Russian frigate Pallada

Type

Frigate

Period

19th Century

Nation

Russia

Overview: Pallada was a 52-gun sailing frigate of the Imperial Russian Navy, built at the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg and launched in 1832. She is best known as the flagship of Vice Admiral Yevfimy Putyatin during his 1852-1855 diplomatic expedition to Japan, which led to the Treaty of Shimoda establishing formal Russo-Japanese relations. The voyage was immortalized in Ivan Goncharov's famous travelogue "The Frigate Pallada," published in 1858, which became one of the most widely read Russian books of the 19th century. Specifications: The frigate measured 52.73 metres (173.0 ft) in hull length and 13.31 metres (43.7 ft) in beam, with a draught of 7.01 metres (23.0 ft) and a tonnage of 2,090 tons burthen. She carried a mixed armament of 30 x 24-pounder guns and 22 x 24-pounder carronades, with a complement of 426 men. Her design was derived from the British frigate HMS President (1829), which itself was modeled on the captured American frigate President - an interesting three-way design lineage for modelers to note. Service History: After commissioning in 1833 she was based at Kronstadt with the Baltic Fleet before being chosen for the prestigious Japan mission under Putyatin, during which her crew also conducted geographical and natural-science surveys in the Far East. She arrived in Nagasaki in August 1853, shortly after Commodore Perry's first visit to Japan. By the time of the Crimean War her hull had deteriorated badly, and rather than risk capture by the British she was scuttled by her own crew near Sakhalin/Imperial Harbor in 1856 (some sources cite 1855). Notable Facts: Before she was scuttled, her cannons were reportedly removed and presented as gifts to the Japanese. Tsar Nicholas I had personally commanded that the vessel incorporate all the latest innovations of the day, including the novel use of portholes to light crew spaces on the lower deck - a detail of interest for detailed scale builds. A modern unarmed Russian sail training ship was later named in her honor, continuing the Pallada name into the 20th and 21st centuries.