Russian cruiser Novik (1900)

"Novík" was a protected cruiser in the Imperial Russian Navy, built by Schichau shipyards in Elbing near Danzig, Germany.

Background

"Novik" was a very fast ship for the time, but smaller than most contemporary cruisers, and perhaps a forerunner of later light cruisers. It was built by the German shipbuilders Schichau at the end of the 19th century, and her performance so impressed the Russian naval leadership that a near copy was made in the Russian "Izumrud" class.

Service life

The "Novik" performed heroically in various engagements during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. One of the few ships in the Russian fleet to offer combat during the initial Battle of Port Arthur, it closed to within 3,000 yards of the Japanese fleet to deliver a torpedo.

In the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Russian fleet attempted to run the Japanese blockade of Port Arthur. The attempt failed, and most of the Russian ships returned to port but several managed to escape to be interned in various neutral ports. The "Novik" reached the neutral German port of Tsingtao in company of the battleship . Spotted by a Japanese transport ship while coaling at Sakhalin, "Novik" was trapped in Aniva Bay, near Korsakov, Sakhalin on 7 August 1904. Realizing that he was hopelessly outgunned and after sustaining considerable damage, Commander Schultz ordered the "Novik" scuttled to make salvage impossible.

Nevertheless, the Japanese thought highly enough of the vessel to seize it as a prize of war, and it was repaired and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the warship|Japanese cruiser|Suzuya|1904|2. It was declared obsolete and scrapped in 1913.

References

* Chesneau, Roger and Eugene M Kolesnik, eds. "Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905". Conway Maritime Press (1979). ISBN 0 85177 133 5
* Howarth, Stephen. "The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1895-1945". Atheneum; (1983) ISBN 0689114028
* Jentsura, Hansgeorg. "Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945". Naval Institute Press (1976). ISBN 087021893X

External links

*http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aj.cashmore/russia/cruisers/novik/novik.html
*http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/novik.htm