Early Minelayers

[Brian James]

Crew of the Russian Minelayer Prut pictured c1912.

[designeraccd]

Here is the PRUT.......... DFO

[Brian James]

The world's first purpose built Minelayer...One of a Class of two...Amur Class Minelayer IRN Yenisei pictured in dry dock at Port Arthur c1899.

[designeraccd]

Smoking along! YENISEY..............and a stern view of lead ship, AMUR, showing mine doors.

From WIKI:
"The Amur-class minelayers were designed to drop their mines while at high speed and were given a pronounced, overhanging, stern that allowed the mines to be dropped behind the propellers through doors in the stern. Each door was served by a rail that led directly to the mine storage compartments.

The Amur-class ships were 300 feet (91.4 m) long at the waterline; they had a beam of 41 feet (12.5 m) and a draft of 18 feet (5.5 m). They had two pole masts and a ram bow.[1]

The ships had two vertical triple expansion steam engines, each powering one propeller. Twelve Belleville water-tube boilers provided steam. The engines were designed to produce a total of 4,700 indicated horsepower (3,500 kW) and gave the ship a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). They carried 400 long tons (406 t) of coal that provided a range of 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[3]

The main armament of the Amur-class ships consisted of five 75-millimeter (3.0 in) Canet Pattern 1892 50-caliber guns.[3] The gun fired 10.8-pound (4.9 kg) shells to a range of about 8,600 yards (7,864 m) at its maximum elevation of 21° with a muzzle velocity of 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s). The rate of fire was between twelve and fifteen rounds per minute.[4] The ships also mounted seven 47-millimeter (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns.[3] They fired a 3.3-pound (1.5 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,476 ft/s (450 m/s) at a rate of 20 rounds per minute to a range of 2,020 yards (1,850 m).[5] The Amur-class ships mounted one 15-inch (381 mm) torpedo tube and carried 300 mines."

Both were built in St. Petersberg. DFO