I believe Catherine’s admiral Ushakov was easily one of the most accomplished naval commander of all times. He fought 43 battles mainly against the Turks who were the top naval power, Arab navies, Limey bastards and never lost any. And he usually delivered a crushing defeat. A guy in class of Nimitz easily.
You definitely seem to know your history, FRiend Viking.
Ushakov’s “pupil” Dmitri Seniavin figures in a supporting role in Julian Stockwin’s recent novel “Pasha,” which is all about the British attempt to force the Dardanelles in 1807.
Admiral Duckworth failed rather badly, but he was given an absurdly small fleet for such a formidable task.
Seniavin then turned around and gave a Nelsonian drubbing to the savage Turks. Ushakov and Seniavin didn’t have the easiest working relationship, but the younger admiral learned his trade from a master.
I’m guessing you are probably familiar with Stockwin’s long series of novels featuring Captain Sir Thomas Paine Kydd and his friend and sometime shipmate Nicholas Renzi, Earl of Farndon.
“Pasha” was one of my favorites, featuring a lot of shorebound intrigue at the Sublime Porte. Interestingly, it’s the one novel where Stockwin takes some serious liberties with the historical timeline — although he ‘fesses up to everything in his author’s notes.