Imperator Nikolai I

13.3

Imperator Nikolai I

Battleship | U.S.S.R. | Tier IV

Tech Tree Position

General

Purchase priceSpecial

Hit Points44,800

Main Battery

305 mm/52 Model 1907 in a Metal Works Plant turret4 х 3 pcs.

Rate of Fire1.67 shots/min.

Reload Time36 sec.

Rotation Speed3.2 deg./sec.

180 Degree Turn Time56.25 sec.

Firing Range14.1 km.

Maximum Dispersion201 m.

HE Shell305 mm HE Model 1911

Maximum HE Shell Damage4,500

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell33 %

Initial HE Shell Velocity762 m./s.

HE Shell Weight470.9 kg.

AP Shell305 mm AP Model 1911

Maximum AP Shell Damage8,600

Initial AP Shell Velocity762 m./s.

AP Shell Weight470.9 kg.

Secondary Armament #1

130 mm/55 Model 1913 on an Obukhov Plant mounting20 х 1 pcs.

Firing Range4 km.

Rate of Fire5 shots/min.

Reload Time12 sec.

HE Shell130 mm HE Model 1911

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,900

Initial HE Shell Velocity823 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell9 %

AA Defense

7.62 mm Maxim machine gun4 х 1 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second6.8

. . . Firing Range0.99 km.

63 mm Model 19162 х 1 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second2

. . . Firing Range3 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed21 knot

Turning Circle Radius660 m.

Rudder Shift Time12.8 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range12.4 km.

Air Detectability Range8.33 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

13.3

Imperator Nikolai I

Battleship | U.S.S.R. | Tier IV

Tech Tree Position

General

Purchase priceSpecial

Hit Points44,800

Main Battery

305 mm/52 Model 1907 in a Metal Works Plant turret4 х 3 pcs.

Rate of Fire1.67 shots/min.

Reload Time36 sec.

Rotation Speed3.2 deg./sec.

180 Degree Turn Time56.25 sec.

Firing Range14.1 km.

Maximum Dispersion201 m.

HE Shell305 mm HE Model 1911

Maximum HE Shell Damage4,500

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell33 %

Initial HE Shell Velocity762 m./s.

HE Shell Weight470.9 kg.

AP Shell305 mm AP Model 1911

Maximum AP Shell Damage8,600

Initial AP Shell Velocity762 m./s.

AP Shell Weight470.9 kg.

Secondary Armament #1

130 mm/55 Model 1913 on an Obukhov Plant mounting20 х 1 pcs.

Firing Range4 km.

Rate of Fire5 shots/min.

Reload Time12 sec.

HE Shell130 mm HE Model 1911

Maximum HE Shell Damage1,900

Initial HE Shell Velocity823 m./s.

Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell9 %

AA Defense

7.62 mm Maxim machine gun4 х 1 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second6.8

. . . Firing Range0.99 km.

63 mm Model 19162 х 1 pcs.

. . . Average Damage per Second2

. . . Firing Range3 km.

Maneuverability

Maximum Speed21 knot

Turning Circle Radius660 m.

Rudder Shift Time12.8 sec.

Concealment

Surface Detectability Range12.4 km.

Air Detectability Range8.33 km.

Battle Levels

12345678910

IV

Special

Imperator Nikolai I — Soviet special premium Tier IV battleship.

The last battleship laid down for the Imperial Russian Navy. Developed from the Imperatritsa Mariya-class battleships, she inherited high firepower from her predecessors. Experience gained in building early Russian dreadnoughts helped to significantly reinforce the ship's armor which received an advanced arrangement.

Modules

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Dispersion (m)	Maximum HE Shell Damage (HP)	Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell (%)	Maximum AP Shell Damage (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
305 mm/52 Model 1907 in a Metal Works Plant turret	1.7	56.3	201	4,500	33	8,600		0	0

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Imperator Nikolai I	44,800	13	400	4	20	4/2				0	0

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
GFCS IV mod. 1		0		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 30,000 hp	21		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2

Player Opinion

Performance

Imperator Nikolai I is basically a Wyoming that lacks AA in exchange for increased main battery accuracy. The dispersion of the guns despite having 3 barrels is about the same as Wyoming, meaning more accurate guns. However, Nikolai loses easily to destroyers and aircraft due to bad maneuverability, bad AA and the agonizing reload time of the guns. Nikolai also has a very large citadel that extends up to the bottom of the secondary gun batteries. In exchange, she has easy time with cruiser HE.

LittleWhiteMouse's Premium Ship Review: Imperator Nikolai I from the NA forums

Pros:

• Twelve 12-inch guns to use against any threat.
• Powerful secondary batteries.
• Armor is more than enough to shrug off other 12-inch shells and most HE shells.
• Accurate triple-barreled gun turrets.

Cons:

• Almost nonexistent AA, expect to be a target for planes.
• Lacking speed and agility.
• While the armor is good for lower tiers, it fails to protect against larger caliber guns.
• Reload time of the guns is slow, 35 seconds to be exact.
• Torpedo protection is poor, making you an easy target for destroyers.
• Large citadel (even if it is hard to damage).

Research

As a premium ship, Imperator Nikolai I doesn't have any upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

Commander Skills

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Endurance		Attack		Support		Versatility
1	Priority Target Situational Awareness indicator will show the number of opponents currently aiming at you with main battery guns. ★★★	Preventative Maintenance -30% to the risk of incapacitation of main turrets, torpedo tubes, steering gear, engines. ★★	Expert Loader -50% to reload time when shell type is switched. ★	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time.	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to carrier fighter squadrons or catapult fighters.	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time.	Incoming Fire Alert Indicator of long-range enemy artillery fire. ★	Last Gasp Completely restores the engine boost for the last attack flight of the carrier's planes.
2	High Alert -10% to reload time of Damage Control Party consumable. ★★★	Jack of All Trades -5% to reload time of all consumables.	Expert Marksman +2.5 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber up to 139mm. +0.7 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber above 139mm. ★★★	Torpedo Acceleration +5 knots to torpedo speed. -20% to torpedo range.	Smoke Screen Expert +20% to the radius of the smoke screen.	Improved Engines +2.5% Squadron speed.	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% to reload times of all types of armament for each 1% of total health lost. +0.2% squadron speed for each 1% of total health lost. ★★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated. ★
3	Basics of Survivability -15% to time of repair, fire extinguishing, and recovery from flooding. ★★★	Survivability Expert +350 ship HP for each ship tier. +15 aircraft HP for each ship tier.	Torpedo Armament Expertise -10% to reload time of torpedo tubes.	Aircraft Armor Reduces continuous damage to aircraft in all AA defense zones. -10% continuous damage.	Basic Firing Training -10% to reload time of main battery guns with a caliber up to and including 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +10% to continuous damage from AA guns. ★	Superintendent +1 additional charge to all consumables mounted on a ship. ★★	Demolition Expert +2% chance of HE shells causing a fire on target. +1% chance of rockets causing a fire on target. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire on target.	Vigilance +25% to detection range of enemy torpedoes. ★★
4	Manual Fire Control for Secondary Armament Tightens dispersion of shells from secondary batteries. -15% for Tier I-VI ships. -60% for Tier VII-X ships. Manually selected target only.	Fire Prevention -10% to the risk of fire. The maximum number of fires on a ship is reduced to three. ★★★	Inertia Fuse for HE Shells +30% to the armor penetration capacity of HE shells. -1% chance of fire on target caused by shells <=139mm. -3% chance of fire on target caused by shells >139mm.	Sight Stabilization Speeds up the aiming of a carrier's aircraft. +5% attack aircraft aiming speed. +5% torpedo bomber aiming speed. +10% dive bomber aiming speed.	Advanced Firing Training +20% to firing range of main battery guns with a caliber up to 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +15% damage/sec. within the explosion radius of shells fired from long-range AA defenses. ★	Massive AA Fire Instantaneous Damage +100%. Priority AA sector cooldown +50%.	Radio Position Finding Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken.	Concealment Expert -10% to the detection radius of all ships and aircraft. ★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful       ★★ - Frequently Useful       ★ - Occasionally Useful      No stars - Meh     Χ - Not recommended

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Imperator Nikolai I comes included with Type 9 camouflage that lowers her detection radius, reduces the accuracy of incoming shells, and increases the amount of experience she earns.

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Juliet Charlie -100% to the risk of magazine detonation. ★	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration.	India Yankee -20% to fire duration. ★★	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy.	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding.	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating.
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating. ★	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time. ★★	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts.	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed. ★★	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables. ★★	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used. ★★★
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator .	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire .

Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.

Gallery

Historical Info

Imperator Nikolai I, 1916

Construction

Builder: ONZiV

Nikolayev, Russian Empire (later Mykolaiv, Ukraine, later USSR, later Ukraine)

Laid down: 15th April 1915

Launched: 5th October 1916

Commissioned: Never Completed

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Specifications

displacement: 27,830 tons, standard

182m length

29m beam

9m draft

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Machinery

20 Yarrow small-tube boilers, four Parsons turbine sets

3,557 tons of coal, 150 tons of oil

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Performance

21 knots at 29,700 shaft horsepower

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Armor

Main belt: 270mm, thinning to 100mm forward and 175mm aft

Transverse Bulkheads: 25-50mm forward, 300-150mm aft

Main Deck: 35-63mm

Conning tower: 400mm side, 250mm roof

Turrets and Barbettes: 300mm turrets, 300mm barbettes

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Armament

Main

Twelve (4x3) 305mm/52 Pattern 1907 guns

Secondary

Twenty (20x1) 130mm/44 Pattern 1913 guns

Anti-Aircraft

Four (4x1) 63mm/38 Pattern 1916 guns

Four (4x1) 7.6 2mm Maxim machine guns

Torpedoes

Four (4x1) 450mm Model 1910 torpedoes

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Complement

Unknown

Design

The three dreadnoughts of the Imperatritsa Mariya-class initially seemed sufficient to counter the threat of the two Turkish super-dreadnoughts ordered in Britain in Early 1911, more so after one was cancelled following the Balkan Wars and the Ottoman Empire’s finance was in a precarious situation. Come 1913 however, the Turkish had secured the Brazilian battleship Rio de Janeiro, renaming her Sultan Osman I, also expressing interest in two Argentine battleships under construction in the USA and two Chilean battleships under construction in Britain, and the possibilities of Turkey buying a German battlecruiser. Come 1913 however, one thing was certain; The three Russian Imperatritsa Mariyas armed with 12” guns would be facing three Turkish battleships, two of them carrying 13.5” guns.

Expansion of the Black Sea Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy was quickly put into action, calling for the construction of six submarines, eight destroyers, two cruisers, and a fourth Black Sea battleship. Several initial designs including a repeated fourth Imperatritsa Mariya with twelve 12” guns, an Imperatritsa Mariya based design with eight 14” guns, and an entirely new design with ten to twelve 14” guns. As speed was of the essence, and Russian gunnery doctrine dictated that capital ships have 12 guns for good fire control, and the fact that this new battleship would need to be able to work with her older half-sisters, it was decided by January 1914 that the new Black Sea battleship would retain the same base design as the preceding Imperatritsa Mariyas, with heavier armor being the primary upgrade.

With this new design being based so heavily on the pre-existing Imperatritsa Mariya design, and being built by the ONZiV shipyard which was then constructing Imperatritsa Mariya-class battleship Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya, the fourth Black Sea battleship named Imperator Nikolai I (sometimes confused as Ioann Groznyi or even Imperatritsa Elizaveta) was developed incredibly quickly, as many features of the ship simply repeated designs of the previous Imperatritsa Mariya, including the usage of the same propulsion plant as Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya in an effort to get the ship built as quickly as possible. After her design was finalized in January 1914, she was laid down six months later in late June; following Ekaterina’s launch earlier that month.

With her design finalized, Imperator Nikolai I took the general shape of an enlarged Imperatritsa Mariya, with some peculiarities. One peculiarity of note was her ice-breaking bow; something unnecessary on Black Sea battleships and absent on the other three Russian battleships of the Black Sea, perhaps hoping that the Black Sea fleet may one day operate outside the confines of the inland sea. She retained the same general shape as the other Black Sea battleships, with a smokestack behind the main bridge and one amidships, and the same main turret and secondary layout. What stood out the most was her raised forecastle; the Imperatritsa Mariyas trimmed by the bow, so Nikolai’s design was modified to abate this; but the added weight of the taller barbette for the A turret may have only increased her trim problems.

The primary improvement of Imperator Nikolai I was her armor. Designed to be protected by nearly 9,500 tons versus the Imperatritsa’s 6,900 tons, Nikolai’s increased size was since Russian armor mills were unable to manufacture belt armor plate thicker than 273mm, meaning that to substantially increase the ship’s horizontal protection, the only route was to increase the thickness of the longitudinal bulkhead behind the main belt. Behind the main 270mm armor belt was a 75mm longitudinal bulkhead set 3 to 4.5m back from the outer side. While this lead to Nikolai being over 20 meters longer and 2.5 meters wider than her half-sisters, this thicker bulkhead allowed face-hardened plate to be used, with calculations showing that this would have increased the ship’s broadside protection by as much as 40%. However, like all Russian dreadnoughts, Nikolai lacked proper side-protection systems against underwater explosions; making the ships vulnerable to the more and more powerful torpedoes coming into service during World War I.

Imperator Nikolai I’s main armament was twelve 305mm/52 guns in four triple turrets, mounted in the typical Russian linear fashion along the centerline. They were arranged in the same pattern as the preceding Imperatritsas, with three facing forward and the rearmost facing aft. These guns were the same guns mounted on both the Imperatritsas of the Black Sea and the Ganguts of the Baltic, as new 14” guns that were intended for the Izmail-class Baltic Battlecruisers would take several more years to complete for Nikolai I. Her secondary armament was identical to her Black Sea half-sisters, carrying 20 130mm/55 secondaries in the same arrangement as her predecessors. For her AA armament, she was loaded with four semi-automatic 63mm/38 semi-automatic AA guns, a model considered largely unsuccessful and quickly taken out of service; there were plans to replace these with new 102mm/37 guns in 1917, but these – like the ship itself – never came to fruition. She was to carry 4 47mm saluting guns, and four 7.62mm machine guns. Finally, she had four 450mm underwater torpedo tubes, with a pair on each broadside.

Service History

The Naval General Staff had hoped that Imperator Nikolai I would be launched come October 1915, and be ready for service by the Summer of 1917. The outbreak of World War I threw a spanner in the works, but not in an entirely negative way. Construction continued at the previous pace, as it was believed that the war would be short and the ship would likely not be needed until afterwards. Even the seizing of the three Turkish battleships being built in the UK did not slow construction down; but soon things changed. As the war started to grow long, urgent war production began to slow the feed of materials to Nikolai, with workers being transferred to finish Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaia and begin construction of badly-needed destroyers. By 1916, construction had slowed down considerably, but Imperator Nikolai I was finally launched come October of 1916.

Following slight modifications to her design based on wartime experiences, work was still ongoing, with hopes that she’d be completed within 18 months. The February Revolution of 1917 quickly changed this. Come April of 1917 her hulk was renamed Demokratiya; by this time the hulk was about 60% completed, with her horizontal armor and barbettes in the final stages of completion. Work slowed to a crawl over 1917, until finally the provisional government ceased all work on the ship until “a more favorable time” by October 1917. As Russia internally fell apart, the Russian Army collapsed to the German-Austrian offensives of Spring 1918, with the Central Powers reaching the shipyard Demokratiya rested in. The occupying forces made no changes, nor had any plans to complete the ship that lay in the port of Nikolaev. Come 1923, the new Soviet government inspected the incomplete Tsarist capital ships, Demokratiya among them. Her hulk had sat afloat but uncared for for five years, rusting away in Nikolaev. She was considered too slow for modern operations, and would be too costly to properly modernize, and after discussions dragged on until 1927, where it was finally decided upon that her hulk would be scrapped, slowly being dismantled in Sevastopol until she finally disappeared in 1928.

Historical Gallery

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  Plan and side views

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  Imperator Nikolai I under construction

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