Russian cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi

Dmitrii Donskoi
History
Russian Empire
NameDmitrii Donskoi
NamesakeDmitry Donskoy
BuilderNew Admiralty Shipyard, Saint Petersburg
Cost3,421,468 rubles
Laid down21 May 1881
Launched30 August 1883
CompletedEarly 1885
Stricken28 September 1905
FateScuttled after the Battle of Tsushima, 29 May 1905
General characteristics (as built)
TypeArmoured cruiser
Displacement5,882 long tons (5,976 t)
Length306 ft 5 in (93.4 m)
Beam58 ft 1 in (17.7 m)
Draught25 ft 10 in (7.88 m)
Installed power
Propulsion1 shaft; 2 compound steam engines
Sail planship rigged
Speed16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Range7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement591
Armament
Armour

Dmitrii Donskoi (Russian: Дмитрий Донской) was an armoured cruiser built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the early 1880s. She was designed as a commerce raider and equipped with a full suite of sails to economize on coal consumption. The ship spent the bulk of her career abroad, either in the Far East or in the Mediterranean.

Dmitrii Donskoi was assigned to the Second Pacific Squadron after the Japanese destroyed Russian ships deployed in the Far East during the early stages of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. The squadron was intercepted by the Japanese fleet in May 1905 in the Battle of Tsushima after a lengthy voyage from the Baltic. The cruiser was not seriously damaged during the initial fighting and tried to continue on to Vladivostok after the first day's fighting. She was spotted by several groups of Japanese warships the following day and was badly damaged in the resulting combat. Her captain ordered the crew ashore near Ulleungdo and had Dmitrii Donskoi scuttled offshore.