This ship saw it all: she survived an epic naval battle,
revolts during the first Russian revolution,
and served in an international squadron under British command.
It was no surprise that her loss was a tragedy.
Early in the morning, while stationed in a British colonial port,
she was the victim of a surprise attack and couldn’t offer decent resistance.
On June 1, 1902, two cruisers—Izumrud and Zhemchug—
had their keel laid down at the Nevsky plant in Saint Petersburg.
They were constructed within a shipbuilding program approved by Nikolay II
"for the needs of the Russian Far East."
The mission of these cruisers was to conduct
short-range reconnaissance within a squadron,
protect it from enemy destroyers, and provide fire support.
Initially, Zhemchug was supposed to be constructed
according to the plans of light cruiser Novik
ordered in Germany.
However, after receiving Novik’s trial results,
the new ship’s project design was considerably improved.
However, it didn’t have a serious impact on the dimensions of the future cruiser.
Instead of the German power plant produced by Schichau,
16 well-proven Yarrow boilers were installed,
a decision that was completely justified by operational experience.
The captain's bridge was built on top of the conning tower;
and the inconvenient and slippery linoleum on the deck was replaced by teak planking.
Zhemchug had a length of 364 feet and 2 inches
a width of a little more than 39 feet,
and a draft of more than 16 feet
The ship's hull was reinforced and received a double-plated belt,
which significantly increased her longitudinal durability.
Zhemchug's armor was the same as her predecessor's:
the 1.2-inch armored deck increased to 2 inches on the slopes.
The conning tower was also protected by 1.2-inch armor.
The cruiser's armament was identical to Novik's:
primary armament—six 4.7-inch Canet guns;
secondary armament—eight Hotchkiss guns,
including six 1.9-inch guns and two 1.5-inch guns.
As for the torpedo armament, engineers decided not to mount it.
On August 14, 1903, cruiser Zhemchug was launched
during a solemn ceremony in the presence of the Emperor.
Later, during the fitting-out, the cruiser's armament was reinforced
with two 4.7-inch guns, and torpedo launchers.
In addition, two light masts and a radio station were installed.
As a result, Zhemchug turned out to be quite well-designed.
Compared to Novik, she had a more durable hull,
a more powerful armament, and greater cruising range,
at the price of a slightly lesser speed.
The cruiser was assigned to the Second Pacific Squadron
on the day of its departure to the Far East.
All the shortcomings discovered during this long and exhausting cruise
had to be fixed on the way.
Zhemchug and the entire Russian Squadron
were sailing towards a harsh test—the Battle of Tsushima.
The cruiser managed to survive and was interned in Manila by the USA.
After the war with Japan was over,
Zhemchug sailed to Vladivostok
where she was included in the Siberian Flotilla.
The cruiser came home when the waves
of the first Russian revolution reached the Far East
and the ship's crew joined the revolt.
For taking part in rallies and demonstrations,
almost all of the sailors were dismissed;
a number of them were arrested and ten people were convicted.
Until World War I, the cruiser mostly served
as a guard ship in different Chinese ports.
Soon after the hostilities began in Europe,
Zhemchug joined the British squadron in the South China Sea.
Her mission included the escort of Allied transports,
and independent operations.
After two months of service,
the Russian ship received the order to sail to Penang Malaysia,
for repairs and boiler cleaning.
In the early morning of October 15, 1914, under the cover of darkness and fog,
German cruiser Emden snuck into the same port.
The German wasn't lit, and the fourth false smoke stack
made it look like a British cruiser.
Having distinguished the silhouette of a warship against a sparsely lit background,
the Emden's commander ordered his men to launch
a torpedo and open artillery fire at it.
The torpedo explosion caused severe damage to the Russian cruiser:
the aft boiler, engine rooms, and shell magazines were flooded;
the sickbay and captain's cabin were destroyed;
two guns were disabled.
While the crew of Zhemchug managed to return fire,
they quickly ran out of ammunition,
as the ammunition supply elevators had also been disabled.
Emden turned around and launched another torpedo from a distance of 2 cables,
hitting the Russian cruiser under the conning tower.
A tremendous explosion occurred when her front magazines detonated;
a gigantic pillar of smoke and steam, more than a hundred meters high,
rose over the ship.
A minute later, Zhemchug sank,
with only a mast fragment visible on the surface.
Two thirds of the ship's complement, 210 people
out of 335, were wounded or did not survive.
A monument honoring the fallen sailors and officers of Zhemchug
was erected in Penang.
The inscription in Russian and English reads:
"From the grateful homeland to Russian sailors of cruiser Zhemchug."
The ship's anchor and a memorial plaque,
with the names of the lost crew members,
are installed nearby, with a short epitaph,
"We remember you."