Russian coast defense ship General Admiral Graf Apraksin The General Admiral Graf Apraksin ( ) , sometimes transliterated as Apraxin , was a member of the s of the Imperial Russian Navy . She was named after General Admiral Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin , the first commander of Russian Baltic Fleet . She was one of eight Russia n pre - dreadnought battleship s captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Russo - Japanese War of 1904 - 1905 . She subsequently served in the Japanese Navy as the until removed from service in 1922 . She had only three guns ( a single gun turret aft , as shown in the photograph ) , instead of her sister ships , which were equipped with four guns . Russian service . In November 1899 , shortly after entering service with the Baltic Fleet , " Graf Apraksin " ran aground on Hogland Island in the Gulf of Finland . It was hoped that she could be salvaged , as a similar incident in 1897 had cost the Russian Navy another battleship , the " Gangut " . The " Apraksin ' s " crew were ordered to remain aboard to maintain the ship as best they could when the Gulf froze over for the winter . On the recommendation of radio pioneer A . S . Popov the ship ' s crew established a radio station on the island to maintain communication with the fleet ' s headquarters at Kronstadt ( via a station at Kymi ) in January 1900 , after several weeks ' delay . Meanwhile Rear - Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky was assigned to lead the salvage operations . The results of the grounding were such that attempting to tow " Apraksin " free would likely leave her irreparable and in danger of foundering , and instead Rozhestvensky employed a civilian mining corporation to remove the rocks holding " Apraksin " with small explosive charges . Assisting the salvage efforts was the icebreaker " Yermak " . Rozhestvensky initially had doubts as to the usefulness of " Yermak " , but she proved her value during the operation , which was successfully concluded in the first part of May . After " Graf Apraksin " was freed she was towed back to Kronstadt for the necessary repairs . Later , the " Apraksin " and her two sister ships , the and the were reclassed as coastal defence ship s . The Russo - Japanese War . The three " Ushakovs " were rejected for inclusion in the " Second Pacific Squadron " assembled by Admiral Rozhestvensky to reinforce the existing Russian squadron based at Port Arthur after the outbreak of the Russo - Japanese War as Rozhestvensky felt they were unsuitable for such an extreme blue - water operation . Nevertheless all three were selected to form part of Admiral Nebogatov ' s " Third Pacific Squadron " which was subsequently sent out to reinforce Rozhestvensky on his journey to the Far East after political agitation following his departure . The two Russian squadrons finally met and united at Cam Ranh Bay after a cruise that became known as the " Voyage of the Damned " , and from there Rozhestvensky set course through the South China Sea towards the Korea Strait , where they were discovered by the Japanese . At the resulting Battle of Tsushima ( 27 – 28 May 1905 ) , the three ships survived the first phase of the engagement on the evening of 27 May largely due to the Japanese concentrating their efforts on Rozhestvensky ' s modern battleships ( concentrated in the First and Second Divisions of the Russian squadron ) and their subsequent almost - total destruction left the Russian fleet in tatters . Nebogatov ' s Third Division was largely able to keep itself together during the night , although the " Apraksin ' s " sister ship strayed from formation and sunk by Japanese torpedo es . The morning of 28 May found the Russian survivors surrounded by an apparently undamaged Japanese force , and Nebogatov surrendered . Thus " Apraksin " and were captured as prizes of war . Japanese service . " Admiral Senyavin " became the " Mishima " and " General Admiral Graf Apraksin " was commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the 2nd class Coastal Defense Vessel " Okinoshima " . " Okinoshima " was named for the small island of Munakata , Fukuoka Prefecture , which is the site of a famous Shinto shrine , and which is also geographically close to the location of the Battle of Tsushima . " Okinoshima " was part of the Japanese Second Fleet at the outbreak of the First World War , participating in the Battle of Tsingtao against the small number of German ships left behind by Admiral von Spee ' s East Asia Squadron " . On 1 April 1921 , " Okinoshima " was re - classified as a submarine tender . " Okinoshima " was decommissioned on 1 April 1922 and was sold as scrap in 1924 to a private firm , which transformed her into a memorial ship located at Tsuyazaki , Fukuoka , commemorating the Japanese victory at the Battle of Tsushima . The memorial ship was severely damaged in storms in 1939 , and scrapped shortly thereafter . The battleship " Okinoshima " should not be confused with the Pacific War era minelayer of the same name .