Russian cruiser Zhemchug: Difference between revisions

|Ship country={{nowrap|Russian Empire}}

|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of{{shipboxflag|Russian Russia.svgEmpire|50px]]naval}}

|Ship name= '''''Zhemchug'''''

|Ship armament={{plainlist|

*8 –x {{convert|120|mm|in|sing=on|abbr=on}}/L45 [[Canet gun]]s in turrets

*4 –x {{convert|47|mm|in|sing=on|abbr=on}} /L43 Hotchkiss guns

*6 –x 7.62 mm Maxim [[machine gunsgun]]s

*4 –x {{convert|457|mm|in|singabbr=on}} [[torpedo tubestube]]s

*1 x {{convert|63.5 |mm|in|abbr=on}}/L19 Baranowski landing gun

|Ship armour=[[Krupp armour]],

'''''Zhemchug''''' ({{lang-ru|Жемчуг}}, "Pearl") was the second of the two-vessel [[{{sclass-|Izumrud class |cruiser|''Izumrud'' class]]4}} of [[protected cruiser]]s built for the [[Imperial Russian Navy]]. She was sunk during World War I by the German light cruiser {{SMS|Emden|1908|2}} in the [[Battle of Penang]].

''Zhemchug'' was laid down at the [[Sredne-Nevskiy Shipyard|Nevsky Shipyards]] in [[Petrograd]], [[Russia]] on 1 June 1902, in the presence of [[Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich]]. However, construction was delayed due to priority given to completion of the {{ship|Russian cruiser|Novik|1900|62|up=yes}}.

At the start of [[World War I]], ''Zhemchug'' was part of the [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] (British-French-Japanese) joint task force pursuing the [[German East Asia Squadron]] under Admiral [[Maximilian von Spee]], and operated in the [[Bay of Bengal]] together with the Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser [[{{ship|Japanese cruiser |Chikuma (|1911)|Chikuma]]2}}. On 28 October 1914, she was moored at [[Penang]], when attacked by the German light cruiser [[{{SMS |Emden (|1908)|''Emden'']]2}} in what was later called the [[Battle of Penang]].

''Zhemchug'' arrived in Penang on 26 October for repairs and to clean her boilers. Against the advice of Admiral [[Martyn Jerram]], commander-in-chief of the Allied Fleet, Commander Cherkassov had given most of his crew shore leave, and left the ship with all torpedoes disarmed, and all shells locked away save for 12 rounds stowed on deck. Commander Cherkassov was at the [[Eastern & Oriental Hotel]] in [[Georgetown, Penang|George Town]] with a lady friend. The remaining crew were having a party on board rather than keeping watch. ''Emden'' arrived at Penang disguised as a British warship, then raised the Imperial German naval flag, sank the {{ship|French destroyer|Mousquet||2|up=yes}} and opened fire on ''Zhemchug'' at point-blank range with a torpedo and her main batteries. The torpedo hit near the aft funnel, blowing off the [[fantail]] of the cruiser and destroying the aft guns. To their credit, ''Zhemchug''{{'}}s crew managed to load and return fire with the front guns, but missed the German raider and struck a merchant ship in the harbor instead. ''Emden''{{'}}s second torpedo then struck ''Zhemchug'' at the conning tower, breaking the ship in two. The explosion killed 89 crewmen, and wounded 143 others and the ship quickly sank.

A court-martial held in Vladivostok found Commander Cherkassov guilty of gross negligence and sentenced him to 3.5 years in prison. His [[executive officer]], Lieutenant Kulibin, was sentenced to 18 months. The sentences were later commuted to 18 months by Tsar Nicholas II, but both officers were stripped of their rank, decorations and status as members of the [[Russian nobility]]. The bodies of 82 crewmen were buried in Penang; the other seven bodies were never recovered. The ship's {{convert|4.7-inch|in|mm|abbr=on|order=flip}} guns were salvaged by the Russian cruiser {{ship|Russian cruiser|Oleg||2}} in December 1914.

In the 1920's, the ship was partially raised and scrapped by britishBritish experts.