Russian battleship Imperator Nikolai I 1886-1905 and Japanese Iki 1905-1915/1922

As the Japanese Iki

Brazilian battleship Riachuelo of 1881

Part of the Imperator Aleksandr II-class built for the Baltic Fleet preceded by the Ekaterina II-class and succeeded by the Dvenadsat Apostolov. Building ordered on 1 January 1886, laid down by Franco-Russian Works, Saint Petersburg, Russia on 4 august 1886, launched on 1 June 1889, commissioned in July 1891, captured by Japan on 28 May 1905, renamed Iki commissioned in the Japanese navy on 6 June 1905, stricken on 1 May 1915 and sunk while used as a target on 3 October 1915. The original design for which the contract was signed on 6 November 1885 but rapidly cancelled was based on the lines of the Brazilian battleship Riachuelo and further more was she to be smaller as her half sister ship the Imperator Aleksandr II. John Gordon claims that she was broken up in 1922. Building costs 2.853.756 rubles.

Displacement 9.748 tons and as dimensions 101,65 (waterline)-105,61 (over all) x 20,40 x 7,39 metres or 333.6”-346.6 x 66.11 x 24.3 feet. Machinery consisted of 2 Baltic Works vertical 3-cylinder compound steam engines and 12 cylindrical boilers delivering 7.842 (trial)-8.000 (design) driving via 2 shafts 2 screws allowing a speed pf 14 (trial) knots. Via a coal bunker capacity of 861 tons and a speed of 10 knots was the range 2.630 nautical miles. Crew in Russian service numbered 616 men. The compound armour consisted of a 15,2cm/6”-35,6cm/14” thick belt, a 6,4cm/2.5” thick deck, 15,2cm/6” thick bulkheads and the gun turret and conning tower protected by respectively 25,4cm/10” and 15,2cm/6”. Armament consisted of 1x2-30,5cm/12” 30 cal Obukhov Model 1877 guns, 4x1-22,9cm/9” Obukhov Model 1877 35/cal guns, 8x1-15,2cm/6” Model 1877 35 cal guns, 10x1-4,7cm/1.9” Hotch kiss revolving canon, 8x1-3,7cm/1.5” Hotchkiss revolving canon and 6x1-38,1cm/15” surfaced torpedo tines (1xbouw, 2 each broadside, 1xstern). As the Iki were the9” guns removed, the 8-6” guns cal 35 replaced by 6 cal 40 and further more had she 6x1-11,9cm/4.7” cal 40 guns, 6x1-7,6cm/3” cal 40 guns and 6x1-45,7cm/18” torpedo tubes.