Although tempted to cover the I.R.N. with the same amount of detail with which I covered the U.S. Navy in The Courier # 72, the immensity of the subject matter has forced me to offer only enough information to allow the incorporation of the I.R.N. into wargames. Anyone interested in pursuing the subject further should look to the recommended reading list. I have been a fan of the I.R.N. since that day in 1966 when I discovered Richard Hough’s The Fleet That Had To Die in our tiny U.S. Army base library in Poitiers, France. In 1972, when my interest in the Age of Sail was rekindled by purchasing the Arneson, Gygax, and Carr rules Don’t Give Up The Ship, I naturally wanted to include my beloved Russians in the games, but information on the ship types was practically nonexistent. The Cold War was on, and very little information was coming out of the Soviet Union. By 1981, when my rules Beat to Quarters were ready to be published, things were not any better. I wanted to include the Russians, so I unwisely relied upon what turned out to be an erroneous source. This source didn’t provide much detail, but I used my knowledge of ships and guns of the period to interpolate a list of typical Russian warships. Years later, when correct information started coming out of Russia, I saw just how wrong my list had been. It’s of some consolation to find that I wasn’t alone; after Beat to Quarters was published, three sets of Age of Sails came out with identical data to that contained in my rules! This article is an attempt to make amends and provide gamers with a better picture of Russian vessels of the period. It should be noted that the lack of details about ships in the I.R.N. refers to blue water vessels. Information has always been available for the shallow-draft fleets. See Jane’s Imperial Russian Navy (page 100) for the Russians. The information on the Russian shallow-draft fleet in my rules, Beat to Quarters, was based upon this, so it is correct. I believe the information for the Swedish shallow-draft, or Army Fleet as it was called, can be found in R.C. Anderson’s Oared Fighting Ships. To begin any discussion of the I.R.N. the name of Tsar Peter the Great can’t be left out. It would be an understatement to say that he was the Father of the Imperial Russian Navy. Through Herculean efforts, he caused it to be built, equipped, manned and trained. By the end of his reign, from virtually nothing, Russia boasted a Baltic Fleet of 34 ships of the line, 9 frigates, supporting craft, and 25,000 officers and men. From Peter’s death in 1725 until Catherine the Great began her rule in 1762, the I.R.N. was in decline. Catherine did as much to rescue it and raise it to glory as Peter had done to create it. During her thirty-four year reign no less than 103 ships of the line and 90 frigates were built. Like Peter before her, she relied a great deal on foreign talent. Her officer corps, although mainly Russian, included quite a large number of Englishmen, Scots, and Irishmen who served her with distinction. By 1790 both of Russia’s traditional enemies, Sweden and Turkey, had been defeated, leaving the I.R.N. in a very strong strategic position. During the French Revolutionary War Russia sided with England and sent a squadron to cooperate against the French and Dutch. During the reign of Tsar Paul the I.R.N. was active in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, but by 1800 the erratic Paul turned against England and joined the Armed Neutrality of the North. His successor, Tsar Alexander I, began his reign as pro-British, but switched sides two more times before the end of the Napoleonic Wars. With all of the activity from 1788-1815 wargamers would not be at a loss as to choosing opponents for the Imperial Russian Navy. In the early years, the navy of any nation allied with France would be fair game, and by 1808 even the British could be their adversary. Flags The Russian naval ensign was just a reverse of the national flag of Scotland; a dark blue cross of St. Andrew on a white field. The Russian naval jack was obviously copied from the British Union jack; a white Greek cross on a red field, with a dark blue cross of St. Andrew, bordered by a white cross of St. Andrew. The ensign was flown from the peak on the mizzen mast, while the jack was flown on a jack-staff at the bow. By 1788 the jack was no longer flown at sea, due to changes in sail design. It was, however flown while at anchor. I would guess that the color of the commissioning pennants corresponded to the squadron or the division in which the vessel was in. Commissioning pennants were the very long, swallow-tailed banners flown from the top of the main mast by all ships of war. All Russian commissioning pennants had the blue cross of St. Andrew, in a white field, in the corner, but the remainder of the pennant would be either red, or white, or blue. If I am correct in assuming commissioning pennants followed the colors of the squadrons, then those of the main body, commanded by an admiral, would be white. Those of the van or second division would be blue and be commanded by a vice-admiral. The rear squadron or third division would wear red commissioning pennants and be commanded by a contre-admirial. Command flags consisted of the following: commodores, instead of the short swallow-tailed flag flown in all other navies, the Russians used a flag identical to a commissioning pennant, but the area after the naval ensign design was striped white, blue, and red in the fashion of the Russian merchant flag. Admiral’s flags consisted of a smaller version of the ensign flown on a mast. In the case of a rear admiral, the command flag would be in the form of the ensign, but with a red bar at the bottom of the flag. This flag would always be flown from the mizzen mast. The flag of a vice admiral would be identical to that of a rear admiral, but with a blue bar at the bottom of the flag. This would be flown from the fore mast. A full admiral would have a flag identical to the naval ensign, which he would fly from the main mast. The commodore’s pennant would always be flown from the main mast. There is some evidence to suggest that vessels within a squadron would fly a flag from the main mast to identify said vessel as part of a division or subgroup. Prior to 1797 the flag would probably have been blue for the second division and red for the third. It consisted of the naval ensign in the canton on either a blue or red field. From 1797-1801, this flag appears to have the naval jack in the canton with either a blue or red field. When these flags were flown the commissioning pennant would be flown below them. Officers The officer structure for the navy was as follows: admiral, vice-admiral, contre-admiral, captain-commodore, captain of the 1st rank, captain of the 2nd rank, captain-lieutenant, and chief officer (literally, over officer). Midshipman (mitchman), or an officer cadet, was classed as an NCO. Uniforms At the beginning of the era covered by this article Russian officer coats were white, collars cuffs, pants and vest dark green. Depending on rank, a certain amount of gold lace would be embroidered on the coat and vest for admirals, while other officers wore plain coats with the embroidery on their vests. In 1796 Tsar Paul decreed that the coats should be dark green with white collars and dark green cuffs. The trousers and vest were to be white. Like the navies of France and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, enlisted men were uniformed as well. By 1798 they were to wear a Dutch hat, dark green coat and trousers with seaman’s boots. Main Bases Kronstadt, near St. Petersburg, was the main Baltic base, with Reval another important base. Archangel, in the north, also served as a port for a squadron. The Black Sea Fleet was stationed at Sebastapol. Ships The larger warships corresponded exactly to those of other navies. In Peter the Great’s day they were originally built of pine, which rotted after about eight years. Later, oak was used, but the harsh climate was very hard on Russian ships. Most vessels were native- built, but a few were constructed, with Russian designs, in England. A handful of ships were captured from the Swedes and retained their original names. The Russian-built ships were reported to be slower than the norm. In 1790 51% of Russian ships of the line were of 66 guns. A couple of 60 and 62 gun ships appear in the fleet lists, but they were really just large frigates and should not be counted as ships of the line. At this time 36% of the line of battleships was made up of 74s and 10% of 100 gunners. 80 gun liners would make up the rest of the fleet. By 1801 41% of the line of battleships was made up of 66 gunners, while 74s made up 39%, 100 and 100+ gun ships making up 15%, and 80 gunners making up the remainder. By 1815 the percentage of 66 gunners in the fleet was down to 20%, with 74s accounting for 62%, ships of 80 or 80+ making up 5%, and those of 100 to 100+ making up 13%. Information about frigates and supporting craft is scant. Prior to 1796 the ships of the I.R.N. would have been painted in the same fashion as other navies, but Tsar Paul decreed that his ships would be black, trimmed with white. Owing to the fact that paintings of the era show U.S. Navy vessels still painted in black and yellow during the War of 1812, it’s interesting to see that the Russians were the first to adopt the color scheme we tend to think of as originally American. Crews Due to her small merchant marine, when compared with those of England and America during the period, Russia did not have a large pool of trained seamen to call upon in time of war. As in the Royal Navy, crews were mainly made up of conscripts. Discipline was as severe as in the British Navy. Pay was very poor; however, foreign officers were paid more because they were under contract. In 1788, when John Paul Jones took up his commission as a contre-admiral, he was paid 150 rubles; worth about $81.00 a month at the time. In comparison, in 1801, adding on an allowance for separate rations, a master-commandant in the U.S. Navy -- the rank between lieutenant and captain, was paid about $84.00 a month. Marines As in the Royal Navy, marines, actually naval infantry, served aboard ship during this period. A battalion of about 650 men was assigned to each of the squadrons in the Baltic Fleet Availability of 1/1200 Russian Ships As of this date (May 27, 2002) the only 66 gun vessel available in 1/1200 scale is made by Navwar Production, Ltd. The model is of the Pobiedonosets, which was built in 1778 and was still in commission by 1801. You may contact them directly, via the net, at www.navwar.freeserve.co.uk or you can pull up Scale Specialties, a U.S. distributor for Navwar, under www.ss-sms.com. Navwar charges two pounds and fifty pence for the model. If you buy it from Scale Specialties the price is $5.90. Neither of the prices reflect shipping costs. Regal Miniatures (www.regalminiatures.com) also distributes Navwar ships in the U.S., but their website doesn’t allow you to see the ships available or the prices, so I don’t know anything about them. My only problem with Navwar is that their sails come attached to the masts and don’t look as realistic as GHQ, Skytrex, or Langton Miniature vessels. The solution is to order masts from Langton Miniatures or Skytrex for a small ship of the line. You will have to drill larger holes in the deck than intended for the model, but they work well enough. The only other source of 1/1200 scale Russian ships is Skytrex, Ltd. You can actually order ships from them online. They will bill you in pounds sterling on your Visa or Mastercard, then airmail the ships to you. Skytrex ships have always been favorites of mine. Modelers Mart use to carry them under the name of Triton, then Mini-figs carried a few as well. Now, the only way to get the 1/1200 scale ships is to get them directly from England. They use to make two different 100 gun ships, two different 74 gun ships, and a 36 gun frigate. Sadly, they dropped the 100 ship Saratov (built in 1785) and the 74 Moscva (built in 1799). NS140 is the 74 Alexander Nevski. The real ship was built in 1787, so is perfect for the period of this article. It sells for three pounds and seventy-five pence. NS141 is the 36 gun frigate Vosmislav. It sells for three pounds and twenty-five pence. NS142 is the 100 gun ship Rostislav. There were two ships of around 100 guns with that name during the period. One was built in 1782, and was out of commission by 1805. The second was built in 1811, but was of 110 guns, so I’m assuming it is the earlier version they make, due to the package being marked as 100 guns. Both Navwar and Skytrex also make Swedish ships which are perfect for this period. And speaking of the Russo-Swedish Wars, Langton Miniatures (www.rodlangton.com) has just come out with a complete line of Russian and Swedish vessels for the shallow-draft fleets of both nations. Hopefully, by the time this article makes it into The Courier, there will be word of blue water vessels being available for both navies from Langton Miniatures. Rating the I.R.N. for wargaming There are virtually no nitty-gritty details available on which to judge the combat ability of Russian ships. Rather than guess, I was forced to base my conclusions on just two ship-to-ship encounters. After averaging them out, I came out with a gunnery factor of .4 for the Russians. With the British at 1.0, the Italian States at .38, and the Spanish at .32, that’s pretty average. As more information emerges, things may change. Orders of Battle 1790 Baltic Fleet: 45 ships of the line plus supporting craft Black Sea Fleet: 5 ships of the line plus supporting craft. For a very detailed breakdown of ship types and names, from 1788-1815, see Navy Lists From The Age Of Sail Vols. 1, 2, and 6 available from Caliver Books (www.caliver books.com) Recommended Reading List Anderson, R.C., Naval Wars in the Baltic During the Sailing Ship Epoch: 1522-1850. London, 1910. Anderson, R.C., Naval Wars in the Levant. Princeton, 1952. Chernashev, A.A., The Russian Sailing Fleet. Moscow, 1997. Dotsenko, V.C., The Russian Naval Uniform 1696-1917. St. Petersburg, 1994. Jane, Fred T., The Imperial Russian Navy. London, 1899 Lavery, Brian, Nelson’s Navy. London, 1989. Mitchell, Donald W., A History of Russian and Soviet Sea Power. New York, 1974. Morison, Samuel E., John Paul Jones: A Sailor’s Biography Sapherson, C.A. & Lenton, J.R., Navy Lists from the Age of Sail- vols. 1,2, and 6. Leeds, 1990. Von Pivka, Otto. Navies of the Napoleonic Era. New York, 1980. Woodward, David. The Russians at Sea. London, 1965. 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