Vladivostok class Armored Cruiser

Vladivostok class Armored Cruiser
Class overview
Name	Vladivostok class Armored Cruiser
Operators	Far Eastern Imperial Navy
Planned	2
Built	2
Active	1
Destroyed	1
General Characteristics
Type	Armored cruiser
Displacement	12400 tons standard 13500 tons full load
Length	146.6 metres (481 ft)
Beam	20.9 metres (69 ft)
Draught	7.9 metres (26 ft)
Propulsion	3 shafts, 3 VTE steam engines
Power	32 Belleville water-tube boilers 14,500 ihp (10,800 kW)
Speed	19 kts
Range	8100 nm at 10 kts
Complement	882
Armament	2 × 2 203mm/45 KO 1893 g gun 1, 6 x 2 152mm/45 KO 1893 g gun 16 x 76.2mm/40 KO 1900 g gun 8 x 37mm/40 KO 1893 g gun 4 457mm torpedo tubes
Armour	Belt: 152 mm Deck: 51-76 mm conning tower: 305 mm

Development

The Vladivostok class was follow-on to the earlier french-build Khabarovsk class. The design although made in Far Eastern naval technical institute, was heavily influenced by the French naval design philosophies. It was the first major modern warship designed by the institute under the leadership of Kiril Yurekov who had studied naval construction methods in France.

Vladivostok class was larger than its predecessors and featured prominent tumblehome hull. The 203mm guns were fitted in twin turrets fore and aft and secondary gun caliber was increased to 152mm and fitted in 6 twin turrets. Additionally one 152mm gun was fitted in the bow to fire directly into front sector. This was intended to be used against fleeing merchant ships against which the main 203mm guns would be superfluous. These ships alongside with their predecessors formed the main forces of the "Light Squardon", the main operational unit of the Imperial fleet prior the arrival of battleships. The Light Squadron participated in the capture of Philippines in the 1898 war against Spain and the subsequent Battle of Cavite where the Spanish fleet were destroyed. During the Far Eastern-Japanese war, The Light squadron was based in Vladivostok and although it attempted to harass Japanese sea communications it failed to cause severe interruptions to Japanese supply lines. Muravyov was sunk at the Battle of Ulsan in August 1904.

Ships in class

Name	Builder	Laid down	Launch Date	Entered Service	Fate
Vladivostok	Voenno-Morskoy Verf, Dalny	April 1894	July 1895	February 1897	Extant in 1920
Muravyov	Voenno-Morskoy Verf, Dalny	April 1894	July 1895	April 1897	Sunk in 1904

See Also

Ships of Far Eastern Imperial Navy 1920