Almaz 1904
| Name | No | Yard No | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comp | Fate |
| Àëìàç [Almaz] | Baltic Works, St. Petersburg | 25.9.1902 | 2.6.1903 | end-1903 | despatch vessel 3.1906, emperor's yacht 10.1908, seaplane carrier 11.1916, captured by Germany 1.5.1918 |
|
Displacement normal, t |
3285 |
|
Displacement full, t |
|
|
Length, m |
99.1 pp 99.1 wl 111.5 oa |
|
Breadth, m |
13.3 |
|
Draught, m |
5.33 max |
|
No of shafts |
2 |
|
Machinery |
2 VTE, 16 Belleville boilers |
|
Power, h. p. |
7500 |
|
Max speed, kts |
19 |
|
Fuel, t |
coal 800 |
|
Endurance, nm(kts) |
3350(10) |
|
Armament |
4 x 1 - 75/48 Canet, 8 x 1 - 47/40 Hotchkiss, 2 x 1 - 7.6/94 |
|
Complement |
295 |
Project history: An armed yacht with two funnels, three masts, clipper bows and bowsprit, the Almaz would not qualify for inclusion as a true warship except for her interesting career.
Modernizations: 6.1905: - 6 x 1 - 47/40; + 3 x 1 - 120/43 Canet, 6 x 1 - 75/48 Canet
10/1905: - 3 x 1 - 120/43, 4 x 1 - 75/48; + 4 x 1 - 47/40 Hotchkiss
1915: new armament consisted of 7 x 1 - 120/43 Canet, 4 x 1 - 75/48 Canet AA, 4 seaplanes
Naval service: Apart from two destroyers she was the only ship to reach Vladivostok after the disaster of Tsushima, and transferred to the Black Sea in 1911, serving as a seaplane carrier in the First World War. She became a despatch vessel in March 1906, emperor's yacht in October 1908 and seaplane carrier in November 1916 (that time she was classified as despatch vessel). 1.5.1918 Almaz was captured by German troops at Sevastopol, 24.11.1918 by British-French troops and 29.4.1919 by Red Army. 24.6.1919 she was captured by White Army and departed Sevastopol 14.11.1920 escaping to Istanbul. 29.12.1920 she was interned by French Government at Bizerte, 29.10.1924 Almaz admitted by French as Russian property but was sold by Russian for BU and scrapped in 1934 at Bizerte.
Almaz
© Ivan Gogin, 2014