Russian Battleships; Imperator Aleksandr II, Imperator Nikolai I (1885-91) The Imperator Alexandr II class were two pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy in 1885-91 to counter other armored ships of Baltic powers such as Sweden and Germany. Construction was very slow, making them obsolescent when completed as “turret ships”optimized for ramming, tactics that … Read more
Ekaterina II, Chesma, Sinop, Georgiy Pobedonosets 1889/93-1919 The Ekaterina II class were four battleships of the Imperial Russian Navy, built in the 1880s for the Black Sea Fleet. Their design showed unique, never repated pattern of three main guns barbettes placed in a triangle, two forward ad one aft. Compared to average pre-dreanoughts which just … Read more
Russian Empire, 1902-1914. Protected Cruisers: Izumurud, Zhemchug Izumrud (“Emerald”) was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Russian Navy, Russian built like her sister ship Zhemchug, but derived from the German Schichau design “Novik”. Both were part of the expansion program of the Russian Pacific Fleet, to be based on the recently acquired Port Arthur after … Read more
Russian Empire, 1902-1904 Boyarin (“Nobleman”) was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Russian Navy. She was the only foreign built cruiser to be built at Burmeister & Wain in Copenhagen, Denmark in the rapid buildup preceding the Pacific. Varyag has been built also for the Russian Pacific Fleet, but in the US, Askold in Germany, … Read more
Imperial Russia (1877-1905) – 90 ships Russian Torpedo Boats’s story started well before 1914, to be precise as far back as 1877. The Empire indeed was the first to use mobile “mines”, and spar-torpedo vessels during the 1877-78 war against the Ottoman Empire. In the 1880s the fleet purchased torpedo boats from Britain, Germany, France, … Read more
WW1 Soviet Minesweepers, and Minelayers Russian Navy – 900+ minesweepers 1914-19 Introduction: Soviet Mine warfare WWI About early Russian naval mines & tactics: The Russians appeared to be pioneers of mine warfare. Earliest use was during the Crimean War, to face the might of the combined Royal Navy and French Marine Impériale. In the baltic … Read more
Bogatyr class armoured cruisers (1900) Russian Empire 1899-1936: Bogatyr, Oleg, Kagul, Ochakov, Vityaz A new class for Russian Protected Cruisers: The Bogatyr class were armored cruisers of the Russian Imperial Navy, classified as 1st rank, with five planned and built. The project was developed under supervision of the Vulkan Yard design team, which also built … Read more
Pallada class cruisers (1899) Imperial Russian Protected Cruisers: Pallada, Diana, Aurora The Pallada-class cruisers (“Diana-type” in Russian) were three protected cruisers of the Imperial Russian Navy built for the late 1890s massive naval plan, bolstering the Baltic and new Pacific fleets. Intended for commerce raiding they were named after mythological figures and met very different … Read more
Protected Cruiser Askold (1900) Russian Empire 1899-1922 The five-stack Russo-German cruiser Askold in Kronstadt, 1902 As part of the many cruisers ordered in emergency by the Russian Imperial staff to bolster the newly created Pacific fleet, Askold (Аскольд) named after the legendary Medieval Varangian warlord, was ordered in Germany as Russian Yards were at full … Read more
Protected Cruiser Varyag (1899) Russian Empire 1898-1925 The ship with six lives* The Russian cruiser Varyag was a ship that was commissioned in 1901 and played an important role in the Russo-Japanese War. The Varyag was part of the Russian Pacific Fleet, and was stationed in the port of Port Arthur in Manchuria when war … Read more
