Imperator Aleksandr II - class battleship The " Imperator Aleksandr II " - class battleships were two battleship s built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1880s . They were intended to counter the small armored ships of the other Baltic powers . Construction was very prolonged and the ships were virtually obsolescent when completed . They were optimized for ramming . Design . The " Imperator Aleksandr II " - class battleships were the first all - steel battleships to be built for the Baltic Fleet and were designed to allow Russia to dominate the Baltic Sea by defeating rival ships like the and the German s , both of which were built of wrought iron . They were designed according to the tactical theories of the day which emphasized ramming and incorporated a ram bow . In addition their forecastle deck sloped slightly downwards to allow the main guns to fire at the waterline of the enemy at short range as the ship closed to ram . A full transverse armored bulkhead protected the forward guns from raking fire and no armor was originally provided to protect them from the side . They were given a full sailing rig to allow for deployments to the Mediterranean and other distant locations although it was never actually used . " Imperator Nikolai I " was originally going to be built to a completely different design , but this was changed at the last minute to a modified version of the " Imperator Aleksandr II " design , so there were significant differences between the two ships . General characteristics . " Imperator Aleksandr II " was long at the waterline and long overall . She had a beam of and a draft of . She displaced at load , over more than her designed displacement of . " Imperator Nikolai I " was dimensionally similar to her sister except that her draft was only . She was also heavier than her sister . The hull was subdivided by one centerline longitudinal and ten transverse watertight bulkheads and it had a double bottom extending from frame 12 to frame 74 . It had a metacentric height of . They were considered to have good seagoing qualities , with a tactical diameter of and they could complete a full 360° circle in seven minutes and 32 seconds . Propulsion . The " Imperator Aleksandr II " - class ships had two 3 - cylinder vertical compound steam engines driving screw propellers . Twelve cylindrical boilers provided steam to the engines . The engines of the " Imperator Aleksandr II " were built by Baltic Works and had a total designed output of . On trials , the powerplant produced , and a top speed of . She carried of coal that provided a range of at a speed of and at a speed of . " Imperator Nikolai I " s engines were built by the Franco - Russian Works , but only had a designed output of . They were a disappointment on trials , only producing , and a top speed of . She carried of coal that gave her a range of at a speed of . Armament . The main armament of the " Imperator Aleksandr II " - class ships was a pair of Obukhov Model 1877 30 - caliber guns . Those in " Imperator Aleksandr II " were fitted in a twin barbette mount forward , but " Imperator Nikolai I " s guns were fitted in a turret . These guns had a maximum elevation of 15° and could depress 2° and could traverse 220° . 60 rounds per gun were carried . They fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of to a range of at an elevation of 6° . The rate of fire was one round every four to five minutes . The four Obukhov Model 1877 35 - caliber guns were on center - pivot mounts in casemate s at the corners of the citadel , the hull being recessed to increase their arcs of fire ahead or behind . The forward guns could traverse a total of 125° , including targets within about 4° of the centerline . The rear guns had an arc of fire of 105° and could fire on targets within about 10° of the centerline . These guns had a maximum elevation of 15° and could depress 5° . They were provided with 125 rounds per gun . They fired a ' light ' shell that weighed or a ' heavy ' shell that weighed . The muzzle velocity achieved depended on the shell weight and the type of propellant . A ' light ' shell with brown powder reached while that same shell with smokeless powder achieved . In contrast a ' heavy ' shell with brown powder could only be propelled at a velocity of . A 277 - lb ' light ' shell had a maximum range of when fired at an elevation of 15° with smokeless powder . The rate of fire was one round every minute or two . The eight Model 1877 35 - caliber guns were mounted on broadside pivot mounts . Four were fitted between the 9 - inch guns and had could traverse a total of 100° . The others were mounted at each end of the ship where they could fire directly ahead or astern . Each gun had an arc of fire of 130° . The guns could elevate to a maximum of 12° and depress 8° . They fired a ' heavy ' shell that weighed at a velocity of or a ' light ' shell that weighed with a muzzle velocity of . A ' light ' shell had a maximum range of when fired at an elevation of 12° . They could fire one round per minute . The ten Hotchkiss revolving cannon were mounted in hull embrasures of the ship , between the nine and six - inch guns to defend against torpedo boat s . They fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of at a rate of 30 rounds per minute to a range of . Four Hotchkiss revolving cannon were mounted in each fighting top . They fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of at a rate of 32 rounds per minute to a range of . " Imperator Aleksandr II " carried five above - water torpedo tube s , two in the bow , two broadside tubes that could traverse 70° and a tube in the stern . Smaller torpedo tube s could be mounted in four of the ship ' s cutters . 36 mines could be carried . " Imperator Nikolai I " had six torpedo tubes were that were arranged differently . Only one was in the bow , four were on the broadside , two forward and aft , and the usual stern tube . Protection . Compound armor was used throughout the " Imperator Aleksandr II " - class ships . The main waterline belt had a maximum thickness of abreast the machinery spaces and was high on " Imperator Aleksandr II " . of this was supposed to extend above the waterline at design displacement , but only was actually above the waterline as actually completed . The belt tapered to at the lower edge and thinned in stages . It was 12 inches thick abreast the magazine s and thinned down to at the bow and at the stern . It was backed by of wood . The configuration of the waterline belt in " Imperator Nikolai I " differed somewhat from her sister . The belt was only high with above the designed waterline and below . At bow and stern it was six inches thick . The flat protective deck was positioned at the upper edge of the belt on both ships and was thick and consisted of two layers of mild steel . The barbette and turret sides had a thickness of 10 inches while the turret roof was 2½ inches thick . Initially the barbette was open - topped , but a thick protective hood was added in late 1893 . The transverse bulkheads were six inches thick , but the nine - inch guns were protected by a patch of side armor only three inches thick and the six - inch guns by a patch only thick . Originally there was no side armor above the main belt , but that was added when the original disappearing main guns mounts and their pear - shaped barbette were deleted and made some weight available . No partitions separated the casemated guns , nor was there any armor between the guns . The conning tower had sides on the " Imperator Aleksandr II " , but they were only six inches thick on " Imperator Nikolai I " , but it had a 2½ - inch thick roof on both ships . Construction . ( ) was named after the Emperor Alexander II of Russia . She was built by the New Admiralty Yard at Saint Petersburg . Laid down on 12 July 1885 , she was launched on 13 July 1887 , and completed in June 1891 , although her trials lasted until the spring of 1892 . " Imperator Nikolai I " ( ) was named after the Emperor Nicholas I of Russia . She was built by the Franco - Russian Works at Saint Petersburg . Construction began on 20 March 1886 ; she was launched on 1 June 1889 , and completed in July 1891 although her trials lasted almost a year afterwards . History . " Imperator Aleksandr II " served in the Baltic Fleet and represented Russia , along with the cruiser , at the opening of the Kiel Canal in June 1895 . She ran aground in Vyborg Bay later that year , but suffered little damage . Joining the Mediterranean Squadron in August 1896 , she supported Russian interests during the Cretan Revolt of 1897 . " Imperator Aleksandr II " returned to Kronstadt in September 1901 . She was reboilered in December 1903 and modified 1904 – 05 to serve as an artillery school ship with her secondary armament replaced by more modern guns . Her crew refused to suppress the mutinous garrison of Fort Konstantin defending Kronstadt in August 1906 . She was assigned to the Artillery Training Detachment in 1907 . During World War I , she was mainly based in Kronstadt where her crew was active in the revolutionary movement . She was renamed Zarya Svobody ( : " Dawn of Freedom " ) in May 1917 . Turned over to the Kronstadt port authority on 21 April 1921 , " Imperator Aleksandr II " was sold for scrap on 22 August 1922 . She was towed to Germany during the autumn of 1922 , but was not stricken from the Navy List until 21 November 1925 . According to Robert Gardiner in " Conway ' s All the World ' s Fighting Ships 1860 – 1905 " , " Imperator Aleksandr II " was reconstructed in France between 1902 and 1904 , with her torpedo tubes removed and her six and nine - inch guns exchanged for five 45 - caliber guns and eight six - inch 45 - caliber guns . Her revolver cannon were also exchanged for ten three - pounder guns . V . V . Arbazov in " Bronenoset︠s︡ Imperator Aleksandr II " confirms that the torpedo tubes were removed and claims that she had her nine - inch guns replaced by five 8 - inch , the fifth being placed at the stern , her old six - inch guns were exchanged for newer , more powerful models , and four 47 mm and four 120 mm guns were added on the upper deck , presumably replacing the old revolver cannon . However , this happened in Russia , not France . " Imperator Nikolai I " sailed in June 1892 for New York City to participate in the celebration honoring the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America . She was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron upon her return and visited Toulon in October 1893 . Sailing for the Pacific Ocean during the First Sino - Japanese War and arrived at Nagasaki , Japan on 28 April 1895 , she remained in the Pacific until late 1896 , when she returned to the Mediterranean Squadron and supported Russian interests during the Cretan Revolt . After returning to the Baltic in April 1898 , " Imperator Nikolai I " was extensively refitted in 1899 – 1901 and received new engines and boilers . She returned to the Mediterranean in September 1901 and remained there for the next three years . Refitted in late 1904 during the Russo - Japanese War , she served as the flagship of the Third Pacific Squadron under Rear Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov and departed Liepāja on 15 January 1905 for the Pacific . She was slightly damaged during the Battle of Tsushima , receiving one hit from a 12 - inch gun , two from eight - inch guns and two from six - inch guns , and suffered only 5 killed and 35 men wounded . She was surrendered , along with most of the Third Pacific Squadron , by Admiral Nebogatov the following day and was taken into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the Iki " " ' . After serving as a gunnery training ship until 1910 , " Imperator Nikolai I " became a first - class coast defense ship and a training vessel . She was stricken on 1 May 1915 and sunk as a target by the battlecruisers and , although Watts and Gordon in " The Imperial Japanese Navy " claim that she was scrapped in 1922 .