Galleys of the Azov fleet

In 1695, 32 rowing galleys were ordered in Holland ^[1] , which were intended for walking along the Volga and the Caspian Sea . Galera was delivered to Russia in parts. Together with her came a master who was supposed to help assemble her according to the model.

At this point, important political events took place ^[2] . The failed first Azov campaign showed that for the capture of Azov it was necessary to build a navy. The village of Preobrazhenskoe was chosen as the place of its construction. Therefore, the galley that arrived from Holland began to be used as a model for the construction of galleys of the first regular Russian navy. By February 1696, parts of 26 galleys were built from damp, frozen forest.

Carpenters for the construction of these galleys were recruited throughout Russia ^[2] . Most of them were from the Volga. The royal gallery was built by 27 carpenters under the leadership of Osip Shchepka from Vologda . Carpenters from Arkhangelsk , Nizhny Novgorod and others also worked at the shipyard. Among them were the Dutch, who were discharged from abroad by a foreign merchant Hartmann, who lives in Moscow .

At the end of February 1696, parts of the Dutch and 26 Russian galleys were sent from Preobrazhensky to Voronezh along with boards, logs and other building material. And already in March 1696 in Voronezh, their assembly and construction began. It was found that in the Voronezh forests there is no ash and elm suitable for galley oars.

By April 1696, the first regular Russian Navy was built in Voronezh. In addition to 23 galleys, it had 2 ships ^[3] , 4 firewalls and hard labor .

On May 3, 1696, a detachment of 8 galleys headed by Peter I ^[4] , which was located at the Principium gallery, set off from Voronezh to Azov. During this campaign, the tsar drew up the first charter of the Russian Navy - “Decree on the Galleys”. In this document, he established the rules for transmitting signals given by the squadron chief, as well as the requirements for captains. The decree signaled that signals could be given by shots, drumming, flags, and at night - by flashlights. According to the "Charter on galleys" captains were obliged to act together. They were forbidden to leave each other, especially in battle: "... if in battle whoever leaves his comrade ... punish such a death ..."

The constructed galleys differed little from the galleys of their time ^[2] . Their length was from 125 to 160 feet, and their width was from 18 to 36 feet. There were two masts on the galleys - the mainsail and the foresail. If necessary, they were removed. Latin sails had two sets - large and small, which were used depending on the strength of the wind. Among 6 four-legged anchors, 2 were located on the bow, 2 at the stern and 2 were spare. The artillery was on the nose and consisted of four 8-pound and one 36-pound guns.

• Army fleet

• Voronezh shipbuilding: index of literature / Comp.: E.P. Grishina, T.P. Semenova. - Voronezh: Publishing house of the Voronezh State University, 1996. - 120 p. - ISBN 5-7455-0901-5 .
• Elagin S.I. History of the Russian fleet. Azov period = printed on a photocopy of the 1864 edition. - Voronezh: Center.-Chernozem. book, 1997 .-- 533 p. - ISBN 5-7458-0633-8 .
• Rastorguev V.I. Voronezh - the birthplace of the first Admiralty. - Voronezh: Publishing house of the Voronezh State University, 2007. - 533 p. - ISBN 978-5-9273-1170-5 . (Scientific editor - Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor N. A. Dushkova, author of the book is Captain 1st Rank, Head of the Naval Department of the Military Commissariat of the Voronezh Region)
• Rastorguev V.I. Voronezh - Homeland of the Russian Navy. - Voronezh: Publishing house of the Voronezh State University, 2002. - 479 p. - ISBN 5-9273-0335-8 .