Lot 20304 – 1905 Cover from NAVAL HEADQUARTERS, St Petersburg

1905 Cover from NAVAL HEADQUARTERS, St Petersburg franked 1r cancelled 24 July 1905. Addressed in French to COMMANDER OF RUSSIAN CRUISER « DIANA » at Saigon, Cochinchine (now Vietnam). Backstamp arrival 7 Sep 1905. The cruiser « Diana » was part of the Russian fleet bottled up at Port Arthur. In an attempt to break the siege, the fleet put to sea on 10 August 1904 to engage the Japanese. During the ensuing Battle of the Yellow Sea « Diana » was badly crippled and limped into Saigon on 25 August, where she was interned with her crew. The (then) Commander, Vladimir Semenov, escaped to Russia and joined the ill-fated Baltic fleet. He survived the sinking of the Russian flagship « Kniaz Suvarov » at the battle of Tsushima (27 May 1905).