Poorly. It's bad when the truth becomes unnecessary and boring, like a tattered St. George's ribbon, forgotten in a hurry somewhere on a street bench. It doesn't have to be that way. You need to work, you need to remember who we are and where we are from. Having lost the light of knowledge about the past, the future cannot be found.
I’ll only give you a hint … further on yourself. In a note about the Crimean War, I mentioned in passing some events and surnames. It just wasn't about that. Although here it will not be possible to say about everything that happened in our country throughout the 19th century - there are too many things. Usually, after the school curriculum, a set of stamps remains in the memory at best. Remember the excellent students who briskly rattled at the blackboard about "backward Russia" and "heroism on the Borodino field", about the "serf regime" and "brave officers" and so on. Polar dies coexist very peacefully with each other. So let's take a closer look at the "backward Russia" of the 19th century and its "rotten tsarist regime". I suggest looking through the level of technology development. Ultimately, it is he who determines everything.
Thanks to the TV set, everyone remembers Pushkin's poem very well: "How many wonderful discoveries the spirit of enlightenment prepares for us …" and so on. The "humanist" correctly noted, which is especially valuable. Maybe you saw something interesting? For example, testing the launch of missiles from a submarine from a submerged position? It is unlikely, of course, because they must have been secret. Although it could very well … I'm talking about the events that took place near the capital at the end of August 1834. It was then that these tests passed quite successfully. In the imperial presence of Emperor Nicholas I, the educational goals were defeated. Here you need to remember three names at once. Incendiary rockets were designed by Major General of Artillery Alexander Dmitrievich Zasyadko (in some sources Zasyadko) in 1817,submarine - engineer adjutant general Karl Andreevich Schilder and the launch system itself - second lieutenant of the St. Petersburg rocket establishment (there was such a thing) P. P. Kovalevsky.
Yes, this is not in the textbooks. As there are no other very interesting things. And it's a pity - it's all excellent "cleansing the brain" and seriously changes priorities.
When the missile weapon appeared, it will hardly be possible to find out. Well, yes, of course, “historical science” will tell us with big eyes tales about the wise Chinese who fought the Tatars with these missiles 100,500 thousand years ago. True, there is no evidence, except for dubious "manuscripts", but there are opinions of "authorities". I am afraid that if some ionic engine for rockets appears, then at once in China they will find another manuscript, according to which such an engine was on the cart of some of their emperor. Somehow I can't believe in their wisdom … proofs are needed. And what exactly was it?
And there certainly were, for example, the battles of the British state gangs with the Indians in India, during which the Indians in 1792 and 1799 massively used missile weapons against the British. True, they lost the war, but they made an impression. Such that one of the leaders of the British gang, Colonel William Congreve, decided to develop this business in the British army. He improved missiles. They began to fly at a distance of up to 2.7 kilometers and were used, for example, to fire at French ships in the port of Boulogne in 1806. Then in other places. As a result, Konkrev's missiles were adopted by the armies of Denmark, Austria, Prussia, France and other states. In the Crimean War, these missiles, together with the French, fired at Sevastopol. Congreve previously tried to sell his rockets to ours,but Zasyadko's missiles turned out to be "cooler" and the deal fell through.
However, this was not the beginning of the history of missiles in our army. Peter I also used rockets not only for fireworks. Lighting rockets were in service, and, according to some reports, there were attempts to use them as weapons. That is, for a long time, a kind of competition between guns and missiles was going on with varying success, and it reached its maximum intensity in the 19th century. Therefore, the word "rocket" is even in Dahl's dictionary from 1863. Moreover, it speaks not only of the rocket as such, but also of missile weapons. And if I started talking about books, then it would be right to remember that Onisim Mikhailov in 1607 wrote a whole work devoted to lighting and incendiary rockets. And in 1817, Zasyadko's book "On the case of incendiary and recochet rockets" was published (anniversary, however …). The book spoke not only about the device of missiles,but also about the experience of their combat use. Zasyadko began designing his rockets in 1815 at his own expense. He developed rockets in four calibers, 51 mm, 64 mm, 76 mm and 102 mm. They were incendiary and grenade with different firing ranges.
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He also developed launchers and guidance systems. Shooting could be carried out both with single charges and with a salvo from one machine (that's who was the progenitor of modern "Grad"). The firing range was at first 2.3 km, then 2.7 km. There were samples that fired at 6 km. In general, he has invented a lot on this topic. And “there was someone,” as they say. Some sources claim that his ancestor shot at a fortress near Belgrade with military rockets back in 1515!
Alexander Dmitrievich Zasyadko came from the Cossacks and was generally an extraordinary personality. Here is how he is described in one modern book: “The army did not know the best officer, the duelists were afraid of the best sword of the Russian Empire, the women went crazy for a handsome athlete who broke two horseshoes at a time and was well received by the emperors. Alexander Zasyadko is a holder of the highest military orders, the hero of battles became the creator of rocket weapons and the theory of jet thrust. A single volley of his rocket guns led to the victorious end of the Russian-Turkish war …"
It was at the suggestion of Zasyadko that a rocket company was formed in the Russian army in 1827. In 1828 the war broke out and during the siege of Varna a company under the command of second lieutenant P. P. Kovalevsky got the opportunity to prove herself. It turned out very well. Shooting together with artillery at the Turkish redoubts began on August 31, and on September 29 Varna fell.
The following year, the missiles were successfully used to fire at Turkish ships and at the city during the battles against the Turkish fortresses of Ruschuk and Silistria. Moreover, the shooting was carried out from the pontoons afloat. In March 1829 the ships of the Danube military flotilla were armed with rockets designed by Zasyadko. Rockets were also used in mountainous conditions. In general, the case was put on a grand scale. The missiles were mass-produced. Special machines were developed for their manufacture. Moreover, Zasyadko had followers. Through their efforts, missiles, gunpowder, manufacturing technology, and combat use were improved. A lot of research work was done. The scope of application has also increased. It is known, for example, that during the Crimean War, 9,745 military missiles were fired at the “Euro-Turkish national team” in the first half of 1858.
One of the brightest was the name of Konstantin Ivanovich Konstantinov. It was he who wrote the "Note on the introduction of military missiles in the Navy." Subsequently, he made many inventions and improvements in rocketry. He wrote the monumental work On War Missiles. An interesting detail is Konstantinov's invention of a method of twisting missiles in flight using a jet stream, which is still used today. Lighting rockets were supplied with parachutes. Rescue rockets were used to drop the ends (cables) from or onto a ship in distress. The protocols from 1848 of regular firing from ships on the coast with combat cruise missiles have been preserved. A rocket plant was opened in Nikolaev on the Bug, which was equipped with automated machine tools designed by Konstantinov. Not all conclusions from the experimental work of Konstantinov were correct, but that's what the search was for. Some of Konstantinov's inventions were later used by Soviet rocket scientists.
Konstantinov's missiles were successfully used by the troops on a massive scale. His machines worked, his devices were used all over the world. He was a wonderful inventor with a very broad outlook. It was he who invented, for example, the first self-heating canned food.
Meanwhile, the West did not sit idly by either. Congreva's rockets were improved by another Englishman (later an American) - Gel. The Americans appreciated the advantages of Gel missiles and used them successfully in the war against Mexico. There have been several attempts to sell both missiles and their factories to Russia. Comparative tests of the Gel and Konstantinov rockets were carried out. The Englishman lost with a loud crash. Konstantinov also, at the invitation of the British, examined their missile factory and wrote in a report that there was nothing to learn from them. There were also offers from the Germans with the same "success."
After the Crimean War, the missile units were disbanded. The reason was simple - rifled guns appeared and missiles immediately began to lose to them both in firing range and accuracy. Thanks to the research on improving the missiles conducted by Konstantinov, the business was continued and the missile units were partially recreated. However, after the death of Konstantinov in 1871, the decline began again. The artillery was clearly winning at this stage. The last missiles were decommissioned in 1898. But research did not end, and Soviet engineers did not start from scratch.
Now I will return a little to Schilder's missile submarine. More precisely, to Schilder's submarines, because three of them were made … They were all steel, riveted. Displacement of about 16 tons. Crew - up to 13 people. The thickness of the outer skin of 5 mm and the corresponding set allowed the boat to dive to a depth of 12 meters. She had a prototype periscope. Two groups of three rocket launchers in each were installed on the deck, which could even fire from under the water. In the bow there was a long "bowsprit" on which a mine was installed. It was supposed to be fixed on the underwater part of the enemy ship. After that, the submarine had to withdraw to a safe distance. The mine was detonated by an electric detonator. In mine business, Schilder was one of the best specialists. The problem was with the speed. It was supposed to move with the help of muscular force, for which four very peculiar propellers were installed … the speed was "none".
However, Schilder did not calm down and developed an electric drive with a screw for his submarine. At this stage, at the suggestion of Menshikov, the work was stopped by the highest decree. The secret boat was sold for scrap. Thus, we have saved budget funds. It's sad …, however, the previous experience ended under Peter 1 in about the same way. After the death of the emperor, Yefim Nikonov's "hidden ship" was "kept secret" from prying eyes in a barn, where it successfully rotted. However, this does not imply the success of the inventor's work.
You can also recall the invention of the tractor, experiments with aeronautics by Mozhaisky, and it becomes clear what kind of Russia it was in the 19th century … "backward and serfdom." And the activities of the "liberals and democrats" of that period look quite differently. And ours too …
