page_title: Grigory Butakov
section_title: Artillery improvements
hierarchical_section_title: Grigory Butakov / Naval science / Artillery improvements
caption_attribution_description: English: 36-pounder cannon at the ready Français&#160;: Pièce de 36 en batterie
context_page_description: Grigory Ivanovich Butakov was a Russian admiral who fought in the Crimean War. Butakov is widely credited as being the father of steam-powered ship tactics during the 19th century. He was involved in the first battles of the Crimean War, which includes the first sea battles involving steam-powered ships. Butakov wrote of his experiences in his book: New Principles of Steamboat Tactics, which won him the Demidov Prize. In 1881 Butakov assumed the role of Commander-in-Chief of the Port of St. Petersburg. He was also made a member of the State Council in March 1882. Shortly after gaining both titles however, Butakov fell seriously ill, and died on the 31 May 1882, aged 62. The minor planet 4936 Butakov was named in his memory.
context_section_description: Whilst serving in the Baltic Fleet, Grigory Butakov paid much attention to artillery preparation of his squadron, he knew that although the Russian navy excelled in steamboat warfare, the cannons aboard the ships were seriously outdated. Butakov also knew that recent advancements in the form of 'Ironclad' ship armor, would mean that cannons had to be improved in order to penetrate the armor. The problem was solved by replacing smooth-bore guns of a relatively small caliber, with rifled guns of bigger calibers which included 12-inch ones, the rifled guns were particularly successful because of their armor - penetrating qualities. Butakov also developed a system which included; first, firing from one ship at a fixed shield, then at a towed one, and finally, firing at a moving target. This system proved successful against armored ships.
caption: A typical smooth−bore cannon. Russian Navy smooth−bore cannons were replaced with rifled guns in c. late 1800s
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