View source for Russian cruiser Pallada (1906)

{{Short description|Russian Bayan-class cruiser}}
{{other ships|Russian ship Pallada}}
{{good article}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= Russian cruiser Pallada.jpg
|Ship caption= ''Pallada'' at anchor
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Russian Empire]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Russian Empire|naval}}
|Ship name=''Pallada''
|Ship namesake=[[Pallas Athena]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= [[Admiralty Shipyard]], [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russia]]
|Ship laid down= August 1905<ref group=Note>All dates used in this article are [[Old Style and New Style dates|New Style]]</ref>
|Ship launched=  10 November 1906
|Ship completed=  21 February 1911
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship fate= Sunk by [[SM U-26|''U-26'']], 11 October 1914
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= 
|Ship class= {{sclass|Bayan|cruiser|0}} [[armored cruiser]]
|Ship displacement= {{convert|7750|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} standard
|Ship length= {{convert|449.6|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|57|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship draught= {{convert|22|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 shafts
*2 [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|VTE steam engines]]
|Ship power=*{{convert|16500|ihp|lk=in|abbr=on}}
*26 [[Belleville boiler]]s
|Ship speed= {{convert|21|kn|lk=in}} 
|Ship range=  
|Ship complement=568 (597 at sinking)
|Ship armament=*2 × 1 - [[203mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892|{{convert|203|mm|in|0|abbr=on}}]] guns
*8 × 1 - [[152 mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892|{{convert|152|mm|in|0|abbr=on}}]] guns
*20 × 1 - [[75mm 50 caliber Pattern 1892|{{convert|75|mm|abbr=on}}]] guns
*4 × 1 - [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss|{{convert|47|mm|abbr=on}}]] guns
*2 × {{convert|15|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=*[[Krupp armor]]
*[[Belt armor|Waterline belt]]: {{convert|90|-|175|mm|in|abbr=on|1}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{convert|50|mm|in|abbr=on|1}}
*[[Gun turret]]s: {{convert|132|mm|in|abbr=on|1}}
*[[Casemate]]s: {{convert|60|mm|in|abbr=on|1}}
*[[Conning tower]]: {{convert|136|mm|in|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''''Pallada''''' (Russian: '''''Паллада''''') was the last of the four {{sclass|Bayan|cruiser|0}} [[armored cruiser]]s built for the [[Imperial Russian Navy]] in the first decade of the 20th century. She was assigned to the [[Baltic Fleet]] during [[World War I]] where she captured [[codebook]]s from the German cruiser {{SMS|Magdeburg||2}} that had run aground during the first month of the war. The ship was torpedoed by a German submarine in October 1914 and exploded; none of the crew survived. ''Pallada'' was the first warship lost by the Russians during the war.

==Design and description==
''Pallada'' was {{convert|449.6|ft|1}} long [[length overall|overall]]. She had a maximum [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|57.5|ft|1}}, a [[Draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|26|ft|1}} and displaced {{convert|7750|LT|t}}. The ship had a crew of 568 officers and men. ''Pallada'' was named in honour of the [[Russian cruiser Pallada (1899)|earlier Russian cruiser]] captured by the Japanese during the [[Russo-Japanese War]].<ref name=m5>McLaughlin, p. 75</ref> Both ships were named for the Greek goddess, [[Pallas Athena]].<ref name=m8/>

The ship had two [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|vertical triple-expansion steam engines]] with a designed total of {{convert|16500|ihp|kW|lk=in|0}}, but they developed {{convert|19320|ihp|kW|lk=in}} on [[sea trial]]s and drove the ship to a maximum speed of {{convert|22.55|kn|lk=in}}. Steam for the engines was provided by 26 [[Belleville boiler]]s. She could carry a maximum of {{convert|1100|LT|t|0}} of coal, although her range is unknown.<ref name=m5/>

''Pallada''{{'}}s main armament consisted of two [[203mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892|{{convert|8|in|adj=on|0}}]] 45-[[caliber (artillery)|calibre]] guns in single [[gun turret|turrets]] fore and aft. Her eight [[152 mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892|{{convert|6|in|adj=on|0}}]] gun were mounted in [[casemate]]s on the sides of the ship's hull.<ref name=w0>Watts, p. 100</ref> Anti-[[torpedo boat]] defense was provided by 20 [[75mm 50 caliber Pattern 1892|{{convert|75|mm|adj=on}}]] 50-calibre guns; eight of these were mounted in casemates on the side of the hull and in the superstructure. The remaining guns were located above the six-inch gun casemates in pivot mounts with [[gun shield]]s. ''Pallada'' also mounted four [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss|{{convert|47|mm|in|adj=on}}]] [[Hotchkiss gun]]s. The ship also had two submerged {{convert|15|in|adj=on|0}} [[torpedo tube]]s, one mounted on each [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]].<ref>McLaughlin, pp. 68, 75</ref>

The ship used [[Krupp armour]] throughout. Her [[Belt armor|waterline belt]] was {{convert|190|mm|1}} thick over her machinery spaces. Fore and aft, it reduced to {{convert|90|mm|1}}. The upper belt and the casemates were {{convert|60|mm|1}} thick. The armour [[deck (ship)|deck]] was {{convert|50|mm|0}} thick; over the central [[Artillery battery#Naval usage|battery]] it was a single plate, but elsewhere it consisted of a {{convert|30|mm|adj=on}} plate over two {{convert|10|mm|adj=on}} plates. The gun turrets were protected by {{convert|132|mm}} of armour and  the [[conning tower]] had walls {{convert|136|mm}} thick.<ref>McLaughlin, p. 68</ref>

==Service==
''Pallada'' was built by the [[Admiralty Shipyard]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]. Construction began on 24 June 1905,<ref>McLaughlin, p. 73</ref> although she was not formally [[laid down]] until August, and the ship was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 10 November 1906. ''Pallada'' was completed in February 1911.<ref>Watts, p. 99</ref> She spent her entire career with the Baltic Fleet.<ref name=m8>McLaughlin, p. 78</ref>

On 26 August 1914, during the first month of World War I, the German [[light cruiser]] ''Magdeburg'' ran aground near the island of [[Osmussaar|Odensholm]] in the [[Gulf of Finland]]. Her escort, the [[V25-class torpedo boat]] SMS ''V-26'', failed to pull her off and rescued part of the crew before ''Pallada'' and the [[protected cruiser]] {{ship|Russian cruiser|Bogatyr||2}} appeared and opened fire. The Germans blew up the front part of the ship, but failed to demolish the rest of the ship. They failed to destroy their naval codebooks, which were discovered by the Russians. A copy was later given to the British where it proved enormously helpful to [[Room 40]] in reading German [[wireless]] traffic for much of the war.<ref>David Kahn, ''Seizing the Enigma'', Houghton Mifflin, {{OL|267866W}}</ref> Together with the armoured cruiser {{ship|Russian cruiser|Rurik|1906|2}}, ''Pallada'' unsuccessfully searched for German ships between [[Bornholm]] and [[Danzig]] on the night of 27 August. Less than two months later, on 11 October, ''Pallada'' was torpedoed by the German [[submarine]] {{SMU|U-26}} and blew up with the loss of all hands, the first Russian warship sunk during the war.<ref>Halpern, pp. 36–37, 184–185</ref>

==Wreck==
On 6 October 2012 the Finnish newspaper ''[[Helsingin Sanomat]]'' reported that the wreck of ''Pallada'' had been discovered by a diver group outside [[Hanko, Finland|Hanko]] near the coast of Finland in 2000, but the group had waited until 2012 before publishing their find.<ref name=hsfi>[http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/Suuren+ven%C3%A4l%C3%A4isen+sotalaivan+hylky+l%C3%B6ytyi+Hangon+vesilt%C3%A4/a1305603682710 Meritutkijat pitävät Pallada-löytöä merkittävänä]. Helsingin Sanomat, 6 October 2012.{{retrieved|access-date=2012-10-06}} (in Finnish)</ref>

The ship is lying in three pieces, all upside-down, at a depth of about {{convert|40|to|50|m|ft}}.<ref name="hylyt">[http://www.hylyt.net/hylky.jsp?id=pallada Pallada]. Hylyt.net (from "Hylkyjä Suomenlahdella ja Saaristomerellä" by Vaheri-Hyvärinen-Saari). {{retrieved |access-date=2012-10-29}}</ref> Although the wreck was severely damaged during the sinking and is now covered in silt, a number of details such as a large wooden emblem of the Russian [[double-headed eagle]] are still intact. One of the eight-inch turrets is resting on the seafloor next to the bow section.<ref>[http://www.hs.fi/kuukausiliite/artikkeli/Kuvakooste+Badewanne-sukellusryhm%C3%A4n+l%C3%B6yt%C3%A4m%C3%A4st%C3%A4+panssarilaiva+Palladan+hylyst%C3%A4/1329104890768 Kuvakooste Badewanne-sukellusryhmän löytämästä panssarilaiva Palladan hylystä]. Helsingin Sanomat, 6 October 2012. {{retrieved | access-date=2012-10-06}}</ref>

On 6 September 2013, Helsingin Sanomat reported that the previously largely untouched wreck of ''Pallada'' had been looted.<ref>[http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/Taistelulaiva+Pallada+on+ry%C3%B6stetty/a1378446579743 Taistelulaiva Pallada on ryöstetty]. Helsingin Sanomat, 6 September 2013. {{retrieved|access-date=2013-09-07}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Gray|editor1-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |year=1985 |location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-85177-245-5 |last=Budzbon|first=Przemysław |pages=291–325|chapter=Russia}}
*{{cite book|last=Halpern|first=Paul S.|title=A Naval History of World War I|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1994|isbn=1-55750-352-4}}
*{{cite book|last=McLaughlin|first=Stephen|title=Warship 1999-2000|editor=Preston, Antony|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|year=1999|chapter=From Ruirik to Ruirik: Russia's Armoured Cruisers|isbn=0-85177-724-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Watts|first=Anthony J.|title=The Imperial Russian Navy|publisher=Arms and Armour|location=London|year=1990|isbn=0-85368-912-1}}
* {{cite book |last=von Mantey |first=Eberhard |authorlink= |title= Der Krieg zur See 1914–1918 – Ostsee, Bd. 1 (edited by Rudolph Firle)|url= https://archive.org/details/derkrieginderost01firl/page/186/mode/2up?view=theater  |others= Kapitel 10. - Kapitänleutnant Freiherr v. Berckheim versenkt im Finnischen Meerbusen mit "U 26" am 11. Oktober 1914 den russischen Panzerkreuzer "Palláda" (p. 187-203.)|location= Berlin |publisher= E. S. Mittler und Sohn |year=1921 |oclc=}}

==External links==
* [http://www.neva.ru/EXPO96/book/chap11-2.html World War I Naval Operations in the Baltic theater (includes account of ''Pallada'''s sinking)]

{{Bayan class cruiser}}
{{October 1914 shipwrecks}}
{{coord|59.6083|N|22.8167|E|source:kolossus-jawiki|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pallada (1906), Russian cruiser}}
[[Category:Bayan-class cruisers]]
[[Category:Ships built at Admiralty Shipyard]]
[[Category:1906 ships]]
[[Category:World War I cruisers of Russia]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I]]
[[Category:World War I shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1914]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Finland]]
[[Category:Warships lost in combat with all hands]]
[[Category:Naval magazine explosions]]