A Russian cruiser alarms British planners

British observers worried that Russia had created an armoured warship for commerce raiding, even though General-Admiral did little of that work in practice. She was not fitted with the ram suggested by some depictions, and her service career never matched the threat imagined for her. The heavy belt also pulled the ship down so that much of the armour sat below the waterline, reducing its intended value. Even with those limitations, the perceived threat was enough to start a design race that shaped the British response.