''Kamchatka'' was a three-masted

steam frigate Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. The first such ships were paddle stea ...

of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

. She was built in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1841 for the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

Description

The mechanical installation of the ship consisted of two steam engines with cylinders with a diameter of . The largest diameter of the paddle wheels was , the length of the blades - , width - . The engines, boilers, and machinery was made by H.R. Durham and Co. ''Kamchatka'' had 12 thirty-six pounders on the gun-deck. On the upper deck she had 2 ninety-six pounders on pivot at the bow and stern, and 2 sixty-four pounders on pivot fore. Her bow was adorned with a golden eagle. One English account reported that she was designed rather poorly with heavy engines and boilers of 450 tons able to produce only 260 horse-power, only about a half of what English steamers would have at that time for the similar engines and boilers. She also used almost as twice fuel as the similar steamers of her time.

Service

On her maiden voyage she traveled from New York City to Southampton in 22 days, consuming 590 tons of coal. Taking in account that she sailed on that passage for about three days the daily consumption of coal was about 31 tons. Just the cost of the burned coal in 2019 dollars would be around $138,000. (Coal prices in 1840-1850 in the US were somewhere around $8 per ton.) She made several long voyages under Captain (later Admiral)

Johan Eberhard von Schantz Johan Eberhard von Schantz (; 29 October 1802 – 3 January 1880) was a Finnish-born admiral in the Russian Imperial Navy, ship designer and explorer. Life Schantz was born in the Western Finnish coastal town of Pori, which at the time was a p ...

.von Schantz, Johan Eberhard
In 1845 she voyaged to the Mediterranean Sea in support of the Russian Royal family. She was decommissioned 1866 and broken down for wood in 1867.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamchatka Ships of the Imperial Russian Navy Steam frigates Naval ships built in the United States for export 1840 ships

Description

Service

See also

References