''Pamiat Azova'' (russian: Память Азовa) was a unique armoured cruiser built for the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

in the late 1880s. She was decommissioned from front line service in 1909, converted into a depot ship and sunk by British torpedo boats during the Baltic Naval War, part of the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

Name

The name of the ship commemorated the Russian ship of the line , the flagship of the Russian squadron in the Battle of Navarino. The name of that ship, in its turn, referred to the

Azov campaigns Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The mout ...

of Peter the Great. After the battle

Nicholas I of Russia , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...

decreed that after the retirement of ''Azov'' the Imperial Navy must perpetually have a ship named ''Pamyat Azova'' (English: ''The Memory of Azov''). The cruiser commissioned in 1890 was the third ship carrying this name.

Design

The ship was designed as a

commerce raider Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than enga ...

and rigged with sails to extend her range. She was built by Baltic Works in Saint Petersburg and launched on 1 July 1888. Her machinery was re-built in 1904 with Bellville boilers.

Service

The ship served with the Baltic Fleet, and in 1891–1892 it took part in a Cruise around Asia with Crown Prince Nicholas on board. This led to a

Fabergé egg A Fabergé egg (russian: link=no, яйцо Фаберже́, translit=yaytso Faberzhe) is a jewelled egg created by the jewellery firm House of Fabergé, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As many as 69 were created, of which 57 survive today. Virtua ...

, the Memory of Azov being made to commemorate this event. She made a visit to the French Navy in October 1893 in Toulon to reinforce the

Franco-Russian Alliance The Franco-Russian Alliance (french: Alliance Franco-Russe, russian: Франко-Русский Альянс, translit=Franko-Russkiy Al'yans), or Russo-French Rapprochement (''Rapprochement Russo-Français'', Русско-Французско� ...

.''

L'Illustration ''L'Illustration'' was a weekly French newspaper published in Paris from 1843 to 1944. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in France then, after 1906, the ...

'', n° 2642, Oct. 14, 1893 In 1906, during the First Russian Revolution, the crew of the cruiser mutinied while at

Hara Bay Hara Bay ( et, Hara laht) is a bay in Harju County, Estonia. The bay is located between Juminda and Pärispea Peninsula. The bay's area is 9859 ha. A part of Hara Bay is under protection (Lahemaa National Park Lahemaa National Park is a park i ...

near

Reval Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ''m ...

. The ship subsequently was placed in reserve. In 1909 she was converted into a torpedo boat depot ship and renamed ''Dvina''. The ship was sunk by the British

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

CMB79 in

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

Harbour on 18 August 1919. The wreck was raised and scrapped.

Notes

References

External links

battleships-cruisers.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pamiat Azova Cruisers of the Imperial Russian Navy Ships built at the Baltic Shipyard 1888 ships Naval ships of Russia World War I naval ships of Russia Maritime incidents in 1919