Book Review of
The Russian Cruiser Askold
Author: Aliaksandr Sukhanevich
Kagero Super Drawings in 3D no. 16085
ISBN: 978-83-66673-76-2
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $37.95
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $37.95
Askold (Russian: Аскольд) was a protected cruiser built for the Imperial Russian Navy. She was named after the legendary Varangian Askold. Her thin, narrow hull and maximum speed of 23.8 knots (44.1 km/h) were considered impressive for the time.
Askold had five thin funnels which gave it a unique silhouette for any vessel in the Imperial Russian Navy. This led British sailors to nickname her Packet of Woodbines after the thin cigarettes popular at the time. However, the five funnels also had a symbolic importance, as it was popularly considered that the number of funnels was indicative of performance, and some navies were known to add extra fake funnels to impress dignitaries in less advanced countries.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Name: Askold (Аскольд)
Namesake: Askold
Builder: Germaniawerft, Kiel, German Empire
Laid down: 8 June 1899
Launched: 15 March 1900
Commissioned: 25 January 1902
In service: 1902
Out of service: 1917
Renamed: 1918
Fate: Scrapped, 1922
Type: Protected cruiser
Displacement: 5,910 t (5,820 long tons) (full load)
Length: 132.5 m (434 ft 9 in)
Beam: 15 m (49 ft 3 in)
Draught: 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in)
Installed power: 9 Schultz-Thorneycroft boilers of 19,650 indicated horsepower (14,650 kW)
Propulsion: 3 shaft triple-expansion steam engines
Speed: 23.8 knots (44.1 km/h; 27.4 mph)
Range: 6,500 nautical miles (12,038 km; 7,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 580 officers and crewmen
Armament: 12 - 6-inch (152 mm) Canet guns, 12 - 75-millimetre (3 in) Canet guns, 8 - 47-millimetre (2 in) Hotchkiss rapid-fire guns, 2 - 37-millimetre (1 in) Hotchkiss guns, 2 – 7.62 mm Maxim machine guns, 6 - 15-inch (381 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour: Krupp armour
Sloping deck: 2–4-inch (51–102 mm)
Conning tower: 6-inch (152 mm)
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-bound of 74 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format. It comes in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
The cover art shows a color illustration of the Askold posed against an all navy-blue background.
The cruiser has a white hull over a red water line bottom, tan smoke stacks with black tops.
The back cover has another color illustration of the cruiser as a stern view.
The book contains 135 color illustrations. Most of them are of the walk-around type, that shows every inch of the Askold’s anatomy. Plus illustrations of its steam boat, motor boats, 8in Canet guns, Maxim 37mm automatic cannon and 47mm Hotchkiss cannon.
The last page of the book shows 9 black and white cover arts of other Kagero Naval books.
There is a folded sheet in the book that has line drawings on it. It is printed on both sides in 18” x 27” format, folded 4 times to fit the book.
The face side has a 1/200th scale line drawings on it of the port and starboard sides and top of the Askold.
The reverse side shows line drawings of various areas of the Askold’s anatomy, weapons and boats, also in 1/200th scale.
This book will be of great interest to naval historians. However, I find no kits of this cruiser listed on the web, sorry modelers.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Askold had five thin funnels which gave it a unique silhouette for any vessel in the Imperial Russian Navy. This led British sailors to nickname her Packet of Woodbines after the thin cigarettes popular at the time. However, the five funnels also had a symbolic importance, as it was popularly considered that the number of funnels was indicative of performance, and some navies were known to add extra fake funnels to impress dignitaries in less advanced countries.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Name: Askold (Аскольд)
Namesake: Askold
Builder: Germaniawerft, Kiel, German Empire
Laid down: 8 June 1899
Launched: 15 March 1900
Commissioned: 25 January 1902
In service: 1902
Out of service: 1917
Renamed: 1918
Fate: Scrapped, 1922
Type: Protected cruiser
Displacement: 5,910 t (5,820 long tons) (full load)
Length: 132.5 m (434 ft 9 in)
Beam: 15 m (49 ft 3 in)
Draught: 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in)
Installed power: 9 Schultz-Thorneycroft boilers of 19,650 indicated horsepower (14,650 kW)
Propulsion: 3 shaft triple-expansion steam engines
Speed: 23.8 knots (44.1 km/h; 27.4 mph)
Range: 6,500 nautical miles (12,038 km; 7,480 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 580 officers and crewmen
Armament: 12 - 6-inch (152 mm) Canet guns, 12 - 75-millimetre (3 in) Canet guns, 8 - 47-millimetre (2 in) Hotchkiss rapid-fire guns, 2 - 37-millimetre (1 in) Hotchkiss guns, 2 – 7.62 mm Maxim machine guns, 6 - 15-inch (381 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour: Krupp armour
Sloping deck: 2–4-inch (51–102 mm)
Conning tower: 6-inch (152 mm)
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-bound of 74 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format. It comes in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
The cover art shows a color illustration of the Askold posed against an all navy-blue background.
The cruiser has a white hull over a red water line bottom, tan smoke stacks with black tops.
The back cover has another color illustration of the cruiser as a stern view.
The book contains 135 color illustrations. Most of them are of the walk-around type, that shows every inch of the Askold’s anatomy. Plus illustrations of its steam boat, motor boats, 8in Canet guns, Maxim 37mm automatic cannon and 47mm Hotchkiss cannon.
The last page of the book shows 9 black and white cover arts of other Kagero Naval books.
There is a folded sheet in the book that has line drawings on it. It is printed on both sides in 18” x 27” format, folded 4 times to fit the book.
The face side has a 1/200th scale line drawings on it of the port and starboard sides and top of the Askold.
The reverse side shows line drawings of various areas of the Askold’s anatomy, weapons and boats, also in 1/200th scale.
This book will be of great interest to naval historians. However, I find no kits of this cruiser listed on the web, sorry modelers.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.