View non-flash version
April 2011www.sname.org/sname/mt (historical note) Alexander II. On March 30, 1856, the Treaty of Paris ended the Crimean War. Mr. Webb promptly sent a letter to the Russian author- ities, inquiring whether he should resume construction of the large frigate. A month later the Russians replied by announcing the departure of a contingent of ocers to over- see construction at Webbs shipyard, headed by Captain Ivan Shestakov who, before the Crimean War, had been posted to England to inspect warships being constructed for Russia. Shestakov was an aide-de-camp to the General Admiral of the navy, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, and as a member of the steamship committee, Shestakov had contributed to plans for 75 screw gunboats and 17 screw corvettes. He was both a knowl- edgeable shipbuilder and buyer, and was very well connected politically. Webb immediately began work on the corvette Japanese , Webb hull 116. Webb designed and constructed Japanese during the same time as the well-known rst steam- ship for the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, Harriett Lane . Japanese was 37 ft. longer than Harriet Lane and more than twice the tonnage, but the ships shared similar lines and were launched the same week in 1857. Japanese became an important new asset for the Russian Pacic eet, which had lost sev- eral of its vessels during the Crimean War. At the same time Webb constructed Japanese , he also resumed work on the large Russian frigate, hull 90. He laid the keel in August 1857, and set the sternpost at a celebration on Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevichs birthday, as the ship was to be named General Admiral . Webb per- suaded the Russian naval authorities to modify the design from a 90 gun ship-of- the-line to a 74 gun ship tted with larger and more powerful guns, including two advanced 10-inch Dahlgren guns from the United States, and Shestakov contributed a number of suggestions for significant improvements to the design. Shestakov was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir for his role in design and construction of the frigate. General Admiral was among the larg- est steam warships of its time, and one of U I F N P T U D P T U M Z B U B Q S J D F P G N P S F U I B O million. e United States Navy only had one larger steamship, USS Niagara , built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Shestakov com- manded General Admiral and a squadron of ships o the coast of Syria from 1860 to 1862, and General Admiral continued to serve in the eastern Mediterranean until 1867. Long-term rami?cations e Russian ships were the rst but not last of Webbs foreign military sales. Webb made a marketing swing through Germany and Italy on his way home from Russia and came to a verbal agreement to build two large iron- clads with Count Camillo Cavour, the Prime Minister of the newly-formed Kingdom of Italy. As a result of this agreement, Webb built the warships Re dItalia (1863) and Re Don Luigi di Portogallo (1864). In addition, Webbs large ironclad for the United States Navy, Dunderberg , was subsequently sold to France following the U.S. Civil War. Foreign military sales also influence careers. Shestakov was promoted to rear admiral in 1861, and in 1863 he became a member of the Science & Shipbuilding Committee in Saint Petersburg, eventually TABLE . WILLIAM H. WEBBS RUSSIAN SHIPS ASTORIA, ALEXANDER IIAMERICAJAPANESEGENERAL ADMIRAL Webb hull number 969911690 Type Screw steamship; bark Sidewheel steamship; barkSteam corvetteSteam frigate Delivery 1855185518581859 End of service 18961883Unknown1870 Service Russia-America fur trade Diplomatic corps, Europe, North Sea and Baltic Sea; Amur River Far east ?eet, Amur RiverMediterranean Sea Tonnage, reg 42854415306000 LOA160 ft. 0 in.170 ft. 6 in.217 ft. 0 in.313 ft. 7 in. Beam24 ft. 6 in.27 ft. 6 in.36 ft. 8 in.54 ft. 6 in. Hold depth 12 ft. 0 in.12 ft. 2 in.17 ft. 6 in.33 ft. 7 in. Draft, ready for sea 11 ft. 9 in.10 ft. 7 in.12 ft. 9 in.22 ft. 9 in. EngineSingle engine, two cylinders, each 26 in. diameter x 26 in. stroke; engines inverted above crankshaft Single engine, oscillating type, two cylinders, each 45 in. diameter x 60 in. stroke Novelty Iron Works: Single engine, oscillating type, two cylinders, each 51 in. diameter x 36 in. stroke, 12 ft. 6 in. diameter propeller Novelty Iron Works: Two back-acting engines, each engine single cylinder, 84 in. diameter x 45 in. stroke, single shaft, 19 in. diameter screw propeller Boilers1126 Armament N/AN/A14 guns74 guns Data source: Edwin L. Dunbaugh and William duBarry Thomas, William H. Webb: Shipbuilder (Webb Institute, Glen Cove, New York, 1989)