List of warships sunk during the Russo-Japanese War

This is a list of warships sunk during the Russo-Japanese War.

Causes of Japanese and Russian Warships sunk during the war

Although submarines, torpedoes, torpedo boats, and steel battleships had existed for many years, the Russo-Japanese war was the first conflict to see mature forms of these weapon systems deployed in large numbers. Over a hundred of the newly invented torpedo boats and nearly the same number of torpedo boat destroyers were involved. The Imperial Russian Navy would become the first navy in history to possess an ''independent operational submarine fleet'' on 1 January 1905.Olender p. 175 With this submarine fleet making its first combat patrol on 14 February 1905, and its first clash with enemy surface warships on 29 April 1905, all this nearly a decade before World War I even began.

During the course of the war, the Imperial Russian Navy (IRN) and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) would launch nearly 300 self-propelled automotive torpedoes at one another. Dozens of warships would be hit and damaged, but only 1 battleship, 2 armoured cruisers, and 2 destroyers would be permanently sunk (not salvaged). Another 80 plus warships would be destroyed by the traditional gun, mine, or other cause. The Russian battleship ''Oslyabya'' was the first modern battleship sunk by gunfire alone, and Admiral Rozhestvensky's flagship, the battleship ''Knyaz Suvorov'' was the first modern battleship sunk by the new "torpedo" on the high seas.

Vessel type and cause of loss

* Battleships lost to naval gunfire – 3 (plus 1 Coastal Battleship) IRN
* Battleships lost to land/shore batteries – 4 IRN
* Battleships lost to combination of gunfire & torpedoes – 2 IRN
* Battleships lost to strictly torpedoes – 1 IRN
* Battleships lost to mines – 1 IRN/2 (plus 1 Coastal Battleship) IJN
* Cruisers lost to naval gunfire – 5 IRN
* Cruisers lost to land/shore batteries – 3 IRN
* Cruisers lost to mines – 1 IRN/4 IJN
* Destroyers (DDs, GBs, TBDs, TBs) lost to naval gunfire – 6 IRN/3 IJN
* Destroyers (DDs, GBs, TBDs, TBs) lost to shore batteries – 3 IRN
* Destroyers (DDs, GBs, TBDs, TBs) lost to gunfire & torpedoes – 1 IJN
* Destroyers (DDs, GBs, TBDs, TBs) lost to torpedoes – 2 IRN
* Destroyers (DDs, GBs, TBDs, TBs) lost to mines – 3 IRN/3 IJN
* Auxiliary cruisers lost to naval gunfire – 1 IRN
* Auxiliary Cruisers lost to shore batteries – 1 IRN
* Auxiliary Gunboats lost to mines – 1 IJN
* Minelayers lost to shore batteries – 1 IRN
* Minelayers lost to mines – 1 IRN
* Submarines – 3 lost to scuttling & 1 lost by shipwreck IRN (Note: Only IRN submarines were operational during the war)

The above data includes vessels that were sunk and consequently salvaged (raised) and put back into service by either combatant. Data regarding surface vessels either shipwrecked or scuttled was excluded.

* Imperial Russian Navy (IRN) total losses: 11 Battleships, 1 Coastal Battleship, 9 Cruisers, 14 Destroyers, 2 Auxiliary Cruisers, 2 Minelayers, 4 Submarines.
* Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) total losses: 2 Battleships, 1 Coastal Battleship, 4 Cruisers, 7 Destroyers, 1 Auxiliary Gunboat.

Japanese warships sunk

Warship type, name, and date of loss

* Battleships
** ''Hatsuse'' sunk 15 May 1904.
** ''Yashima'' sunk 15 May 1904.
* Corvettes
** ''Kaimon'' sunk 5 July 1904
* Cruisers
** ''Miyako'' sunk 14 May 1904.
** ''Saien'' sunk 30 November 1904.
** ''Takasago'' sunk 13 December 1904.
** ''Yoshino'' sunk 15 May 1904.
* Gunboats
** ''Atago'' sunk 6 November 1904.
** ''Heien'' sunk 18 September 1904.
** ''Ōshima'' sunk 18 May 1904.
* Torpedo boats
** (#34) 27 May 1905
** (#35) 27 May 1905
** (#42) 15 December 1904
** (#48) 12 May 1904
** (#51) 28 June 1904
** (#53) 14 December 1904
** (#69) 27 May 1905
* Torpedo boat destroyers
**''Akatsuki'' 17 May 1904
** ''Hayatori'' 3 September 1904

Russian warships sunk

From 1880 through the end of the war, Russia prepared a systematic plan to build their navy into a major naval power, able to meet any modern adversary—which during this time period were primarily based in Europe. By 1884 Russia lead the world in numbers of the newly invented torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroyers with 115 such vessels. By 1904, the IRN was a first rate navy, but by the end of 1905, Russia was reduced to a third rate naval power.

Warship type, name, and date of lossWatts, pp. 38–150

The list below excludes captured, surrendered, or sunken warships that were raised and put back into service by either combatant.
* Auxiliary cruisers
**''Angara'' 30 October 1904
** ''Ural'' 27 May 1905
*Battleships
** ''Borodino'' 27 May 1905
** ''Imperator Aleksandr III'' 27 May 1905
** ''Knyaz Suvorov'' 27 May 1905
** ''Navarin'' 28 May 1905
** ''Oslyabya'' 27 May 1905
** ''Petropavlovsk'' 13 April 1904
** ''Sevastopol'' 2 January 1905
** ''Sissoi Veliky'' 28 May 1905
* Coastal defense ships
** ''Admiral Ushakov'' 28 May 1905
* Cruisers
** ''Admiral Nakhimov'' 28 May 1905
** ''Boyarin''12 February 1904
** ''Dmitrii Donskoi'' 28 May 1905
** ''Izumrud'' 29 May 1905
** ''Rurik'' 14 August 1904
** ''Svetlana'' 28 May 1905
** ''Vladimir Monomakh'' 28 May 1905
* Gunboats
**''Bobr'' 26 December 1904
** ''Gremyashchi'' 18 August 1904
** ''Koietz'' 9 February 1904
**''Otvajni'' 2 January 1905
** ''Sivuch'' 2 August 1904
**''Zabiyaka'' 25 October
* Minelayers
**''Amur'' 18 December
**''Yenisei'' 11 February 1904
* Repair ships
**''Kamchatka'' 27 May 1905
* Sloops
** ''Djigit'' 2 January 1905
** ''Razboinik'' 2 January 1905
* Torpedo Boat Destroyers
**''Bditelni'' 2 January 1905
**''Bezuprechni'' 28 May 1905
**''Blestyashtchi'' 28 May 1905
**''Boevoi'' 2 January 1905
**''Buinyi'' 28 May 1905
**''Buistri'' 28 May 1905
**''Burni'' 11 August 1904
**''Gromki'' 28 May 1905
**''Leitenant Burakov'' 24 July 1904
**''Rastoropni'' 16 November 1904
**''Razyashchi'' 2 January 1905
**''Ryeshitelni'' 11 August 1904
**''Silni'' 2 January 1905
**''Strashni'' 13 April 1904
**''Steregushchi'' 19 March 1904
**''Stroini'' 13 November 1904
**''Storozhevoi'' 2 January 1905
**''Vnimatelni'' 26 May 1904
**''Vuinoslivi'' 24 August 1904
**''Vnushitelni'' 25 February 1904
* Torpedo boats
**''Tantchikhe'' (#201) 21 August 1904
**(#202) 1 October 1904
** ''Ussuri'' (#204) 30 June 1904
**(#208) 13 July 1904
*Torpedo gunboats
** ''Guidamak'' 2 January 1905
** ''Vsadnik'' 15 December 1904

Russian ships captured, repaired and recommissioned by Japan

* Battleships
** ''Imperator Nikolai I'' recommissioned as the ''Iki''.
** ''Oryol'' recommissioned as the ''Iwami''.
** ''Peresvet'' recommissioned as the ''Sagami''. Returned to Russia in 1916.
** ''Pobeda'' recommissioned as the ''Suwo''.
** ''Poltava'' recommissioned as the ''Tango''. Returned to Russia in 1916.
** ''Retvizan'' recommissioned as the ''Hizen''.
*Coastal defense ships
** ''Admiral Seniavin'' recommissioned as the ''Mishima''.
** ''General-Admiral Apraksin'' recommissioned as the ''Okinoshima''.
* Cruisers
** ''Bayan'' recommissioned as the ''Aso''.
** ''Novik'' recommissioned as the ''Suzuya''.
** ''Pallada'' recommissioned as the ''Tsugaru''.
** ''Varyag'' recommissioned as the ''Soya''. Returned to Russia in 1916.
*Destroyers
**''Bedovyi'' recommissioned as the ''Satsuki''.
**''Ryeshitelni'' (former ''Kondor'') recommissioned as the ''Ataksuki'', later renamed the ''Yamabiko''.
**''Sil‘nyi'' recommissioned as the ''Fumizuki''.

References

Bibliography

*
*
* {{Cite book , last=Watts , first=Anthony J., year=1990, title=The Imperial Russian Navy, publisher=Arms and Armour Press, location=London, Great Britain, isbn=0-85368-912-1

Warships sunk
Russo-Japanese
Russo-Japanese War