How so! How much I have seen everything on the Internet, but when I saw this model I thought that someone has a fantasy! It was necessary to make such a miracle boat from a fantasy film. And even after the post about Belyany - a Russian wooden aircraft carrier, it never occurred to me that this was a completely real combat ship. Let's find out the history of Popov's round ships.
In the second half of 1869, Minister of War General Milyutin D. A. gave permission to raise the issue of "building armored ships in the south of Russia", and again it was only about strengthening the defense of the Kerch Strait and the Dnieper-Bug estuary. During the preliminary study of the problem at the Maritime Ministry A. A. Popov. proposed to solve it with the help of round courts:
“An adversary who dares to attack our coastal fortifications can only dare to do so with the use of guns of the largest caliber, which at that time will be possible for practical use. To reflect it, we must have such weapons, and therefore, when designing ships that serve to supplement our coastal protection as machine tools for guns, for their armament we must choose artillery with the largest caliber that we have: therefore, it is proposed to put 11 d (280 mm) rifled or 20 d (508 mm) smooth guns. Decreasing the length with increasing width of the vessel can reduce its cost and increase the displacement. After bringing this axiom to a final degree, that is, making the length and width equal, we will achieve the most favorable conditions in terms of cost and displacement. Therefore, all of its waterlines are formed from circles. Of all ships, the monitor type is the least prone to rolling and has the smallest area for armor coverage; the designed vessel, as a tool rack, has a monitor; in the center it has a fixed tower, covered with armor, as well as the side and deck of the ship … Although the circular formations of waterlines do not represent favorable conditions for high speeds, this drawback is fully compensated by the absence of obstacles to turnability and excess displacement. To take full advantage of the agility, the projected type was given two propellers, and the excess displacement is loaded by the machine … "as a machine tool, there is a monitor; in the center it has a fixed tower, covered with armor, as well as the side and deck of the ship … Although the circular formations of waterlines do not represent favorable conditions for high speeds, this drawback is fully compensated by the absence of obstacles to turnability and excess displacement. To take full advantage of the agility, the projected type was given two propellers, and the excess displacement is loaded by the machine … "as a machine tool, there is a monitor; in the center it has a fixed tower, covered with armor, as well as the side and deck of the ship … Although the circular formations of waterlines do not represent favorable conditions for high speeds, this drawback is fully compensated by the absence of obstacles to turnability and excess displacement. To take full advantage of the agility, the projected type was given two propellers, and the excess displacement is loaded by the machine … "the designed type was given two screws, and the excess displacement is loaded by the machine … "the designed type was given two screws, and the excess displacement is loaded by the machine …"
Round vessels were created in ancient times and were used by various peoples. In 1868 an original round vessel was proposed by the Englishman Elder. In the underwater part, its contours were spherical: the wetted surface decreased, and, consequently, the water resistance also decreased. The inventor proposed to use it as a battleship, "the carrier of the largest caliber guns with a calm pitch and great stability." It was Elder, in some publications of that time, who was called the father of the idea of a round battleship. But the proposals were significantly different: the bottom of Popov's "monitor" was flat and, therefore, had a significantly lower draft
Judging by the events that took place further, this proposal immediately interested the leadership of the naval department; to test the behavior of an unusual vessel in the water Krabbe N. K. immediately allowed to make a full-scale model: a round boat with a diameter of 3.35 m, with two steam engines temporarily removed from work boats in Kronstadt.
The problem that Popov was going to solve consisted of three key points. The first is the construction of a ship capable of carrying heavy weapons, which, with an onboard salvo, would not fall on its side. The second is the saving of material resources, since the tsar's treasury was pretty empty during the Crimean War. The third is the maximum possible displacement compensation for small overall dimensions. According to the vice admiral's idea, all three problems were solved quite simply: it was necessary to invent a structure in which the width and length of the ship were equal, that is, the deck of which was round.
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The Popov project seemed very attractive to the naval department, since it could satisfy the requirements of Alexander II - the ability to carry guns with a caliber of 280 mm and a draft of 3.3 m. As a result, an experimental model was built, the tests of which were successful. The emperor approved the start of work on the first "popovka" - the battleship "Novgorod", the diameter of which was supposed to be 46 m. On the basis of the "Novgorod" design, it was planned to form the basis of defensive reserves - 10 ships were to initiate the restoration of the entire Black Sea fleet.
Battleship Novgorod on the slipway.
The assembly of "Novgorod" in the Nikolaev Admiralty began on March 29, 1872 under the leadership of A. V. Mordvinov. and it dragged on for a year. The transportation schedules from the Volzhsky district and St. Petersburg were violated. The workers gathered all over Russia turned out to be inexperienced. There was a shortage of metalworking machines and hand tools, which were again brought in from England. Also in England it was necessary to order a part of the construction timber - the contractors requested such an amount for this material that it turned out to be cheaper to purchase and deliver Russian logs from there. The readiness of the boilers and steam engines was delayed by more than 3 months: the installation of the first of the machines began only on October 27. After lengthy negotiations with the authorities, it was possible to postpone the launch date of the ship, now with the installed, tested mechanisms. Moreover,due to the desire of the admiral-general to be present during the descent and tests, the timing of the readiness of "Novgorod" had to be tied to the date of his arrival!
The rush in the admiralty in the first couple of months of 1873 was unimaginable: about 2,000 workers daily, regardless of holidays, assembled popovka around the clock. The Grand Duke took pity on the builders in March, postponing the arrival date to the end of May. In the next three months, the work was done more calmly. "Novgorod" on May 21 solemnly went on the water. The first Black Sea battleship also became the first Russian large ship to be launched with armor and all mechanisms.
The set of the "Novgorod" hull was carried out according to the brackets checkered system. It consisted of identical radial frames and stringers - "circular internal keels". Closed with an outer and inner iron sheathing, they formed a double waterproof bottom, and with a circular inner bulkhead - the same side. Thus, a high, for that time, level of the ship's unsinkability was ensured. Part of a specially reinforced set was the foundation for boilers and mechanisms. The belts of the inner skin were located across, and the outer - along the ship, which made it possible to use ordinary standard narrow sheets during assembly, without resorting to cutting "from large expensive sheets". The side armor plates were installed in two belts: 178 mm plates were used for the lower one, 229 mm plates were used for the upper one. To simplify the adjustment of the slabs along the hull contour, which had a double camber, they were installed vertically, with the same curvature, and were sheathed outside with wooden chaks. The armor was attached to the casing on metal channels and teak lining, equated to 51-mm plates in terms of "resistance force".
The round frame of the hull, which has a single protrusion in the stern, was covered with a convex deck, which consisted of three layers of iron sheets. The thickness of the inner sheets is 19 millimeters, the rest is 25.4 millimeters. For ease of movement, the outer sheets of the deck received a special notch. A circular barbette was installed in the center, which in all documents was called "a fixed open tower". For its booking, the same sheets were used as for the upper side belt. Two Krupna 280 mm rifled guns weighing 26 tons were installed here. Each artillery mount was guided and fired independently. Ammunition was fed through the central hatch ("pipe") made in the center of the barbette. The machines were moved on special platforms around the hatch.
In the bow of the popovka there was an iron elliptical superstructure, which played the role of an unarmored freeboard. The commander's cabin, wardroom and living quarters for the crew were located in it, the rest of the sailors were located under the superstructure on the hinged deck. The cabins of the mechanics were arranged directly under the tower. Popovka did not have a conning tower. The compass and the steering wheel were placed behind the barbet on a light stage, and the "combat steering wheel" - behind the skylight shaft, below deck. Small freeboard and deck formations made it possible to do without davits. Steam boats, four- and six-oar yalas, were lifted onto the deck using skids equipped with rollers. Yalas were installed in the aft part of the ship on folding iron blocks.
The ship's power plant consisted of six horizontal Wolfe steam engines and eight cylindrical fire tube boilers installed symmetrically to the center plane in two engine rooms and two boiler rooms. Each machine powered a separate four-blade propeller designed by Griffith. Coal pits were located between the double side and the boiler rooms. The skylight of the engine room and the base of the chimneys were armored with 152 mm plates.
Ventilation of the premises was carried out, according to the designer, in the best way. In the boiler rooms there were two air ducts, the sockets of which were brought out near the chimneys in pairs, the engine rooms - a skylight made in the stern. Natural ventilation was carried out through a hatch in the barbette, artificial ventilation was carried out using two fan machines.
Battleship Vice-Admiral Popov.
All metal and most of the mechanisms were of domestic production. In England, they purchased only a steam windlass, as well as a fire pump serving the drainage system of the impermeable compartments of the ship, proposed by Lieutenant S. O. Makarov. (the system included a main pipeline passing over the second bottom and connected to all compartments with separate hoses).
Popovka increased in diameter by 1500 mm during construction. This happened in connection with the vertical placement of armor plates, which caused the broadening of the hull during its subsequent sheathing with chaks, and then with wooden sheathing. Vice-Admiral N. A. Arkas suggested making a similar cladding, and then covering the underwater part with copper sheets. Chief commander of the Black Sea Fleet and ports. All this was done on the slipway. The cast iron screws ordered by Byrd had to be replaced with bronze ones. To protect the flat bottom from damage, with a possible aground, and also to reduce the swing of the pitching, the popovka was supplied with longitudinal outer keels. According to the project, there were seven of them, and during the construction the number increased to twelve. Height 200 mm. As a result of "improvements", the displacement increased by 400 tons, and the draft by 300 mm.
After descent, three days later, the battleship parted pairs and went on its own. With an inexperienced machine command and half the speed of the machines (instead of 100-120 rpm 62), the popovka developed a speed of 6 knots - “not worse than the Baltic monitors”, AA Popov reported to Petersburg. On official trials, which were carried out at the very beginning of August, at 104 rpm, the ship reached a speed of 7 knots. At the same time, the consumption of coal, depending on its quality, reached 1.6-2 tons per hour. The tests were never completed in full, in a hurry to prepare Novgorod for the royal review; did not even determine the indicator strength of the machines, the commission in a hurry recognized it as satisfactory.
Then the naval department made another decision - taking into account the mistakes and shortcomings of "Novgorod" to develop a new battleship, "Vice-Admiral Popov", which became the next, intermediate stage of the priest's "trilogy".
Popov's new brainchild showed good results at test shooting ranges, but the running capabilities of the popovka were still its weak point, despite all the efforts of the designer to adapt his ship to long sea crossings. During the war with Turkey in 1877, this flaw was demonstrated more than clearly.
For almost the entire war, both Popov's ships stood in the roadstead in the defense of Odessa. Only once did it become necessary to make a preemptive strike on Turkish ships, which were dangerously close to coastal minefields. Neither "Novgorod" nor "Vice-Admiral Popov" could take part in the battle, because they simply did not catch up with the enemy ships, which, however, were inferior to them in combat power. On this incident, a commission was convened, which concluded that round ships could not fight off the coast.
With the end of the Russian-Turkish war, the final stage of Popov's shipbuilding began. It began with the need to create a new imperial yacht, since the old one, Livadia, crashed.
Popov's latest project involved not only ensuring the stability, unsinkability, safety and comfort of the ship, but also excellent speed data - at least 14 knots! The construction of the ship was carried out in England together with the company "John Elder & K". Under the contract, the vessel had to develop 15 knots, otherwise the contractor would face serious fines.
The term of construction of the ship was short in English: the final date of delivery was July 1, 1880. Moreover, after the signing of the contract during an audience with the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, Pierce offered to surrender the yacht ahead of schedule! Work at the shipyard, which was located in Ferrol (on the outskirts of Glasgow, on the Clyde River), began immediately after all the documents were signed. A month later, the author of the project, Gulyaev E. E., appointed overseeing the construction, reported on the manufacture of templates for metal structures and the completion of the preparation of the slipway. Two-thirds of the set of the second bottom had been riveted by the beginning of November … Then AA Popov intervened again, who obtained the highest permission to finish the yacht's premises in England. Popov motivated this by the fact that "it is desirable to test the ship in its finished form" and carrying out such work in the Nikolaev Admiralty will cost too much. An additional contract was signed on November 10: the shipbuilders received, not only an additional payment, but also a real opportunity to postpone, if necessary, the dates of the yacht's readiness. Despite this, work continued according to the original plans.
On January 5, 1880, a yacht named "Livadia" was enlisted in the lists of ships of the fleet, and 10 days later the commander was appointed - captain 1st rank Vogak I. K. (former first commander of both "Novgorod" and "Peter the Great") … The ship was officially laid down on March 25; at this time, the hull plating was already being mounted. Four months later, on June 25, the yacht was launched. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (who later became admiral-general of the Russian fleet, consistent ill-wisher of AA Popov) arrived at the ceremony.
The yacht "Livadia", which was launched in a high degree of readiness, with a propeller-rudder complex and superstructures, had such an original appearance that "Time", which traditionally did not place drawings of domestic ships on its pages, made an exception. This double-hulled vessel was figuratively described by newsmen as "a goby on a halibut."
General arrangement of the yacht "Livadia": a - longitudinal section; b - plan of the hold; c - section along the midship frame.
The design of the lower hull (the sailors called it "pancake") was unique. Developed based on the experience gained during the construction of popovki, it provided an unprecedented level of unsinkability. The second bottom, at a height of 1.07 meters from the plating amidships and at the extremities of 0.76 meters, extended the entire length. It was divided into 40 watertight compartments; two longitudinal vertical bulkheads ran along the entire side, the space between the side and the bulkheads was also divided into 40 compartments. Covered with a convex deck in the shape of an inverted saucer, the pontoon served as a ring-shaped solid foundation for the upper part of the ship, where the living quarters, as well as the royal apartments were located, and the second bottom served as the foundation for three vertical steam engines with double expansion …) and 10 cylindrical boilers. The pontoon housed coal pits, auxiliary mechanisms, ship stores …
Significant difficulties had to be overcome in determining the local and general strength of the steel structures of the pontoon, the junction of the hulls (ring stringer), which gave rise to those. problems of their provision. To the credit of the English and Russian engineers, these difficulties were largely overcome. The whole set was made of "Siemens" mild steel, bulkheads and pontoon sheathing - of iron sheets; the skin of the yacht itself and the deck are pine. The height of the yacht from the keels to the roof of the upper superstructures was 14 meters. Special attention was paid to the issue of driving force application. During the construction of the yacht "Livadia", by the end of 1879 a self-propelled steel model in 1:10 scale was assembled and tested until the spring of next year. On the scale model, the location of the screws, the dimensions and the pitch were worked out. The test procedure was developed by Tiedemann,and the experiments were carried out by both English and Russian engineers. As a result, the stern tubes of the shafts were brought out in such a way that the yacht's propellers were mostly below the bottom, and the middle propeller, as on the Vice-Admiral Popov, was installed 760 mm further from the stern and deeper than the side ones. The diameter of each propeller with four blades was 4.72 meters, the pitch of the middle one was 3.81 meters, the rest was 6.25 meters; the material for them was manganese bronze.
The premises were illuminated with electric Yablochkov candles; electrical equipment was supplied from Russia. The entire yacht had plumbing, 23 auxiliary steam mechanisms and a rudder drive. Similarly to the popovkas, a device for maneuvering the ship using onboard vehicles was installed on the bridge. Three large mahogany steam boats were ordered in England as the Livadia's raiding craft, the length of which was 8.5 m, 9.8 m and 11.9 m. The rowing vessels were used from the deceased Livadia. The total volume of the halls, saloons and cabins intended for the king and his retinue was 3950 m3, which is 6.7 times higher than that of its predecessor. The huge "reception room" of the emperor, about 4 meters high, resembled the rooms of Louis XVI in Fontainebleau. The reception room also housed a working fountain and surrounding flower beds …
The living room, located on the middle deck, was furnished in the Crimean Tatar spirit, and the rest of the premises were decorated in a modern English style. The decoration of the command rooms and the officers' cabins was not included in the contracts and was to be carried out after the arrival of the yacht to the Black Sea.
Despite the "original design", the vessel looked great on the outside, the sleek hull was covered with a shiny black varnish, and the light gray pontoon practically merged with the surface of the water.
It took almost three months to finish building the yacht afloat. In August, all the boilers were loaded (8 three-furnace boilers were installed across the pontoon, two more half-boilers - along the sides behind them), and in early September - the main machines, which were tested on the mooring lines on August 10-19. Major-generals A. I. Sokolov, who were summoned to England, took part in these works. and Zarubin I. I. - the most experienced naval mechanical engineers.
On September 24, Livadia, driven by Pierce and the factory crew, left the shipyard pool and headed downriver to Greenock under a medium car; just in case, three tugs won it. On the same day, the ship entered the bay and easily reached 12 knots.
Tiedemann, the chief consultant, noted that the ship was well kept on course and, like a boat, obeyed the helm. The next day, factory tests were carried out. Several Russian officers were invited to the yacht, as well as 12 sailors from the crew assigned to the yacht. According to A. I. Sokolov. managed to develop a speed of 15 knots, while the wind was oncoming!
On the 26th, an official six-hour test took place for which Pierce invited the commission of the Naval Ministry, headed by Vice Admiral I. F. Likhachev. The average speed of "Livadia" was 14.88 knots with a capacity of 10.2 thousand liters. from.; due to the difference in the pitch of the screws, the machines worked with different numbers of revolutions: onboard at 84, average 90 revolutions per minute. Tiedemann noticed that during operation, the circulation radius of all three machines was "somewhat large", but he recognized this as insignificant, since there was the possibility of turning with the side screws "in a much smaller space." Tests of the yacht on a measured mile took place on September 27: according to the average data of 6 runs, the highest speed was 15.725 knots, and the power was 12354 horsepower. And this is provided that during the completion of the construction, the hull of the ship was somewhat overgrown and sat a little deeper than it was expected,due to the heavier interior decoration and superstructure. The draft was 2.1 meters, and the displacement was 4420 tons.
Calculations and experiments were confirmed. Everyone was happy. The firm was paid 2.7 million rubles, including 414 thousand rubles of bonuses. All European newspapers wrote about A. A. Popov. and Gulyaev E. V.
At the end of the tests, the Russian team moved to Livadia, which arrived in August from the Baltic Fleet (the staff was exceeded and consisted of 24 officers, 321 lower ranks). The yacht was accepted from the shipyard on September 30, and she immediately, raising the jack and pennant, began her campaign.
During the ferry to the Black Sea, it was planned to train the crew.
The trek until midnight on October 8 passed at a speed of about 12 knots under favorable conditions. The wind, which rose at night, quickly got stronger, and a strong head swell appeared. From two o'clock in the morning, the waves began to hit the bow of the pontoon - these blows, which were rare at first, became more frequent with an increase in wave height and increased wind. The stroke was forced to be reduced to 4 knots, but the blows did not stop. Reed, who was very restrained in his assessments, wrote: “the blows on the flat bottom were terrible at times …” I. K. Vogak reported the same thing in his report: "… one of the blows was especially strong, and made an impression on everyone as from a blow with a hard object …" At 10 o'clock in the morning it turned out that the first double bottom compartment was flooded; urgently had to change course and head to the port of Ferrol (Spain).
The height of the waves, according to eyewitnesses, reached 6-7 meters, the roll at the same time did not exceed 3.5 degrees aboard, and the pitching - 9 degrees in a span of 5.5 degrees in the bow and 3.5 degrees in the stern. The screws were not exposed. "Nothing fell on the ship" - said in the report of the commander: the high candelabra and table setting remained motionless as if it was calm, neither the water in the glasses, nor the soup in the bowls spilled.
How did the Livadia, led by experienced sailors, hit the very center of the storm, and at the same time walked against the wave? It is all the more incomprehensible when you consider that there were shipbuilders on board, who, even during the trials, hinted that the yacht was good "with not too big waves." As the captain of the second rank V. P. Verkhovsky, a member of the selection committee, noted, “the yacht was never intended for ocean navigation, and therefore the Black Sea is enough to judge its qualities … in any case, there is no reason to expose it to the daily effects of a severe storm even at the Black Sea. The greatest transition to Poti from Odessa … the yacht will easily make it at 30 - 35 hours, and there will be no urgent need to leave the port in the very storm …"
Reed refers to the admiral general, who believed that one should not miss the opportunity and "make a detailed test and therefore the yacht was sent to the very mouth of the Storm of Biscay." Verkhovsky also writes about this, but more diplomatically: "there were those who wanted to meet … the storm, they wanted us to be battered, so that the excitement and wind were stronger … and without this … a complete judgment about the qualities of the ship is impossible …". Whether the head of the voyage himself decided on such a "test" or was he advised and helped, remains unknown.
Divers in Ferrol Bay found on the left side in the bow of the pontoon a 5-meter-long dent with cracks and tears in the casing sheets, and broken and bent frames. One double bottom and five side compartments were flooded. The cause of the damage was initially believed to be a collision with debris, and a message was sent to the "Government Gazette", but after a more detailed examination, both foreign and Russian experts came to the conclusion that the damage was caused by waves!
The repair had to be carried out by the crew afloat under the guidance of the ship's mechanical engineers: the European docks could not accommodate the Livadia, and the Standfilskiy was just being refitted in Sevastopol.
Only seven and a half months later, the yacht left the Spanish port, continuing its voyage on April 26, 1881. Now the campaign was led by Vice-Admiral I. A. Shestakov. We walked carefully and unhurriedly, hiding from the bad weather in ports or under the shore. The Livadia entered the Sevastopol Bay on the morning of May 27. 3890 miles were covered in 381 running hours, while more than 2.9 thousand tons of coal were consumed. Shestakov I. A. in a special note he noted the ease of control, straightness of the course, lack of rolling and comfort. However, he stated that even with an insignificant swell, regardless of speed, "the pancake twitched from the blows to the cheekbones", and with the oncoming excitement "blows to the nose were very noticeable," while the superstructures vibrated. Despite this, the admiral considered a carefully and well-made yacht "worthy of existence"however … after testing "in different weather".
“Livadia”, while its fate was being determined, performed, as it turned out, its only voyage across the Black Sea. On May 29, under the flag of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, the yacht moved to Yalta and, having received the admiral-general and his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, went on board to Batum, from where she returned three days later. The passengers were unlucky: there was a storm and the superstructures were shaking from the impacts on the pontoon of the waves.
In mid-June, the yacht was raised at the Standfil dock. There she was examined by members of a commission appointed by Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, the new head of the naval department. Confirming the opinion that had developed back in Ferrol, the commission recognized that the damage was received from the impact of waves. The structure of the pontoon hull, especially in the bow, was considered unsatisfactory to resist such blows. The Marine Technical Committee agreed with these conclusions. It was ordered "for safe swimming" to replace all damaged parts with new ones with reinforcement in the bow of the set.
During the stay at the dock (three weeks), the underwater part of the pontoon was only cleaned of greenery and shells, and then painted. No repair work was carried out; only three planks were placed on the cracks in the sheathing sheets. By this time, the leadership of the ministry decided to conduct repeated sea trials according to a specially developed instruction.
On August 3–12, the yacht "Livadia" passed the measured mile near Sevastopol 136 times. In the process, 312 diagrams were taken, trim and draft were carefully kept constant. Before the test for maximum speed, the yacht was prepared for several days, but it was not possible to reach a speed of 15 knots. With the highest power developed by the machines (9837 horsepower), the average speed was 14.46 knots. Such an affront caused confusion in the ranks of the commission, and it came to the point that the builders were accused of deception. But a member of the commission, captain of the second rank G. A. Vlasyev. proved the inaccuracy of the test instructions, as well as the lack of appropriate skills of the machine team in maintaining the maximum steam output of the boilers. The Marine Technical Committee supported Vlasyev, also noting the poor quality of the coal used. The head of the Marine Ministry, drew attention to the fact thatthat the difference in the capacity values when testing in England and Russia reaches 2.5 thousand liters. with., and irritably noted that this fact "completely destroys any technical considerations and calculations in the design of new ships with a known task."
The yacht left for Nikolaev on August 15, where she was soon "disarmed". In September, her team was replaced by the Black Sea team and sent back to the Baltic. The property and furniture were slowly brought to the port warehouses; the ship was delicately referred to in the press as "a former … yacht."
The official conclusion about the weakness of the hull in the underwater part served as a verdict for the new type of vessel. However, this "weakness" was only a consequence of the main drawback: the heavy blows of the yacht's hull in waves, noted during all voyages, but manifested themselves with the greatest force in Biscay. It was this phenomenon, which later became known as “slaming”, that deprived the yacht “Livadia” of seaworthiness.
The inventor himself was one of the first to realize this. In May, in response to a note from Admiral IA Shestakov, he honestly admitted: “About this shortcoming … I can say that the shallow deepening of the yacht, due to the limited displacement, is an error that was not foreseen by me to the extent that affected in practice … ". Popov's letter to A. A. to the admiral-general it was said even more precisely: “the pitching of a yacht, resulting from a shallow depression and a flat bottom, produces a phenomenon that is not found on other ships in such dimensions as the structure of the yacht … during pitching at angles of more than 3 1/4 degrees in the stern, the bottom of the bow is exposed, which results in: complete destruction of buoyancy, which generates tension in the yacht hull attachment system; the impact of the bottom against the waves … so strong,that the convenience and safety of navigation is completely violated …"
When Alexander III ascended the throne, the era of round courts came to an end. The result of the reorganization of the naval department was Popov's removal from the "rounding off of domestic ship architecture."
Despite the generally unsuccessful experiment of Admiral Popov, shipbuilding all over the world gained invaluable experience based on the technical solutions of this designer. For example, the protection of the ship's hull with the help of watertight compartments was tested, as well as an increase in the underwater part of the ship, which later prompted the engineers to create boules - protruding linings on the sides.
