Japanese cruiser Soya
Background. "Varyag" was built in the United States by William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia for the Imperial Russian Navy. It was stationed in Korea in 1904, and involved in the opening Battle of Chemulpo Bay of the Russo-Japanese War. After suffering heavy damage from the unequal battle with nine Japanese cruisers, "Varyag" was scuttled by its crew on 9 February 1904. After the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese raised the badly damaged wreck from Chemulpo harbor, repaired it, and commissioned it into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the 2nd class cruiser "Soya" on 9 July 1907 . Its new name was taken from the northernmost cape of Hokkaidō, Soya Misaki. Service life. After being placed into Japanese service as a 3rd class cruiser, "Soya" was used primarily for training duties. From 14 March 1909 to 7 August 1909, it made a long distance navigational and officer cadet training cruise to Hawaii and North America. It repeated this training cruise every year until 1913. During World War I Russia and Japan became allies and "Soya" (along with several other vessels) was transferred back to Russia at Vladivostok on 5 April 1916, and its original name of "Varyag" restored