Zovahr-class ironclad
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Zovahr-class ironclad |
| Builders: | Symmerian Naval Foundry |
| Operators: |
 Navy of the Syaran Republic |
| Preceded by: | Parilla-class ironclad |
| Succeeded by: | Nemaro-class battleship |
| In commission: | 1886-1909 |
| Planned: | 8 |
| Completed: | 8 |
| Lost: | 3 |
| Retired: | 7 |
| Preserved: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ironclad |
| Displacement: | 11,110 tons |
| Length: | 104.3 meters |
| Beam: | 19.81 meters |
| Propulsion: | 2 triple expansion steam engines |
| Speed: | 16 knots |
| Range: | 5,000 kilometers |
| Complement: | 505 crew |
| Armament: |
|
The Zovahr-class ironclads known to the Navy of the Syaran Republic as the Zovahr-class armored turret ship (Оклопен бедем брод, Oklopen bedem brod) was a class of turret ironclads employed by the Republic of Syara beginning in the 1880s. They were intended to succeed the previous Parilla-class ironclads with superior armor, armaments, and performance. A total of eight were built and christened the RS Glory of Victory, Dreams of Oracles, Perception in Darkness, Preacher of Truth, Saved By Compassion, Harmony of Brotherhood, Preserved in Paradise, and the Endure Through Strife.
Built by Symmerian Naval Foundry, the Zovahr-class boasted increased fire power in the form of two double 340mm guns housed in turrets. In order to address the lack of additional protective armament on its predecessor, the Zovahr-class reduced the 138mm guns to two, but added six 47mm guns. Additionally, two 380mm torpedo tubes were added as part of the Syaran Navy's pivot towards a torpedo-centric offensive pattern. Weighing roughly 1,000 tons more, the Zovahr-class saved weight by employing welded steel rather than rivets in some locations, while the class was also longer at 104.3 meters. Improved propulsion in the form of two triple expansion steam engines provided a top speed of 17 knots, with a similar range of 5,000 kilometers. Like her predecessors, the Zovahr-class outgunned any warship at the time fielded by either the Ruvelkan Socialist Republic or the Górskan Federal Navy.
The Zovahr-class would be replaced both doctrinally and technologically by the Nemaro-class battleships in the 1890s, marking the end of traditional ironclads and the rise of more uniformly designed battleships. The class had a largely nondescript career and was slated for decommissioning by 1907, but the outbreak of the Third Chryse War pressed them back into service. Although better suited for service than the Parilla-class the 20 year old ironclads were still outmatched by the battleships and cruisers fielded by the Ruvelkans and Górskans, resulting in their restriction to escort duties and shore bombardment. They experienced minor success in combat, sinking or assisting in sinking four torpedo boats, two torpedo boats destroyers, and two light cruisers for the loss of three vessels: Harmony of Brotherhood was sunk by gunfire in April 1906, followed by Dreams of Oracles in October the same year when it struck a mine. Preserved in Paradise was sunk by the Ruvelkan Battlecruiser Khoytka in July 1907. The remaining ships survived the war, but were decommissioned and broken down for scrap prior to the outbreak of the Divide War.