Admiral Nakhimov: Sunken Treasure

The Admiral Nakhimov was a pioneering armored cruiser -- an expansion of the idea of the belted cruiser, combining vertical (or hull) armor with an internal armored deck and moderate, but still significant, protection for vital fighting parts of the ship .It was ordered in 1881 as one of the first armoured cruisers, and one of the more interesting naval ships constructed in Russia in the late 19th century. She was modeled after the British Royal Navy Imperieuse class cruisers, which were armed with four 234 mm guns in a rhomboid layout. The Nakhimov was considered a more successful design. Her main armament consisted of 203 mm guns, which were lighter and their number could be doubled.

Almost as soon as the ship was completed
in 1889, she was despatched to Vladivostok to become the flagship of the Russian Pacific Squadron.

During the Russo-Japanese war, Admiral Nakhimov was assigned to the Second Pacific Squadron, under the overall command of Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, which was created from the Russian Baltic Fleet to relive the Japanese blockade of Port Arthur. She departed the Baltic in October 1904, and as Admiral Nakhimov was more powerful than the other Russian cruisers, she was included into the 2nd Battleship Group of the Squadron, consisting of three obsolete battleships.

On 27 May 1905, the first day of the Battle of Tsushima, the Admiral Nakhimov was the eighth and last ship in the main column. She was hit about 30 times, mainly by fire from Japanese armoured cruisers, and suffered 25 killed, and 51 injured, but retained her combat capabilities. Admiral Nakhimov slightly damaged the armoured cruiser Iwate with three 203 mm shells. At night, when the remaining Russian ships were attacked by torpedo boats and destroyers, Admiral Nakhimov was visible, turning on searchlights. Around 21.30 - 22.00 hours she was hit at the bow by a torpedo, fired by an unidentified ship. Despite the struggle of the crew, the ship was sinking and she was abandoned the next morning close to the island of Tsushima. The Japanese auxiliary cruiser Sado Maru rescued 523 of her crew, another 103 men escaped in boats and were captured later, and 18 men were lost. At about 10.00 on 28 May, Admiral Nakhimov sunk at 34° 34'N, 129° 32'E. Captain Rodionov later claimed that the ship had been sunk by a floating naval mine rather than a torpedo, and some crewmen testified that the captain had ordered the ship scuttled to avoid surrender, so accounts of her final moments vary.

Legend of the Sunken Treasure
In 1933, an American author named Garry Berg published a book 600 Billion in Water, making the unfounded allegation that the four ships of the Second Pacific Squadron which were sunk at the Battle of Tsushima had a horde of gold, worth US$5 million dollars, of which $2 million was carried on the Admiral Nakhimov.
In 1980, controversial Japanese businessman Ryoichi Sasakawa salvaged the wreckage of Admiral Nakhimov over the strong protests of the Soviet Government. Sasakawa later publicized photos of what appeared to be a valuable cargo of gold bullion, platinum ingots, and British sovereigns, as well as crates of precious jewels. Sasakawa claimed that the treasure was worth over $36 billion in modern currency, but offered to turn it over to the Soviet Union, in return for the Kuril Islands to Japan.Eventually, it turned out that the supposed platinum ingots were in fact lead.