Russian battleship Sevastopol (1895)

Sevastopol at Port Arthur in 1904
History
Russian Empire
NameSevastopol
NamesakeSiege of Sevastopol
BuilderGalernii Island shipyard, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Laid down19 May 1892[a]
Launched1 June 1895
Completed1899
In service1900
FateScuttled off Port Arthur, 2 January 1905
General characteristics
Class and typePetropavlovsk-class pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement11,842 long tons (12,032 t)
Length376 ft (115 m)
Beam70 ft (21 m)
Draft28 ft 3 in (8.61 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range3,750 nmi (6,940 km; 4,320 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement725
Armament
Armor

Sevastopol (Russian: Севастополь) was the last of three ships in the Petropavlovsk class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1890s.

Named for the siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War, the ship was commissioned into the First Pacific Squadron of the Russian Pacific Fleet and was stationed at Port Arthur (today Lüshunkou District, Dalian, Liaoning, China), a Russian naval base acquired from China in 1898 as part of the Kwantung Leased Territory. One of the first ships to use Harvey nickel-steel armor and Popov radios, she displaced 11,854 long tons (12,044 t) at full load and was 369 feet (112.5 m) long overall, and mounted a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns in two twin turrets. She was laid down in May 1892, launched on 1 June 1895 and completed in 1899. Her sea trials lasted until 1900.

Sevastopol saw service in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. Slightly damaged during a surprise attack on Port Arthur in early February, the ship later participated in several attempts to break out from the besieged port. The most notable of these was the Battle of the Yellow Sea, where she was damaged by several shells but managed to make it back to port with the remnants of the Russian Fleet, leaving one crewman dead and 62 wounded. Immediately after the surrender of Port Arthur, Sevastopol was scuttled to prevent her capture by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Japanese never raised her. The remains of the ship still lie outside the entrance to the port.
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