Russian battleship Imperator Nikolai I (1889)

Imperator Nikolai I as depicted by an 1893 lithograph
History
Russian Empire
Name	Imperator Nikolai I
Namesake	Nicholas I of Russia
Ordered	1 January 1886[Note 1]
Builder	Franco-Russian Works, Saint Petersburg
Laid down	4 August 1886
Launched	1 June 1889
Commissioned	July 1891
Fate	Captured by Japan, 28 May 1905
Japan
Name	Iki
Namesake	Iki province
Acquired	28 May 1905
Commissioned	6 June 1905
Stricken	1 May 1915
Fate	Sunk as target, 3 October 1915
General characteristics
Class and type	Imperator Aleksandr II-class battleship
Displacement	9,594 long tons (9,748 t)
Length	346 ft 6 in (105.61 m)
Beam	66 ft 11 in (20.40 m)
Draft	24 ft 3 in (7.39 m)
Installed power	12 cylindrical boilers 7,842 ihp (5,848 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 compound-expansion steam engines
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Range	2,630 nautical miles (4,870 km; 3,030 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	616
Armament	As built: 1 × twin 12 in (305 mm) guns 4 × single 9 in (229 mm) guns 8 × single 6 in (152 mm) guns 10 × single 47 mm (1.9 in) Hotchkiss revolving cannon 8 × single 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolving cannon 6 × single 15 in (381 mm) torpedo tubes As Iki: 1 × twin 12 in (305 mm) guns 6 × single 6 in (152 mm) guns 6 × single 4.7 in (119 mm) guns 6 × single 3 in (76 mm) guns 6 × single 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor	Compound armor Belt: 6–14 in (152–356 mm) Deck: 2.5 in (64 mm) Turret: 10 in (254 mm) Conning tower: 6 in (152 mm) Bulkheads: 6 in (152 mm)

Imperator Nikolai I (Russian: Император Николай I) was a Russian Imperator Aleksandr II-class battleship built for the Baltic Fleet in the late 1880s. She participated in the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America in New York City in 1892. She was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron and visited Toulon in October 1893. She sailed for the Pacific Ocean during the First Sino-Japanese War and remained in the Pacific until late 1896, when she returned to the Mediterranean Squadron and supported Russian interests during the Cretan Revolt. She returned to the Baltic in April 1898 and had a lengthy refit, which replaced all of her machinery, before returning to the Mediterranean in 1901.

Returning to the Baltic during the Russo-Japanese War Imperator Nikolai I was refitted in late 1904 to serve as the flagship of the Third Pacific Squadron under Rear Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov. She was slightly damaged during the Battle of Tsushima and was surrendered, along with most of the Third Pacific Squadron, by Admiral Nebogatov to the Japanese the following day. She was taken into the Imperial Japanese Navy under the new name of Iki (壱岐) and she served as a gunnery training ship until 1910 and then became a first-class coast defense ship and training vessel. She was sunk as a target ship in October 1915.
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