Oslyabya

Oslyabya, of the Peresviet class. She was a Tsushima ship - flagship of the Second Battleship Division under Vice Admiral Felkerzam. Felkerzam had succumbed to an angina attack days before the battle and he was packed in ice in a box in his cabin.

Rhozdventsky didn't release the news of Felkerzam's death in case it caused a loss of morale. That meant the Oslyabya's captain, Vladimir Ber, was de-facto admiral, as the others of the division looked to the flagship for orders.

If you look at the prow you can see what looks to be a bowsprit. Actually, it was a bow chaser gun that fired through clamshell doors - a perfectly useless place to put a gun, a hangover from fighting sail. Japanese Battleship Asahi hit her there with a 12" shell and likely detonated the magazine. Oslyabya sank very quickly - the first steel battleship to be sunk by gunfire alone.

Probably - I'm guessing here - the explosion blew out a large portion of her bottom beside disintegrating her bow section. The momentum of the ship pushed her down until there was enough flooding to cause her to capsize.

Don