A Bad Hand

Orel. The fourth ship of the Borodino class seemed to have been dogged by ill-luck from the outset. Revolutionaries sabotaged her engines by tipping iron filings into the bearing cases before she set out with Rhozdventsky. Orel broke down at least four times on her journey around the world.

Named after a fortress town in Southern Russia. Orel's crew consisted of more agents provocateur than the rest of the fleet put together.

Following the Battle of Tsushima, she was found by the Japanese abandoned with white flags at her mastheads on the morning of the 28th. Her crew were in the boats, drifting nearby. Orel was towed back to Japan for extensive repairs including the removal of one of her decks to improve stability.

Mystery still surrounds her tame surrender. Her captain was tried by courts marshal and, in his defense, claimed he had no confidence in the crew. He and Admiral Nebogatov were sent to prison, but their sentences were commuted after three years or so.

Although she was unable to raise steam when the Japanese came upon her, the suspicion is that her own crew sabotaged her to prevent the captain from continuing the fight.

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