Zinovy Rozhestvensky and the non-sinking of the Ottoman battleship, Feth-i Bülend

Zinovy Rozhestvensky is probably best know for commanding the 'fleet that had to die'; in other words, as the admiral in command of the Baltic Fleet that was sent to the Far East during the Russo-Japanese War. He was wounded early during the Battle of Tsushima and was court martialled on his return the Russia.

Despite trying to take all the responsibility for the defeat, he was pardoned by the Tsar, allowed to retire. He died in St Petersburg during the early hours of New Year's Day 1909.

What is less well-known about Rozhestvensky is the part he played during the Russo-Turkish War. He was serving aboard the gunboat Vesta and on 10th June 1877 he volunteered to lead an attack on moored Turkish battleships at Sulina by six torpedo boats that were armed with spar torpedoes. The attack ran into trouble when his torpedo boat became entangled in a rope boom that had been deployed to prevent just such an attack. The Turks were alerted by this and opened fire on the Russian topedo boats, sinking one and forcing the others to flee.

On 23rd July, he attacked the Turkish battleship Feth-i Bülend in the Vesta. The David and Goliath battle between these two warships continued for five hours and was marked by both sides being hampered by very poor visibility due to smoke and escaping steam. Both ships were damaged and suffered casualties, but Rozhestvensky's report gave the impression that he had left the Turkish ship on the verge of sinking before he withdrew. forced the ships to disengage, both with slight damage and few casualties. As a result, he was awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir and Order of St George for this action and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander.

The Turkish battleship Feth-i Bülend.

The unequal battle between the Russian gunboat Vesta and the Turkish battleship Feth-i Bülend.

After the Russo-Turkish War ended, Rozhestvensky admitted in a newspaper article that he had 'gilded the lily' somewhat, and the the damage inflicted on the Turkish warship was minimal. This did not, however, affect his career, which continued to flourish.