"Imperatritsa Maria" served as Admiral Pavel Nakhimov's flagship at the Battle of Sinop in November 1853. The crushing Russian victory at Sinop led to the intervention of Britain and France and the Russian fleet, which did not seek to engage the Anglo-French fleet that entered the Black Sea, instead stayed in Sevastopol, eventually being disarmed to strengthen Russian defenses during the Siege of Sevastopol and ultimately being scuttled to block the harbor entrance. "Imperatritsa Maria" was intentionally sunk as part of this effort in August 1855.