The Victorious King

Germany's Konig and why old pre-dreadnoughts like the Slava stood little chance. That' s ten twelve inch guns she's packing against 4 on the Slava. Steam turbines pushed her along at over 21 knots, as opposed to the Slava's 16kts at the time of the Moon Sound battle.

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Glory

Slava (Glory) scuttled in Moon Sound, off Muhu Island, Gulf of Riga. She was last of the Borodino class, finished in 1906 and thus too late for the Russo-Japanese War.

In late September 1917 her and the Tchesma, the renamed Tessarevich, fought against an attempt by units of Germany's High Seas Fleet to break into the Gulf of Finland. The ensuing Battle of Moon Sound was an unequal contest between German Dreadnought battleships and the remnant of the Tsarist Baltic Battlefleet.

Slava was disabled by heavy hits from the German SMS Konig and, down by the stern, couldn't negotiate the shallow passage and so scuttled herself.

It was the last battle fought under the Andreevsky Flag.

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Pious Peresviet

A stunning shot of Peresviet some time before 1905. The detail in this photo is exceptional for the time.

Peresviet and her sister, Oslyabya, were named after medieval warrior monks. The other of the class, Pobieda, is Russian for 'Victory.'

The sailor standing on the bow below the jack gives some idea of perspective. By the standard of five years later, they were small battleships - around 11,000 tons fully loaded.

Although the flag looks to be the British Union Jack, it's actually the Russian Naval jack. The crosses are blue and white on a red field - the opposite to the British. The ensign was the 'Andreievsky Flag,' blue St Andrew's cross on a white field. This flag was adopted back into the modern Russian Navy in 1994.

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