Novik

History

Design

With War looming over the horizon in the Pacific, the Russian Navy understood its need for a new protected cruiser that was capable of not only scouting operations, but to serve as supportive gunnery for squadrons and as a deterrent to enemy destroyers. The Naval Ministry determined the specifications for the new cruiser, placing an emphasis on speed, then held a contest to determine who would get the contract to build this ship; German shipbuilders Schichau won the contract.

Laid down in 1898 near Danzig, Novik was completed August 1900, and set to sea trials. It was immediately apparent that she lived up to her promise of being a fast ship: with an averaged clocked speed of 25 knots, making her the fastest cruiser in the world upon her completion. This came a cost; her endurance and fuel consumption above 15 knots was terrible. As well, she was envisioned as an enlarged destroyer, therefore her armour was light, with the exception of the armoured deck over her vital components, at a maximum thickness of 50mm.

Service

Commissioned into the Baltic Fleet in 3 May 1901, Novik soon left for her service with the Pacific Fleet, joining it in Port Arthur by 1903, just before the eve of war.

The Russo-Japanese War commenced with the Naval Battle of Port Arthur. Novik was combat-capable and one of the few Russian ships that retaliated against the Japanese; suffering little damage.

Throughout the rest of the year, Novik was one of the more active ships that was stationed at Port Arthur; Novik took part of the rescue of two destroyers from a Japanese ambush and participated in the failed sorties from Port Arthur in April and June, until August when the fleet was successfully able to run the Japanese blockade during the Battle of the Yellow Sea.

While most of the fleet returned to port, Novik was part of the few that was able to escape, owing to her low silhouette, and fast speed. She decided to join the Russian cruiser squadron based in Vladivostok, going around the Japanese home islands, while being pursued by Japanese cruisers Tsushima and Chitose. She was ambushed while coaling at Sakhalin, and forced into a duel off Korsakov. It was immediately apparent she was outgunned by the larger cruisers, and after sustaining three critical hits below the waterline; Novik was scuttled, ending her carrier in the Russian Navy on 20 August 1904.

After the War, the Japanese decided to salvage Novik, and take her as a prize of war; she entered commission into the Imperial Japanese Navy on 20 August 1906 as Suzuya. Although the Japanese wanted to use Suzuya as a scout cruiser, her original boilers were heavily damaged, replaced by only 8 boilers, as opposed to her original 12. Therefore she was no more able to attain the speeds she was famous for, and the Japanese quickly reclassified her to a 2nd class coastal defence vessel, a role she fulfilled until scrapped on 1 April 1913.

Historical Inaccuracies

• Novik only served with the Imperial Russian and Japanese navies, yet she is classified as a ship of the USSR which did not exist until 1918. By then Novik had already been scrapped four years prior.
• Hull (B) is fictitious; Novik was armed with only six 120mm guns. The eight 120mm gun configuration only existed on Zhemchug which is of the Izumrud class, a variant of Novik.
• Novik was completed with a white hull and yellow funnels. She was repainted in dark olive prior to deployment in the Pacific. Both schemes are currently missing.

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  Wreck of Novik at Korsakov Bay, Sakhalin prior to salvage by the Japanese.

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  Suzuya at Kure, 7 November 1908.