Grigory Butakov Grigory Ivanovich Butakov ( ) ( 9 October 1820 – 31 May 1882 ) was a Russia n 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 " ( 1863 ) , 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 31 May 1882 , aged 62 . Early life . Grigory Ivanovich Butakov was born 9 October 1820 in Riga ; a large city in Latvia . ( Then part of the Russian Empire . ) Butakov ' s father was a distinguished naval officer who fought in the Russo - Turkish War of 1806 . He captained the battleship " Tsar Constantine " , in which he commanded during several naval operations around Crete and in the Blockade of the Dardanelles . Butakov was inspired by his father ' s success as a naval officer , so in May 1831 at eleven years old , Butakov decided to join a Naval Academy in St . Petersburg . Butakov spent six years in the Naval Academy . He graduated in 1837 and was immediately assigned to serve as a flag officer aboard the Russian vessel " Silistria " . The " Silistria " was under the personal command of the then Chief Commander of the Black Sea Fleet : Admiral Mikhail Lazarev . In May 1838 , Butakov took part in a landing operation near Abkhazia against Turkish positions . Butakov was awarded several decorations for bravery during the operation . From September 1838 to August 1840 , Butakov patrolled the Aegean Sea aboard the schooner " Lastochka " , and in 1844 , he patrolled the Mediterranean Sea aboard the " Vestnik " . The following August , Butakov was promoted to the rank of lieutenant . Not long after his promotion , Butakov became interested in improvements to the Navy in the field of Naval Science . Butakov developed a completely new system of fog signals , and invented a new version of windlass . Butakov ' s Admiral , Mikhail Lazarev was pleased with Butakov ' s new technologies and had the inventions placed in the model room of the Admiralty . In the Autumn of 1846 , Butakov was appointed Captain of the cutter " Pospeshny " and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant - Commander , and given a diamond ring . The Russian Empire was the first naval power to pioneer the construction of steam warships . On 3 December 1852 , Lieutenant - Commander Grigory Butakov was made captain of the steam - ship " Vladimir " , considered the best steam - powered warship in the Black Sea Fleet . Crimean war . When the Crimean War began in October 1853 , Grigory Butakov was sent with to the Black Sea aboard the steamship " Vladimir " . The battle in which Grigory Butakov aboard the steam - ship " Vladimir " , fought and captured the Turkish steam - ship " Pervaz Bahri " was historically important on two accounts : Firstly , it was the very first battle of the Crimean War , and secondly , it was the first battle involving only steam - ships , marking a new age of naval warfare . The battle occurred on 5 November 1853 , on the Black Sea . Butakov sailed the " Vladimir " towards the region of Penderakli , on the way the crew of the " Vladimir " saw an unfamiliar vessel sailing towards them . As the " Vladimir " got closer to the unidentified ship , the crew realized the ship was Turkish . It was a 10 - gun steam - ship called the " Pervaz Bahri " " Pervaz Bahri " . The 10 - gun Turkish steamship that was steadily nearing the " Vladimir " had no bow or stern artillery . This made it an attractive target for any Russian war ship . Once the Ottoman ship was in range , Butakov maneuvered the " Vladimir " into advantageous positions for an attack . Butakov would take up a position from behind the " Pervaz Bahri " ' s stern , and rake the ship with cannon fire . This maneuver was successful due to the Ottoman ship not having any stern artillery . Every time the " Pervaz Bahri " tried to employ side artillery upon the " Vladimir " , Butakov would repeatedly take up an advantageous position behind enemy stern , and bombard the ship with cannon shot . Despite Butakov ' s successful tactics in attacking the Ottoman ship , the battle was taking more time than expected . Butakov ' s superiors then ordered him to speed up the sinking or capture of the Turkish vessel . Butakov then gave an order to pick up speed , and at a distance of 100 meters , he opened canister fire from all ship ' s the guns . The " Pervaz Bahri " then surrendered to the crew of the " Vladimir " , ending a three hour long battle which took many Turkish casualties . This was a major victory for Butakov because it was Russia ' s first steam - powered sea battle victory . On 7 November , the newly captured ship was bought to the port of Sevastopol , where it underwent major repairs . The ship was renamed : " Kornilov " , and was commissioned into the Russian navy . Grigory Butakov ' s commanding officers thought very highly of him , particularly after the victory over the " Pervas Bahri " . The naval officer , Vladimir Alexeyevich Kornilov , whom the captured ship was renamed after , commented on Butakov ' s skill as a commander : " He behaves and gives commands as if it were just maneuvers or war games " . After the battle , Butakov was promoted to Captain Second Rank , and was awarded the Order of St . George IV Degree . Kornilov , in particular valued Butakov ’ s service greatly ; when Kornilov wrote his name on a list of naval officers , he added the words : " Much respected and loved by the officers " . Sevastopol . In September 1854 , British , Ottoman and French troops laid siege to Sevastopol , the main base of the Black Sea Fleet . Grigory Butakov provided substantial cannon support during the siege by sailing into favorable positions and bombarding the British , French and Ottoman fortifications , which surrounded the port . The Russian garrison at Sevastopol was low during the siege ; only 36 , 600 men were fit for action , while the number of Allied troops totaled 175 , 000 men . Because of the low amount of manpower , many sailors volunteered to leave their ships , and fight as infantry on the ground . Butakov also volunteered to leave the " Vladimir " , and fight as an infantryman . However , his offer was immediately refused by a senior naval officer ; Pavel Nakhimov , he said to Butakov : " I can not do that , such people like you are to be preserved for the future of the fleet " . Throughout the Siege of Sevastopol , Butakov stayed aboard the " Vladimir " , repulsing enemy counterattacks and bombarding fortified positions . In August , Butakov was sent with several steamships to protect the left flank on eastern shore of Killen - balka from Allied attacks . Butakov sailed the " Vladimir " so close to the shore that he actually made his ship inaccessible to the French battery , while maintaining a clear line of sight of the enemy cannons , he then ordered his ships to fire upon the French battery , causing major damage . A sailor in the fleet commented on Butakov ' s calmness during the conflict : " [ he ] was the first to set his crew an example of remarkably cool behavior , self - control and fearlessness . Everyone would be just enraptured and stunned by his coolness and the way he gave orders ; he did this as if there were no cannonballs and bullets flying around him , as if there were not any possibility for him to be killed any minute " . In August 1855 , Admiral Novonilsky ordered 15 Russian ships to be scuttled , and their cannons be used to help defend the port . Butakov ' s flagship " Vladimir " was one of the 15 ships , Butakov and her crew were secreted back to Russia , and would be transferred to the Baltic Fleet . The scuttled ships were : " Grand Duke Constantine " , " City of Paris " ( both with 120 guns ) , " Brave " , " Empress Maria " , " Chesme " , " Yagondeid " ( 84 guns ) , " Kavarna " ( 60 guns ) , " Konlephy " ( 54 guns ) , steam frigate " Vladimir " , steamboats " Thunderer " , " Bessarabia " , " Danube " , " Odessa " , " Elbrose " and " Krein " . The guns and several crew members from the ships were used to defend Sevastopol . On 9 September the port fell to allied forces , marking the beginning of the eventual defeat of Russia in the Crimean War . The siege of Sevastopol claimed many lives on both sides ; the Russians lost 102 , 000 killed and wounded , while the number of British , French and Ottoman casualties numbered 128 , 387 deaths . Soon after the Siege , the Crimean War was over , ending in Russia ' s defeat . Naval science . When the Crimean War ended on February 1856 , Grigory Butakov was promoted to Rear Admiral . By this time he was 36 years old , and had spent 25 of those years in the Imperial Russian Navy . Butakov was also appointed High Chief of the naval unit in Nikolayev and also the Naval Governor of Nikolayev and Sevastopol . Throughout his time serving in these positions , Butakov kept studying the field of Naval Science . In early 1854 , Butakov compiled descriptions of " evolutions " in steam warship design , such advantageous turns and maneuvering of the ships in line that would be necessary for taking up the most advantageous position during battle . Butakov wrote of his improvements : " I happened to develop a rather simple yet ingenious idea , namely , two simple geometric lines – a circle and a tangent to it – should be considered the basis for steamship evolutions " . Butakov also found solutions to some tactical problems , drew up illustrative tables of courses and movements of ships in the fleet , and outlined three basic detachment formation s . Butakov would compile his ideas in his book ; " New Principles of Steamboat Tactics " . According to Butakov , he managed to solve the very essence of the problem of developing the steam - powered tactics in a more radical , fundamental way , not just superficially . Grigory Butakov was transferred to the Baltic Fleet in 1860 . In 1863 , Butakov compiled all of his notes on tactical strategies of steamboats , and wrote about them in a book called : " New principles of Steamboat Tactics " . The book gained immense interest both in Russia , and many countries in Western Europe . The book was translated into English , French , Italian and Spanish . Recognizing Butakov ' s success as an accomplished naval scientist , the Chairman of the Naval Science Committee , Rear Admiral Zeleny , awarded Butakov with the Demidov Prize . On 28 October 1866 , Butakov was promoted to the rank of Vice - Admiral . By this time , Butakov was enjoying world - wide fame , both for his Naval Science knowledge , and his commanding abilities . His reputation as an Admiral at the time was considered to be the best in the Russian Navy . On 6 February 1867 , he was appointed the Chief of the Baltic armored ships squadron . Artillery improvements . 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 . Boat races . Throughout his naval career , Grigory Butakov extensively enjoyed boat racing , and adopted the sport as his chief pastime while on leave from the navy . Butakov enjoyed races involving both steamboats and sailboats . He believed that boat racing was not only a good pastime for sailors , it was also good for their training and military skill . He said : " I believe [ boat racing ] is by far one of the best and most appropriate means available for our young sailors to try their wings , start strengthening their will , nerves and stamina , train their faultless eye and prepare themselves to face any unforeseen circumstances which are so frequent throughout our service … Besides , the boat race is a wonderful and effective way to find out what metal each of us is made of " . Butakov was so passionate about boat racing , he secured annual allocations of 1500 rubles in prize money for young sailors in boat racing competitions . Butakov published a book on the subject called " Rules of Boat Race " . At the end of every race Butakov would analyze the mistakes made by his sailors while steering and praised those distinguished themselves in competitions . He once fired six - gun salute in honor of a midshipman ' s crew for their team - spirit and excellence in racing in a " steering without wheels " race . Sea mines . From 1867 to 1877 , Butakov served aboard an Armoured Ship Squadron in the service of the Baltic Fleet . While in the squadron , Butakov paid much attention to the improvement of sea - mine weaponry . In 1867 , Butakov conducted the first experiments of sea - mines , which were engaged in experiments on laying galvanised mines under old ships and testing mine fields . In 1874 , the armored frigate " Petropavlovsk " was first equipped with anti - torpedo artillery . During the Russian - Turkish war of 1877 - 1878 Butakov developed the guidelines and maps for laying mines on the fairways , which he put into practice while organizing the mine defense of Kronstadt . Following Butakov ' s experiments , the Officers Mine Class and Mining School for the Lower Ranks was opened . Last years . On 16 October 1878 , Grigory Butakov was promoted from Vice - Admiral to Admiral , and was appointed Chief Commander of the Sveaborg coastal fortifications . At the beginning of 1881 , he was appointed the Chief Commander of the St . Petersburg port . In March 1882 , Grigory Butakov was elected a member of the National State Council : He took this assignment at the end of his life ’ s work . Soon after that he fell seriously ill and died of apoplexy on 31 May 1882 . He was widely mourned throughout Russia and he was buried in Sevastopol at the cathedral of St . Vladimir .