Russian ship Rostislav (1844)

Built by I. S. Dimitriev in Nikolaev for the Black Sea Fleet, Rostislav was laid down on 16 May 1843 and was launched on 1 November 1844. In 1846, she moved from Nikolaev to the naval base at Sevastopol. She saw periods of active service in 1847, 1849, and 1852–1853, during which she cruised in the Black Sea. Between these periods, she was laid up in reserve. In October 1853, after the outbreak of the Crimean War between Russia and the Ottoman Empire that month, she carried a contingent of 943 soldiers to Sukhumi.^[2]

Rostislav then re-joined a squadron commanded by Vice Admiral Pavel Nakhimov to take part in the Battle of Sinop on 30 November (N.S.; 18 November O.S.). The Russian squadron, which included five other ships of the line, two frigates, and three steam ships, attacked an Ottoman squadron that consisted of seven frigates, three corvettes, and two transports. Nakhimov initially steamed into the harbor with his ships in two columns to demand the Ottomans surrender, but the Ottomans rejected the ultimatum. The Russians then anchored some 900 m (3,000 ft) away and began bombarding the Ottoman ships in the harbor. The Ottomans returned fire, initially inflicting significant damage on the Russian vessels, but the devastating power of the Paixhans shell guns quickly destroyed the Ottoman fleet. Rostislav was heavily engaged in the action, firing 3,960 rounds during the battle and sustaining 25 hits. Her crew suffered 3 killed and 105 wounded. The Ottoman fleet was completely destroyed, in large part due to the destructive power of the Russian shell-firing guns; only one Ottoman vessel escaped destruction: the steam frigate Taif, which had fled at high speed early in the action.^[2][4]

The Russian attack on Sinop was perceived in Britain and France as an attack on Ottoman territory, and thus provided the pro-war factions of their governments justification to intervene in the Crimean War. France and Britain issued an ultimatum to Russia to withdraw its forces from Rumelia, the Ottoman territories in the Balkans, which the Russians initially ignored, prompting Anglo-French declarations of war in March 1854.^[5][6] The Russians were surprised by the intervention and withdrew the fleet to Sevastopol, precluding any possibility of action with the British and French fleet that entered the Black Sea. Rostislav was repaired in Sevastopol in 1854 but saw no further activity. She remained trapped there during the Siege of Sevastopol into early 1855; during this period, the Russians disarmed their ships to strengthen the land defenses of the city and then scuttled them to block the harbor from the Anglo-French fleet. Rostislav was scuttled on 13 February.^[2][7]

• Badem, Candan (2010). The Ottoman Crimean War: (1853–1856). Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-18205-9.
• Bartlett, Christopher John (1993). Defence and Diplomacy: Britain and the Great Powers, 1815–1914. Manchester UP. ISBN 978-0-7190-3520-3.
• Lambert, Andrew (2011). The Crimean War: British Grand Strategy Against Russia, 1853–56. Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-4094-1011-9.
• Sondhaus, Lawrence (2001). Naval Warfare, 1815–1914. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-21478-0.
• Tredrea, John; Sozaev, Eduard (2010). Russian Warships in the Age of Sail 1696–1860: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-058-1.