Russian Ironclad Battleship Georgii Pobedonosets
Georgii Pobedonosets was an ironclad battleship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, completed in 1893 at the Nikolayev Admiralty Shipyard. She was a sub-class of the Ekaterina II-class of barbette battleships (Ekaterina II, Chesma and Sinop) , designed to secure Russian naval dominance in the Black Sea during the late nineteenth century.
Her main armament consisted of six 12-inch (305 mm) Obukhov Model 1886 35-calibre guns. These were mounted in three twin barbette installations, with two mounts arranged side by side forward and one positioned aft of the superstructure. This unusual layout reflected Russian experimentation with heavy gun arrangements intended to maximise forward firepower while retaining strong broadside capability. The ship also carried a secondary battery of medium calibre quick-firing guns and lighter weapons for defence against torpedo boats. A thick belt of compound armour protected the hull, while armoured barbettes shielded the main guns.
During the First World War, the ship served in the Black Sea, though by then she was obsolete. After the Russian Revolution, she joined the Red Black Sea Fleet in December 1917. German forces captured her at Sevastopol in 1918, and she was later transferred to Allied control that December. British forces sabotaged her machinery in April 1919. She changed hands several times during the Russian Civil War before joining General Wrangel’s fleet and being towed to Bizerte in 1920. The ship was ultimately scrapped between 1930 and 1936.
