Japanese cruiser Tsugaru

Tsugaru (津軽) was an protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, acquired as a prize of war during the Russo-Japanese War from the Imperial Russian Navy, where it was originally known as the RUSSIAN CRUISER Pallada. The cruisers RUSSIAN CRUISER Aurora and RUSSIAN CRUISER Diana were its sister ships.

Background
The Pallada was built by the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg, Russia for the Imperial Russian Navy. As the lead ship of the Pallada-class cruiser, it was one of the most modern cruisers in the Russian navy when assigned to the Russian Far East squadron based at Port Arthur, Manchuria.

With the start of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the Pallada was trapped at Port Arthur, and subsequently sunk by Japanese artillery during the Siege of Port Arthur on 8 December 1904.

Service record
After the capture of Port Arthur by the Japanese, the wreck of the Pallada was raised, repaired, and commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the 2nd class cruiser Tsugaru on 22 August 1908. Its new name came from the Tsugaru Strait between Honshū and Hokkaidō.

After commissioning into the Japanese navy, the Tsugaru was used almost exclusively for training duties, especially for mechanical systems training, and it never left Japanese home waters.

On 1 April 1920, the Tsugaru was re-classified as a minelayer. It was removed from the active list on 1 April 1922, and scuttled with explosive charges offshore from Yokosuka on 27 May 1924.

The cruiser Tsugaru should not be confused with the Pacific War era minelayer of the same name.