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''Gromoboi'' ((ロシア語:Громобой), meaning: "Thunderer") was an armoured cruiser built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the late 1890s. She was designed as a long-range commerce raider and served as such during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. When the war broke out, she was based in Vladivostok and made several sorties in search of Japanese shipping in the conflict's early months without much success. ''Gromoboi'', with the other armoured cruisers of the Vladivostok Cruiser Squadron, attempted to rendezvous in the Strait of Tsushima with the main portion of the Russian Pacific Fleet sailing from Port Arthur in August 1904. The Fleet was delayed, and the squadron returned to port alone. On the return, the squadron encountered a Japanese squadron of four armoured cruisers blocking their passage to base. The Japanese sank the oldest Russian ship, , and damaged ''Gromoboi'' and during the subsequent Battle off Ulsan. Both Russian ships were repaired within two months. ''Gromoboi'' ran aground immediately after completing her repairs and was out of action for four months. Three months after the damage from the grounding incident was repaired, she struck a mine, but successfully returned to port. Her armament was reinforced while under repair, but she saw no further action during the war. ''Gromoboi'' was transferred to the Russian Baltic Fleet after the end of the war and began a lengthy refit that was completed in 1911. She was mostly inactive during World War I, but had her armament and protection upgraded during the war. She was placed into reserve in 1918 and sold to a German company in 1922 for scrapping. She was forced aground near Liepāja during a storm en route to Germany and was scrapped in place. ==Design and description== ''Gromoboi'' was originally intended to be a repeat of ''Rossia'', but a design modification for thicker armour and improved engines made that unfeasible. The use of ''Rossia''s hull design meant that the ships looked alike.〔McLaughlin, p. 55〕 ''Gromoboi'' was long overall. She had a maximum beam of and a draught of . The ship displaced , only more than designed. She was sheathed in wood and copper to reduce biofouling.〔McLaughlin, pp. 55, 74〕 As completed ''Gromoboi'' trimmed badly by the bow, which reduced her speed and made her very wet forward. Loads had to be shifted aft and ballast added to the rear of the ship to correct her trim, but she was regarded as a good sea boat afterward with an easy, although rapid, roll.〔McLaughlin, p. 60〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Russian cruiser Gromoboi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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