|8|kn|lk=in}}

|Ship range=

|Ship complement=172 officers and crewmen

|Ship armament=*2 × {{convert|9|in|adj=on|0}} Smoothbore guns

2 × {{convert|15|in|adj=on|0}} Rodman guns

|Ship armor=*Belt: {{convert|3.25

4.5|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}

Gun turrets: {{convert|5.5|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
Conning tower: {{convert|4.5|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
Deck: {{convert|1|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}

|Ship notes=

}}

The Russian monitor Charodeika was the lead ship of her class of monitors built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1860s. She served for her entire career with the Baltic Fleet, mostly as a training ship. She was decommissioned in 1907, but was not broken up until 1911–12.

Design and description

Charodeika was {{convert|206|ft|m|1}} long at the waterline. She had a beam of {{convert|42|ft|m|1}} and a maximum draft of {{convert|12|ft|7|in|m|1}}. The ship was designed to displace {{convert|1882|LT|t}}, but turned out to be overweight and actually displaced {{convert|2100|LT|t}}. Her crew numbered 13 officers and 171 crewmen in 1877.McLaughlin, p. 156

The ship had two simple horizontal direct-acting steam engines, each driving a single propeller. The engines were designed to produce a total of {{convert|900|ihp|lk=in}} using steam provided by two coal-fired rectangular fire-tube boilers, but only achieved {{convert|786|ihp|abbr=on}} and a speed of approximately {{convert|8.5|kn|lk=in}} during her sea trials.McLaughlin, pp. 156, 159–60 She carried a maximum of {{convert|250|LT|t|0}} of coal for her boilers.Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 176

Charodeika was initially armed with a pair of {{convert|9|in|adj=on|0|spell=in}} rifled Model 1867 guns in the forward gun turret and a pair of {{convert|15|in|adj=on|0|spell=in}} smoothbore Rodman guns in the aft turret. The Rodman guns were replaced by a pair of Obukhov {{convert|9|in|0|adj=on}} rifled guns in 1871 and all of the nine-inch guns were replaced in their turn by longer, more powerful nine-inch Obukhov guns in 1878–79. No light guns for use against torpedo boats are known to have been fitted aboard the ship before the 1870s when she received 4 four-pounder {{convert|3.4|in|adj=on}} guns mounted on the turret tops as well as a variety of smaller guns that included {{convert|45|mm|sp=us|adj=on}} Engström quick-firing (QF) guns, {{convert|1|in|mm|adj=on}} Nordenfelt guns, single-barreled QF {{convert|47|mm|adj=on|sp=us}} Hotchkiss guns, QF {{convert|37|mm|adj=on|sp=us}} Hotchkiss revolving cannon, and {{convert|25|mm|adj=on|sp=us}} Palmcrantz-Nordenfelt guns.McLaughlin, p. 158

The ship had a complete waterline belt of wrought iron that was {{convert|4.5|in|mm|0}} thick amidships and thinned to {{convert|3.75|in|mm|0}} at the bow and {{convert|3.25|in}} at the stern. The armor was backed by {{convert|12|to|18|in}} of teak. The circular turrets were protected by armor {{convert|5.5|in}} thick and the walls of the ship's oval conning tower were also 4.5 inches thick. Her deck was {{convert|1|in}} thick amidships, but reduced to {{convert|0.25|-|0.5|in}} at the ends of the ship.McLaughlin, pp. 158–59

Construction and service

Charodeika (Sorceress)Silverstone, p. 373 was ordered on 26 January 1865 and construction began on 10 June at the Admiralty Shipyard, Saint Petersburg, although the formal keel-laying was not until 6 June 1866. She was launched on 12 September 1867 and completed in 1869 at the cost of 762,000 rubles. Construction was considerably delayed by late deliveries of drawings, material, and the death of her original builder. The ship served her entire career with the Baltic Fleet and was later assigned to the Mine (Torpedo) Training Detachment. Charodeika was reclassified as a coast-defense ironclad on 13 February 1892 and remained in service until 31 March 1907 when she was turned over to the Port of Kronstadt for disposal. The ship was stricken from the Navy List on 7 April and was finally scrapped in 1911–12.McLaughlin, pp. 152, 155–56, 160, 163

Notes

Footnotes

Bibliography

{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Kolesnik|editor2-first=Eugene M.|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|name-list-style=amp|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2}}
{{cite book|last=McLaughlin|first=Stephen|chapter=Russia's Coles 'Monitors': Smerch, Rusalka and Charodeika|editor=Jordan, John|publisher=Conway|location=London|year=2013|title=Warship 2013|isbn=978-1-84486-205-4|pages=149–63}}
{{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}}