THE RUSSIAN BALTIC FLEET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12698, 29 October 1904, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE RUSSIAN BALTIC FLEET.

Oca illustrations show some of the 34 warships of the Russian Baltic fleet which bombarded a fleet of British trawlers on the Dogger Bank on Friday, October 21. The Russian fleet sailed from Libau, ostensibly for the Far East, on October 17. There are, of course, the big Orel, Borodino, Kniaz

\ Suvaroff, and Slava, each of 13,700 tons and 18 knots speed, still remaining over. '» The Orel, launched in 1902, has, it is \ ! common knowledge, suffered a series of \ misadventures ''within the past, three : months; her back has been strained and ■; twisfed out of line, and serious trouble has occurred with her engines and boilers. j \'i It is said, indeed, that she had to be \ partially taken to pieces internally. The ! ■' Borodino, Kniaa Suvaroff, and Stava, j launched in 1901, 1902, and last year re-

spectively, have none of them, as yet, run even their preliminary dockyard trials, i much less their final official and commis- ! sion trials. Only, one ship of the set, the Imperiitc; Alexander 111., has been completed. She is one of those going out. The Baltic fleet started in two divisions, I under the supreme command of Rear-Ad- ! mind Roshdestvenski, of the NoVal GeneJ ral Staff, with, under him, in charge of , the' divisions separately, •:Rear-Admiral Enkvist, until recently governor of the

J naval arsenal and dockyard of Nicolaieff, i on. the Black Sea, and Rear-Admiral FelI kersan. ;;; '•:■■'

The fleet passed into the North Sea Between October 20 and 22.

It was reported that the Russian admiral was nervous about passing through | the Cattegat—an arm of. the sea between * the eastern coast of Jutland and the western coast of Sweden,, about 150, miles in length and 85 miles widefearing Japanese submarines and mines. ; . ' , ; v .