''Admiral Ushakov'' was the lead ship in her class of armoured warships (coastal battleships) of 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 being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

, and named after Admiral

Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov Admiral Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov ( rus, Фёдор Фёдорович Ушаков, Fëdor Fëdorovič Ušakov, p=ʊʂɐˈkof; – ) was an Imperial Russian Navy officer best known for his service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleoni ...

the Russian naval commander of the 18th century.

Service life

''Admiral Ushakov'' was part of the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

at the beginning of the

Russo-Japanese war The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

. ''Admiral Ushakov'' was chosen to form part of Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov's Third Pacific Squadron which was sent out to reinforce Admiral

Zinovy Rozhestvensky Zinovy Petrovich Rozhestvensky (, tr. ; – January 14, 1909) was a Russian admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy. He was in command of the Second Pacific Squadron in the Battle of Tsushima, during the Russo-Japanese War. Under Admiral Rozh ...

on his journey to the Far East. The ship was obsolete and was not considered suitable for a voyage to the Pacific. However the Admiralty insisted on including ''Admiral Ushakov'' and her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s and to bolster their force. Journeying via the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

and across the Indian Ocean, they linked up with Rozhestvensky's fleet off

Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay () is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilometers (180 miles) nor ...

in Indochina and proceeded together to the Straits of Tsushima. At the

Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima (, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known in Japan as the , was the final naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 27–28 May 1905 in the Tsushima Strait. A devastating defeat for the Imperial Russian Navy, the ...

, on 27–28 May 1905, ''Admiral Ushakov'' was separated from Nebogatov during the night and fought to the last. She was surrounded by Japanese ships and demanded to surrender by Admiral

Shimamura Hayao Marshal-Admiral Baron was a Japanese admiral during the First Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars as well as one of the first prominent staff officers and naval strategists of the early Imperial Japanese Navy. He was an excellent tactician ...

. ''Admiral Ushakovs commanding officer Captain Miklukha refused to surrender and ordered the ship's company to fight. The ship was sunk within forty minutes and her crew subsequently massacred in the water before the Japanese ceased fire and rescued the remaining survivors.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Admiral Ushakov 1893 ships Ships built at Admiralty Shipyard Battleships of the Imperial Russian Navy Russo-Japanese War battleships of Russia Maritime incidents in 1905 Shipwrecks in the Tsushima Strait Shipwrecks of the Russo-Japanese War