Russian cruiser Oleg

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

For other ships with the same name, see Oleg (ship).
Oleg in April 1918
History
Russia
Name: Oleg (Russian: Олег)
Builder: Admiralty Shipyard, Saint Petersburg
Laid down: 6 July 1902
Launched: 14 August 1903
Commissioned: 24 June 1904
Fate: Torpedoed and sunk, 17 June 1919
General characteristics
Class and 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: 17,000 ihp (13,000 kW)
Propulsion:
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:
Armor:

Operational history

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

Russo-Japanese War
Line drawing of the Bogatyr class showing armament layout.

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 15 May 1905. During the battle, Oleg was damaged, but managed to escape and, together with the cruisers 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 17 October 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 26 August 1914, together with sister ship 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 2 July 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 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 17 June 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 (ed.). 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. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • McLaughlin, Stephen (1999). "From Ruirik to Ruirik: Russia's Armoured Cruisers". In Preston, Antony (ed.). 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.

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