Russian coast defense ship Admiral Ushakov
 Admiral Ushakov in 1897 | |
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Admiral Ushakov |
| Builder: | New Admiralty Shipyards, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Laid down: | 1 January 1892 |
| Launched: | 1 November 1893 |
| Completed: | January 1895 |
| Commissioned: | February 1895 |
| Fate: | Scuttled during Battle of Tsushima, 28 May 1905 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Admiral Ushakov-class coastal defense ship |
| Displacement: | 4,971 long tons (5,051 t) |
| Length: | 87.3 m (286 ft 5 in) |
| Beam: | 15.85 m (52 ft 0 in) |
| Draught: | 5.9 m (19 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shaft Reciprocating VTE steam engines 8 cylindrical coal-fired boilers 5,750 shp (4,290 kW) 450 tons coal |
| Speed: | 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h) |
| Complement: | 404 |
| Armament: | • 4 × 255 mm (10 in) guns (2×2) • 4 × 120 mm (4.7 in) guns (1×4) • 6 × 47 mm (2 in) 3-pounder guns • 10 × 37 mm (1.5 in) 1-pounder guns • 4 × 381 mm (15 in) torpedo tubes |
| Armour: | Belt: 254 mm (10 in) Deck: 75 mm (3 in) Turrets: 200 mm (8 in) Conning tower: 200 mm (8 in) |
The Admiral Ushakov was the lead ship in her class of armoured warships (coastal battleships) of the Imperial Russian Navy, and named after Admiral Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov the Russian naval commander of the 18th century.
Service life
Admiral Ushakov was part of the Baltic Fleet at the beginning of the Russo-Japanese war. The Ushakov was chosen to form part of Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov's "Third Pacific Squadron" which was sent out to reinforce Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky on his journey to the Far East. The ship was obsolete and was not considered suitable for a voyage to the Pacific.[1] However the Admiralty insisted on including Ushakov and her sister ships General-Admiral Graf Apraxin and Admiral Senyavin to bolster their force. Journeying via the Suez Canal and across the Indian Ocean, they linked up with Rozhestvensky's fleet off Cam Ranh Bay in Indochina and proceeded together to the Straits of Tsushima.
At the Battle of Tsushima, on 27–28 May 1905, the Ushakov was separated from Nebogatov during the night and fought to the last. She was twice hit below the water line and once above, the blazing wreck being scuttled on the evening of 28 May.
Notes
- ↑ Hore (2005), p. 115
References
- Hore, Peter (2005). Battleships. Anness Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7548-1407-6.
- Tomitch, V. M., Warships of the Imperial Russian Navy Battleships, Volume 1 (1968)
- Corbett, Julian, Sir. Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905. (1994). Originally published in two volumes, and classified secret/confidential until the 1950s. ISBN 1-55750-129-7.
- Pleshakov, Constantine. The Tsar's Last Armada: The Epic Voyage to the Battle of Tsushima. (2002). ISBN 0-465-05792-6.
- Semenov, Vladimir, Capt. The Battle of Tsushima. (1912). E.P. Dutton & Co.
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