Featured Article Summary #208

Petropavlovsk was the main ship of a group of three pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the late 1800s. After joining the fleet in 1899, she was quickly sent to the Far East, where she helped suppress the Boxer Rebellion and served as the flagship of the First Pacific Squadron. In the Russo-Japanese War starting in 1904, she took part in the Battle of Port Arthur, but received only light damage and did not manage to hit the Japanese forces. On 13 April 1904, Petropavlovsk sank after hitting mines near Port Arthur. The sinking killed 27 officers and 652 enlisted men, including Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov and the war artist Vasily Vereshchagin. Makarov’s death caused Russian morale to fall sharply after it had been improved by his earlier success. The Petropavlovsk-class design was based on the earlier battleship Imperator Nikolai I but was enlarged to carry four 12-inch guns and eight 8-inch guns; during construction, the armament was changed to use more powerful 12-inch guns and replace the 8-inch guns with twelve 6-inch quick-firing guns. The ship was 376 ft long and powered by twin sets of triple-expansion steam engines driving two shafts, giving a designed speed of 16 knots and an actual speed of 16.38 knots in trials, with a range of 3,750 nautical miles at 10 knots. Its main guns were in two twin turrets (one forward, one aft), supported by twelve 6-inch QF guns and smaller anti-torpedo-boat weapons, plus six broadside torpedo tubes and 50 mines. The ship’s armor used nickel-steel imported from Bethlehem Steel in the US, with a waterline belt 12–16 in thick, 10 in on the main turrets, and deck armor that ranged around 2 in thick. Petropavlovsk was named after a successful Russian defense in 1854. Built after delays from shortages, design changes, and late delivery of her main guns, she was laid down in May 1892, launched in November 1894, and then ran trials in 1898–1899. After sailing to the Far East, she reached Port Arthur in May 1900 as flagship of Vice Admiral Nikolai Skrydlov and the First Pacific Squadron, later helping suppress the Boxer Rebellion in mid-1900 and receiving a new commander (Oskar Stark) in 1902, along with a radio installation that year. After Russia and Japan both aimed to control Manchuria and Korea, talks in 1901 broke down because Russia responded slowly and did not make clear decisions. Russia also failed to withdraw its troops from Manchuria and made concessions and demands that Japan saw as blocking Japanese interests, leading Japan to conclude war was unavoidable in December 1903. Tensions rose further as the Russian Pacific Squadron prepared to react quickly to any Japanese landings. On the night of 8/9 February 1904, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur, but Petropavlovsk was not hit and sailed out the next morning when Tōgō’s fleet attacked. The Japanese attack did less damage than expected because Russian defenses reacted, and Petropavlovsk was only lightly damaged, though it still suffered casualties. After the battle, Russia replaced Admiral Stark with Stepan Makarov on 7 March, but because of damage and long repairs to the Tsesarevich, Makarov had to keep Petropavlovsk as his flagship. Tōgō could not stop the Russian squadron at Port Arthur, so he planned to mine the harbor entrance and lure ships into the minefield, with destroyers covering the minelayer Koru-Maru. On 13 April, the Russian destroyer Strashnii was misled and damaged, leading Bayan to fight while Admiral Makarov sailed out with Petropavlovsk and Poltava to help, but after the ships regrouped they struck mines and Petropavlovsk sank within moments, killing nearly everyone aboard. Makarov’s death badly hurt morale, and although he was later honored with a monument in 1913, his replacement Vitgeft was seen as an ineffective wartime leader.