Cruiser Aurora brief description. The cruiser "Aurora" is a ship known for its one shot. Main characteristics, history of the cruiser. Construction and testing

Aurora shot! Aurora gasped!
An eagle fell under the boots...
For the cause of Lenin! For the will of Trotsky!
We will win throughout the entire Earth...
folk revolutionary song

D To understand what the cruiser Aurora dreams about"
I propose to remember her long and glorious military and life path...

History of "Aurora"
The armored cruiser "Aurora" was laid down on May 23, 1897 in St. Petersburg (in the New Admiralty). The ship is of the same type as the previously laid down "Pallada" and "Diana".

In the Russian fleet there was (and still is) a tradition of continuity of ship names, and new cruisers inherited the names of sailing frigates. Construction of the ship took more than six years - the Aurora was launched on May 11, 1900 at 11:15 a.m., and the cruiser entered the fleet (after completion of all outfitting work) only on July 16, 1903.

The main purpose is to conduct reconnaissance, destroy enemy merchant ships, cover battleships from attacks by enemy destroyers, patrol service. The ship could not conduct artillery duels with modern battleships of that time. It did not have armor or sufficient firepower. But having a solid (about seven thousand tons) displacement and, as a result, good seaworthiness and autonomy. With a full supply of coal (1430 tons), the Aurora could reach from Port Arthur to Vladivostok and return without additional bunkering.

On September 25, 1903 (just a week after manning, which ended on September 18), the Aurora with a crew of 559 people under the command of Captain 1st Rank I.V. Sukhotin left Kronstadt.
In the Mediterranean Sea, Aurora joined the detachment of Rear Admiral A. A. Virenius. The war began and on April 5, 1904, the Aurora returned to Kronstadt, where it was included in the 2nd Pacific Squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Rozhestvensky, which was preparing for a campaign in the Far Eastern theater of operations.

Admiral Rozhdestvensky was an original and (perhaps for conspiracy purposes) gave nicknames to warships, with salty naval humor. The cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov" was called "Idiot", the battleship "Sisoy the Great" - "Invalid Shelter", the yacht "Svetlana" was called "Maid", and "Aurora" was awarded the "honorary" title "Prostitute under the fence"))))

On October 2, 1904, as part of the squadron, having replaced the commander (he became captain 1st rank E.R. Egoriev (“Aurora” went to Tsushima.

in the Battle of Tsushima, the Aurora fired 303 152 mm, 1282 75 mm and 320 37 mm shells at the enemy.

During the battle, the cruiser received 18 hits from shells of various calibers and suffered serious crew losses - up to a hundred people killed and wounded.

The commander died - his photograph is now on display in the cruiser's museum, framed by a steel plating sheet pierced by shrapnel from a Japanese shell and charred deck planks.

But despite all this, the ship managed to escape from the encirclement and go to Manila, where it remained disarmed until the end of the war.

In 1909-1910, "Aurora", together with "Diana" and "Bogatyr", was part of a detachment of overseas sailing, specially intended for midshipmen of the Naval Corps and the Naval Engineering School, as well as students of the Training Team of Combat Non-Commissioned Officers, to undergo practice.
In November 1911, Aurors took part in celebrations in Bangkok in honor of the coronation of the Siamese king.

In 1910, the cruiser accompanied the imperial yacht to Riga.

The cruiser underwent its first modernization after the Russo-Japanese War, the second, after which it received the now preserved appearance, - in 1915. Strengthened artillery weapons ship - the number of 152-mm main caliber guns was first increased to ten, and then to fourteen. Numerous 75-mm artillery was dismantled - the size and survivability of the destroyers increased, and three-inch shells no longer posed a serious danger to them.

The cruiser was able to take on board up to 150 mines - mine weapons were widely used in the Baltic and proved their effectiveness. And in the winter of 1915-1916, a new product was installed on the Aurora - anti-aircraft guns. But the glorious cruiser might not have lived to see the second modernization...

First World War"Aurora" met the second brigade of cruisers of the Baltic Fleet (together with "Oleg", "Bogatyr" and "Diana"). The cruisers went out on patrol in pairs, and after the patrol period expired, one pair replaced the other.

On October 11, 1914, at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, the German submarine U-26, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander von Berkheim, discovered two Russian cruisers: the Pallada, which was finishing its patrol service, and the Aurora, which had come to replace it. The commander of the German submarine correctly assessed and classified the targets and attacked. The torpedo hit caused the detonation of the ammunition magazines on the battleship Pallada, and the cruiser sank along with the entire crew. And the veteran of the Russian-Japanese War, the cruiser "Aurora" managed to quietly hide in the skerries.

There is no point in seriously talking about the fateful role of the Aurora in the events of October 1917. The cruiser could not shoot the Winter Palace from guns. It was under repair, and all ammunition had been unloaded from it. But perhaps the Bolsheviks found a couple of shells for the salvo and effect.

IN civil war and the Aurora did not take part in battles with the English fleet. There was an acute shortage of fuel and other supplies.

In 1918, the Aurora was in deep reserve, without the guns that were used to arm homemade light gunboats.

At the end of 1922, "Aurora" - the only ship, by the way, of the old imperial Russian fleet, which retained its name given to it at birth, it was decided to restore it as a training ship. The cruiser was repaired, ten 130-mm guns were installed on it instead of the previous 6-inch ones, two anti-aircraft guns and four machine guns, and on July 18, 1923 the ship began sea trials.

Then, for ten years - from 1923 to 1933 - the cruiser was engaged in a task that was already familiar to him: cadets of naval schools were practicing on board.
The ship made several overseas voyages and took part in the maneuvers of the newly revived Baltic Fleet. But the years took their toll, and due to the poor condition of the boilers and mechanisms, the Aurora, after another repair in 1933-1935, became a non-propelled training base. In winter, it was used as a floating base for submarines.

During the Great Patriotic War the old cruiser stood in the harbor of Oranienbaum.

The ship’s guns were once again removed, and nine of its “one hundred and thirty” mounted on a coastal battery defended the approaches to the city.

The Germans did not pay much attention to the decrepit veteran, seeking first to incapacitate the best soviet ships(such as the cruiser "Kirov"), however, the ship still received its share of enemy shells. On September 30, 1941, the half-sunken cruiser, damaged as a result of artillery shelling, sat on the ground.

After the blockade of Leningrad was lifted in July 1944, the cruiser was taken out of condition clinical death- lifted from the ground and (for the umpteenth time!) put in for repairs. The boilers and onboard engines, propellers, brackets for the side shafts and the shafts themselves, as well as some of the auxiliary mechanisms, were removed from the Aurora. The weapons that were on the ship in 1915 were installed - fourteen 152-mm Kane guns and four 45-mm salute guns.

In 1946, during repairs, the Aurora played the role of the king of the cruiser Varyag in the film of the same name. Then the Aurora, like a true actress, even had to put on makeup for her character - the shields were removed from the guns (there were none on the Varyag), and a fourth false pipe was installed to ensure the truthfulness of the image of the most heroic cruiser of the Russian-Japanese War.

Now the cruiser was to become a monument ship and at the same time a training base Nakhimovsky School. In 1948, the repairs were completed, and the restored Aurora stood where it stands to this day - on the Petrogradskaya embankment opposite the building of the Nakhimov School. And in 1956, a Ship Museum was opened on board the Aurora as a branch of the Central Naval Museum.

IN Soviet years Naturally, the main (and, perhaps, the only) attention was paid to the revolutionary past of the cruiser. Images of the Aurora were present everywhere possible, and the silhouette of the three-pipe ship became a symbol of our city.

In 1967, the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution was widely celebrated in the Soviet Union. socialist revolution. For the anniversary, they filmed the film "Aurora Salvo", where the cruiser played itself. All filming was done on location. The Aurora was towed to historical place to the Nikolaevsky Bridge. The spectacle was impressive, and thousands of Leningraders and city guests watched the gray three-pipe beauty slowly and majestically sail along the Neva.

Towing to the parking lot after filming in 1967.

A major restoration of the Aurora took place in 1984. Powerful tugs removed the cruiser from its eternal mooring and dragged it to the Northern Shipyard.

At the docks, the cruiser of the revolution was simply cut into pieces. The lower part of the vessel, including the entire underwater part, was completely replaced with a new one.

What was above the water also underwent severe alteration. By the anniversary date, the Aurora returned to its usual place, and then the question arose of what to do with the skeleton remaining at the shipyard. Selling the revolution cruiser for scrap metal in Soviet times would be considered ideological sabotage. So they decided to hide the real “Aurora” from the eyes of the people.

During the dissolution, the Aurora was slowly stolen away for souvenirs by both military and civilians. The sheathing of copper sheets, which covered the entire ship, was torn off from the surface parts. The chief mechanic of the Baltika fishing state farm, Vladimir Yurchenko, as a deeply religious economic man, tore off all the tiles from the shower of the heroic ship and placed it in the country. And that’s true, don’t let the good go to waste. Many took away the doors along with the jambs and removed the portholes.

According to eyewitnesses, the workers who plundered the cruiser and restored it came across a completely functional fire extinguishing system. It worked when they began to open the bulkheads using a welding machine. Half the ship was filled with foam.

They wanted to turn the cut-off hull into a breakwater, but it didn’t work out. Corpse The severed part sank not where it was planned. Nowadays you can find the remains of the cruiser of the revolution without any problems.

Random tourists willingly take pictures against the backdrop of the wreckage; in the summer, local boys excitedly climb on the wreckage. At low tide, the hull, which stretches 120 meters in length, is visible in its entirety.

And the reborn cruiser Frankinstein "Aurora" was solemnly returned to eternal berth.

The modern cruiser is a partial remake. One of the most noticeable differences from the original is the use of welded seams on the new body instead of rivet technology.

The St. Andrew's flag was again raised on the ship in 1992, the cruiser was included in the navy Russia as No. 1. Until recently, officers and sailors served on the ship. All auxiliary mechanisms and life support systems are maintained by the cruiser's crew in working order. The ship's guns are also in working, well-maintained condition.

On the night of June 6, 2009, a banquet and a ceremonial presentation of the Russian Pioneer magazine were held on the ship, which were attended by distinguished guests. The prosecutor's office became interested in the case and the Minister of Defense and the Navy turned out to be the last ones, as if they had seen enough)))

On December 1, 2010, the Aurora lost its status as ship No. 1 of the Russian Navy. The ship became a branch of the Central Navy Museum.

On August 1, the Aurora was finally transferred to the jurisdiction of the Central Naval Museum. The military unit serving on the ship was disbanded. The crew of the cruiser Aurora was reorganized into a staff of three military personnel and 28 civilian personnel; the ship's status remained the same.

In October 2011, a flag with a skull and crossbones was hung on the mast of the cruiser Aurora. Two young men and a girl sat on the mast under the Jolly Roger for about five hours, alarming the police, rescuers, the city commandant’s office and military sailors.

The troublemakers identified themselves as representatives of the organizations “People's Share” and “Food Not Bombs.” Promotion " Memorable October or Auror Resurrection” they dedicated to the fight against the crisis, poverty, oligarchs, “endemic pedophilia” and “religious extremism”.

A conventional shot from the head gun of the cruiser "Aurora" at the house of People's Artist Mikhail Boyarsky was reported to herald the beginning of the Russian October Political Postmodernization (ROPP).

The slogans were beautiful and revolutionary.
Freedom from tyrants for Russia! The people - a share of oil and gas! Food is a right, not a privilege! Our cause is just - we are not piss..m!

The activists were removed from the masts without any casualties (for the activists). Their further fate is humane and disappointing (that was before the pussies).

Now the crew is officially recruited from former military sailors. But besides them, there are also conscript sailors on Aurora. They are assigned to the ship and continue to serve as crew as before. It turns out that the status of the cruiser has not been finally sorted out.

Now "Aurora" has again left its place near the Nakhimov School.

The first stage of repairs will take place at the shipyard in Kronstadt, after which the cruiser will be moved to another location. It is expected that by the end of the year the legendary ship will be returned to its permanent mooring.

Historical photos and information (C) various places on the Internet.

"Aurora"

Historical data

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Same type ships

"Aurora"- Russian armored cruiser of the 1st rank of the Diana type. Took part in the Battle of Tsushima. The cruiser "Aurora" gained worldwide fame by firing a blank signal from a gun at the beginning of the October Revolution of 1917. During the Great Patriotic War, the ship took part in the defense of Leningrad. After the end of the war, he continued to serve as a training block ship and museum, mooring on the river. Neva in St. Petersburg. During this time, the Aurora became a symbol ship of the Russian fleet and is now an object of Russian cultural heritage.

General information

The cruiser "Aurora", like other ships of its type ("Diana" and "Pallada"), was built according to the shipbuilding program of 1895 with the goal of " equations of our naval forces with the German and with the forces of secondary states adjacent to the Baltic" The Diana-class cruisers became one of the first armored cruisers in Russia, the development of which took into account, first of all, the experience of foreign countries. Nevertheless, for their time (in particular, during the Russo-Japanese War), ships of this type turned out to be ineffective due to the “backwardness” of many tactical and technical elements (speed, weapons, armor).

History of creation

Prerequisites for creation

By the beginning of the 20th century. Russia's foreign policy situation was quite complex: the persistence of contradictions with England, the growing threat from developing Germany, the strengthening of Japan's position. Taking these factors into account required strengthening the army and navy, that is, building new ships. Changes in the shipbuilding program adopted in 1895 assumed construction in the period from 1896 to 1905. 36 new ships, among them nine cruisers, of which two (then three) - “ carapace", that is, armored decks. Subsequently, these three armored cruisers became the Diana class.

Design

The basis for the development of tactical and technical elements (TTE) of future cruisers was the design of a cruiser with a displacement of 6000 tons created by S.K. Ratnik, the prototype of which was the newest (launched in 1895) English cruiser HMS Talbot and French armored cruiser D"Entrecasteaux(1896). At the beginning of June 1896, the planned series was expanded to three ships, the third of which (the future Aurora) was ordered to be laid down at the New Admiralty. On April 20, 1896, the Marine Technical Committee (MTK) approved technical project armored cruiser of the 1st rank.

Construction and testing

Silver mortgage board of the cruiser "Aurora"

On March 31, 1897, Emperor Nicholas II ordered that the cruiser under construction be named “Aurora” in honor of the Roman goddess of dawn. This name was chosen by the autocrat from eleven proposed names. L.L. Polenov, however, believes that the cruiser was named after the sailing frigate "Aurora", which became famous during the defense of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky during the Crimean War.

Despite the fact that, in fact, work on the construction of the Aurora began much later than the Diana and Pallas, the official laying down of cruisers of this type took place on the same day: May 23, 1897. The first one at 10:30 a.m. . the solemn ceremony was held on the Aurora in the presence of Admiral General Alexei Alexandrovich. The silver mortgage plate was secured between the 60th and 61st frames, and the flag and jack of the future cruiser were raised on specially installed flagpoles.

The Diana-class cruisers were supposed to be the first serial cruisers in Russia, but it was not possible to achieve uniformity among them: the Aurora was equipped with different machines, boilers, and steering devices than the Diana and Pallada. Electric drives for the latter were ordered from three different factories as an experiment: this way it was possible to find out which drives would be the most effective, so that they could then be installed on other ships of the fleet. Thus, electric drives for Aurora steering gears were ordered from Siemens and Galke.

The slipway work began in the fall of 1897, and it dragged on for three and a half years (largely due to the unavailability of individual elements of the ship). Finally, on May 24, 1900, the hull was launched in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II and Empresses Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna. Following this, the installation of main vehicles, auxiliary mechanisms, general ship systems, weapons and other equipment began. In 1902, for the first time in the Russian fleet, the Aurora received Hall system anchors, a novelty that the other two ships of this type did not have time to equip. In the summer of 1900, the cruiser passed its first tests, the last on June 14, 1903.

Four builders participated in the direct construction of the cruiser (from the moment of construction until the end of the sea changes): E. R. de Grofe, K. M. Tokarevsky, N. I. Pushchin and A. A. Bazhenov.

The total cost of building the Aurora is estimated at 6.4 million rubles.

Description of design

Frame

Museum ship and cultural heritage site of the Russian Federation

"Aurora" - cruiser-museum in St. Petersburg

In mid-1944, it was decided to create the Leningrad Nakhimov Naval School. It was planned to place some of the Nakhimov crew on a floating base, which was temporarily to become the Aurora. However, according to the decision of A. A. Zhdanov, the cruiser “Aurora” was to be permanently installed on the Neva, “ as a monument to the active participation of sailors of the Baltic Fleet in the overthrow of the bourgeois Provisional Government" Work immediately began to restore the waterproofness of the cruiser's hull, which had received numerous damage. During more than three years of overhaul (from mid-July 1945 to mid-November 1948), the following were repaired: the hull, propellers, onboard steam engines, onboard propeller shafts, onboard engine shaft brackets, the remaining boilers; Reconstruction was also carried out in connection with the new function of the mother ship. (Unfortunately, this reorganization had a negative impact on preserving the historical appearance of the cruiser. By the way, this was also influenced by the participation of “Aurora” in the role of “Varyag” in the film of the same name, filmed in 1947.) On November 17, 1948, the cruiser took its place for the first time permanently parked on Bolshaya Nevka. A graduating company of Nakhimots was immediately stationed on the Aurora. From that time until 1961, it became a tradition for Nakhimov graduates to live and serve on the Aurora.

Towing the cruiser "Aurora" to the Leningrad Shipyard named after A. A. Zhdanov for repairs. 1984

By Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR No. 1327 of August 30, 1960, the Aurora was given the official status of a state-protected monument ship. Since 1961, the museum, which had existed on the ship since 1950 on the initiative of several officers, was given free access and its exhibition expanded. Soon Aurora became one of the popular places in the city.

The final canonization of the Aurora, its transformation into a symbol ship, occurred in 1967, when, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the 1917 revolution, the Aurora again fired a blank shot from its 152-mm tank gun at exactly 21:45. In February 1968, the cruiser was awarded the second most important order in the country - the Order of the October Revolution. Thus, the Aurora, having once become the first ship to bear the order, also became the first twice to bear the order in the history of the Soviet Navy.

The cruiser "Aurora" passes through the Palace Bridge in St. Petersburg, 2014

"Aurora" in the dock of the Kronstadt Marine Plant, November 2014.

By the end of the 1970s, the Aurora hull fell into disrepair. Repair and reconstruction was required. After developing proposals from a specially created commission, repairs began in August 1984 and continued until August 1987. Instead of a complete restoration, it was decided to replace the old building with a new one. The “restoration” of the “Aurora” (however, having the original drawings, the reconstructors were not able to bring much to their original state due to the numerous re-equipment of the cruiser before) cost about 35 million rubles.

Torpedo and mine weapons 3 381-mm torpedoes (8 torpedoes of the “98” type) until 1908; up to 150 mines of M-1908 type barriers since 1908

The ship was intended to perform the functions of a reconnaissance cruiser and combat enemy merchant shipping at a short distance from the bases, as well as to support battleships in squadron battles. In fact, she could not solve any of these problems due to the insufficient (for the 1900s) cruising range for a cruiser, low speed, weak weapons and protection, therefore, from 1908 she served as a training cruiser.

Structurally, it belonged to the type of armored cruisers, tactically - to the trade fighter cruisers.

Launching

Built according to the shipbuilding program of 1895.

The irony of History - the cruiser, which was considered the herald of the revolution, the gravedigger of the Russian Empire and the Imperial family, was solemnly launched on May 11 (24), 1900, at the personal command of the All-Russian Emperor Nicholas II, in the presence of two empresses (the dowager and the tsar’s wife) and numerous members Imperial family.

On September 25 (November 8), 1903, the Aurora left Kronstadt for Far East, after calling at Portland in early October, she arrived in the Mediterranean Sea and on October 25 arrived at the port of La Spezia (Italy), where she joined the detachment of ships of Rear Admiral A. A. Virenius at sea (EBR "Oslyabya", 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers, 3 steamships DF), heading to the Far East to strengthen the Port Arthur squadron. Sailed along the route: Bizerte (Tunisia, France) - Piraeus - port of Suez - Djibouti. While stationed in Djibouti (French Somalia) in connection with the outbreak of the Russian-Japanese War (!), the entire detachment was recalled to the Baltic on February 2, 1904.

In preparation for the new cruise, the cruiser received three Maxim system machine guns, 25-mm armored shields for the main caliber guns and a new Telefunken radio station with a communication range of up to 100 miles.

Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905

On April 17, 1904, the ship was transferred to the 2nd Squadron of the Pacific Fleet. On August 29, as part of this squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Z.P. Rozhestvensky, it left Kronstadt for the Pacific Ocean to the theater of military operations of the Russo-Japanese War. I walked along the route Revel (30.08-28.09) - Libau (2.10) - Skagen (7.10). Then he followed as part of the 4th detachment under the command of Rear Admiral O.A. Enquist. During the "Ghull Incident" ca. 1:00 10/10/1904 was abeam of a Russian detachment that was firing at ships mistaken for Japanese destroyers. At the same time, several shells hit the cruiser, from which the ship's priest, Father Anastasy, was mortally wounded and one gunner was slightly wounded. Then the detachment followed the route Tangier (Sultanate of Morocco, 16-23.10) - Dakar (30.10-3.11) - Gabun (13-18.11) - Great Fish Bay (Portuguese West Africa, 23-24.11) - Angra Pequena (German South-West Africa, 28.11-4.12) - Nossi Be Bay on the island. Madagascar (French colony, 12/16/1904-03/3/1905). In Madagascar, all detachments of the squadron again gathered, which then proceeded through the Strait of Malacca to Kamrang Bay (French protectorate of Annam, 03/31-13/04) - Van Fong Bay (French Annam, 13-26/04), where the squadron of Z.P. Rozhdestvensky was joined by a squadron of counter- Admiral N.I. Nebogatov, - Cua Be Bay (26.04). On 05/01/1905, the cruiser as part of the combined squadron left Kua Be Bay to travel to Vladivostok through the Korea Strait.

World War I

Winter 1914-1915 underwent modernization, the number of 152-mm guns was increased to 14 due to the dismantling of all 75-mm anti-mine caliber guns. The cruiser received four 75 mm and one 40 mm “aerocannons” (anti-aircraft guns). During the 1915 campaign, the cruiser was on patrol duty west of the central mine and artillery position in the Baltic, guarding mine sweeping operations, and made trips to explore hidden skerry fairways in Finland.

Since May 1916, he was assigned to the 6th maneuver group (armored cruiser Gromoboy, cruisers Aurora and Diana). On August 1 and 2, he conducted training firing at a training ground near Hainland Island to determine the possibility of destroying coastal wire barriers with naval artillery fire during the planned landing operation. The results were disappointing - out of 209 6-inch shells, three hit the wire and one more hit the trench. After the completion of dredging work on the Moonsund Canal, the cruiser was transferred by this canal to the Gulf of Riga on August 14, 1916 and became part of the Naval Defense Forces of the Gulf of Riga; based on Kuivast.

In November 1916, the ship was sent for major repairs to Petrograd, to the Franco-Russian plant. During the winter of 1916-1917, steam engines were overhauled and new steam boilers of the Belleville-Dolgolenko system were installed. The main caliber artillery was modernized with an increase in firing range from 53 to 67 ca. 6 76.2-mm anti-aircraft guns of the F. F. Lender system were installed (at the expense of all the previous “aero guns”), a new radio station and a sound-underwater communication device were installed.

Revolutions of 1917

The cruiser stationed in Petrograd found itself at the center of the events of two revolutions in a year. Being in close contact with the factory workers, the sailors of the cruiser Aurora were involved in revolutionary agitation. This was facilitated by the general situation in Russia, which the war had brought to the brink of disaster. The relationship between the officers and the crew on the cruiser became tense to the limit. On February 27 (March 12), the crew demanded that the commander release three imprisoned agitators from arrest. When dispersing the meeting that followed, the cruiser commander, Captain 1st Rank M.I. Nikolsky and senior officer P.P. Ogranovich opened fire on the team with pistols; there were wounded. When on February 28 (March 13), 1917, it became known on the cruiser that the February bourgeois-democratic revolution had taken place, the sailors, together with the workers, raised a red flag on the ship. The ship's commander was killed, the senior officer was wounded, and most of the crew went ashore and joined the uprising.

To exercise the democratic rights of sailors on the Aurora, a ship committee was elected. Based on the results of a secret vote on March 3 (26), on the issue of the form of government in Russia, it was unanimously decided that such a form is democratic republic. Throughout the spring-summer-autumn of 1917, the political situation on the ship was characterized by a gradual loss of confidence in the Provisional Government of Russia on the part of both sailors and officers. The influence of the Bolshevik party on the ship grew. After the bloody events of February 27-28 (March 13-14), relations between the ship's committee and the officers became relatively normal: the officers did not go against the command regarding political beliefs, and the ship's committee did not interfere with the officers in terms of service, discipline and work on the ship.

When the political situation in the country deteriorated again in October 1917 and the conflict between the Provisional Government and the Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies reached a dead end, most of the team was on the side of the RSDLP(b). By decision of the Central Committee of the Baltic Fleet, the already practically repaired Aurora was left in Petrograd and subordinated to the Petrograd Soviet. The sailors of the cruiser took part in the October armed uprising in Petrograd on October 25 (November 7), 1917: on the night of October 25, 1917, by order of the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrosoviet, the Aurora team captured and brought down the Nikolaevsky Bridge in Petrograd, which connected Vasilievsky Island with the center cities. On October 25 at 21:45, a blank shot from the Aurora’s bow gun, fired on the orders of Commissioner Belyshev, gave the signal for the assault on the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government was located.

On November 28 (December 11), 1917, after repairs, the Aurora returned to the 2nd Cruiser Brigade in Sveaborg. After the decree on the dissolution of the old fleet and the organization of a new RKKF on a voluntary basis, most of the team was demobilized. There are only 40 people left on the ship, needed for ongoing work and security. In 1918, civil war began in Russia. In the summer of 1918, the cruiser, which could no longer be maintained in a state of combat readiness, was transferred to Kronstadt and put into reserve, like most of the large ships of the fleet. The Aurora's 152 mm guns were removed and sent to Astrakhan to arm floating batteries. Most of the cruiser's sailors went, partly to the fronts of the civil war, and partly just to go home. In 1922, the ship was transferred to the Kronstadt port for long-term storage (mothballed).

Interwar period and Great Patriotic War 1941-1945

Plaque for the cruiser's tank (bow) gun

When the active restoration of the Russian Naval Forces began in 1922, it was decided to restore the Aurora as a training ship, not least because she had already undergone a major overhaul four years earlier. After restoration and manning in 1922-1924, the cruiser Aurora became part of the Baltic Sea Naval Forces as a training ship. The ship now had 10x1 - new 130 mm guns and 2x1 - 76.2 mm anti-aircraft guns. In 1924-1930, the ship, together with the training ship "Komsomolets", made a number of training voyages with cadets of higher naval schools, visited the ports of Bergen and Trondheim (Norway, 1924, 1925 and 1930), Murmansk and Arkhangelsk (USSR, 1924 and 1925) , Gothenburg (Sweden, 1925), Kiel (Germany, 1926), Copenhagen (1928), Swinemunde (Germany, 1929), Oslo (1930). The merit of Aurora in training competent specialists for the fleet of the young Soviet state was enormous. On the 10th anniversary of the Revolution, the training cruiser was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In 1933, the ship was examined and it was concluded that a second major overhaul was necessary. Since 1933 at the shipyard named after. A. Marti repair work was carried out in Leningrad, but due to the high workload of this plant with the construction of new ships in 1935, repairs were suspended and the ship began to serve as a non-propelled training base for first-year cadets of naval schools. During the winter, the cruiser served as a floating base for submarines. The ship was planned to be decommissioned.

Memorial ship

Even before the end of the war, in 1944, a decision was made to restore the cruiser as a monument to the active participation of sailors in the 1917 Revolution. The Aurora was raised in 1944 and underwent a major overhaul in 1945-1947, during which appearance the ship was brought closer to its appearance in 1917. 152-mm Kane guns were installed, the same type as those installed on the ship in 1917, but, unfortunately, in the arsenals it was possible to find guns only on land-based machines. The ship's shields for them were made according to the drawings of Auror veterans. The underwater part of the hull was made waterproof using a concrete “shirt” placed on the inner surface of the ship’s skin. The internal premises were converted for the life and service of cadets and teachers. The power plant was removed, with the exception of two boilers for heating and a medium steam engine, left as teaching aid. The superstructures were restored, including the complete replacement of the chimneys, which were badly damaged during the war. As a result, the ship became a full-fledged training base for students of the Nakhimov School, opposite the building of which on the Bolshaya Nevka River in Leningrad the ship solemnly took its place on November 17, 1947. Future officers of the Navy received primary naval skills on the Aurora: they participated in ship work and served as ship crews.

At Soviet power The cruiser "Aurora" became a training cruiser and was revered as one of the symbols of the revolution. The fate of this cruiser is told in the children's cartoon of the same name (1976), the song from which “What are you dreaming about, cruiser Aurora?” gained popularity and became strongly associated with the ship. During repairs, in 1945-46, the cruiser participated in the filming of the film “Cruiser Varyag”, playing the role of “Varyag”.

The museum on the ship began to be created in 1950 by personnel, Auror veterans, and enthusiasts. In 1956, it was decided to give the ship museum the status of a branch of the Central Naval Museum. Since 1961, in connection with the construction of a new residential building for the NVMU, “Aurora” ceased to be an educational base, and the former quarters of the school’s students were transferred to the museum, whose staff was increased to 5 people. The upper deck and forecastle with a 152 mm gun, as well as the premises of the ship's museum, were open to ordinary visitors. The rest of the ship's premises were inaccessible. At the same time as the museum, a team of 50 sailors and officers was left on the ship (and remains to this day) to guard the ship and maintain the mechanisms, so the cruiser itself and the museum on the cruiser are different, albeit friendly, organizations. Current repairs of the ship were carried out in 1957-1958 and 1966-1968. In 1968, the cruiser Aurora was awarded the Order of the October Revolution.

At the end of the 1980s, the ship's hull began to be in dire need of major repairs. In 1984-1987, repair and restoration work and re-equipment were carried out on the cruiser. The work was carried out at the Leningrad Shipyard named after. A. A. Zhdanov according to the project of the Northern Design Bureau. The work was as follows:

The last exit of the cruiser "Aurora", launched in 1900, on the Neva

The underwater part of the ship's hull (1.2 m above the waterline) was considered beyond repair; it was cut off and sent to cutting. The cut-off lower part was towed to the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland to the unfinished Ruchi naval base, scuttled near the coast, where it is currently being torn apart for metal. Instead, a new welded underwater part (model) was made. The wood and copper cladding were not recreated. There are no screws.

• The surface part was divided into four sections, which were installed on the new underwater part. In the engine room of the right and left machines, a boiler room was made and mock-ups of two boilers of the Belleville-Dolgolenko system were placed there. The stern main machine was put in order and installed in its place. The carapace deck was rebuilt. Most of the old armor plates (except for the lower belt) were returned to it.

• The superstructures were installed in place and mostly externally decorated to resemble the ship as it appeared in 1917. The pipes and masts were made anew, since the old ones were also “new”. They decided to leave the guns on coastal installations.

• Almost all of the ship's interior has been redesigned. On the battery deck there is a museum, a compartment for museum employees, a crew catering unit with a galley, an officers' living quarters, a wardroom and a commander's salon. Below, on the living deck, are the crew's new living quarters. All residential blocks are equipped in accordance with the habitability requirements of a modern navy. In two aft engine rooms there is a machine-boiler room with auxiliary mechanisms and additional combat dynamo machines. The premises of the boiler departments are occupied by modern PES (power and survivability station), a power plant, air conditioners, hot water boilers for domestic needs, diesel generators, a drainage station, a fire extinguishing system and other equipment. The tiller compartment, the refrigerator compartment and the central post remained unredesigned.

After repair and restoration work, the Aurora was returned to its mooring site on August 16, 1987 - at the Nakhimovsky VMU. Currently, in addition to scientific staff, the ship has a team of 6 officers, 12 midshipmen and 42 sailors.

Cruiser commanders

Cruiser commanders

• Cap. 1st rank A. A. Melnitsky (November 1897 - October 1898),
• cap. 1st rank P. P. Molas (October-November 1878, November 1898 - January 1900),
• VRID of commander cap. 1st rank A.P. Kitkin (January-June 1900),
• cap. 1st rank N.K. Yenish (June-December 1900),
• cap. 1st rank I. V. Sukhotin (January 1901 - July 1904),
• cap. 1st rank E. R. Egoriev (July 1904 - 05/14/1905, died),
• VRID of commander cap. 2nd rank A.K. Nebolsin (May 14 - September 1905),
• cap. 1st rank V. L. Barshch (September 1905 - May 1908),
• cap. 1st rank Baron V.N. Ferzen (May 1908 - January 1909),
• cap. 1st rank P. N. Leskov (January 1909 - December 1912),
• cap. 1st rank L. D. Opatsky (August-December 1912),
• cap. 1st rank D. A. Sveshnikov (December 1912 - April 1913),
• cap. 1st rank V. A. Kartsev (April 1913 - July 1914),
• cap. 1st rank G.I. Butakov (July 1914 - February 1916),
• cap. 1st rank M. I. Nikolsky (February 1916 - 02/28/1917, killed by sailors),
• senior lieutenant N.K. Nikonov (elected, March-August 1917),
• Lieutenant N. A. Erickson (elected, September 1917 - July 1918),
• VRID commander of the RKKF M. N. Zubov (from July 1918),
• commander of the RKKF L. A. Polenov (November 1922 - January 1928),
• commander of the RKKF A.F. Leer (January 1928 - September 1930),
• commander of the RKKF G. I. Levchenko (September 1930 - June 1931),
• commander of the RKKF A.P. Alexandrov (June-December 1931),
• VRID commander of the RKKF K. Yu. Andreus (December 1931 - March 1932),
• commander of the RKKF A. A. Kuznetsov (March 1932 - October 1934),
• cap. 2nd rank V. E. Emme (October 1934 – January 1938),
• cap. 2nd rank G. N. Arsenyev (January-September 1938),
• cap. 2nd rank F. M. Yakovlev (September 1938 – August 1940),
• cap. 3rd rank G. A. Gladky (August 1940 – March 1941),
• cap. 3rd rank I. A. Sakov (March-September 1941),
• senior lieutenant P. S. Grishin (October 1941 - July 1943),
• cap. 2nd rank P. A. Doronin (July 1943 – August 1948),
• cap. 1st rank F. M. Yakovlev (August 1948 – January 1950),
• cap. 2nd rank V.F. Shinkarenko (January 1950 – February 1952),
• cap. 2nd rank I. I. Popadko (February 1952 – September 1953),
• cap. 2nd rank N.P. Epikhin (September 1953 – August 1959),
• cap. 1st rank I. M. Goylov (September 1959 – July 1961),
• cap. 2nd rank K. S. Nikitin (July 1961 - May 1964),
• cap. 1st rank Yu. I. Fedorov (May 1964 – May 1985),
• cap. 2nd rank A. A. Yudin (May 1985 – November 1989),
• cap. 1st rank A.V. Bazhanov (since November 1989).

Historical images

	Cruiser bow gun	Cruiser layout

• The cruiser Aurora is depicted on the Order of the October Revolution, which itself was awarded (in 1967).
• Due to the fact that most of the sailors were natives of the Vyatka province, the Aurora banner was transferred for eternal storage to the city of Kirov (Vyatka) and is now in the Diorama Museum.
• During the filming of the film "Cruiser Varyag" another pipe was attached to the Aurora.

Helpful information

• Address: 197046, St. Petersburg, Petrovskaya embankment, cruiser “Aurora”; tel. 230-8440
• Directions: St. m. "Gorkovskaya", tram. 2, 6, 30, 63
• Operating mode: Every day from 10.30 to 16.00, except Monday and Friday
• Excursions: admission to the cruiser is free; Thematic excursions to the underwater part of the hull and the engine and boiler room are paid separately.

Notes

Literature

• Materials of the Central Naval Museum.
• "Aurora". - TSB. Ed. 2nd, vol. 41, pp. 117-118.
• “Aurora”: album - L.: Sov. artist, 1967.
• Ammon G. A., Berezhnoy S. S. Heroic ships of the Russian and Soviet navies. - M.: Voenizdat, 1981. P. 57.
• Andreev V. Revolutionary keep pace. - M., 1973. P.168-177.
• Aseev N. Land and people. - M.: 1961. P. 203.
• Badeev A.“Aurora.” - In the book: Father’s House: collection. - M.: “Mol. Guard", 1978.
• Baltic Fleet. Historical sketch. - M., Military Publishing House, 1960.
• Bartev G. P. Baltic dawns. - Yaroslavl: Upper Volga book. publishing house, 1987.
• Bartev G. P. et al. Cruiser "Aurora": a guide to the museum. - L.: Lenizdat, 1983.
• Bartev G. P., Myasnikov V. A. Pages of the chronicle of “Aurora”: Documentary essay. - Yaroslavl: Upper Volga book. publishing house, 1975.
• Belkin S.I. Stories about famous ships. - L.: Shipbuilding, 1979.
• Belyshev A. Baltic glory. - Kaliningrad, 1959. P. 41-46.
• Belyshev A. How it was (Memoirs of the first commissioner of the cruiser "Aurora"). - In the book: Hero Ships. - M., 1976. S. 106-107.
• Berezov P. A salvo from the Aurora. - M.: Politizdat, 1967.
• Burkovsky B.V., Kuleshov I.M. Cruiser "Aurora": a guide to the museum. - L., Lenizdat. 1967.
• Burkovsky B.V. et al. Cruiser "Aurora": a guide to the museum. - L.: Lenizdat, 1979.
• Burov A.V. Blockade day after day. - L., 1979. S. 55, 63, 67, 388.
• Burov V. N., Yukhnin V. E. The cruiser "Aurora": a monument of domestic shipbuilding. - L.: Lenizdat, 1987.
• Great October. Collection of documents. - M.: 1961. S. 52, 53, 327, 340, 351, 352.
• Godunov M. N. Cruiser "Aurora": a guide to the museum. - L.: Lenizdat, 1988.
• Grishchinsky K.K. Heroes are next to us. - L.: Lenizdat, 1982. P. 70-84.
• Dubinkin V. E. Gunner from the cruiser "Aurora": A documentary story. Voronezh book publishing house, 1936.
• Kozlov I. A., Shlomin V. S. Northern Fleet. - M., 1966. S. 78, 83.
• Krestyaninov V. Ya. Battle of Tsushima May 14 - 15, 1905 - St. Petersburg: "Galeya Print", 1998. - ISBN 5-8172-0002-3.
• Letov B. Hero ships. - M.-L.: Detgiz, 1950.
• Maksimikhin I. A. Legendary ship. - M.: “Mol.guard”, 1977.
• Melnikov R. M. Monument ships // “Man. Sea. Technique". - L.: Shipbuilding, 1987. pp. 301-321.
• Moiseev. I.I. List of ships of the Russian steam and armored fleet (from 1861 to 1917). - M.: Voenizdat, 1948. P. 76.
• Nevolin A. S. Aurors. - M.: Voenizdat, 1987.
• Polenov L. L. Cruiser Aurora". L.: Shipbuilding, 1987.
• Polenov L. L."Aurora": secrets of a hundred years of history. - St. Petersburg: “Nordmed-Izdat”, 1997. - (Events, ships, people).
• Pronin M. P. Legendary cruiser. L.: Lenizdat, 1957.
• Pacific Fleet. - M.: Voenizdat, 1966. P. 59, 62, 63, 134, 270.
• Chernov B. M. The fate of the Aurora is high. - M.: Politich. lit., 1983.
• Kharchenko V.I. The bells are ringing on the Aurora. - M.: Publishing house. DOSAAF, 1967.
• Kholodnyak A."Aurora". - L., 1925.
• Yunga E. S. Cruiser Aurora". - M.: Voenizdat, 1949.

Cruiser in art

Literature

• Nikolai Cherkashin. Torpedo for "Aurora"
• Mikhail Weller. Zero hours

Movies

• Soviet cartoon "Aurora" with the song "What are you dreaming about, the cruiser Aurora..."
• Lenin in October

Poetry and music

);10x130mm guns, 2x76.2mm anti-aircraft guns (1924)

His Imperial Majesty and Their Imperial Majesties Empresses Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna, having examined the cruiser Aurora, deigned to observe its descent from the Imperial Pavilion.

At the command “detainees cut down”, the ship, freed from supports, with the commander and crew on it, at first slowly, then faster, began to descend stern first, to the sounds of the national anthem, cries of “hurray” and cannon salutes from military ships standing at a distance.

As the ship left the boathouse, flags were raised on it, and His Majesty's standard was on the mainmast. Then the anchors were dropped and the ship stopped.

The 1st rank cruiser "Aurora" is a vessel of exactly the same type as the cruisers "Diana" and "Pallada" launched last year.

Its displacement is 6,682 tons. Maximum length with ram - 414 feet, width - 55 feet, recess - 55 feet. The cruiser will have 3 vehicles with 3,870 horsepower each, so the total force will reach 11,610.

The total supply of coal for the ship is 972 tons. The Aurora team will consist of 320 people with 30 officers.

Its armament will consist of eight six-inch, twenty-four 75-mm, eight 35-mm single-barrel and two 2 1/2-inch guns (Baranovsky). In addition, the ship will have three mine vehicles, of which 2 are underwater and 1 is surface.

Its total moving weight during descent was 3,621 tons.

From the Novaya Admiralty, Their Imperial Majesties deigned to depart on a steam boat to the Baltic plant.

From autumn to spring of the year, the ship was on a second long-distance training voyage along the route Libau - Christiansund - Vigo - Bizerte - Piraeus and Poros - Messina - Malaga - Vigo - Cherbourg - Libau.

From the autumn of 1911 to the summer of the year, the Aurora went on a third long training voyage to participate in the celebrations of the coronation of the King of Thailand (November 16 - December 2 of the year), visited ports of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans. In the spring and summer of 1912, the cruiser was part of the international squadron of the “patron powers” ​​of Crete, and stood as a Russian stationary in Souda Bay (Crete).

First World War and Revolution

She took part in the First World War. With the beginning of the war, the cruiser under the command of Captain 1st Rank G.I. Butakov became part of the 2nd Brigade of Cruisers of the Baltic Fleet, conducted artillery firing and carried out patrol duty. In the winter of 1914/1915, it underwent modernization, the number of 152-mm guns was increased to 14. During the 1915 campaign, the cruiser was in patrol service west of the central mine-artillery position in the Baltic, guarding minesweepers, and made trips to explore hidden skerry fairways in Finland. Since May 1916, the cruiser was assigned to the 6th maneuver group (armored cruiser Gromoboy, cruisers Aurora and Diana). On August 1 and 2, he conducted training firing at a training ground near Hainland Island to determine the possibility of destroying coastal wire barriers with naval artillery fire during the planned landing operation. After the completion of dredging work on the Moonsund Canal, the cruiser was transferred by this canal to the Gulf of Riga on August 14, 1916 and became part of the Naval Defense Forces of the Gulf of Riga, based on Kuivast. At the end of 1916, the ship was sent for serious repairs to Petrograd, to the Franco-Russian plant. During the winter of 1916-1917, steam engines were overhauled and new steam boilers of the Belleville-Dolgolenko system were installed. The main caliber artillery was modernized with an increase in firing range from 53 to 67 ca. 6 76.2-mm anti-aircraft guns of the F. F. Lender system were installed, and a new radio station was installed.

The cruiser was one of the first to join the February Revolution and raised the red flag. On February 28 (March 13), 1917, as a result of a collision with sailors, the ship's commander, Captain 1st Rank M. I. Nikolsky and senior officer P. P. Ogranovich were killed. A revolutionary committee was created on the ship, most of the crew joined the Bolsheviks.

On the night of October 25, 1917, by order of the Military Revolutionary Committee, the Aurora team captured and demolished the Nikolaevsky Bridge in Petrograd, which connected Vasilievsky Island with the city center. On October 25 at 21:45, a blank shot from the Aurora’s bow gun, fired on the orders of Commissioner Belyshev, gave the signal for the assault on the Winter Palace. On November 28 (December 11), 1917, after repairs, the Aurora returned to the 2nd Cruiser Brigade in Sveaborg. After the decree on the dissolution of the old fleet and the organization of a new RKKF on a voluntary basis, most of the team was demobilized. There are only 40 people left on the ship, needed for ongoing work and security. In 1918, the cruiser was transferred to Kronstadt and mothballed.

Since the spring of the year, the cruiser has been mothballed, and in the year the Aurora again becomes a training ship. At the same time, however, the cruiser was repaired and radically re-equipped in 1924 - the outdated 6" guns on it were replaced with new Russian 130-mm guns with outstanding characteristics for that time.

During the Great Patriotic War, the guns were dismantled from the cruiser and were used to protect Leningrad from the Nazis; the feat of the Aurora gunners at the Pulkovo Heights is known. The cruiser itself was fired upon on September 30, 1941 and sank in the port of Oranienbaum. After the war it was raised and restored.

Under Soviet rule, the Aurora cruiser became a training cruiser and was revered as one of the symbols of the revolution. The fate of this cruiser is told in the children's cartoon of the same name (1976), the song from which “What are you dreaming about, cruiser Aurora?” gained popularity and became strongly associated with the ship. Since 1948, the restored ship has been permanently moored on Bolshaya Nevka (opposite the Nakhimov School) and enjoys the attention of tourists. Since 1957 - a branch of the Naval Museum. In 1984, the cruiser was again sent for a major restoration, which lasted until 1987. After the restoration of the cruiser, rumors spread for some time that the real cruiser supposedly was not restored and was sunk in the Gulf of Finland, and in its place a copy or another restored ship of this series was installed. These fabrications could only have been born in the fevered brain of the “perestroika” fighter for glasnot; their delirium is obvious to any specialist in the history of the fleet, since the Aurora’s sisterships died more than half a century before the start of the restoration. The basis for the rumors was the fact that the underwater part of the cruiser was completely replaced along with the power set, while the old underwater part was available for viewing by onlookers for some time before disposal. Likewise, during the restoration process, some superstructures were cut off and other superstructures and bridges were installed, since the purpose of the restoration was to bring the cruiser to its design form for 1917, which, however, does not mean that instead of a historical ship, some kind of replica was assembled, as some especially gifted believe.” experts" on the issue.

Cruiser commanders

• Cap. 1st rank A. A. Melnitsky (November 1897 - October 1898),
• cap. 1st rank P. P. Molas (October-November 1878, November 1898 - January 1900),
• VRID of commander cap. 1st rank A.P. Kitkin (January-June 1900),
• cap. 1st rank N.K. Yenish (June-December 1900),
• cap. 1st rank I. V. Sukhotin (January 1901 - July 1904),
• cap. 1st rank E. R. Egoriev (July 1904 - 05/14/1905, died),
• VRID of commander cap. 2nd rank A.K. Nebolsin (May 14 - September 1905),
• cap. 1st rank V. L. Barshch (September 1905 - May 1908),
• cap. 1st rank Baron V.N. Ferzen (May 1908 - January 1909),
• cap. 1st rank P. N. Leskov (January 1909 - December 1912),
• cap. 1st rank L. D. Opatsky (August-December 1912),
• cap. 1st rank D. A. Sveshnikov (December 1912 - April 1913),
• cap. 1st rank V. A. Kartsev (April 1913 - July 1914),
• cap. 1st rank G.I. Butakov (July 1914 - February 1916),
• cap. 1st rank M. I. Nikolsky (February 1916 - 02/28/1917, killed by sailors),
• senior lieutenant N.K. Nikonov (elected, March-August 1917),
• Lieutenant N. A. Erickson (elected, September 1917 - July 1918),
• VRID commander of the RKKF M. N. Zubov (from July 1918),
• commander of the RKKF L. A. Polenov (November 1922 - January 1928),
• commander of the RKKF A.F. Leer (January 1928 - September 1930),
• commander of the RKKF G. I. Levchenko (September 1930 - June 1931),
• commander of the RKKF A.P. Alexandrov (June-December 1931),
• VRID commander of the RKKF K. Yu. Andreus (December 1931 - March 1932),
• commander of the RKKF A. A. Kuznetsov (March 1932 - October 1934),
• cap. 2nd rank V. E. Emme (October 1934 - January 1938),
• cap. 2nd rank G. N. Arsenyev (January-September 1938),
• cap. 2nd rank F. M. Yakovlev (September 1938 - August 1940),
• cap. 3rd rank G. A. Gladky (August 1940 - March 1941),
• cap. 3rd rank I. A. Sakov (March-September 1941),
• senior lieutenant P. S. Grishin (October 1941 - July 1943),
• cap. 2nd rank P. A. Doronin (July 1943 - August 1948),
• cap. 1st rank F. M. Yakovlev (August 1948 - January 1950),
• cap. 2nd rank V.F. Shinkarenko (January 1950 - February 1952),
• cap. 2nd rank I. I. Popadko (February 1952 - September 1953),
• cap. 2nd rank N.P. Epikhin (September 1953 - August 1959),
• cap. 1st rank I. M. Goylov (September 1959 - July 1961),
• cap. 2nd rank K. S. Nikitin (July 1961 - May 1964),
• cap. 1st rank Yu. I. Fedorov (May 1964 - May 1985),
• cap. 2nd rank A. A. Yudin (May 1985 - November 1989),
• cap. 1st rank A.V. Bazhanov (since November 1989).

Haven't you heard about this? Let's find out where the legs of these conversations come from. First, let's remember the history of this warship.

For several generations of Soviet (and not only Soviet) people, the name of this cruiser became a kind of fetish. The legendary ship that announced the offensive with its salvo new era in the history of mankind, the symbol of the Great October Socialist Revolution is the most replicated cliché. What is the actual history of the cruiser Aurora?

At the end of the 19th century, the Russian navy grew and was replenished with new ships. According to the classification of that time, there was such a subclass of cruisers - armored cruisers, that is, having an armored deck to protect the vital parts of the ship from mounted fire from enemy artillery. Armored cruisers did not carry side armor and were not intended for duels with battleships. It was this type of warship that the cruiser Aurora, laid down on May 23, 1897 in St. Petersburg (at the New Admiralty), was of the same type as the previously laid down Pallada and Diana.

In the Russian fleet there was (and still is) a tradition of continuity of ship names, and new cruisers inherited the names of sailing frigates. Construction of the ship took more than six years - the Aurora was launched on May 11, 1900 at 11:15 a.m., and the cruiser entered the fleet (after completion of all outfitting work) only on July 16, 1903.

This ship was by no means unique in its combat qualities. The cruiser could not boast of a particularly fast speed (only 19 knots - squadron battleships of that time reached a speed of 18 knots), or weapons (8 six-inch main caliber guns - far from amazing firepower). The ships of another type of armored cruisers then adopted by the Russian fleet ("Bogatyr") were much faster and one and a half times stronger. And the attitude of the officers and crews towards these “domestic-made goddesses” was not too warm - the Diana-class cruisers had a lot of shortcomings and constantly arising technical problems.

Nevertheless, these cruisers fully corresponded to their intended purpose - reconnaissance, destruction of enemy merchant ships, covering battleships from attacks by enemy destroyers, patrol service - having a solid (about seven thousand tons) displacement and, as a result, good seaworthiness and autonomy . With a full supply of coal (1430 tons), the Aurora could reach from Port Arthur to Vladivostok and return without additional bunkering.

All three cruisers were intended for the Pacific Ocean, where a military conflict with Japan was brewing, and the first two of them were already in the Far East by the time the Aurora entered service as active ships. The third sister also hurried to her relatives, and on September 25, 1903 (just a week after staffing, which ended on September 18), the Aurora with a crew of 559 people under the command of Captain 1st Rank I.V. Sukhotin left Kronstadt.

Armored cruiser "Aurora", 1903

In the Mediterranean Sea, the Aurora joined the detachment of Rear Admiral A. A. Virenius, which consisted of the squadron battleship Oslyabya, the cruiser Dmitry Donskoy and several destroyers and auxiliary ships. However, the detachment was late for the Far East - in the African port of Djibouti, on Russian ships they learned about the Japanese night attack on the Port Arthur squadron and about the beginning of the war. It was considered too risky to continue further because Japanese fleet blocked Port Arthur, and there was a high probability of meeting with superior enemy forces on the way to it. A proposal was made to send a detachment of Vladivostok cruisers to the Singapore area to meet Virenius and go with them to Vladivostok, and not to Port Arthur, but this quite reasonable proposal was not accepted.

On April 5, 1904, the Aurora returned to Kronstadt, where it was included in the 2nd Pacific Squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Rozhestvensky, which was preparing to march to the Far Eastern theater of operations. Here, six of the eight main caliber guns were covered with armor shields - the experience of the battles of the Arthurian squadron showed that fragments of high-explosive Japanese shells literally mowed down unprotected personnel. In addition, the commander of the cruiser was changed - he became captain 1st rank E.R. Egoriev. On October 2, 1904, as part of the Aurora squadron, it set off for the second time - to Tsushima.

Admiral Rozhdestvensky was, let's say, an original personality. And among the many “quirks” of the admiral was the following - he had the habit of giving the warships entrusted to him nicknames that were very far from examples of fine literature. Thus, the cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov" was called "Idiot", the battleship "Sisoy the Great" - "Invalid Shelter", and so on. The squadron included two ships with female names - the former yacht "Svetlana" and "Aurora". The commander nicknamed the first cruiser “The Maid,” and “Aurora” was awarded the completely obscene title “Fence Prostitute.” If Rozhdestvensky knew what ship he calls so disrespectfully!

Damage to the bow of the cruiser Aurora in the Battle of Tsushima, June 1905

"Aurora" was part of the detachment of cruisers of Rear Admiral Enquist and during the Battle of Tsushima conscientiously carried out Rozhdestvensky's order - it covered the transports. This task was clearly beyond the capabilities of four Russian cruisers, against which first eight and then sixteen Japanese cruisers acted. They were saved from heroic death only by the fact that a column of Russian battleships accidentally approached them and drove away the advancing enemy.

In the Battle of Tsushima, the Aurora fired 303 152 mm, 1282 75 mm and 320 37 mm shells at the enemy. During the battle, the cruiser received 18 hits from shells of various calibers, but she managed to escape from the encirclement and go to Manila, where she remained disarmed until the end of the war.

The cruiser did not distinguish itself in anything special in battle - the author of the damage attributed to the Aurora by Soviet sources that it received Japanese cruiser"Izumi" was actually the cruiser "Vladimir Monomakh". The Aurora itself received about a dozen hits, had a number of damage and serious losses in people - up to a hundred people killed and wounded. The commander died - his photograph is now on display in the cruiser's museum, framed by a steel plating sheet pierced by shrapnel from a Japanese shell and charred deck planks.

1st rank cruiser "Aurora" on the roadstead of Manila after the Battle of Tsushima, June 1905

At night, instead of protecting the wounded Russian ships from the furious mine attacks of the Japanese, the cruisers Oleg, Aurora and Zhemchug broke away from their main forces and headed to the Philippines, where they were interned in Manila. However, there is no reason to accuse the cruiser’s crew of cowardice - responsibility for fleeing the battlefield lay with the confused Admiral Enquist. Two of these three ships were subsequently lost: the Pearl was sunk in 1914 by the German corsair Emden in Penang, and the Oleg was sunk by English torpedo boats in the Gulf of Finland in 1919.

The Aurora returned to the Baltic at the beginning of 1906, along with several other ships that survived the Japanese defeat. In 1909-1910, "Aurora", together with "Diana" and "Bogatyr", was part of a detachment of overseas sailing, specially intended for midshipmen of the Naval Corps and the Naval Engineering School, as well as students of the Training Team of Combat Non-Commissioned Officers, to undergo practice.

Cruiser Aurora". Holes in the area of ​​the 75-mm gun No. 7 on the starboard side, June 1905

The Aurora crew did not participate in saving the residents of Messina from the consequences of the 1908 earthquake, but Russian sailors from the Aurora received a medal for this feat from the grateful residents of the city when the cruiser visited this Sicilian port in February 1911. And in November 1911, Aurors took part in celebrations in Bangkok in honor of the coronation of the Siamese king.

In 1910, the cruiser accompanied the imperial yacht to Riga.

"At the end of the first hour Imperial yacht The “Standart”, sailing in the wake of the cruiser “Aurora”, began to slowly approach its anchorage opposite the Tsar’s Pier. At exactly 2 o'clock in the afternoon the Imperial yacht came to anchor. The sounds of music were heard from the military vessels accompanying the yacht. Bells were ringing in the city."
Newspaper "Riga Bulletin", July 5, 1910

The cruiser underwent its first modernization after the Russo-Japanese War, and the second, after which it took on its current appearance, in 1915. The ship's artillery armament was strengthened - the number of 152-mm main caliber guns was first increased to ten, and then to fourteen. Numerous 75-mm artillery was dismantled - the size and survivability of the destroyers increased, and three-inch shells no longer posed a serious danger to them.

The cruiser was able to take on board up to 150 mines - mine weapons were widely used in the Baltic and proved their effectiveness. And in the winter of 1915-1916, a new product was installed on the Aurora - anti-aircraft guns. But the glorious cruiser might not have lived to see the second modernization...

Armored cruiser "Aurora" in 1916

The Aurora met the First World War as part of the second brigade of cruisers of the Baltic Fleet (together with Oleg, Bogatyr and Diana). The Russian command expected a breakthrough of the powerful German High Seas Fleet into the Gulf of Finland and an attack on Kronstadt and even St. Petersburg. To counter this threat, mines were hastily laid and a Central Mine and Artillery Position was set up. The cruiser was entrusted with the task of carrying out patrol duty at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland in order to promptly notify of the appearance of German dreadnoughts.

The cruisers went out on patrol in pairs, and after the patrol period expired, one pair replaced the other. The Russian ships achieved their first success on August 26, when a German ship landed on the rocks near the island of Odensholm. light cruiser"Magdeburg". The cruisers "Pallada" (the older sister of the "Aurora" died in Port Arthur, and this new "Pallada" was built after the Russo-Japanese War) and the "Bogatyr" arrived in time and tried to capture the helpless enemy ship. Although the Germans managed to blow up their cruiser, at the scene of the accident Russian divers found secret German codes, which served both the Russians and the British well during the war.

But a new danger awaited the Russian ships - in October, German submarines began operating in the Baltic Sea. Anti-submarine defense in the fleets of the whole world was then in its infancy - no one knew how and with what it was possible to hit the invisible enemy hiding under water, and how to avoid its surprise attacks. There were no traces of diving shells, much less depth charges or sonars. Surface ships could only rely on a good old ram - after all, one should not take seriously the anecdotal instructions that were developed, which instructed to cover spotted periscopes with bags and roll them up with sledgehammers.

On October 11, 1914, at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, the German submarine U-26, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander von Berkheim, discovered two Russian cruisers: the Pallada, which was finishing its patrol service, and the Aurora, which had come to replace it. The commander of the German submarine, with German pedantry and scrupulousness, assessed and classified the targets - in all respects, the new armored cruiser was a much more tempting prey than a veteran of the Russian-Japanese War.

The torpedo hit caused the detonation of the ammunition magazines on the Pallada, and the cruiser sank along with the entire crew - only a few sailor caps remained on the waves...

"Aurora" turned around and took refuge in the skerries. And again, one should not accuse the Russian sailors of cowardice - as already mentioned, they did not yet know how to fight submarines, and the Russian command already knew about the tragedy that happened ten days earlier in the North Sea, where a German boat sank three English armored cruisers at once. "Aurora" escaped destruction for the second time - fate was clearly protecting the cruiser.

There is no need to dwell too much on the role of the Aurora in the events of October 1917 in Petrograd - more than enough has been said about this. Let us only note that the threat to shoot the Winter Palace from the cruiser’s guns was pure bluff. The cruiser was undergoing repairs, and therefore all the ammunition was unloaded from it in full accordance with the current instructions. And the stamp “Aurora salvo” is purely grammatically incorrect, since a “volley” is simultaneously fired shots from at least two barrels.

The Aurora did not take part in the civil war or battles with the English fleet. An acute shortage of fuel and other supplies led to the fact that the Baltic Fleet was reduced to the size of a bunker - an "active detachment" - consisting of only a few combat units. The Aurora was put into reserve, and in the fall of 1918, some of the cruiser’s guns were removed for installation on homemade gunboats of river and lake flotillas.

At the end of 1922, the Aurora - by the way, the only ship of the old imperial Russian fleet that retained its name given to it at birth - it was decided to restore it as a training ship. The cruiser was repaired, ten 130-mm guns were installed on it instead of the previous 6-inch ones, two anti-aircraft guns and four machine guns, and on July 18, 1923 the ship began sea trials.

Then, for ten years - from 1923 to 1933 - the cruiser was engaged in a task that was already familiar to him: cadets of naval schools were practicing on board. The ship made several overseas voyages and took part in the maneuvers of the newly revived Baltic Fleet. But the years took their toll, and due to the poor condition of the boilers and mechanisms, the Aurora, after another repair in 1933-1935, became a non-propelled training base. In winter, it was used as a floating base for submarines.

During the Great Patriotic War, the old cruiser stood in the harbor of Oranienbaum.

The ship’s guns were once again removed, and nine of its “one hundred and thirty” mounted on a coastal battery defended the approaches to the city. The Germans did not pay much attention to the decrepit veteran, seeking first to disable the best Soviet ships (such as the cruiser Kirov), but the ship still received its share of enemy shells. On September 30, 1941, the half-sunken cruiser, damaged as a result of artillery shelling, sat on the ground.

The cruiser "Aurora" in Oranienbaum, 1942

But the ship again - for the third time in its more than forty-year history - survived. After the blockade of Leningrad was lifted in July 1944, the cruiser was brought out of the state of clinical death - raised from the ground and (for the umpteenth time!) put in for repairs. The boilers and onboard engines, propellers, brackets for the side shafts and the shafts themselves, as well as some of the auxiliary mechanisms, were removed from the Aurora. The weapons that were on the ship in 1915 were installed - fourteen 152-mm Kane guns and four 45-mm salute guns.

Now the cruiser was to become a monument ship and at the same time a training base for the Nakhimov School. In 1948, the repairs were completed, and the restored Aurora stood where it stands to this day - on the Petrogradskaya embankment opposite the building of the Nakhimov School. And in 1956, a Ship Museum was opened on board the Aurora as a branch of the Central Naval Museum.

The Aurora ceased to be a training ship for students of the Leningrad Nakhimov School in 1961, but it still retains its status as a museum ship. Long voyages and naval battles are a thing of the past - the time has come for a well-deserved and honorable pension. A ship rarely meets such a fate - after all, ships usually either perish at sea or end their journey at the wall of a factory, where they are cut for scrap...

In the Soviet years, naturally, the main (and, perhaps, the only) attention was paid to the revolutionary past of the cruiser. Images of the Aurora were present everywhere possible, and the silhouette of the three-pipe ship became as much a symbol of the city on the Neva as the Peter and Paul Fortress or Bronze Horseman. The role of the cruiser in the October Revolution was extolled in every possible way, and there was even a joke: “Which ship in history had the most powerful weapons?” - "Cruiser "Aurora"! One shot - and the whole power collapsed!"

In 1967, the 50th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution was widely celebrated in the Soviet Union. In Leningrad, near Smolny, fires were burning, near which, leaning on rifles, stood people in soldiers' greatcoats and pea jackets of revolutionary sailors of the seventeenth year with an indispensable attribute - with machine gun belts crossed on the chest and on the back.

The cruiser "Aurora" follows the location of the filming of the film "Aurora Salvo", 1967

It is clear that the deserved ship simply could not be ignored. For the anniversary, the film "Aurora's Salvo" was made, where the cruiser played the main role - itself. For greater authenticity of the events depicted, all filming was done on location. "Aurora" was towed to a historical site to the Nikolaevsky Bridge, where the episode of the Aurora's capture of the aforementioned bridge was filmed. The spectacle was impressive, and thousands of Leningraders and city guests watched the gray three-pipe beauty slowly and majestically sail along the Neva.

However, it was not the first time for Aurora herself to act as a movie star. Back in 1946, during repairs, the Aurora played the role of the cruiser Varyag in the film of the same name. Then the Aurora, like a true actress, even had to put on makeup for her character - the shields were removed from the guns (there were none on the Varyag), and a fourth false pipe was installed to ensure the truthfulness of the image of the most heroic cruiser of the Russian-Japanese War.

The last renovation of the Aurora took place in the mid-80s of the last century, and rumors about the “fake Aurora” are associated with this. Let’s find out in more detail how it happened.

The first major overhaul of the Aurora took place immediately after the Second World War at the Kronstadt shipyards. Almost all the guns were replaced with new ones, the ship repairers replaced the wooden deck and completely re-equipped the interior in which the Nakhimovites settled. Soon, however, the question of new renovation work arose. The iron hull of the Aurora simply rotted. Pumps were constantly running in the ship’s hold, pumping out several tens of tons of water every day. By the early 1980s, it became clear that it was simply impossible to preserve the Aurora in its original form.

The restoration of the Aurora began in 1984. Powerful tugs removed the cruiser from its eternal mooring and dragged it to the Northern Shipyard. There, at the docks, the cruiser of the revolution was simply cut into pieces. The lower part of the vessel, including the entire underwater part, was completely replaced with a new one. What was above the water also underwent severe alteration. By the anniversary date, the Aurora returned to its usual place, and then the question arose of what to do with the skeleton remaining at the shipyard. Selling the cruiser of the revolution for scrap metal in Soviet times would have been considered ideological sabotage. So they decided to hide the real “Aurora” from the eyes of the people.

IN last trip cruiser, sailed along the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland in 1987. The military brought him to the village of Ruchi, located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland in Luga Bay. Before the Great Patriotic War, a naval base was being built there, designed to reduce the load on Kronstadt. Leaving territories to the advancing fascists in September 1941 Soviet troops blew up all above-ground buildings. Neither our engineers nor the Germans, who left these territories a few years later, however, were able to destroy the huge piers on the Gulf of Finland. Until recently, they were used as a sump for warships.

For some time, the legendary cruiser stood near the huge pier. This did not last long, however. At first, the Aurora was slowly taken away by the military, and then they actually handed the ship over to be plundered by the workers of the Baltika fishing state farm operating in these places.

“I remember very well the events of those days,” says Vladimir Yurchenko, former chief mechanic of the Baltika fishing state farm. - Our superiors came to an agreement with the military and one fine day we were sent to cut down the Aurora. We were allowed to take whatever we could carry. At the state farm they even shouted “Guys! Let’s cut the Aurora!” Many responded. We removed property from the ship by truck. First of all, the metal ladders were removed. The copper plating was torn off from the surface parts - then the entire ship was covered with a layer of sheet copper. The interior was virtually untouched. In one of the showers, for example, I removed tiles from the floor and walls. Later I covered the floor in the bathhouse with these tiles. Many took away the doors along with the jambs and removed the portholes.

The new lower part of the Aurora hull in the dock of the shipyard.

Refurbishment of the cruiser "Aurora" at the Zhdanov plant, 1984-1987

Looted by the military and fishermen, the wreck of the ship, like the skeleton of a giant fish, stood at the old pier for several months. The cruiser of the revolution was destined for a completely unenviable end. A brilliant idea came to someone's bright head in a military cap. Load the metal hull with stones and sink it into the harbor, turning it into a breakwater.

The bay in these places is actually quite restless,” says Vladimir Yurchenko. - In spring and autumn it is quite difficult to land on the shore and a breakwater is really necessary here. But because of the mistakes made by the workers, nothing good came out of this venture. The ship, loaded with stones, went sideways, and then completely capsized and sank in a place completely different from where it was planned. Now this is real garbage lying in the coastal strip. Later, local merchants wanted to lift the frame, cut it up and sell it abroad as scrap metal, however, the military prohibited any work from being carried out in their harbor.

Anyone can find the remains of the revolution cruiser lying in the coastal strip without any difficulty. In the surrounding villages, anyone can show the current location of the Aurora.

Tourists willingly take pictures against the backdrop of the wreckage and are carried into a rather remote part of the Kingisepp district. In the summer, local boys enthusiastically climb the iron frame. At low tide, the hull, which stretches 120 meters in length, is visible in its entirety. When the tide is high, the waves only hit a small section of the bow with rope attachments.

Two half-abandoned buildings still stand next to the giant concrete piers. In one, sailors appear from time to time, in the other, retired military man Vasily Mochalov has lived for six years. In the mid-1990s, a migrant from Moldova lost his home and documents in a fire. Taking over an empty house, he fishes himself and helps local fishermen manage their nets. According to Vasily Stepanovich, almost every year the sunken Aurora is examined by scuba divers.

This summer, some guys who came from Belarus dived here for almost a week, says Vasily Mochalov. “True, they didn’t find anything interesting and began to remove the copper plates that had been preserved in the once underwater part. They said that they would cut them into small pieces and sell them as souvenirs. While still under water, they found an old iron and gave it to me as a thank you for my stay. Museum workers are unlikely to be interested in it, but ironing with it when heated on a tile is very possible.

However, in order to find souvenirs from the Aurora, it is not at all necessary to go underwater with scuba diving. All you need to do is walk through the nearby villages and take a closer look at the houses built in the late 1980s. Parts of the ship turned into building materials are visible here and there. The ladders along which sailors and officers moved became staircases in residential buildings, metal frames were used for the construction of greenhouses, and in some places roofs were covered with metal. At the entrance to the village of Dubki there is a brick house with portholes installed instead of windows on the gates of the barn and in the outhouse. According to the local elder, Viktor Larionov, who lives there, he did not remove the portholes from the Aurora himself, but simply took them from a neighbor who worked on a fishing state farm.

He just had them lying around in his garden, but I adapted them for business,” says Viktor Ilyich. - From the inside, the toilet resembles a latrine on a famous cruiser.

Towing the cruiser "Aurora" while passing through the Trinity Bridge.

The modern cruiser is only a replica, since during the last reconstruction in 1984 more than 50% of the hull and superstructures were replaced. One of the most noticeable differences from the original is the use of welded seams on the new body instead of rivet technology.

The St. Andrew's flag was again raised on the ship in 1992, the cruiser is listed as part of the Russian Navy, until recently officers and sailors served on the ship (even if there are ten times fewer of them than there once was). Of course, the Aurora itself will no longer be able to move away from its eternal mooring, but all auxiliary mechanisms and life support systems are maintained by the cruiser’s crew in working order. The ship's guns are also in working, well-maintained condition.

Today, the main occupation of the cruiser "Aurora", whose age has already exceeded one hundred years, is to serve as a museum. And this museum is very visited - there are up to half a million guests a year on board the ship. And honestly, this museum is worth a visit - and not only for those who are nostalgic for times gone by forever.

It’s great that Aurora has survived to this day. All over the world, similar ships-monuments can be counted on one hand: "Victoria" and "Cutty Sark" in England, "Queen Mary" in the USA, "Mikasa" in Japan. All that remains is to wish the veteran good health for the next hundred years; after all, a blank shot in October 1917 is just one of many pages in the long biography of the glorious cruiser. And you can’t erase a word from it, like from a song...

Let us remind you that the Aurora lost its status as ship No. 1 of the Russian Navy on December 1, 2010. The ship became a branch of the Central Navy Museum. On August 1, the Aurora was finally transferred to the jurisdiction of the Central Naval Museum. The military unit serving on the ship was disbanded. The crew of the cruiser Aurora was reorganized into a staff of three military personnel and 28 civilian personnel; the ship's status remained the same. On June 27, 2012, deputies of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly adopted an appeal to the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces with a request to return the cruiser to the status of ship No. 1 in the Russian Navy with the preservation of the military crew on the ship. Let's see how this whole story ends...

Vladimir Kontrovsky