The Russian armoured cruiser Admiral Nachimoff according to the American naval officer Philip Hichborn in 1885
Hichborn published an extensive book dealing with the dockyards in Europe. Despite the title the book is mainly dealing with England and France, but he gave some information dealing with the Russian navy. When he wrote about St. Petersburg he saw the armoured cruiser Admiral Nachimoff.
“Opposite the yard where thee corvettes were building is the extensive property of the Baltic Iron Works. Here an armored cruiser of the Warspite type, the Admiral Nachmoff, was on the stocks, having been begun in April, 1883. The hull is chiefly of iron and steel, with double sheathing put on in the manner already described. The stem and stern-post, of composition, were admirable castings, the former being in one piece, including the ram and the attachment to the armordeck, and weighing about 32 tons. The dimensions of the Admiral Nachimoff are: Length between perpendiculars, 333 feet; extreme breadth, 61 feet; mean draught, 25 feet; and displacement 7,781 tons. The compound armor is 10 inches on the side, 9 inches on the barbettes, and the protective deck is 3 inches. The engines, of 8,000 indicated horese-power, will be similar to those of the Peter the Great and are calculated to give a speed of 16 knots. The armament consists of four 9-inch B.K.R., in four barbettes ten 6-inch on the broadside, and four 4-pounders and six machine guns. The vessel is brig-rigged, with a sail area of 26,000 square feet. The coal capacity is 1,300 tons and her boats include two torpedo-boats, two steam launches and eight ordinary boats. The contract price is 2,625,000 rubles, and the launch is fixed for September, 1885.”
Wikepedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_armoured_cruiser_Admiral_Nakhimov) mentioned in contrary to Hichborn that she was built using an improved design of the British Imperieuse class cruisers. The same source called her the armoured cruiser with probably the heaviest broadside compared with the other cruisers in her era. Sadly enough her guns became within time so worse, that it was considered to replace them by quick-firing 152mm guns (each broadside 11!). Due to lacking enough industrial capacity in Russia this replacement had to wait before the war with Japan started. Her unsuccessful rigging was removed between 1898 and 1899. In the 2nd half of the 19th century technical improvements went fast and when the war with Japan broke out she was on her best an obsolete ship, no match for modern cruisers. She was the first ship in the Russian navy fitted out with anti torpedo-nets, only of some value by low speed. Her armour was not capable enough to defend her against modern gunnery, engines were aged and her speed to low. In fact she was an dinosaur in 1905. Her building started unofficially 7 December 1883 (old style), while the official start, in the presence of Tsar Alexander III is considered to be July 1884, launched on 21 October 1885 and commissioned October 1888 (old style). A year later she became the flagship of the Pacific Squadron. After repairs and modernisation in 1898 she joined a year later again the Pacific Squadron. In 1903 she came back to the Baltic in again. When the war broke out with Japan she was to join the 2nd Pacific Squadron destined to reinforce 1st Squadron at Port Arthur. She took part on 27 May 1905, the first day of the battle of Tsushima where she thought fiercely with around 30 hits, 25 dead and 51 wounded crewmembers. The Japanese Iwate was hit 3 times. In the evening she was hit at the bow by an torpedo. Despite all efforts to save her, her crew was forced to leave her and she sunk teh next morning at 34° 34’North, 129° 32’ East. Of her crew 18 men lost their live, the others were taken prisoner by the Japanese. In 1980 she was salvaged for her cargo thought to be partly existing of platinum but which proved to be lead.
According to http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/admiral_nakhimov.htm she was scuttled by her own crew to prevent capture by the Japanese. She was completed 15 December 1887 while her modernisation was not in 1898 but in 1899.
Sources:
Report on the European dockyards by naval constructor Philip Hichborn, USN, 1885. Washington, 1886, p. 26. Digitized by Google.
Captain N. Klado. The Russian Navy in the Russo-Japanese War. London, 1905.
Hichborn published an extensive book dealing with the dockyards in Europe. Despite the title the book is mainly dealing with England and France, but he gave some information dealing with the Russian navy. When he wrote about St. Petersburg he saw the armoured cruiser Admiral Nachimoff.
“Opposite the yard where thee corvettes were building is the extensive property of the Baltic Iron Works. Here an armored cruiser of the Warspite type, the Admiral Nachmoff, was on the stocks, having been begun in April, 1883. The hull is chiefly of iron and steel, with double sheathing put on in the manner already described. The stem and stern-post, of composition, were admirable castings, the former being in one piece, including the ram and the attachment to the armordeck, and weighing about 32 tons. The dimensions of the Admiral Nachimoff are: Length between perpendiculars, 333 feet; extreme breadth, 61 feet; mean draught, 25 feet; and displacement 7,781 tons. The compound armor is 10 inches on the side, 9 inches on the barbettes, and the protective deck is 3 inches. The engines, of 8,000 indicated horese-power, will be similar to those of the Peter the Great and are calculated to give a speed of 16 knots. The armament consists of four 9-inch B.K.R., in four barbettes ten 6-inch on the broadside, and four 4-pounders and six machine guns. The vessel is brig-rigged, with a sail area of 26,000 square feet. The coal capacity is 1,300 tons and her boats include two torpedo-boats, two steam launches and eight ordinary boats. The contract price is 2,625,000 rubles, and the launch is fixed for September, 1885.”
Wikepedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_armoured_cruiser_Admiral_Nakhimov) mentioned in contrary to Hichborn that she was built using an improved design of the British Imperieuse class cruisers. The same source called her the armoured cruiser with probably the heaviest broadside compared with the other cruisers in her era. Sadly enough her guns became within time so worse, that it was considered to replace them by quick-firing 152mm guns (each broadside 11!). Due to lacking enough industrial capacity in Russia this replacement had to wait before the war with Japan started. Her unsuccessful rigging was removed between 1898 and 1899. In the 2nd half of the 19th century technical improvements went fast and when the war with Japan broke out she was on her best an obsolete ship, no match for modern cruisers. She was the first ship in the Russian navy fitted out with anti torpedo-nets, only of some value by low speed. Her armour was not capable enough to defend her against modern gunnery, engines were aged and her speed to low. In fact she was an dinosaur in 1905. Her building started unofficially 7 December 1883 (old style), while the official start, in the presence of Tsar Alexander III is considered to be July 1884, launched on 21 October 1885 and commissioned October 1888 (old style). A year later she became the flagship of the Pacific Squadron. After repairs and modernisation in 1898 she joined a year later again the Pacific Squadron. In 1903 she came back to the Baltic in again. When the war broke out with Japan she was to join the 2nd Pacific Squadron destined to reinforce 1st Squadron at Port Arthur. She took part on 27 May 1905, the first day of the battle of Tsushima where she thought fiercely with around 30 hits, 25 dead and 51 wounded crewmembers. The Japanese Iwate was hit 3 times. In the evening she was hit at the bow by an torpedo. Despite all efforts to save her, her crew was forced to leave her and she sunk teh next morning at 34° 34’North, 129° 32’ East. Of her crew 18 men lost their live, the others were taken prisoner by the Japanese. In 1980 she was salvaged for her cargo thought to be partly existing of platinum but which proved to be lead.
According to http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/admiral_nakhimov.htm she was scuttled by her own crew to prevent capture by the Japanese. She was completed 15 December 1887 while her modernisation was not in 1898 but in 1899.
Sources:
Report on the European dockyards by naval constructor Philip Hichborn, USN, 1885. Washington, 1886, p. 26. Digitized by Google.
Captain N. Klado. The Russian Navy in the Russo-Japanese War. London, 1905.
