the rest ordered as part of the 1904 Emergency Programme, with the next four ordered on 24 February 1904 and Feldmarshal General Sheremetev on 26 March 1904. Feldmarshal General Sheremetev was paid for by public subscription with the Sheremetev family as major donors. Due to the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, construction was accelerated on the submarines and only Kasatka ran sea trials. During trials, Kasatka had trouble during operation of the ballast tanks, steering gear and water entered the submarine through the main hatch when submerged. The latter problem was rectified by the addition of two floats attached to the aft casing first on Kasatka and then on the others. Kasatka was then transferred to Vladivostok by rail, followed by the rest between September and December 1904 with the exception of Makrel and Okun. Makrel and Okun remained in the west and were used as evaluation boats for the design. Kasatka and Skat became operational in March 1905, followed by Feldmarshal General Sheremetev and Nalim in May 1905. Completion of Makrel and Okun took until 1907. At Vladivostok, the submarines were used as a deterrent against Japanese warships. They operated out to from the coast and remained as visible as possible, remaining at sea for up to five days, though some patrols lasted two weeks. Upon completion Makrel and Okun were assigned to the 1st Division of the Baltic Fleet. During World War I, Nalim and Skat were transferred to the Black Sea in 1915 and joined the Black Sea Fleet. That same year, Feldmarshal General Sheremetev and Kasatka were transferred to the Baltic Sea and joined the Baltic Fleet. In June 1915, Okun and Makrel were among the submarines deployed off the Kurland coast. Okun engaged the German cruiser , but missed. However, the submarine threat led the German command to withdraw their ships from around Windau. In August, the two submarines were ordered to the Gulf of Riga as part of the Russian attempt to defend against the German High Seas Fleet's movements in the area. Following the arrival of British submarine reinforcements, the smaller Russian submarines were deployed on coastal defence missions in the Baltic. After the entry of the Romania into the war on the side of the Allies in 1916, Nalim and Skat were based at Batumi but remained relatively inactive. Kasatka and Feldmarshal General Sheremetev transferred to Arkhangelsk in 1915 and 1916 respectively,