Russian cruiser Zhemchug: Difference between revisions

On 28 October 1914, 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. The German light cruiser {{SMS|Emden|1908|2}} was disguised as a British warship and pulled alongside ''Zhemchug'' at a distance of {{convert|300|yd}}. At that range, ''Emden'' raised the Imperial German naval flag, firedlaunched a torpedo, and opened fire with her 10.5&nbsp;cm guns.<ref name=F11/> 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'' turned around and fired a second torpedo atthat struck the burning ''Zhemchug'' and fired a second torpedo that struck her at the conning tower, causing a tremendous explosion that tore the ship apart. By the time the smoke cleared, ''Zhemchug'' had already slipped beneath the waves, her masts the only parts of the ship still above water.<ref name=F14/> Cherkassov watched helplessly from shore as his cruiser was sunk. The sinking of ''Zhemchug'' killed 81 Russian sailors and wounded 129, of whom seven later died of their injuries. ''Emden'' afterwards sunk the {{ship|French destroyer|Mousquet||2|up=yes}} which concluded the [[Battle of Penang]].

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 laterIn commuted to 18 months by Tsar Nicholas IIaddition, but both officers were stripped of their rank, decorations and status as members of the [[Russian nobility]]. BothThe sentences were later commuted to 18 months by Tsar Nicholas II as sending to the front as ordinary seamen, where both men later distinguished themselves in combat and were decorated with the [[Cross of St. George]].<ref>{{icon ru}} V.V. Khromov (В.В. Хромов), ''Kreysera tipa "Zhemchug" (Крейсера типа «Жемчуг»)'', Morskaya Kollekcya 1/2005</ref>