US Cruisers, 1904

This one got me all excited. It was labeled 'US Cruisers 1904' but the first vessel was clearly a Russian battleship of the 'Peresviet' class. You can make out the slab sides and high freeboard - not characteristics of US warships of the era.

Closer inspection of the four piper behind reveals it was indeed US built, but for the Russian Navy not the USN. It is the protected cruiser Varyag (Viking), of great historical significance.

In February 1904, at Chemulpo (modern Inchon) Korea, Japanese Admiral Uriu fired the opening shots of the Russo-Japanese war. Varyag and Gunboat Koryetz (Korean) were ordered by the Japanese to leave port. The Russians obliged, even though they were heavily outgunned.

Consequently, Varyag was badly damaged and returned to port to be scuttled, along with other Russian vessels (Koryetz and merchantman Sungari)

I can't tell whether the battleship is Pobieda or Peresviet, both of whom were based at Port Arthur, Manchuria. The two were practically identical.

The photo was almost certainly taken at Port Arthur between 1903/04, as Varyag spent her entire service life in the Far East.

The Peresviet class was a domestic design and were ugly vessels. To save weight they were given 10" guns, rather than the 12", which was then standard. They had a full waterline belt of Harvey armour and a good turn of speed. Nevertheless they were overweight as built - as with most Russian battleships of the period.

Of the class, Oslyabya served with Rhozdventsky and was the first steel battleship in history sunk by gunfire alone. A Japanese shell set off a 3" forward magazine and opened the bows out like a clamshell. She sunk in a little over three minutes.

Peresviet and Pobieda served in the First Pacific Squadron at Port Arthur and took their place in the battle of the Yellow Sea. Both survived to be grounded at Port Arthur and used as static artillery against the advancing Japanese troops. Consequently, they were wrecked by Japanese 11" howitzer batteries, captured after the surrender of the port, raised and served on in Japanese colours.

They were regarded as tough ships by the Russians, despite Oslyabya's early exit from the Battle of Tsushima. The fact that Peresviet and Pobieda took such a pounding and were still salvageable tends to support that.

By contrast, the Borodinos, spearheading the Russian attempt to relieve Port Arthur, displayed inherent instability when put to the test. The Orel, captured after Tsushima, had a deck removed by the Japanese to reduce her tendency to roll heavily in even a light swell. Being overweight, the armour belt was frequently submerged allowing water to flood in through shellholes in the unarmoured part of the hull. Imperator Alexander III and Kniaz Suvorov both capsized during the battle and the Borodino had a 12" magazine detonated by a Japanese shell. (Perhaps suggesting a weakness in the armour over the magazines)

Tessarevich and Borodino class battleships were built to French designs and, by contrast to British design philosophy, had high superstructures, high freeboard and full fighting tops. In an attempt to reduce topweight, they reintroduced the tumblehome hull from the days of Nelson.

In the days of fighting sail, the tumblehome was to prevent boarding, creating a large gap between maindecks that couldn't easily be crossed. But, in the steam era, where battles were fought at ranges greater than 6000 yards, there's no fighting advantage in the tumblehome. The big gun required a stable platform for accuracy not one that rolled like a log.

Don