Russian cruiser Oleg

For other ships of the same name, see Oleg (ship).

Russian cruiser Oleg
Oleg
Career (Russian Empire)
Name:	Oleg (Russian: Олег)
Operator:	Imperial Russian Navy
Builder:	Admiralty Shipyard, Saint Petersburg
Laid down:	July 6, 1902
Launched:	August 14, 1903
Commissioned:	June 24, 1904
Fate:	combat loss June 17, 1919
General characteristics
Class & type:	Bogatyr-class Protected cruiser
Displacement:	6,975 long tons (7,087 t)
Length:	134.19 m (440.3 ft)
Beam:	16.61 m (54.5 ft)
Draught:	6.61 m (21.7 ft)
Installed power:	2,300 ihp (1,700 kW)
Propulsion:	2 shaft vertical triple expansion steam engines 16 Normand-type boiler
Speed:	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Range:	2,100 nmi (3,890 km; 2,420 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement:	576 officers and crewmen
Armament:	12 × 6 in (150 mm) guns (2 twin turrets and 8 single guns), replaced by 5 in (130 mm) guns in subsequent refits for all ships • 12 × 11-pounder guns • 8 ×47 mm (1.9 in) guns • 2 ×37 mm (1.5 in) guns • 2 × 15 in (380 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Harvey armor Deck: 35–80 mm (1–3 in) Conning tower: 140 mm (6 in)

Oleg (Russian: Олег) was the 4th and final Bogatyr-class protected cruiser built for the Imperial Russian Navy.

Operational history

Oleg was laid down at the Admiralty Shipyards at St. Petersburg on July 6, 1902, launched on August 14, 1903 and commissioned into the Russian Baltic Fleet on June 24, 1904. With the Russo-Japanese War already in progress, she was seconded to the Russian Second Pacific Squadron

Russo-Japanese War

Under the command of Admiral Oskar Enkvist, Oleg was part of the Russian Second Pacific Squadron, which sailed from the Baltic Sea around the world to relieve the Japanese blockade of the Russian Pacific Fleet at Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War. The squadron engaged Japanese Admiral Togo Heihachiro’s Combined Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima on May 15, 1905. During the battle, Oleg was damaged, but managed to escape and, together with Aurora and Zhemchug reached the protection of the neutral port of Manila, where she was interned to the end of the war. After returning to the Russian Baltic Fleet, Oleg was refit and her torpedo nets removed. She was available for active service again from October 17, 1908.

World War I

At the start of World War I, Oleg was part of the Russian 1st Cruiser Brigade in the Baltic Sea. On August 26, 1914, together with Bogatyr, she covered minelaying operations in the Baltic, as well as laying mines herself. Mines laid by Oleg are credited with sinking the German light cruiser SMS Augsburg off Bornholm. On July 2, 1915, Oleg participated in the Battle of Åland Islands during which she assisted in driving the German light cruiser SMS Albatross onto the beach.

In June 1916, the Russian Baltic Fleet launched a major offensive against German convoys off the Swedish cost, near Gotland.

Russian Revolution

During the October Revolution of 1917, the crew of the Oleg quickly declared support for the Bolshevik cause. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk required the Soviets to evacuate their base at Helsinki in March 1918 or have their ships interned by newly independent Finland even though the Gulf of Finland was still frozen over. Oleg sailed to Kronstadt in what became known as the 'Ice Voyage'. In November 1918, Oleg and Bogatyr participated in the aborted invasion of Estonia by the Red Army. Oleg was torpedoed and sunk on the night of June 17, 1919 by Royal Navy speedboat CMB-4 commanded by Captain Augustus Agar in an attack on the Red Navy facilities at Kronstadt. Parts of the ship were salvaged in 1919 and 1933, and the rest of hulk was raised and scrapped in 1938.

References

• Brook, Peter (2000). "Armoured Cruiser vs. Armoured Cruiser: Ulsan 14 August 1904". In Preston, Antony. Warship 2000–2001. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-791-0. 
• Robert Gardiner, ed (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwhich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4. 
• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5. 
• McLaughlin, Stephen (1999). "From Ruirik to Ruirik: Russia's Armoured Cruisers". In Preston, Antony. Warship 1999–2000. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-724-4. 
• Watts, Anthony J. (1990). The Imperial Russian Navy. London: Arms and Armour. ISBN 0-85368-912-1.