The deck of the Rurik at Ulsan: An imaginative illustration:
The fleets did not close nearer than 3,300 yards (3 km), nor did the Rurik carry her guns in turrets.
In 1904 Russia held two naval bases in the Far East: its new warm-water port at Port Arthur on the Bohai Gulf, leased from China since 1897, and the ice-bound port of Vladivostok on the Japan Sea, which stood on indisputably Russian soil. The quest for an ice-free Pacific port was what had launched the Russian Bear on a collision course with the wily Tiger of Japan, for Russia had bullied Port Arthur and environs from Japan under false pretenses in the Tripartite Intervention of 1895, after Japan had taken it in war with China. Although Port Arthur and the mineral-rich interior of Manchuria were the main object of the Russo-Japanese War 9 years later, Vladivostok still had an important rôle to play.A squadron of large cruisers was based at Vladivostok, consisting of the armored cruisers Gromoboi (right), Rossiya and Rurik, and the protected cruiser Bogatyr. These powerful vessels had already indulged in two lightning raids on Japanese merchant shipping: one in February 1904 and one in July. During April, Adm Skrydlov was despatched from Petersburg to take command of the Pacific Squadron at Port Arthur, taking the place of the unfortunate Adm. Stepan Makaroff, killed in the explosion of his flagship Petropavlovsk on April 13, 1904. By the time Skrydlov's train came puffing down the Trans-Siberian line, the Japanese had already invested Port Arthur and he was unable to get through. Accordingly, the admiral moved on to Vladivostok and attempted to take command as well as he could.
The Port Arthur fleet of 6 battleships was thus left under the command of Wilhelm Vitgeft. It was Vitgeft's intent (expressed to Skrydloff in a message in July) "to die with Port Arthur". However, as related elsewhere, Vitgeft was pressured by Viceroy Alexeiev to sortie and rendezvous with the Vladivostok squadron. Vitgeft despatched the destroyer Rishitelny with a message to Skrydlov detailing the impending breakout of the Port Arthur squadron and suggesting coordinated action. But Skrydlov never received the message. The Rishitelny was chased into the Chinese port of Qifu by Japanese cruisers. There the Japanese mounted a classic "cutting-out expedition" against her, in brazen violation of the neutrality of the port. The destroyer was captured, her surviving crew made prisoner, and the message intercepted.So when Vitgeft's fleet sortied on Aug. 10, no cruiser squadron was there to support them. In the ensuing Battle of the Yellow Sea, the Japanese had the best of it, heavily damaging 3 of the Russian battleships and killing the admiral on his bridge. The Port Arthur Squadron was through as an effective fighting force, limping back to Port Arthur and never venturing forth again under Russian colours.
When news of the sortie reached him on the 11th, Skrydlov was not ready to burst forth himself and ordered a hasty preparation of the ships, which left Vladivostok on Aug. 13 under the command of R. Adm. Karl Jessen, minus the Bogatyr which was being refitted. Following their modus operandi from previous raids, the Russians headed for the Straits of Tsushima in search of the Port Arthur division. During their previous raids, they had given the slip to Japanese Adm. Kamimura's (right) cruiser squadron with the help of the familiar Sea of Japan fog. This time, however, the sands of Fortune had run out for the Russians. Steaming in line ahead, ships spaced 4 miles apart, they had been eagerly awaiting sight of the Port Arthur squadron, assuming their breakout to be a success; but had reached their maximum point of penetration without sight of their compatriots. As the rosy dawn heralded a beautiful day with clear visibility to the horizon, Jessen ordered a return to Vladivostok.
During the night, Kamimura had been patrolling on a parallel but opposite course. At dawn on Aug. 14, 1904 Kamimura sighted the Russians off the town of Ulsan in Korea, in what was a very advantageous position for attack (map). Making use of his superior speed, the Japanese admiral interposed his force of 4 armored cruisers (Tokiwa, Adzuma, Idzumo, and Iwate) between the Russians and Vladivostok. Assuming Togo's famous "T" formation, the Japanese commenced firing at 0520.
The accurate gunnery of the Japanese soon began to tell on their opponents. For some reason, the Rurik -- slowest and weakest of the Russian squadron -- was targeted by two of the Japanese ships, and the unfortunate vessel was soon in deep trouble. A hit in her unarmored sternpost jammed her steering. In order to steer a straight course, the captain had to run one propeller at lower rpm's than the other, further decreasing her speed. Rurik's chain of command was wrecked as officer after officer was killed in the action, and gun after gun was knocked out. Rather than abandon Rurik, the other two Russian ships at first stayed with her, interposing themselves between their now-burning sister and the punishing Japanese artillery. Nonetheless, their sacrifice was to no avail. Kamimura's two protected cruisers, the sisters Naniwa and Takachiho (1886), bustled up to finish the wounded giant while Kamimura's armored cruisers turned their attention to the other two Russian ships. Rurik blossomed with flames and took on a severe list to port. As she began to sink by the stern, Jessen ordered the vessel scuttled at 0830 and gathered his remaining ships to retreat to base. In truth, it was not a moment too soon, for both Gromoboi and Rossiya had suffered many hits below the waterline and had endured fire damage 'tween wind and water.
For a chart of the ships' movements during the action, click here. For a digital depiction of the Rurik up-ending, click here.
The orders to scuttle were carried out by Lieutenant Ivanov, No. 13 in Rurik's chain of command -- the senior officer left alive. A few of the cruiser's guns spewed defiance right until the end, a gesture that caught the Japanese imagination. Admiration was expressed to several of the 500-some sodden survivors rescued by the Japanese cruisers. Nearly three quarters of Rurik's crew were killed or wounded in the fight.
Meanwhile, Iwate and Adzuma pursued the remaining Russians toward Vladivostok, trading shots and damage. The Russians were in a tight spot, with draft to their boilers wrecked by toppled funnels, speed compromised, heavy casualties, and half-a-dozen holes each at the waterline. With an entire day of fine weather ahead, it might have been expected that the Japanese would annihilate the Russian force and secure an indisputable victory. But whatever the reason (and historians have puzzled over it for more than 100 years), Kamimura elected to break off the chase at 1150 and retreat to Pusan. He was running low on ammunition, but otherwise had suffered only light damage. The Gromoboi and Rossiya were allowed to drag themselves back to Vladivostok and drydock. Perhaps Kamimura's decision was justified; these two cruisers did not threaten Japanese shipping again for the duration of the war; at right, crewmen swarm over the Rossiya to repaint and repair. The ship had to have all her perforated funnels replaced, and most of her shell plating at the stern. For a terrific enlargement click here. Although Gromoboi and Bogatyr did attempt a sortie later in the year, they promptly ran hard aground and suffered considerable hull damage; they were abandoned and only salved by Russia after hostilities had ceased. At home in Japan, Kamimura was hailed as a hero and created a baron of the realm. Japanese casualties of 42 killed and 75 wounded compared very favorably to the Russian count of 343 killed and 652 wounded. While the Russians suffered one ship out of their three destroyed and the others seriously damaged, the punishment they meted out in return caused only slight-to-moderate damage to the Japanese ships, putting none of them out of service.
And so it was that, within the space of only four days, Russia's naval power in Asia was smashed. Until the coming of the Second Pacific Squadron from Europe the following summer, Japan held undisputed sway over the seas in the theatre of war. This provided many benefits for her war effort: Japan's commerce could ply the waves without fear of Russian raiders' attentions. Trooping could be carried out without an extensive escort and without fear of enemy harassment. Perhaps most valuable of all, Japan's weary warships could be withdrawn from blockade duty a few at a time to undergo long-deferred repairs and maintenance. Then there was the element of time. Adm. Togo used the interval between Aug. 15, 1904 and May 27, 1905 to forge his command into an impeccably drilled, smoothly disciplined war machine. This was precisely the force he would need to defeat the Baltic fleet when it arrived. How effectively Togo carried out this agenda may be judged by reading BBB's account of the Battle of Tsushima -- one of the most dramatic, sweeping naval victories of all time.
Built at the Elswick Works of Armstrong Whitworth in Northumberland, Iwate is seen here on her visit to the Royal Navy base at Plymouth before delivery to Japan. It was customary for British-built ships for foreign customers to pay their respects before leaving Home waters; and although the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was not signed until 1902, the two countries were already collaborating closely -- mainly to the frustration of Russia. Idzumo and Iwate were sister ships, completed in 1899 and 1890, respectively. Each ship displaced 9,800 tons and carried a main armament of four 8"/40 guns (2x2) plus (14) 6"/40 QF in casemates; could steam at 21-22 kts. In the action, Idzumo was Kamimura's flagship; her roll of honor included 2 killed and 17 wounded. Sister ship Iwate took a dozen hits. Her "butcher's bill" was the highest in the Japanese squadron: 40 killed and 47 wounded. Schematic
Armored cruiser Adzuma was purchased under the 1897 program and constructed at St-Nazaire, France. Here she is at Portsmouth, outward bound for Japan in 1899. Though technically a one-off, she closely resembled the Yakumo built that same year at Vulkan Werft in Stettin, Germany. Displacement: 9,456 tons. Main armament: (4) 8"/40 (2x2); (12) 6"/40 QF; guns by Elswick. Her speed was 20 kts. In the Ulsan action the ship suffered 10 hits and 8 wounded; no KIAs. Schematic
The Tokiwa and her sister Asama were built at Elswick in 1897-8. Seen above in the theatre of war in 1904, Tokiwa was an especially sweet-handling vessel -- what we today would call "yar". She participated in the battles of Ulsan, Tsushima, and Qingdao; much later she served in defense of the realm during the Pacific War. She was finally destroyed at Minato by a combination of mines and aerial bombs on August 9, 1945. Thus her life encompassed an entire era of Japanese history, from the first successful stirrings of expansionism through the bloated militarism and conquest of the Tojo era, to the collapse and ruin of the Japanese Empire. When new, Tokiwa displaced 9,750 tons and was armed with four 8"/40 (2x2) and 14 - 6"/40 QF in casemates. Her maximum speed was 21½ kts. She got off light at Ulsan: only a couple of hits, none serious, and only 3 crewmen wounded. Schematic
The Naniwa firing a salute at Kobe in 1887, soon after her arrival from Britain. Closely derived from the prototype Elswick cruiser Esmeralda purchased by the IJN, the Naniwa and her sister Takachiho were designed by Japan's leading naval architect in consultation with Sir William White, then the head designer at the Elswick Works, which built the ships and many more for Japan. Delivered in 1886, the 300-foot, 3,700-ton cruisers hefted two 10.2" Krupp guns in single mounts and six 6"/40 QF; could steam at 18½ kts. when new. Both ships fought in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-5 and the campaigns of 1904-5 against Russia. Takachicho was blown up by a German torpedo boat at the Battle of Qingdao in 1914, perishing with all hands. Schematic
The unfortunate Rurik in her early years, impressive in bulk (nearly 12,000 tons) if not in technological finesse. The barque sail rig seen here had been replaced by a much-cut-down 3-mast military rig by the time of the war with Japan. Designed for commerce raiding,the Rurik was not a very successful warship, being inadequately armored, on the slow side, and deficient in watertight subdivision. Following the Russian cruiser tradition, her gun mounts were practically unprotected; excusable, perhaps, in commerce raiding, but folly in combat with other warships. But in one way the Rurik was most effective. Rumors of the ship's size and speed. circulated while she was building, raised a near-panic in Britain, resulting in the construction of the two immense, coal-gobbling (and also unsuccessful) armored cruisers of the Terrible class. Britons were stunned when the obsolete-appearing Rurik commissioned in 1895. With her sail rig, sided armament, and 18-kt speed, she was clearly not the terror of the seas the rumor-mongers had concocted. All this did not prevent Britain from going into a tizzy only a few years later over the Peresviet class battleships. The Royal Navy must needs build a class of six first-class battleships to counter Russia's three second-class ones.
A modern model by Vladimir Yakubov demonstrates Rurik's dead-simple deck plan, in keeping with the straightforward, unimaginative overall treatment. A deficiency of Rurik's design was the side-mounted armament, afterwards copied into Rossiya and Gromoboi; the upper deck 6" gun mounts can be made out poking outboard between the small boats above. The main deck contained six casemate mounted 6" and two 8" per side. The Russians could huff all they wanted about the Rurik's carrying four 8" guns; but with this layout, only two could be fired on either broadside. But the British-made turret mountings on the Japanese armored cruisers made possible a four-gun broadside on most headings. At Ulsan, the Rurik suffered 214 killed in action and 305 wounded -- 72% of the ship's company.
The Rurik: An Historic Profile
Adm. Jessen's flagship was the Rossiya, clearly derived from the Rurik and built, like the earlier ship, at the Baltic Works, St. Petersburg. Commissioned 1898, she was 60 feet longer and only a few tons larger than Rurik. Rossiya used improved technology such as Harvey armor, Belleville water-tube boilers (8 for each of her 4 stacks), more guns, and improved fuel economy. She had triple screw propulsion, and carried a dedicated medium-speed cruising engine in addition to her 3 performance VTE's. Rossiya had a top speed of 20.1 kts. She mounted four 8"/40 guns in sponsons, and sixteen 6" QF on the same plan as the Rurik; armored transverse bulkheads inside the main deck battery protected gun crews from raking (end-to-end) fire. She was completed with a 3-mast military rig (shown), from which the mizzen was later removed. In the Ulsan action she sustained 48 killed and 165 wounded.
Port side view of the Gromoboi. Note 6" bow chaser and 3-story casemate tower under the bridge wings -- similar to the structures on the Peresviet class battleships also built at the Baltic Shipyard -- housing 47mm on top, 8" on main deck, and 6" on lower deck. Last of this evolutionary line of neanderthal cruisers, she weighed in at 13,200 tons. Her power plant, essentially identical to Rossiya's, delivered a top speed of 20 kts. With more extensive but thinner belt armor, she was the best of the type. The gunnery layout remained unchanged: open and unprotected 6" guns on the boat deck were supplemented by 7 casemate-mounted positions per side plus the bow chaser; but the aft 8" pair and the topside guns were still protected only by a 2" frontal shield. She reaped a fearful harvest on August 14: 91 dead and 182 wounded.
A great deal of the fighting at Ulsan was done by these 8" guns, mounted in the multi-story sponson tower forward of the bridge (there was a pivot-mounted 47 mm gun fixed to the roof above this chamber). Armored shutters protected the gun crew, could be moved aside to train the gun barrel on target; peepholes allowed the gunners to keep an eye on the movements of the enemy. This mount is on the Rossiya, but the guns and layout were practically identical on all three of the Russian armored cruisers in this action. On none of them were the aft 8" mounts protected like this; rather they were open to spinning shrapnel from all directions, with horrific results once battle was jointed: the gun crews were slaughtered. During action the gunners in the casemates worked frantically -- and successfully -- to un-jam these guns and return them to action after enemy hits misaligned them.
- Vladimir Yakubov's 1:700 Model of the Rurik
- Rendering of the Rurik Sinking - from Battleships.Ru
- Animation of the Rurik Sinking - requires .WAV-capable player
- The Battle of Chemulpo - First Action of the War
- The Second Rurik: British-Built Semi-Dreadnought Armored Cruiser
- Return to Russo-Japanese War Section
- Relevant DVD: "Great Naval Battle of the Japan Sea" with Toshiro Mifune (1969) - in Japanese w/ Subtitles
- The Battle of Tsushima
- The Imperial Japanese Navy Battle Fleet
- The Imperial Russian Navy, 1863-1918
- The Battle of Qingdao - 1914
House ad for Armstrongs' Elwick Works, birthplace of so many Japanese warships of this era; ad dates from 1914. Amplifying its expansive tone, the artwork features HMS Agincourt front and center. Still listed as Turkish construction in 1914, Agincourt (ex-Sultan Osman I) was to hold the all-time record for most 12" turrets mounted in a single ship: seven.
