Russian battleship Retvizan

The Retvizan was a Russian Pre-dreadnought battleship, whic fought in the Russo-Japanese war. She was unique in that she was built in the USA for the Imperial Russian Navy, by Charles Henry Cramp in Philadelphia.

She was ordered in 1898, laid down 29 July 1899, Launched 23 October 1900, and comissioned on 23 March 1902.

She was designed for service in the Pacific and was a combination of Russian and American design. She arrived at Port Arthur (now Lüshunkou) China on 4th May 1903.

She was present at the Battle of Port Arthur where she was torpedoed by Japanese destroyers and grounded. She was repaired and took part in the Battle of the Yellow Sea, where she was hit by 18 shells and suffered 6 dead and 43 wounded. She was subsequently trapped in Port-Arthur and sunk at her moorings by numerous howitzer shells on 6 december 1904, during the Siege of Port Arthur.

The Retvizan was raised by the Japanese and repaired at Sasebo. She was renamed Hizen. She seved in the Imperial Japanese Navy during world war i where she took part in the hunt for Maximilian von Spee and the Japanese intervention in the Russian Civil War. She was retired as a result of the Washington Treaty in 1923 and sunk as a target in 1924.

General Charecteristics

Displacement - 12780 tons

Dimensions - length 386 ft, beam 72 ft, draught 25 ft

Armamanent - 4 x 12 inch guns (2x2), 12 x 6 inch guns (12 x1), 20 x 75 mm guns, 6 15" torpedo tubes

Armour - Belt 9 inch (Krupp steel), deck 2 -3 inch, turrets 9 inch

Machinery - 2 Vertical triple expansion engines, 24 Niclausee boilers

Speed - 18 knots

Endurance -8000 nautical miles

Complement - 750 28 officers, 722 men

Source: S. McLaughlin - The Retvizan, an american battleship for the Czar, 2000 , (in Warship 2000-2001, Conways maritime press)