Russian armoured cruiser Vladimir Monomakh

"Vladimir Monomakh", was an armoured cruiser in service with the Imperial Russian Navy. The vessel was named after Grand Prince Vladimir II Monomakh.

ervice history

The "Vladimir Monomakh" was laid down in 1880. She was originally equipped with a heavy full rig of sail on three masts and bowsprit. Completed in 1885, she was modernized in 1897-1898 with new armament, as her original armament was by then obsolete. A searchlight platform was placed atop the mainmast. When built, the 5,593-ton cruiser reached convert|15.2|kn|km/h|1 but she was far slower 25 years later, despite the refit.

During the Russo-Japanese war, "Vladimir Monomakh" was assigned to the Third Pacific Squadron, which was sent to reinforce Zinovy Rozhestvensky's Second Pacific Squadron. The Third Pacific Squadron was equipped with old and aging warships and was unfit to engage in modern naval warfare despite insistence of the Russian Admiralty. The "Vladimir Monomakh" was a quarter of a century old at the time of the conflict.

On May 27, 1905, at Tsushima, "Vladimir Monomakh" was positioned to the right side of the Russian line, guarding the fleet train and so avoided the pounding that the Second Pacific Squadron received. However, at nightfall, the Japanese torpedo boats engaged the Russians. "Vladimir Monomakh", mistaking one of her attackers for a Russian destroyer, collided with the Japanese vessel and was later hit by one torpedo. The damage was severe but her crew kept her afloat. The next morning, however, the cruiser was scuttled by the crew and sank at 14:30.

References

*Conway's "All the World's Fighting Ships 1860 - 1905"
*"The Fleet That Had to Die", by Richard Hough
*"The Battle of Tsu-Shima", Warship Volume II, by N.J.M. Campbell