[xoxoxoBruce]

The circle is an amazing shape. It encompasses the maximum area at minimum perimeter. Popov argued that the circular design would offer the greatest displacement of water (because of its large area) while requiring the least amount of armor (because of its shorter hull). This meant that the ship could carry larger and heavier guns while exposing only a sliver of its hull to direct fire at any point. Any shell striking the hull off its center would have the brunt of its impact deflected away. The flat bottom would ensure that the keel is not too deep in the water, allowing the ship to patrol the shallow waters of the Dniepr River and the Kerch Straits. It was perfect.

Popov and his assistants were soon busy working out various designs and dimensions. The General-Admiral wanted the biggest ship Popov could design with a diameter of 150 feet and displacement of 6,000 tons, but when the cost was worked out it exceeded the total budget of the entire program. Popov then designed a scaled down version, with a diameter of one hundred feet and displacement of 2,490 tons. The ship was armed with two 11-inch guns placed on a turntable at the center of the ship. Six steam engines each driving one propeller provided power to the ship, which gave her a modest speed of around 6.5 knots. She was named Novgorod and was launched in 1873.

The biggest problem with the hull’s circular shape was that it greatly reduced the rudder’s ability to turn the ship, requiring so much as 40 to 45 minutes to make one full circle. This made the ship almost unsteerable in a severe storm. The blunt hull also increased the drag, forcing the engines to consume prodigious amount of coal which gave her a range of only 480 nautical miles (890 km) at full speed. The problem with the rudder was solved by making the rudder fixed and using the propellers instead to turn the ship, at the cost of further reduction in speed.

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? Me too, too bad this one didn’t.

In reality, it was the ship’s lack of speed and maneuverability that saw Novgorod and her sister ship, the slightly larger Vitse-admiral Popov, relegated to the rank of floating forts to watch over the coasts. An attempt was made to sell them to Bulgaria, but when they turned it down, both ships were scrapped in 1911.

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