Parilla-class ironclad
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Parilla-class ironclad |
| Builders: | Symmerian Naval Foundry |
| Operators: |
 Navy of the Syaran Republic |
| Preceded by: | RS Spirit of Unity |
| Succeeded by: | Zovahr-class ironclad |
| In commission: | 1879-1910 |
| Planned: | 6 |
| Completed: | 6 |
| Lost: | 2 |
| Retired: | 4 |
| Preserved: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ironclad |
| Displacement: | 10,280 tons |
| Length: | 96 meters |
| Beam: | 19.50 meters |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 12 knots |
| Range: | 3,000 kilometers |
| Complement: | 415 crew |
| Armament: |
|
The Parilla-class ironclads, known to the Navy of the Syaran Republic as the Parilla-class armored turret ship (Оклопен бедем брод, Oklopen bedem brod), was a class of turret ironclads employed by the Republic of Syara starting in the 1870s. The first class of capital ships to be built by the Republic, they formed the core of what was known as the "1880 Fleet" that had been outlined by the Syaran Admiratly shortly after the Unification of Syara. A total of six were built, becoming the RS Courage Under Fire, Granted Through Grace, Spirit of Alexarchus, Sanctified by Glory, Braver Than Most, and the Price of Peace.
The Parilla-class had been based on the first modern warship expressly built by the Republic, the RS Spirit of Unity which had featured two 305mm guns mounted in barbettes. She had nearly capsized during her sea trials, and experience in her design led the Syaran Navy to refine its desired parameters for capital ships. In the strategic sense Senior Admiral Stoyan Temelkoski had determined that Syara would need to possess powerful warships capable of engaging and sinking any ship fielded by either the Ruvelkan Socialist Republic or the Górskan Federal Navy. Dissatisfaction with the Spirit of Unity resulted in the demand for a turret ship with similar firepower, utilizing breach loaded guns that provided adequate fields of fire across as much of the ship as possible. Symmerian Naval Foundry was contracted to produce the class, which began construction in Sena in 1877. Courage Under Fire was commissioned in 1879. The class weighed in at 10,280 tons, with a length of 96 meters. Firepower was provided by four 305mm guns housed in two double-gun turrets, one fore and one aft. A central superstructure stood between both turrets, and additional firepower was provided by four casemate 138mm guns fore, aft, port and starboard forming a "square" around the turrets and superstructure. She had a range of 3,000 kilometers and a top speed of just over 12 knots.
Just shortly after she was introduced the class was revealed to be outdated; during naval exercises in 1880 and 1882 the Parillas proved highly vulnerable to torpedo boats, who moved too fast for her guns to effectively target and engage. Despite this limitation they were kept in service predominantly due to the fact that majority of the Navy's inherited ironclads from the Kingdom of Symmeria and Scitarian Commonwealth were even more outdated. Most of the class had uneventful service lives, by 1900 the class was slated for decommissioning and by 1905 only Braver than Most and Price of Peace remained afloat. The outbreak of the Third Chryse War abruptly cancelled their impending demise and were pressed back into service as escorts and shore bombardment. Braver than Most exploded on 18 November 1905, either due to a naval mine or an ammunition malfunction. Price of Peace engaged Górskan patrols intermittently throughout 1905-1906 before she was torpedoed and sunk on 18 July 1906.
Built during a time of rapid naval technological development, the Parilla-class was effectively out of date by the time all of its ships had been completed, but it nevertheless set forth several examples of things to come; turret housed guns on armored warships meant to engage and destroy other capital ships made the class, along with its successor the Zovahrs, the forerunners of future Syaran battleships.