Asia (ship, 1874)
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The Asia ( Russian А́зия ) was a cruiser of the Imperial Russian Navy . She was one of three merchant ships bought by the Russian government in the United States in May 1878 , which were then converted into cruisers in Russia: the State of California became the Europa , the Saratoga became the Africa, and the Columbus became the Asia .
The steamship Columbus was built in Philadelphia in 1873/74 and, after being sold by a Russian naval crew, was transferred to Kronstadt , where it was rebuilt in 1878/79. The cruiser displaced 2,449 tons, was 82.3 m long and 10.7 m wide and had a 4.8 m draft. The armament consisted of three 15.2-cm and five 10.7-cm guns, four 2.54-cm cannons and two 44.5-cm torpedo tubes. A 1200 hp steam engine gave the Asia a top speed of 12.5 knots. The range was about 9,600 nautical miles. The crew consisted of 11 officers and 207 men.
The Asia was first used in the Far East and then in the Baltic Sea. The later Vice Admiral Karl Jessen was her commandant from 1885-1886. On February 1, 1892, she was downgraded to 2nd class cruiser. A more powerful engine system installed in 1898 with now 2,700 hp gave it a new top speed of 15.7 knots.
In August 1911, the now obsolete Asia was transferred to the reserve fleet, and in October 1912 it was renamed the Caucasus ("Кавказ"). After the outbreak of World War I , it was given its old name back on September 11, 1914. She was assigned to the transport units of the Baltic Fleet and used as a mine- layer.
The Asia was decommissioned in May 1918 and scrapped in 1923.
