| |
u s {|_Adzumo_ | 9,436| 7 |{ 4 8-inch }| 500|Completed 1901.
r e {| | | |{12 6-inch }| |
e r {| | | | | |
d s {|_Asama_ |} 9,700| 7 |{ 4 8-inch }| 500| " 1899.
{|_Tokiwa_ |} | |{14 6-inch }| |
{| | | | | |
{|_Yakumo_ | 9,850| 7 |{ 4 8-inch }| 498| " 1901.
{| | | |{12 6-inch }| |
------+-------------+-------+----+-------------+----+-------------------------

[25] The old turret-ship _Chin-yen_--captured from the Chinese
(formerly the _Chen-yuen_) (4 12-inch and 4 6-inch guns)--was
with the fleet, but is not included in a list of effective
armour-clads.

Besides his armoured ships, Admiral Rojdestvensky had a squadron of six
protected cruisers under Rear-Admiral Enquist, whose flag flew in the
"Oleg," a vessel of 6750 tons launched in 1903, and completed next year.
She had for her principal armament twelve six-inch quick-firers. The other
cruisers were the "Aurora," of a little over 6000 tons, the "Svietlana," of
nearly 4000, the "Jemschug," and "Izumrud," of 3000 tons (these two armed
with 47 quick-firing guns), and the "Almaz," of 3285, a "scout" of good
speed, carrying nothing heavier than 12-pounders. There was one auxiliary
cruiser, the "Ural,"[26] a flotilla of nine destroyers, four transports,
two repairing ships, and two hospital steamers.

[26] A German Atlantic liner purchased at the beginning of the
war--formerly known as the "Koenigin Maria Theresa"--"roomy and
luxurious, but as a warship useless," says the Naval Constructor
Politovsky, Chief Engineer of the Baltic Fleet.

Awaiting the battle in sight of his own shores, Togo had concentrated as
auxiliary squadrons to his armoured fleet a considerable number of
protected cruisers and a whole swarm of torpedo craft. At this stage of her
naval development, and on the eve of a life-and-death struggle, Japan had
no idea of "scrapping" even the older ships. Anything that could carry a
few good guns, and brave men to fight them, might be useful, so even the
old Chinese ironclad which had carried Ting's flag at the Yalu battle, a
ship dating from 1882, was under steam in one of the auxiliary squadrons,
with four new 12-inch guns in her barbettes.

There were three of these auxiliary squadrons, commanded by Rear-A