Nikolai I

Ballistics

Armor Model

Overview

Before World War I, the Ottoman Empire ordered two battleships with 343 mm guns from Great Britain and planned to acquire one more. To prevent the Turkish fleet from gaining an advantage over the Russian Black Sea Fleet, in June 1914, a fourth Black Sea dreadnought was laid down in Nikolayev, named 'Emperor Nicholas I.' Initially, the ship was to be armed with 356 mm guns, but after Great Britain confiscated the Turkish battleships, the caliber was revised in favor of 305 mm to accelerate construction. The freed-up displacement was used to enhance armor protection, which ultimately was no worse than that of the under-construction battleships of the 'Izmail' class. In October 1916, the ship was launched, but by 1917, construction was halted due to the lack of machinery and equipment.