Russian ship of the line Azov ( 1826 ) Azov was a 74 - gun ship of the line of the Imperial Russian Navy . " Azov " was built in 1826 to compensate the losses of the disastrous 1824 Saint Petersburg flood . In the same year " Azov " , commanded by Mikhail Lazarev , became the flagship of Admiral Login Geiden ' s First Mediterranean Squadron and sailed to the Aegean on a joint English - French - Russian peacekeeping mission . On October 20 , 1827 " Azov " spearheaded the Russian squadron in the Battle of Navarino . She engaged numerous enemy ships and sustained heavy damage . After refit at Malta " Azov " continued her service as Geiden ' s flagship and enforced naval blockade of Greece and the Dardanelles . In the beginning of 1830 " Azov " returned to Kronstadt . By this time the ship was literally rotten owing to poor workmanship and combat damage . She was retired in the same year and broken up in 1831 after only four years in service . Five officers of " Azov " who fought at Navarino became admirals in the Russian Navy : captain Mikhail Lazarev , Vladimir Istomin , Vladimir Kornilov , Pavel Nakhimov and Yevfimy Putyatin . Construction . 1824 Kronstadt , the main base of the Russian Baltic Fleet was swept by the disastrous flood of 1824 . Of 28 capital ships moored in the inner harbours of Kotlin Island , only five were spared by the flood , and only three of them were deemed safe for the open seas . Twenty - two capital ship s were written off and broken up . Most of them remained afloat when the flood recessed , but were too rotten to be worth salvaging . Alexander I saw no need to resurrect the fleet to its past strength , and in 1825 the shipyards of Arkhangelsk laid down only two new ships : " Azov " and " Ezekiel " . " Azov " was laid down in November by master shipwright Andrey Kurochkin ( 1770 – 1842 ) . By 1825 Kurochkin has practically retired from active work , and construction was managed by his associate Vasily Yershov ( 1781 – 1860 ) . Mikhail Lazarev , the captain of " Azov " , supervised construction on site since February 1826 . Lazarev brought forward numerous amendments to the original design ; 22 of them materialized in " Azov " . " Azov " was launched in June 1826 and in the autumn sailed to its base in Kronstadt . The ship was hailed as the best in Russian Navy and served as a class model for eleven ships built in 1826 – 1826 . Its inner plan was improved compared to previous ships , and its exterior was fitted out to a flagship standard . " Azov " ' s brief career proved that all these improvements could not compensate for the lack of quality timber and poor workmanship : the former flagship completely rotted in four years of active service . Service . Kronstadt to Navarino . In the spring of 1827 Nicholas authorized a brief full - scale exercise of the Baltic Fleet , a last - minute review of available forces before committing them to his Greek project . The fleet consisted of nine ships of the line , eight frigates and four lesser ships . Admiral Dmitry Senyavin raised his flag on the " Azov " and sailed out to the Baltic on 1827 . Five days later the fleet returned to Kronstadt . 1827 Senyavin received a top secret order : he had to lead the whole fleet to Portsmouth , England . Upon receiving further heads - up from the Russian ambassador in London Senyavin had to split his fleet in two squadrons . Four ships of the line , four frigates and two brigs of Senyavin ' s choice would form the new First Mediterranean Squadron , with Login Geiden in command , and proceed to the Mediterranean immediately . In the evening of , when the fleet was still in Kronstadt , Nicholas personally visited " Azov " and literally pushed the fleet into the sea . " Azov " left Kronstadt with the tsar on board at around 5 a . m . in the morning ; in the afternoon he boarded his yacht and returned to Saint Petersburg . The fleet sailed forward , reaching Reval on , Bornholm on , Copenhagen on . " Azov " and older " Gangut " proved themselves good seagoers as opposed to heavy and slow " Alexander Nevsky " and " Emmanuel " . Winds in the Danish straits delayed the voyage , and the fleet arrived in Portsmouth only on . As soon as his ships lined up in the Solent , Senyavin received the news that England , France and Russia have just signed the Treaty of London . On Senyavin boarded " Tsar Constantine " and Geiden raised his flag on " Azov " . The First Mediterranean Squadron , led by " Azov " , became operational . Sailing south - west to Cape St . Vincent was quick , but then the squadron ran into strong headwinds . It reached Sicily on . On the same day " Azov " suffered its first two casualties : a sailor fell overboard , midshipman Domashnenko jumped down to rescue him , both drowned . Geiden lost two more weeks in sailing to Messina to meet with Russian diplomats . At last on the Russian squadron met the British force of Admiral Edward Codrington south of Zakynthos . On the same day the combined fleet was joined by the French squadron of Admiral Henri de Rigny . According to Geiden ' s reports , the unusually smooth rendezvous was purely accidental . On the next day the French left for refit ; the English and Russian ships sailed south to Methoni and blocked the entrance into the Navarino harbor , the anchorage of the combined Turkish - Egyptian fleet . " Azov " and the British flagship HMS " Asia " took their stations side - by - side , and the two admirals regularly spoke to each other . De Rigny returned on , which brought the strength of allied fleet to ten ships of the line , nine frigates and four lesser ships . The three admirals decided to enter the harbor in strength and force the Turks and the Egyptians to accept the terms of the Treaty of London . De Rigny and Geiden agreed to obey Codrington , as senior in command , for the whole period of the standoff . Battle of Navarino . At about 11 a . m . of a change of wind allowed Codrington to order the move into the harbor . It was agreed that the English and Russian squadrons enter the harbor in parallel lines , followed by the French . At about 1 p . m . Codrington , cautious about the narrow entrance into the harbor , changed the plan and signaled orders to take formation in a single line . The allied fleet took position in an arc side - by - side with the Turkish fleet . " Azov " headed to its planned position at the very center of the allied arc , with the rest of the Russian fleet to its port , the English and French battleships to its starboard , and the English frigates in the rear . Soon the Turks fired at a British cutter , killing lieutenant Fitzroy and igniting an all - out naval battle . Sources disagree on exact timing of events owing to different timekeeping practices and the confusion of the battle ; the first shots were marked at either 2 : 00 , 2 : 20 or even 2 : 45 p . m . ; ship log of " Azov " recorded them at 2 : 30 . At this moment " Azov " was still on the move to its planned station and had just escaped the firing range of Turkish coastal artillery . The smoke of English - Turkish shootout obstructed their view to starboard ; " Azov " fired its first shots to port at 2 : 45 . At 3 p . m . " Azov " reached its destination , folded her sails and dropped her anchors . Lazarev intended to fight next to HMS " Albion " , the leftmost ship of the British squadron . To evade heavy smoke that completely blocked the view , " Azov " dropped anchor to the port of its place in the line . The maneuver created a gap between " Azov " and " Albion " , wide enough to fit four Turkish frigates . Eventually they encircled " Azov " and " Albion " and both ships suffered abnormally high damage . Geiden noted that for a certain 22 - minute interval " Azov " was engaged by eight enemy ships . Although " Azov " was taking hits from different enemy ships , Lazarev concentrated his gunfire on a single target , a 76 - gun ship of the line that had earlier engaged " Albion " . By 3 : 30 p . m . the enemy ship lost all masts and dropped out of the line . The gap was filled by a two - deck frigate under the flag of Tahir Pasha . At about 4 : 00 p . m . another frigate , moored next to Tahir ' s flagship , exploded and disrupted the enemy line of battle . A sudden opportunity allowed " Azov " to fire both broadside s at point - blank range , and in a short time she sank two frigates and a corvette . Still , " Azov " remained in an extremely dangerous position . At 4 : 30 it was relieved by the arrival of the French " Breslau " , which filled the gap between " Azov " and " Albion " and whose first salvo destroyed an Egyptian frigate that fired at " Azov " . For the remainder of the battle " Azov " and " Breslau " fought together , engaging enemy ships one by one . Tahir ' s frigate returned fire until at least 5 : 30 p . m . and managed to knock down " Azov " ' s third mast ; it lost five out of six hundred men and was abandoned . Shortly before 6 p . m . " Azov " ceased fire : all enemy ships within its reach were destroyed or forced to beach . " Azov " ' s own losses ( 24 sailors killed , 6 officers and 61 sailors wounded ) were the highest among the Russian ships . Likewise , the English and French flagships suffered the highest casualties of their squadrons . Damage and repairs . Physical damage to " Azov " was also the highest : 153 penetrating cannonball hits , seven of them below the water line , and practically destroyed rigging . Geiden mobilized 176 carpenters from other ships to assist repairs of " Azov " , which took three days . By the end of it was deemed safe for short sea travel . On the next day the Russian and English ships left the harbor for Malta . The battered Russian fleet , unable to keep pace with Codrington , proceeded with utmost caution and entered the harbor of Valletta on . It turned out that practically all masts on the Russian ships needed replacement . " Azov " , as a flagship , received the replacement masts right from the Admiralty of Valletta but the other ships had to order masts from England , which took months . " Azov " was slowly repaired by its own crew in the harbor ; on 1828 it was towed into the Admiralty dockyards , had its masts replaced , and returned to harbor on . The Russians were more than satisfied with the workmanship of local repair crews , but the rigging supplied from the Admiralty was too old and dry , prone to unexpected snapping , and had to be replaced at first opportunity . At about the same time a courier from Saint Petersburg delivered awards for the Battle of Navarino . The captain of " Azov " , Mikhail Lazarev , was promoted to Rear Admiral ; Lazarev and lieutenants Pavel Nakhimov ( the future admiral ) and Ivan Butenev ( who lost his arm in the battle ) were awarded the Order of St . George . In March 1828 the crew of " Azov " was awarded a special Flag of St . George . Nicholas decreed that after " Azov " ' s retirement the Russian Navy must perpetually have a ship named " Pamyat Azova " ( Память Азова , " The Memory of Azov " ) , thus the name " Azov " was effectively retired . Anchorage at Valletta was a boon for career officers , but the conditions for conscripted sailors , locked in the holds or engaged in hard work , were atrocious . The crew of " Alexander Nevsky " openly revolted and was promptly suppressed by Geiden . He court - martialled sixteen men for hard work in Siberia ; in January – March 1828 they were locked on board the " Azov " and then sent back to Russia . " Azov " ' s own records bear only a slight hint of sailors ' discontentment . Naval blockade . Instructions received by Geiden advised him to continued physical separation of the Turkish - Egyptian ships from Greek mainland . However , the conclusion of the Treaty of Turkmenchay clearly indicated that the Russian Empire prepared for an open war with Turkey . On 1828 " Azov " and the rest of the Russian squadron pulled out of Valletta harbor and headed back to Navarino . Geiden left a small force of frigates there and took " Azov " and " Constantine " into the Archipelago ( his two other capital ships were damaged in a freak collision and retired to Zakynthos for repairs ) . On " Azov " rendezvoused with the French squadron at Milo ; De Rigny politely visited " Azov " . Four days later " Azov " rendezvoused with Ioannis Kapodistrias near Hydra island . In May Geiden moved the fleet to its new base at Poros . The Turks rushed their diplomats and Orthodox bishops to " Azov " with assurances of peace and compliance , all in vain : on Geiden received the news that Nicholas I had declared war with Turkey . For the next two months " Azov " engaged mostly in diplomacy , carrying Geiden and the Greek officials to meet with De Rigny at Zakynthos and with the new British commander Sir Pulteney Malcolm at Sapientza . In the end of August the allied fleet sailed for a joint blockade of Greece ; the English and French blocked Methoni and Koroni , the Russians closed the entrance to Navarino harbor . The blockade compelled Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt to evacuate his troops from Greece . The officers of " Azov " supervised loading of Egyptian transports and found a large number of Greek women boarding along with their Arab masters ; when questioned , the majority of these women indeed preferred to go to Egypt . According to Andrienko , Geiden deliberately stayed aside from any decisive action and left the land phase of the operation to the French . Geiden was obsessed with the upcoming blockade of the Dardanelles and rushed to Malta as soon as was possible ( 1828 ) to refit " Azov " and the rest of his squadron and to rendezvous with the Second Mediterranean Squadron of Admiral Pyotr Rikord . Indeed , Rikord ( but not the whole of his squadron ) was there , and on the two admirals convened a large War Council on board of " Azov " . Rikord ' s force sailed out to the Dardanelles ; " Azov " began the long overdue repairs . On " Azov " and " Alexandra " sailed out into the Aegean and were caught in a disastrous storm that destroyed many ships all over Europe but spared the Russians . " Azov " anchored at Poros , then hosting a multilateral diplomatic convention , and continued its repairs . She stayed in Poros until April 1829 , when Geiden received intelligence that the Turks planned to break the blockade of the Dardanelles in strength . On 1829 " Azov " and the rest of Geiden ' s ships joined Rikord at Tenedos . The British , French , Dutch and Austrian forces were already there , but the Turks did not show up . In June 1829 another rumor , that of Egyptian forces assembling in Alexandria , caused another all - out movement of the international fleet , again with no result . In July " Azov " represented the Russian Empire at the Greek National Assembly in Nafplion . In September it again sailed to Tenedos , only to learn that the Russian and Ottoman Empires had signed an armistice . Demise and legacy . On 1829 Geiden split his force . Lazarev assumed command over " Azov " , " Ezekiel " , " Constantine " , " Alexander Nevsky " , four frigates , one corvette and two brigs . One month later the fleet received orders to return to Kronstadt , leaving a small observation force behind . Lazarev sailed out of Poros to Malta on 1830 . The voyage from Malta to Kronstadt took 59 days and could be perfectly uninspiring had it not been for the order to reach Kronstadt on May 1 . The urgency forced Lazarev to cross the Baltic when it was still icy , and " Azov " lost around 200 copper lining sheets in collisions with ice . " Azov " reached Kronstadt on 1830 . After less than four years at sea she was rotten beyond salvage . " Constantine " and " Vladimir " were just as bad . Lazarev complained that " our ships are not worth the paint < wasted on them > " . Later historians argued that " Azov " was written off for its combat damage , but Lazarev himself did not mention it at all . " Azov " was examined in drydock and condemned in the autumn of 1830 and broken up in 1831 . Her twin " Ezekiel " , built in the same year by the same yard , sailed for ten more years . The older " Gangut " , converted into a steamer , served until 1891 ; the small 16 - gun brig " Achilles " , built in Sveaborg in 1819 , served until the 1960s . The Imperial Navy had three ships named after Azov - the 86 - gun " Pamyat Azova " ( 1831 , broken up in 1854 ) ; the 74 - gun " Pamyat Azova " ( 1848 , broken up in 1863 ) ; and the protected cruiser " Pamyat Azova " ( 1890 , sunk in 1919 ) . Modern Russian Navy has a project 775M landing ship named " Azov " ( built in 1990 ) .