View source for Russian battleship Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaia NH 101053.jpg
|Ship caption=''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' in [[Sevastopol]], 12 May 1916, during a naval review for [[Tsar]] [[Nicholas II]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Russian Empire]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Russian Empire|naval}}
|Ship name=''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' ({{lang|ru|Императрица Екатерина Великая}} (''Empress Catherine the Great''))
|Ship namesake=[[Catherine the Great]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Black Sea Shipyard|ONZiV Shipyard]], [[Mykolaiv|Nikolayev]]
|Ship laid down=30 October 1911<ref group=Note>All dates used in this article are [[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe|New Style]]</ref>
|Ship launched= 6 June 1914
|Ship renamed=*From ''Ekaterina II'', 27 June 1915
*''Svobodnaya Rossiia'' ({{lang|ru|Свободная Россия}} (''Free Russia'')), 29 April 1917
|Ship commissioned= 18 October 1915
|Ship cost=29,804,000 gold [[ruble]]s
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship operator=[[Imperial Russian Navy]]
|Ship fate=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=[[Russian SFSR]]
|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of RSFSR (1918-1920).svg|50px]]
|Ship name=''Svobodnaya Rossiia''
|Ship operator=[[Soviet Navy|Red Fleet]]
|Ship acquired=November 1917
|Ship fate=[[Scuttling|Scuttled]], 18 June 1918
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass-|Imperatritsa Mariya|battleship}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|24644|LT|MT|lk=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|556|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} ([[waterline]])
|Ship beam={{convert|92|ft|m|abbr=on|0}}
|Ship draft={{convert|28|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship power=*20 [[Yarrow boiler]]s
*{{convert|27000|shp|kW|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=4 shafts; 4 [[steam turbine]]s 
|Ship speed={{convert|21|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|1680|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|21|kn}}
|Ship complement=1,154
|Ship armament=*4 × triple [[Obukhovskii 12"/52 Pattern 1907 gun|{{cvt|305|mm|0}} guns]]
*18 × single [[130 mm/55 B7 Pattern 1913|{{cvt|130|mm|1}} guns]]
*3 × single [[75mm 50 caliber Pattern 1892|{{cvt|75|mm|0}}]] [[AA gun]]s
*4 × single {{cvt|450|mm|in|1}} [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armor=*[[Belt armor|Waterline belt]]: {{cvt|125|-|262|mm|in|order=flip|1}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{cvt|25|-|50|mm|in|order=flip|1}}
*[[Turret]]s: {{cvt|250|mm|in|order=flip}}
*[[Barbette]]s: {{cvt|250|mm|in|order=flip}}
*[[Conning tower]]: {{cvt|300|mm|in|order=flip|1}}
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya''''' ({{lang|ru|Императрица Екатерина Великая}} (''Empress Catherine the Great'')) was the second of three {{sclass-|Imperatritsa Mariya|battleship|0}} [[dreadnought]]s built for the [[Imperial Russian Navy]] during [[World War I]]. Completed in 1915, she was assigned to the [[Black Sea Fleet]]. She engaged the ex-German [[battlecruiser]] ''[[SMS Goeben|Yavûz Sultân Selîm]]'' once, but only inflicted splinter damage while taking no damage herself. The ship briefly encountered an Ottoman [[light cruiser]], but mostly covered the actions of smaller ships during the war without firing her guns. These included [[minelaying]] operations off the [[Bosporus]] and anti-shipping sweeps of the coast of [[Anatolia]]. ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' was renamed ''Svobodnaya Rossiya'' ({{lang|ru|Свободная Россия}}, ''Free Russia'') after the [[February Revolution]]. 

She was evacuated from [[Sevastopol]] as [[German Empire|German]] troops approached the city in May 1918, but was [[scuttled]] in [[Novorossiysk]] harbor the following month when the Germans demanded that the Soviets hand her over according to the terms of the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]]. ''Svobodnaya Rossiya'' was only partially [[Marine salvage|salvaged]] after the war.

==Description==
Because the [[Black Sea Shipyard|Associated Factories and Shipyards of Nikolayev (ONZiV)]] lacked a experienced design staff of its own, the company hired the British shipbuilder [[Vickers Limited]] to assist with the process of producing detailed drawings from the preliminary sketch design. Based on the historic tendency for Russian ships to be overweight, the Vickers consultants suggested that the ship's hull be enlarged to create a greater reserve of buoyancy and the Naval Ministry agreed despite the additional costs involved.<ref>McLaughlin, pp. 230–232</ref> ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' {{convert|556|ft|m|sp=us|1}} [[length at the waterline|long at the waterline]] and had a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|92|ft|m|sp=us|0}}; {{convert|4|ft|10|in}} longer and {{convert|2|ft|1}} wider than her [[sister ship|half-sisters]]. Her exact draft is not known, but she had a [[Draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|28|ft|7|in|m|sp=us|1}} during her [[sea trial]]s. The ship [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{convert|24644|LT|MT|lk=on}} at normal load, over {{convert|900|LT|MT|abbr=on}} more than her designed displacement of {{convert|23783|LT|MT|abbr=on}}.<ref>McLaughlin, p. 228</ref> The [[lead ship]] of the class, {{ship|Russian battleship|Imperatritsa Mariya||2}}, had proven to be very [[Dynamic trimming|bow-heavy]] in service and tended to take large amounts of water through her forward [[Casemate#Single casemates (1889 onwards)|casemates]].<ref>Gardiner & Gray, p. 303</ref> The ammunition for ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya''{{'}}s forward {{convert|12|in|adj=on|0}} guns was reduced from 100 to 70 rounds each while the ammunition for the forward {{convert|130|mm|sp=us|adj=on}} guns was reduced from 245 to 100 rounds per gun in a successful attempt to compensate for her [[wikt:trim|trim]]. This was successful because ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya''{{'}}s longer length meant that she was less affected by the trim problem to begin with.<ref>McLaughlin, p. 237</ref>

''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' was fitted with four [[Licensed production|license-built]] [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] [[steam turbine]] sets, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by 20 triangular [[Yarrow boiler]]s that burned either coal or [[fuel oil]] at a working pressure of {{convert|250|psi|kPa kg/cm2|0|abbr=on|lk=on}}. Designed to produce {{convert|27000|shp|kW|lk=on}} which was intended to give the ship a speed was {{convert|21|kn}}, the turbines produced {{convert|33000|shp|kW|abbr=on}} on trials, although no figures for her speed have been found. The ship carried enough coal and fuel oil to give her a range of {{convert|1680|nmi}} at full speed and {{convert|3000|nmi}} at a more economical speed. All of her electrical power was generated by four primary Curtis {{convert|360|kW|adj=on}} [[turbo generator]]s and two {{convert|200|kW|adj=on}} auxiliary units.<ref>McLaughlin, pp. 229, 235–237</ref>

===Armament and protection===
Her [[main battery]] consisted of a dozen [[Obukhovskii 12"/52 Pattern 1907 gun|Obukhovskii 12-inch Pattern 1907]] guns mounted in four triple turrets distributed over the length of the ship. Her [[Battleship secondary armament|secondary armament]] consisted of eighteen [[130 mm/55 B7 Pattern 1913|130&nbsp;mm B7 Pattern 1913]] guns mounted in hull-mounted [[casemate]]s. They were arranged in two groups, six guns per side from the forward turret to the rear funnel and the remaining four clustered around the rear turret. ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' was also fitted with three [[75mm 50 caliber Pattern 1892|{{convert|75|mm|adj=on|sp=us|0}}]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]s, one mounted on the roof of the fore turret and two side by side on the aft turret. The ship was fitted with four {{convert|17.7|in|mm|0|adj=on}} submerged [[torpedo tube]]s, two tubes on each [[broadside]].<ref>McLaughlin, pp. 233–234</ref>

The [[waterline]] [[belt armor|armor belt]] of the ''Imperatritsa Mariya'' class was {{convert|4.9|-|10.3|in|0}} thick with the thickest portion covering the length of the ships between the {{convert|9.8|in|mm|adj=mid|-thick}} [[barbette]]s. The armor of their gun turrets was also 9.8 inches thick and their [[deck (ship)|decks]] ranged from {{convert|1|to|2|in|0}} in thickness. The armor plates protecting the [[conning tower]] were {{convert|11.8|in}} thick<ref>McLaughlin, pp. 136–138, 142–144</ref>

==Service==
[[File:RU068-16.jpg|thumb|A Russian stamp honoring the ship]]
''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' was built by the ONZiV Shipyard at [[Mykolaiv|Nikolayev]]. She was laid down on 30 October 1911 as ''Ekaterina II'', but this was just a ceremonial event as neither the design had been finalized nor the contract signed. ONZiV decided, on advice from Vickers, to increase her dimensions over those of her sisters to prevent her from being overweight. This added over two million gold rubles to her cost and delayed the start of her construction three months past her half-sisters. She was launched on 6 June 1914, renamed on 27 June 1915, and completed on 18 October 1915. She ran her trials over the remainder of the year.<ref>McLaughlin, pp. 228, 231–232</ref>

She was nearly sunk by the {{ship|Russian destroyer|Bystry}} on 5 January 1916 when the [[destroyer]] fired seven [[torpedo]]es at her in a case of mistaken identity; luckily they all missed. Three days later she [[Action of 8 January 1916|encountered]] the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[battlecruiser]] [[SMS Goeben|''Yavuz'']] at long range. The ships opened fire at about {{convert|22000|yd}} and ''Yavuz'' fired five [[salvo]]es without damaging the Russian battleship before she disengaged from the slower ship. ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' fired 96 shells from her longer-ranged guns, but inflicted only splinter damage on ''Yavuz'' before she pulled out of range.<ref>McLaughlin, pp. 304–305</ref> ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' was escorting three seaplane carriers to attack [[Varna]], [[Bulgaria]], on 9 March when the operation was cancelled after a destroyer reconnoitering the harbor struck a mine and sank. At the end of the month, she helped to cover the movement of 36 transports from [[Odessa]] to Novorossiysk in preparation for an amphibious landing the next month.<ref>Greger, pp. 53–54</ref> The battleship may have briefly engaged the [[light cruiser]] {{ship|Ottoman cruiser|Midilli||2}} on 4 April, firing at the smaller ship for about 15 minutes with little effect before she was able to disengage.<ref>Halpern, pp. 242–243 and fn. 44</ref> Other sources, however, state that the Ottoman ship actually encountered ''Imperatritsa Mariya''.<ref>Greger, p. 54; Nekrasov, p. 83</ref>{{refn|Halpern was citing Pavlovich,<ref>Pavlovich, p. 369</ref> but the situation is even more confusing as Langensiepen & Güleryüz claim that the engagement between ''Imperatritsa Mariya'' and ''Midilli'' actually happened on 19 April.<ref>Langensiepen & Güleryüz, p. 50</ref>|group=Note}} 

Three months later ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' and her half-sister ''Imperatritsa Mariya'', alerted by intercepted radio transmissions, [[sortie]]d from Sevastopol in an attempt to intercept ''Yavuz'' and ''Midilli'' as she returned from a bombardment of the Russian port of [[Tuapse]] on 4 July. The Ottoman ships dodged north and avoided the Russians by paralleling the Bulgarian coastline back to the [[Bosphorus]].<ref>McLaughlin, p. 305</ref> ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' escorted another seaplane carrier attack on Varna harbor on 25 August; German aircraft counterattacked and damaged one of the escorting destroyers.<ref>Greger, p. 57</ref>

===1917–1918===
Together with three [[pre-dreadnought battleship]]s and the [[protected cruiser]] {{ship|Russian cruiser|Pamiat Merkuria|1902|2}}, the battleship patrolled off the northwestern coast of Anatolia on 5–9 January 1917, helping to sink 39 sailing cargo ships. Escorted by three destroyers and ''Pamiat Merkuria'', ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya'' cruised off the Anatolian coast on 23–25 February and her escorts sank 3 sailing ships.<ref>Greger, p. 61</ref> After the [[February Revolution]] she was renamed ''Svobodnaya Rossiya'' ({{lang|ru|Свободная Россия}}, "Free Russia") on 29 April.<ref>McLaughlin, p. 242</ref> She was part of the covering force for minelaying operations off the mouth of the Bosporus on 17–24 May. While covering another such operation a month later, the ship briefly engaged ''Midilli'' on 25 June as the cruiser was returning from a minelaying sortie off the [[mouths of the Danube]] River. ''Svobodnaya Rossiya'' was only able to fire nine salvos from her forward turret without effect before the much faster ''Midilli'' was able to disengage.<ref>Halpern, p. 253</ref> On 24 August ''Svobodnaya Rossiya'' helped to screen a [[Raid (military)|raid]] on the harbor of the Anatolian city of [[Ordu]]. The ship was ordered to intercept ''Midilli'' on 1 November, but the crew refused to participate and returned to Sevastopol. The navy ceased offensive operations against the Central Powers in early November in response to the [[Bolshevik]] [[Decree on Peace]] before a formal [[Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers|Armistice]] was signed the next month.<ref>Greger, pp. 62–65</ref>

The ship sailed from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk on 30 April 1918 as German troops approached the city. ''Svobodnaya Rossiya'' was [[Scuttling|scuttled]] on 19 June 1918 by four torpedoes fired by the destroyer {{ship|Russian destroyer|Kerch||2}} in Novorossiysk harbor to prevent her from being turned over to the Germans as required by the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]].<ref name=m8>McLaughlin, p. 308</ref> The fourth torpedo caused a massive explosion and she [[capsize]]d and sank in four minutes.<ref name=m8>McLaughlin, p. 308</ref> No attempt was made to salvage her during the 1920s, but the 12-inch shells were salvaged from her wreck. Explosive charges were used to gain access to her [[magazine (artillery)|magazine]]s until one day in 1930 when a charge set off a torpedo warhead, which caused a nearby powder magazine to explode, throwing a column of water {{convert|100|-|120|m|yd|sp=us}} into the air. No one was injured, but work of this type ceased,<ref>McLaughlin, pp. 330–331</ref> although parts of her engines and boilers were later salvaged.<ref>Breyer, p. 37</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Breyer|first=Siegfried|title=Soviet Warship Development|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|year=1992|volume=Volume I: 1917–1937|isbn=0-85177-604-3}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921|year=1985 |location= Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|lastauthoramp=y}}
*{{cite book |last1=Greger |first1=René |title=The Russian Fleet 1914–1917 |date=1972 |publisher=Ian Allan |location=Shepperton, UK |isbn=0-7110-0255-X}}
* {{cite book |last=Halpern|first=Paul G.|title=A Naval History of World War I|year=1995|location=Annapolis|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=1-55750-352-4|authorlink=Paul G. Halpern}}
* {{cite book|last1=Langensiepen|first1=Bernd|last2=Güleryüz|first2=Ahmet|title=The Ottoman Steam Navy 1828–1923|year=1995|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London |isbn=0-85177-610-8|lastauthoramp=y}}
* {{cite book|last=McLaughlin|first=Stephen|title=Russian & Soviet Battleships|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2003|isbn=1-55750-481-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Nekrasov|first=George|title=North of Gallipoli: The Black Sea Fleet at War 1914–1917|series=East European monographs|volume=CCCXLIII|year=1992|publisher=East European Monographs|location=Boulder|isbn=0-88033-240-9}}
*{{cite book |last1=Pavlovich |first1=N. B. |title=The Fleet in the First World War |date=1979 |publisher=Published for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., by Amerind Pub. Co. |location=New Delhi|oclc=6627675}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Battleships}}
{{commons category|Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya (ship, 1914)}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060704210357/http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aj.cashmore/russia/battleships/imperatritsamaria/ekaterinaii.html Brief article and specifications]
*[http://flot.sevastopol.info/eng/ship/dreadnoughts/imp_ekaterina.htm Short article from Black Sea Fleet webpage]
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{{Imperatritsa Mariya class battleship}}
{{WWIRussianShips}}
{{June 1918 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya}}
[[Category:Imperatritsa Mariya-class battleships]]
[[Category:World War I battleships of Russia]]
[[Category:1914 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1918]]
[[Category:Ships built at the Black Sea Shipyard]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels]]
[[Category:World War I shipwrecks in the Black Sea]]
[[Category:Ships built in the Russian Empire]]