Russian cruiser Zhemchug

Russian cruiser Zhemchug
History
Russian Empire
Name:	Zhemchug
Builder:	Nevsky Shipyards, St Petersburg, Russia
Laid down:	19 January 1901
Launched:	14 August 1903
Commissioned:	26 July 1904
Fate:	Sunk in the Battle of Penang on 28 October 1914
General characteristics
Class and type:	Izumrud-class protected cruiser
Displacement:	3,103 long tons (3,153 t)
Length:	110.95 m (364.0 ft) waterline 111.30 m (365.2 ft) oa
Beam:	12.20 m (40.0 ft)
Draught:	4.90 m (16.1 ft)
Installed power:	17,000 hp (13,000 kW)
Propulsion:	3 shaft Triple expansion steam engines (VTE) 16 Yarrow Boilers
Speed:	24.5 knots (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph)
Range:	2,090 nautical miles (3,870 km; 2,410 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement:	354 officers and crewmen
Armament:	8 × 120 mm (4.7 in)/L45 Canet guns in turrets 4 × 47 mm (1.9 in)/L43 Hotchkiss guns 6 × 7.62 mm Maxim machine guns 4 × 457 mm (18.0 in) torpedo tubes 1 × 63.50 mm (2.500 in)/L19 Baranowski landing gun
Armour:	Krupp armour 32–76 mm (1.3–3.0 in) on sloping deck 32 mm (1.3 in) on belt

Zhemchug (Russian: Жемчуг, "Pearl") was the second of the two-vessel Izumrud class of protected cruisers built for the Imperial Russian Navy. She was sunk during World War I by the German light cruiser Emden in the Battle of Penang.

Zhemchug was ordered as part of the Imperial Russian Navy’s plan to expand the Russian Pacific Fleet based at Port Arthur and Vladivostok to counter the growing threat posed by the Imperial Japanese Navy towards Russian hegemony in Manchuria and Korea.

Zhemchug was laid down at the Nevsky Shipyards in Petrograd, Russia in January 1901. However, construction was delayed due to priority given to completion of the Russian cruiser Novik. The Zakladka, or formal ceremony of laying a plate, took place on 14 June 1902, in the presence of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich.

She was launched on 14 August 1903, in the presence of Tsar Nicholas II and Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Construction continued to be plagued by delays, including flooding in November, and an ice storm in December. However, with the start of the Russo-Japanese War in early 1904, construction efforts were greatly accelerated. Mooring tests were completed by 26 July 1904 and speed trials were held on 5 August. Zhemchug was formally commissioned on 29 August 1904 and was assigned to the Second Pacific Squadron of the Russian Pacific Fleet. On 27 September 1904, she participated in a naval review off Reval attended by Tsar Nicholas II, and departed for the Far East the following day.