This 40k. stamp shows Admiral Nakhimov with three of his Fleet of ships of the line. They are the Tri Sviatitelia, Rostislav and Tchesme, which, together with the Paris, Grand Duke Constantine and Empress Maria bore down on the Turkish Fleet lying in the roadstead at Sinope on the evening of November 30, 1853. The Turkish Black Sea Squadron, consisting of seven frigates, two corvettes, two transports and two wooden steamers, was caught entirely off guard. All of Nakhimov's ships were armed with the latest smooth-bore shell gun.
At 1.000 yards range the Russian vessels opened fire and poured broadside after broadside into the hapless Turkish ships. Within a few minutes every one of them, including the one steamer which managed to escape, was ablaze. All but one were either destroyed or captured. Russian losses were 34 killed and 230 wounded; Turkish losses were never disclosed. This battle proved that the new long-range high-penetration shell had made wooden warships obsolete, and that steamships with armour plating would be the only answer to the problem of the new weapon. Admiral Paul Stephanovitch Nakhimov was born at Smolensk in 1803, and was killed at Sebastopol on July 10, 1855.
I have used the title from the SG catalogue which conflicts a litle with the article.
SG1774 Sea Breezes 4/57