Wow, that thing must have been almost impossible to steer or control.
“Wow, that thing must have been almost impossible to steer or control.”
That’s where the aliens come in!
Apparently the recoil from the main guns caused the ship to spin.
Novgorod and her near-sister Rear Admiral Popov proved poorly designed in use. They pitched and rolled excessively, even in moderate seas.[2] They were slow, poorly maneuverable, and vulnerable to plunging fire. Worst though, was that the off-axis recoil of the guns would impart a centrifugal rotation to the ship.[2] In operational use, these ships would have to throw their single rudder hard over during firing, to act as "water brakes". This severely restricted the aiming and rate-of-fire of the main guns.