Russian armoured cruiser Admiral Nakhimov

Admiral Nakhimov, with a full rigging, in 1888-1893
History
Russian Empire
Name:	Admiral Nakhimov
Namesake:	Pavel Nakhimov
Builder:	Baltic Works, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Laid down:	July 1884
Launched:	21 October 1885
Commissioned:	9 September 1888
Fate:	Sunk at the Battle of Tsushima, 28 May 1905
General characteristics
Type:	Armoured cruiser
Displacement:	7,781 long tons (7,906 t) standard 8,473 long tons (8,609 t) full load
Length:	103.3 m (338 ft 11 in)
Beam:	18.6 m (61 ft 0 in)
Draught:	7.7 m (25 ft 3 in)
Propulsion:	2 shaft reciprocating vertical triple expansion (VTE) engines 12 cylindrical coal-fired boilers 9,000 shp (6,700 kW)
Speed:	17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Range:	4,400 nmi (8,100 km)
Boats & landing craft carried:	2 × torpedo boats 2 × spar torpedo boats
Complement:	572-650
Armament:	8 × 203 mm (8 in) guns 10 × 152 mm (6 in) guns 4 × 110 mm (4.3 in) guns 15 × 47 mm (1.9 in) 3-pounder guns 3 × 381 mm (15 in) torpedo tubes 40 × mines
Armour:	Compound armour Belt: 254 mm (10 in) Deck: 51–76 mm (2–3 in) Barbettes: 203 mm (8 in) Turrets: 51–63 mm (2.0–2.5 in) Conning tower: 152 mm (6 in)

Admiral Nakhimov (Russian: Адмирал Нахимов), was an armoured cruiser in the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo-Japanese War. She was named after Admiral Pavel Nakhimov.

Admiral Nakhimov was ordered in 1881 as one of the first armoured cruisers, and one of the more interesting naval ships constructed in Russia in the late 19th century. She was modeled after the British Royal Navy Imperieuse class cruisers, which were armed with four 234 mm guns in a rhomboid layout. Admiral Nakhimov was considered a more successful design. Her main armament consisted of 203 mm guns, which were lighter and their number could be doubled.

As a result, Admiral Nakhimov had probably the heaviest broadside (six 203 mm guns and five 152 mm guns) of all the armoured cruisers built in the 19th century. Unfortunately, her guns quickly became obsolete. Consideration was given to replacing them with quick-firing 152 mm guns (with eleven in a broadside), but it was not done due to the limited resources of Russian industry before the war with Japan. As well as steam engines, Nakhimov, like Imperieuse, was initially fitted with a full brig rigging, but this proved to lack utility and was eventually removed in 1898-1899.

The deficiencies of Nakhimov were connected with the time of her construction, and the rapid advance in naval technology during the period. As a result, she was already an obsolete vessel by 1905, inferior to newer cruisers. The main fault was weak protection against torpedoes, despite the fact she was the first Russian vessel to introduce anti-torpedo nets (which were useful only at slow speed). As quick-firing medium-caliber artillery became widely used her limited amount of side armour left most of the hull vulnerable. Her machinery also became obsolete and her speed was low.

She was laid down at the Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg in the presence of Tsar Alexander III in July 1884, launched on 21 October 1885, and entered service on 9 September 1888.