had suffered a 100 per cent turnover of its strength at the start of the , although access to North American timber ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news ship services ship servicesping maritime marine engineeringyards had ensured that the lost ship services ship servicesping maritime marine engineerings were replaced.The advent of steam seemed to complicate the problem, however, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news it was widely believed that the trade­protection tactic of conveying vulnerable ship services ship servicesping maritime marine engineeringping would no longer suffice. Endurance under steam was low ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news even when steam machinery became more efficient in the last two decades of the nineteenth century it was feared that fast enemy cruisers would act as'armadillos', lapping up ants as they emerged from their uest, in the words of Sir John Fisher.

The Russians ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news the French in particular recognised that their only way of winning a naval against Britain would be the classic guerre de course against commerce on the high seas. Both navies had built a series of nominally unbeatable cruisers, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news as it had to be assumed that the Royal Navy would be opposed by both the French ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news Russian navies acting in Concert, the rumours of a new Russian 'paralyser' on the trade-routes fuelled anxiety to the point where it approached paranoia. The British press dutifully took up the call, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news 'naval experts' predicted disaster on the high seas.

What finally appeared in 1895 was a blow to the ntyth-makcrs.'Che Rurik turned out to be a barque-rigged large armoured frigate with her armament on the broadside. Far from being ultra-fast, she was only good for 18.7kts in light condition.The armament was heavy, four single short Sin 35-cal guns sited in sponsons port ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news starboard at the break of the forecastle ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news at the poop, protected by small shields, 16 single 6in 45 quick-firers on the main deck, unpro­tected, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news six 4.7in on the upper deck, protected by shields.There were also four 1 Sin torpedo tubes above water, port ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news starboard.

The main protection comprised a 10-5in belt of Creusot steel, 6ft 9in deep, terminated by lUin bulkheads taken up to the upper deck to protect the 6in guns from raking fire.There was also a 2.Sin deck, thickened to 3.tiin ford ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news aft.The belt armour was also augmented by coal, disposed above the armoured deck ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news subdivided by transverse bulkheads. Her hull was sheathed ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news coppered to avoid fouling from marine growths on long voyages; the barque-rig was chosen to extend endurance when cruising in distant. waters.

The powerplant comprised four vertical trip]e-expansion reciprocating engines driving twin shafts. Steam was provided by eight cylindrical boilers, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news the maximum coal-stowage was 2000 tons-The barque-rig was later reduced to a barquentine-rig, with square rig on the fore­mast only, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news two lighter `military' masts as main ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news mizzen, but nothing could be done about the antiquated broadside arrangement of the arniament.

The design origirlciSud from a staff requirement for a long-range commerce raider sent by Admiral I A Shestakov, Director of the Naval Ministry, to the state-owned Baltic Works in St Petersburg, although the outline specification has not been found in the Russian archives. It seems that Shestakov wanted an improved version of the belted cruiser PainiatAzova, then being built at the Baltic Works. He emphasised long range, presumably to permit the ship services ship servicesping maritime marine engineering to sail from the Baltic to Vladivostok Without coaling en route, as well as good scakeeping.

$hestakov deliberately avoided using the Morskoi Technicheskii Korrtitet (MTK) or Naval Tech­nical Committee as he did not trust it to produce ship services ship servicesping maritime marine engineerings of the optimum Size ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news cost. In fact, throughout his tenure hr bypassed the MTK ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news its members, not least because they had worked for his predecessor. One of the ship services ship servicesping maritime marine engineeringyard's constructors, N E Rodionov, prepared a design displacing 9000 tons ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news protected by an Sin belt, resembling the Parrliar Azova. It was submit­ted to the Naval Ministry in July 1888 ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news then to the MTK three months later for rcvicw.The MTK was resentful of Shestakov ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news of the head of the Navy, the General Admiral (the Tsar's younger brother, the Grship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news Duke Aleksei Aleksship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services newsrovich). The result was very severe criticism of Rodiouov's design.The design had been given a high sustained speed ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news large coal-stowage by adopting a long ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news narrow hull (420ft x 61 ft on the waterline).The MTK attacked the design on the grounds that the length was excessive, which made for lack of manoeuvrability. It also objected to the length:beam ratio of 6.8:1 as too fine for a ship servicesping maritime marine engineering.The Baltic Works team pointed out that the design lacked heavy gun turrets ford ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news aft, so a fine hullform was not i 11 appropriate. The MTK also questioned the claimed endurance of 20,000 nautical miles, saying that 15,000 nauti­cal miles was more likely, arid suggesting that Rodionov had onutted certain weight factors from his calculations. Accordingly a 1(1,00O-ton design was preferred, but in November 1888 Shes­takov died. His successor, Admiral N M Chikhachcv, enjoyed more harmonious relations with the MTK; the Baltic Works design was rejected by the General Admiral, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news work began on a new MTK desi},m.

A new set of requirements was worked out for a cruiser with speed reduced to l8kts, 1(_I,O00 nautical miles endurance ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news the same armament as before- A barque rig was mship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services newsatory, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news a l0in armour belt (the MTK did not have much faith in a protective deck). Constructor Kuteinikov produced a 9000-ton design ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news a 10,0(10-ton one, but the latter was accepted as supcriocThc design was ready in July 1889, but a sudden problem arose over the powerplant. Originally it was hoped to adapt the design of the Napier machinery in the battleship services ship servicesping maritime marine engineering Sinop, but when these failed to reach their designed speed the idea was dropped. Instead Kutemikov recommended the idea of coupling two engines to each shaft, but a proposal to adopt the advanced French Belleville boiler was rejected in favour of the older ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news less efficient cylindri­cal type.

The Imperial Russian Navy was notorious for its habit of adding 'improvements' after tile design was completed, resulting in an increase in displacement. The new cruiser, to be named Rurik after the semi-mythical ninth century ruler of Kiev, was no exception.Among the nuuter­ous alterations was the substitution of bin 43-cal guns in place of the 6in 35-cal weapons, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news 4in transverse bulkheads at the end of the battery deck. Other weight-increases were caused by the provision of two 14-ton 2nd Class torpedo boats, rather than the normal steam launches, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news 95 tons of steel to strengthen the bull. Despite being 633 tons overweight she managed to make a maximum of 1R.8kts on trials, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news developed 13,362 ihp.

In service the Rurik proved a good steamer ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news could fight her guns in a seaway. She was sent to the Far East, to the main Pacific Squadron base at Vladivostok. Only six years after completion,Admiral Dubasov, commship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services newsing the squadron, recommended the complete removal of her heavy masts ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news yards, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news the replacement of the inefficient cylindrical boilers with Bellevilles, but neither change was approved. The dockyard facilities at Vladivostok were not considered to be capable of a reboilrring, although modifications to the rig were presumably vetoed for other reasons; it was hardly a major burden on the dockyard's resources. Instead her sail area was reduced from 28,000 sq ft of canvas to 6800 sq ft, the bowsprit ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news topgallant masts were removed ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news the rig was cut down to a barquentine style, with crossed yardarms on the foremast.

The ultimate test of a ship servicesping maritime marine engineering's qualities is battle, ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news for the Rurik the test was to prove fatal. When broke out with Japan early in 1904 she was at Vladivostok with the more modern armoured cruisers Rossia ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news GromoMni ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news the large modern protected cruiser BtWatyr. 'The main mission of the squadron was to attack Japanese ship services ship servicesping maritime marine engineeringping ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news to intercept the traffic between Japan ship services ship servicesping maritime live ship services news the main theatre of , Manchuria.

By August 1904 the squadron had made six sorties, but the only result was tile sinking of the transport Hitachi Maru in June-That single ship services ship servicesping maritime marine engineering was, however, carrying 18 llin howitzers intended for the siege of the main Russian base at port Arthur. 1'hcsc siege howitzers were