Part 1 of Michael Melliar Phelps account of the 1905 Battle of Tshushima, and the events that led up to the battle. The Battle of Tsushima was a major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War. It was naval history’s first, and last, decisive sea battle fought by modern steel battleship fleets, and the first naval battle in which wireless telegraphy (radio) played a critically important role. It has been characterized as the “dying echo of the old era – for the last time in the history of naval warfare, ships of the line of a beaten fleet surrendered on the high seas”. Prior to the Russo-Japanese War, countries constructed their battleships with mixed batteries of mainly 6-inch (152 mm), 8-inch (203 mm), 10-inch (254 mm) and 12-inch (305 mm) guns, with the intent that these battleships would fight in a close-quarter, decisive fleet action. The Battle of Tsushima conclusively demonstrated that for a battleship, speed and big guns with longer ranges were far more advantageous than mixed batteries of different sizes.
Recorded 1st August 1975.
Duration 1 hour 18 minutes.
Note that photos and diagrams referred to in this address are not included in this audio-only podcast
