Novík was a protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

 in the Imperial Russian Navy

Imperial Russian Navy

The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...

, built by Schichau

Schichau

Schichau Elbing or Schichau may refer to:The German surname* Ferdinand Schichau , the German businessman and engineer who founded the Schichau-Werke...

 shipyards in Elbing

Elbing

Elbing is the German name of Elbląg, a city in northern Poland which until 1945 was a German city in the province of East Prussia.Elbing may also refer to:- Ships :* SMS Elbing, light cruiser of the Imperial Germany Navy...

 near Danzig, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Background

Novik was a very fast ship for the time, but smaller than most contemporary cruisers, and perhaps a forerunner of later light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

s. It was built by the German shipbuilders Schichau

Schichau

Schichau Elbing or Schichau may refer to:The German surname* Ferdinand Schichau , the German businessman and engineer who founded the Schichau-Werke...

 at the end of the 19th century, and her performance so impressed the Russian naval leadership that a near copy was made in the Russian Izumrud class.

Service life

The Novik performed heroically in various engagements during the Russo-Japanese War

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

 of 1904-1905. One of the few ships in the Russian fleet to offer combat during the initial Battle of Port Arthur

Battle of Port Arthur

The Battle of Port Arthur was the starting battle of the Russo-Japanese War...

, it closed to within 3,000 yards of the Japanese fleet to deliver a torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

.

In the Battle of the Yellow Sea

Battle of the Yellow Sea

The Battle of the Yellow Sea was a major naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 August. The battle foiled an attempt by the Russian fleet at Port Arthur to break out and form up with counterparts from...

, the Russian fleet attempted to run the Japanese blockade of Port Arthur

Lüshunkou

Lüshunkou is a district in the municipality of Dalian, Liaoning province, China. Also called Lüshun City or Lüshun Port, it was formerly known as both Port Arthur and Ryojun....

. The attempt failed, and most of the Russian ships returned to port but several managed to escape to be interned in various neutral ports. The Novik reached the neutral German port of Tsingtao in company of the battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 , but choosing to avoid internment, Commander Nikolai von Essen chose to outrace its Japanese pursuers around the Japanese home islands towards Vladivostok

Vladivostok

The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...

. The Novik was pursued by the , which was later joined by the . Spotted by a Japanese transport ship while coaling at Sakhalin

Sakhalin

Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...

, Novik was trapped in Aniva Bay

Aniva Bay

Aniva Bay is located at the southern end of Sakhalin Island, Russia, north of the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. The largest city on the bay is Korsakov....

, and forced to battle off Korsakov

Battle of Korsakov

The Battle of Korsakov, a naval engagement of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought on 20 August 1904. The battle foiled an attempt by the Russian cruiser Novik at escaping Port Arthur to join with Russian forces at Vladivosk after the Russian Pacific Squadron was scattered after the Battle of the...

 by Tsushima. Realizing that he was hopelessly outgunned and after sustaining considerable damage, Commander von Essen ordered the Novik scuttled to make salvage impossible.

Nevertheless, the Japanese thought highly enough of the vessel to seize it as a prize of war

Prize of war

A prize of war is a piece of military property seized by the victorious party after a war or battle, typically at sea. This term was used nearly exclusively in terms of a captured ship during the 18th and 19th centuries....

, and it was repaired and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

as the . It was declared obsolete and scrapped in 1913.

External links

• http://web.ukonline.co.uk/aj.cashmore/russia/cruisers/novik/novik.html
• http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/novik.htm