There were many memorable events in the history of the Aurora cruiser. The ship took part in the Battle of Tsushima, rescued the Italians during the earthquake and fought the Germans in the First World War. However, the cruiser is known to many thanks to the blank shot that gave the signal to storm the Winter Palace.
Of the three twin warships, all the glory went to him - the cruiser Aurora. Having descended from the stocks of the shipyard in 1900, he did not have anything outstanding for his time. It was an ordinary military vessel. But the events in which he had a chance to participate elevated the ship to the Olympus of glory. The history of the cruiser Aurora is rich in dangerous incidents, but it survived and survived to this day.
ship building
The construction of the cruiser "Aurora" began in 1896. She was the last ship in a series of three armored cruisers for the Pacific. The first ship was called "Pallas", and the second - "Diana". It is noteworthy that the project was not named after the first ship, as is customary, but after the second - "Diana". It is more sonorous and concise. The construction of shipyards began in 1985:
- The galley island was equipped for the hulls of the Pallada and Diana ships.
- The new Admiralty prepared the site for the Aurora.
All buildings were solemnly laid in one day, May 23, 1987. The aggravation of relations with Germany in the Baltic made adjustments to the program, and the terms for the manufacture of ships were maximally compressed. On May 11, 1900, the Aurora hull was the last to be launched to the applause of the royal family. Further, superstructures and the installation of a power machine were made on the cruiser. And three years later, on July 17, the ship was put into operation.
For a whole year, the third cruiser had no name. In the documentation, it was referred to as the “Cruiser with a displacement of 6,630 tons, of the Diana type”. Only in 1987, Nicholas II was given a list of names: "Askold", "Aurora", "Bogatyr", "Boyarin", "Varyag", "Helion", "Naiad", "Neptune", "Psyche", "Polkan" and "Juno". Most of all, the king liked "Aurora", the name of the ancient Roman goddess.
Cruiser Specifications
The hull of the Aurora, like the other two cruisers of this type, is three-deck. He was recruited from mild steel for shipbuilding. The armored (carapace) deck was protected from enemy artillery fire. Each hold shared 13 bulkheads for the greatest survivability of the vessel after mine damage. The main power plant included 3 vertically mounted machines and 24 steam boilers. The generated energy was transferred to the shafts of 3 propellers. Coal was used as fuel, the reserves of which reached 1,000 tons.
| Project author | K. K. Ratnik, director of the Baltic Shipyard |
| Team (sailors, foremen), pers. | 550 |
| Officers, pers. | 20 |
| Displacement, t | 6731,3 |
| Length, m | 126,8 |
| Width, m | 16,8 |
| Draft, m | 6,4 |
| Maximum speed, knots | 19,2 |
| Maximum travel distance, miles | 4,000 (at 10 knots) |
| Power plant power, l/s | 11 610 |
| Hydroacoustics | Sound underwater communication station “Fessenden” (since 1916) |
| Means of communication | Radio station of the system of A. S. Popov |
| T.S.F system radio | |
| 75 mm Mangin floodlights (6 pcs.) | |
| Firing control devices | PUAO system N. K. Geisler |
| 1.4-meter rangefinders of the Barra-Struda system (2 pcs.) | |
| Armament | Artillery |
| mine | |
| Mine (nets) | |
| torpedo |
For the first time, a system of automatic water pumping was installed on ships of the Diana type. It consisted of 8 electric pumps. Initially, the innovation caused a lot of problems for the crews due to imperfections. Problems were eliminated only on the Aurora, just before the trip to the Pacific Ocean.
Battle of Tsushima
The heated military-political situation in the Far East required the immediate strengthening of the Pacific Fleet. A detachment was formed from the Baltic ships, which included the Aurora, cutting the time for its testing. On September 25, 1903, the cruiser anchored the Great Kronstadt raid. Throughout the journey, the ship's shortcomings constantly appeared, which the team eliminated on the go.
On May 1, 1905, the Second Pacific Squadron set out from the coast of Vietnam in the direction of Vladivostok. "Aurora" got the second place in the order of building ships and had to follow the wake of the cruiser "Oleg". Two weeks later, well after midnight on May 14, the Russian squadron entered the waters of the Korea Strait. There, Japanese ships were already waiting for them, which were discovered at 6:30. From 10:30 a battle began with the lead warships.
The Aurora entered the battle at 11:14. At first, the young ship supported the cruiser Vladimir Monomakh with fire, which dominated the skirmish with the Japanese armored cruiser Izumi. Over the course of an hour, the Japanese reinforced with reinforcements, and the Aurora got all the power of enemy fire. It was especially hard at 15:00.
The ship managed to maneuver from enemy torpedoes. But it was not possible to avoid multiple damage from enemy artillery salvos. One shell hit the wheelhouse, where shrapnel hit everyone. The captain was mortally wounded in the head. The nose compartment was flooded. The mast with the flag was knocked down and raised 6 times.
By 19:00, the surviving Russian ships of the Admiral Enkvist detachment: Oleg, Zhemchug and Aurora, retreated in a chaotic manner to the southwest, leaving the Korea Strait. The defeat became clear. The way to Vladivostok was closed. The Japanese planned to finish off the remnants of the squadron at night. But the Russian ships managed to break away. On the "Aurora" were killed: 1 officer (commander of the vessel captain of the 1st rank Evgeny Romanovich Egoriev) and 8 members of the team. Repaired in Manila, the cruiser returned to the Baltic Sea in 1906.
Italian oranges
In 1910, the Aurora was located near the Apennine Peninsula and entered the port of Messina for a reward. The cruiser was expecting a gold medal, as two years earlier the team had rescued Italians from an earthquake. On the first night of the mooring, the city began to flicker with flames. Russian sailors rushed to save the locals, ahead of the arrival of local firefighters. In addition to the gold medal, which had been waiting for the team for 2 years, the population thanked the crew for saving them from the fire by filling the holds with lemons and oranges.
Hull Incident
During the trip to the Pacific Ocean, the crews of Russian ships were in suspense and expected to meet the Japanese anywhere. The squadron's guns were at constant readiness. On the night of October 8-9, 100 km from the coast of Britain, on the shallows of Dogger Bank, an unknown three-masted vessel appeared, accompanied by a flotilla, moving in a cross course. Transport "Kamchatka" requested help, as it seemed to him that they were under attack.
"Aurora", "Dmitry Donskoy" and other ships turned on their searchlights and began to fire at unknown ships. When the two fleets mixed up, the Aurora got 5 shells from her own, as in the dark the cruiser was mistaken for a Japanese ship. Later it turned out that Russian ships collided with English fishing ships. Two people died as a result of the incident. The incident has complicated diplomatic relations between Britain and Russia.
Participation of the ship in the First World War
The cruiser "Aurora", as a warship, could not but take part in the First World War. However, they managed to show their combat power only in the middle of the military conflict in 1916. 75 mm naval guns were upgraded to effectively destroy low-flying aircraft. The combat duty of the Aurora determined a square in the Gulf of Riga, where the cruiser successfully suppressed air raids on military and civilian ships.
February Revolution
After moving the front, the Aurora was sent for maintenance. On February 27, 1917, a strike of workers took place at the Admiralteysky and Franco-Russian repair plants. The cruiser's crew wanted to join the strikers, but the ship's commander M.I. Nikolsky decided to calm the rebellious crew by shooting at the departing sailors with a revolver. The sailors arrested the commander and shot him. After the mutiny, the commanders on the Aurora appointed a ship committee.
October Revolution: a historic volley
After the February Revolution, the cruiser was subordinate to the Provisional Revolutionary Committee. On October 24, 1917, the commander of the ship was given the task of climbing the Neva to the Nikolaevsky bridge, which was bred by the cadets. Aurora's energy mechanics managed to bring the bridge down, reuniting Vasilyevsky Island and the city center. By evening, the assault on the Winter Palace was being prepared. As a signal for the capture, they decided to use a cannon shot. At 21:54, the Aurora fired a blank salvo from her bow gun, which made the warship famous.
Shooting in the film about "Varangian"
In the summer of 1944, the administration of Leningrad, operating in the blockade, ordered the Aurora to be installed at the Petrogradskaya embankment with subsequent equipment on the museum cruiser. But the decision was postponed for 2 years, since in the fall of 1945 filming began on the legendary cruiser Varyag. The image of the "Varyag" went to "Aurora". To do this, the ship was restored after shelling by German aircraft, the 4th chimney was erected and the felling was built on.
The cruiser "Aurora" was supposed to sink into oblivion in the autumn of 1941. The People's Commissar of the Navy signed a decree on assigning this name to a new ship under construction. Two ships with the same name are prohibited in the fleet. But the outbreak of World War II prevented the destruction of the cruiser.
Base of the Nakhimov School
In 1948, the Aurora was moored at Petrogradskaya Embankment, across the street from the Nakhimov School. The educational institution took patronage over the cruiser. A training building for cadets and a branch of the Central Naval Museum were organized on the decks of the ship. In 1960, the Soviet government granted the cruiser the status of a monument and transferred it to the state.
Repair and new life of the museum ship
On September 21, 2014 at 10:00 a.m., the Avrora cruiser was moored off the embankment and towed for repairs. The museum ship had to make its way to the Kronstadt steamship plant. At 14:50, the ship took a place in the dry dock named after. P. I. Veleshchinsky. On July 16, 2016, the Aurora was returned to Petrogradskaya Embankment. The ship's hull has been completely renovated. Created an updated exposition of the museum. On the opening day, Aurora was visited by 1,500 people.
November 17, 1948 the cruiser "Aurora" was placed on the "eternal parking" at the quay wall of the Bolshaya Nevka. Since then, the legendary ship has become one of the main symbols of St. Petersburg, and the history of its service is covered with myths and legends.
Russian naval commander, Admiral Z. P. Rozhestvensky loved a non-standard approach to standard processes. Among the admiral's favorite quirks was the habit, which amused the sailors, of arbitrarily giving out "nicknames" to warships under his command. So, the battleship Sisoy Veliky became the Invalid Shelter, the yacht Svetlana became the Maid, the cruiser Admiral Nakhimov was named the Idiot, and the Aurora was awarded the title Prostitute Podzabornaya.
We are not responsible for Rozhdestvensky, but he would know what kind of ship he called!
The appearance of the legend
Contrary to the patriotic role of the ship in the history of the country, there is an opinion that the famous cruiser was built abroad. In fact, the miracle of shipbuilding arose in the same place where it ended its glorious path - in St. Petersburg. The development of the project began in 1895, but only in July 1897 a contract was signed with the Society of Franco-Russian Factories for the manufacture of machines, boilers and all the mechanisms listed in the specification. Such a late deadline for reaching an agreement was due to the reluctance of the management to share the drawings with the Baltic Plant, and over the next six years, the Admiralty Izhora and Aleksandrovsky iron foundries, the Ya.S. Perm. In total, four ship builders, officers of the Corps of Naval Engineers, were directly involved in the construction of the cruiser from September 1896 until the end of sea trials, that is, for almost eight years. Unfortunately, the author of the cruiser project is still unknown - two names are mentioned in different sources: K.M. Tokarevsky and De Grofe, and officially the construction was carried out at the New Admiralty plant, under the leadership of the Franco-Russian factories.
Battle glory
The Aurora is known to many contemporaries only by the ambiguous fact of its naval biography, as the ship whose guns gave the signal to storm the Winter Palace. But the cruiser participated neither more nor less in four wars and two revolutions. Emperor Nicholas II himself, after the battle of Tsushima, telegraphed the crew: “I heartily thank you, commanders, officers and the crew of the cruisers Oleg, Aurora and Zhemchug for their unrequited, honest service in a difficult battle. May you all be consoled by the consciousness of a holy duty .Nicholas II". In 1968, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the cruiser "Aurora" was awarded the Order of October Revolution, and in the harsh years of the Great Patriotic War, the sailors of the Aurora took an active part in the heroic defense of Leningrad on the Duderhof Heights, as one of the paintings exhibited in the museum on the Aurora tells about.
The revolutionary nature of the ship
A rebellious ship is not glorious with a single shot. A few years before the historical events of 1917, in 1905, the disarmed Aurora was in the port of Manila under the control of the Americans after the Battle of Tsushima. The Philippine Islands turned out to be a prison for miraculously surviving sailors, forced to eat rotten food, unable to contact their relatives, seized by a brewing outburst of anger. They managed to raise an international signal on the mast, symbolizing the beginning of a riot, which led to the arrival of local police and port officials on board. The Aurors put forward their ultimatum - improved nutrition and immediate distribution of letters addressed to the sailors. The conditions were accepted by the Americans, but immediately led to a new outbreak of rebellion - opened envelopes and read letters finally informed the sailors about the horrors of "Bloody Sunday". Upon returning to Russia, most of the sailors were decommissioned from the ship - in this way the tsarist government sought to separate the existing combat crews in order to avoid revolutionary sentiments. Attempts were unsuccessful, and in the future it was the sailors, including recruits, who formed the revolutionary backbone of Russia.
historical shot
The volley that signaled the assault on the Winter Palace on October 25, 1917 is one of the most colorful legends about the cruiser. They say that despite the well-known proverb about a woman on a ship, the sailors not only did not drive away the beauty who boarded the ship, but did not dare to disobey. A pale-faced, tall and slender girl of unearthly beauty gave the order “Blow!”, And then disappeared from sight. At the moment, it is not known for certain who dared to become the ghost of the Aurora, but most historians tend to believe that he was the famous journalist, Soviet writer and revolutionary Larisa Reisner. They say that she was not sent to the Aurora by chance, it was purely psychologically calculated that not a single sailor would refuse such a beautiful woman. Yes, and the shot, according to historians, was fired at 21:40, while the assault began after midnight, which, alas, does not confirm the theory of the Aurora's signal function in the capture. Nevertheless, the Aurora cruiser is depicted on the Order of the October Revolution, which he himself was awarded in 1967.
Explosions and drunken sailors
And where without myths about alcohol and its consequences? Recently, curious information has appeared from various sources about the participation of drunken revolutionary sailors of the Aurora in the explosion of Fort Pavel in 1923. It is even rumored that drunken sailors set fire to the mine depot located there. In July 1923, several sailors sailed here on a boat from the battleship "Paris Commune" (formerly "Sevastopol"). The "rest" of the sailors ended with a big fire. Cadets from the cruiser "Aurora" tried to put out a burning mine set on fire by sailors from the "Paris Commune". The fort rumbled for several days, and, they say, in all of Kronstadt there was not a single whole glass left. According to one of the members of the current crew of the cruiser, four sailors died during the fire, and many were awarded medals for their heroic help in extinguishing. The authors of the brochure "Forts of Kronstadt" were among the first to voice the version of the cause of the explosion. In Soviet books this question was bypassed, it was left to think that the evil counter-revolution was to blame.
Cruiser Star Life
Every schoolboy who is going to visit St. Petersburg definitely wants to visit the legendary ship that served faithfully in so many battles and is now a branch of the Central Naval Museum. In fact, in addition to military merit and excursion programs, the Aurora did not bypass the path of show business: in 1946, the cruiser played the role of the no less famous colleague of the Varyag in the film of the same name. To match, the "make-up artists" had to work: they installed a fake fourth tube and several guns on the ship, built a commander's balcony in the stern and redesigned the bow. These two ships are completely different from each other, but for the undemanding viewer, the “fake” went unnoticed. In parallel, the Aurora's hull was reinforced with concrete, which already meant that the ship could not be restored, which determined the future fate of the ship.
Ship or layout
It is believed that the Aurora is the only domestic ship that has retained its original appearance to this day. The legendary cruiser was put on "eternal parking" in front of the St. Petersburg Hotel, however, this is already half the ship that the rumor does not stop: the ship itself was towed to the village of Ruchi near the coastal strip of the Gulf of Finland, sawn into pieces, flooded and taken away by the patriots of the 80s. During the reconstruction in 1984, most of the main part and superstructures of the unforgettable Aurora were replaced, the current museum ship on the new hull used the technology of welds instead of the rivets that distinguished the original. The batteries, which included guns removed from the cruiser, died on the Dudergof heights, another gun was installed on the Baltiets armored train. About the historic gun that heralded the “new era of the proletarian revolution”, the senior warrant officer, with a sly wink at us, said: “Read carefully the plate on the shield, it says that a historic shot was fired from the cruiser’s bow gun. And about the fact that they shot specifically from this gun - it is not said anywhere. ”
Avrora - Cruiser of the 1st rank of the Baltic Fleet, famous for her role in the October Revolution of 1917. Aurora heralded with her volley the onset of a new era in the history of Russia. But what is the actual history of the cruiser "Aurora"? There are many little-known facts about Aurora, which will be discussed below ..
Cruiser Aurora: Myths and Facts
The construction of the ship lasted more than 6 years - the Aurora was launched on May 11, 1900 at 11:15, and the cruiser entered the fleet (after completion of all outfitting work) only on July 16, 1903.
Cruiser Aurora: Myths and Facts
This ship was by no means unique in its combat qualities. Neither a special speed (only 19 knots - squadron battleships of that time developed a speed of 18 knots), nor weapons (8 six-inch main caliber guns - far from amazing firepower) the cruiser could boast. Ships like armored cruisers ("Bogatyr") were much faster and one and a half times more powerful. And the attitude of officers and teams towards these "goddesses of domestic production" was not too good - cruisers of the "Diana" type had a lot of flaws and constantly broke down
Nevertheless, their tasks - reconnaissance, destruction of enemy merchant ships, covering battleships from attacks by enemy destroyers, patrol service - these cruisers were quite consistent, having a solid (about seven thousand tons) displacement and good seaworthiness. With a full supply of coal (1430 tons), the Aurora could go from Port Arthur to Vladivostok and return back.
All cruisers were destined for the Pacific Ocean, where a military conflict with Japan was brewing, and the first two of the ships were already in the Far East. September 25, 1903 "Aurora" with a crew of 559 people under the command of Captain 1st Rank I. V. Sukhotin left Kronstadt. In the Mediterranean, the Aurora joined the detachment of Rear Admiral A. A. Virenius, which consisted of the Oslyabya squadron battleship, the Dmitry Donskoy cruiser and several destroyers and auxiliary vessels. 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 the start of the war. It was risky to go further, since the 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 meet Virenius in the area of Singapore 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 Rozhdestvensky, who was preparing to march on the Far Eastern theater of operations. Here, six of the eight main-caliber guns were covered with armored shields - the experience of the battles of the Arthurian squadron showed that fragments of high-explosive Japanese shells literally mow down unprotected personnel. In addition, the commander was replaced on the cruiser - he became the captain of the 1st rank E.R. Egoriev. On October 2, 1904, as part of the Aurora squadron, she set off for the second time - to Tsushima.
Admiral Rozhdestvensky was a rather non-standard personality. Among the many "quirks" of the admiral was the following - he had a habit of giving the warships entrusted to him nicknames that were very far from examples of belles-lettres. So, 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 called the first cruiser "The Maid", and the "Aurora" was awarded the title "The Prostitute". If Rozhdestvensky knew what kind of ship he calls it that ...
"Aurora" was in the detachment of cruisers of Rear Admiral Enkvist and during the Tsushima battle conscientiously carried out the order of Rozhdestvensky - she covered the transports. This task was clearly beyond the capacity of the four Russian cruisers, against whom first eight, and then sixteen Japanese ones acted. They were saved from a heroic death only by the fact that a column of Russian battleships accidentally approached them, driving away the pressing enemy. The cruiser did not distinguish itself with something special in battle - the author of the damage attributed to the Aurora by Soviet sources that the Japanese cruiser Izumi received was actually the cruiser Vladimir Monomakh.
At the beginning of the Battle of Tsushima on May 14, Aurora followed second behind the flagship cruiser of the Oleg detachment, covering the convoy of transports from the east. At 14:30, as part of his detachment, along with a reconnaissance detachment (2 cruisers, 1 auxiliary cruiser), he entered into battle with the 3rd (4 cruisers, Vice Admiral S. Deva) and 4th (4 cruisers, Rear Admiral S. . Uriu) by Japanese combat detachments, and at 15:20 also with the 6th Japanese combat detachment (4 cruisers, Rear Admiral K. Togo). Around 16:00, the ship came under fire from two armored cruisers of the 1st Japanese combat detachment, received serious damage and additionally entered into battle with the 5th Japanese combat detachment (3 cruisers, 1 coastal defense battleship, Vice Admiral S. Kataoka). At about 16:30, together with the detachment, he went under the protection of the non-shooting board of Russian battleships, but at 17:30-18:00 he took part in the last phase of the cruising battle.
In this battle, the ship received about 10 hits from 8 to 3-inch caliber shells, the crew lost 15 people killed and 83 wounded. The commander of the ship, Captain 1st Rank E.R. Egoriev, died - he was mortally wounded by a shell fragment that fell into the conning tower (buried at sea at 15 ° 00 ′ N, 119 ° 15 ′ E). (The commander’s son also participated in the Russo-Japanese War, who served on the Vladivostok cruiser squadron (on the cruiser Rossiya), who became rear admiral in Soviet times and taught naval history at the Leningrad Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics - LITMO.)
After the death of the captain, the command of the Aurora was taken over by a senior officer, captain 2nd rank A.K. Nebolsin, also wounded. The cruiser Aurora received 37 holes, but did not fail. The chimneys were seriously damaged, the compartment of the forward mine apparatus and several coal pits of the front stoker were flooded. Several fires were extinguished on the cruiser. All rangefinding stations, four 75-mm and one 6-inch guns, were out of order.
On the night of May 14/15, following the flagship of the detachment, forced the course to 18 knots, broke away from enemy pursuit in the dark and turned to the south. After several attempts to turn north, repelling torpedo attacks by Japanese destroyers, two ships of the detachment of O. A. Enquist - "Oleg" and "Aurora" - with the cruiser Zhemchug that joined them, on May 21 came to the neutral port of Manila (Philippines, US protectorate ), where they were interned on May 27, 1905 by the American authorities until the end of the war. A subscription was taken from the team about non-participation in further hostilities. For the treatment of the sick and wounded, both on the transition to the Far East, and during and after the battle, an X-ray machine was used on the ship - this was the first use of fluoroscopy in shipboard conditions in world practice.
In 1906, the Aurora returned to the Baltic, becoming a training ship for the Naval Corps. He underwent a major overhaul of the hull and mechanisms in St. Petersburg in 1906-1908. with the dismantling of torpedo tubes, the installation of an additional two 6-inch guns instead of four 75-mm guns, the installation of rails for laying minefields. 10/10/1907 reclassified from rank I cruisers to cruisers.
From the autumn of 1909 to the spring of 1910, the Aurora made a long voyage with the "midship detachment" in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Visited the ports of Vigo, Algiers, Bizerte, Toulon, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Smyrna, Naples, Messina, Souda, Piraeus, Poros, Gibraltar, Vigo, Cherbourg, Kiel. During this voyage, as part of the Mankovsky detachment (4 cruisers), he was in the ports of Greece in connection with the threat of a military mutiny there. From the autumn of 1910 to the spring of 1911, the ship was on a second long-distance training voyage along the route Libau - Christiansand - Vigo - Bizerte - Piraeus and Poros - Messina - Malaga - Vigo - Cherbourg - Libau. Since 1911 he was in the brigade of cruisers of the 1st reserve. From the autumn of 1911 to the summer of 1912, the Aurora went on the third long-distance training voyage to participate in the celebrations on the occasion of the coronation of the King of Siam (November 16 - December 2, 1911), visited the 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 “protecting powers” of Crete, and stood as a Russian stationer in Souda Bay.
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 the Central mine-artillery position was equipped. The cruiser was assigned the task of carrying out patrol service at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland in order to timely notify of the appearance of German dreadnoughts. The cruisers went on patrol in pairs, and at the end of the patrol period, one pair replaced the other. The Russian ships achieved their first success on August 26, when the German light cruiser Magdeburg landed on the rocks near the island of Odensholm. The cruisers Pallada arrived in time (the elder sister of the Aurora died in Port Arthur, and this new Pallada was built after the Russo-Japanese War) and the Bogatyr tried to capture the helpless enemy ship. Although the Germans managed to blow up their cruiser, Russian divers found secret German ciphers at the accident site, which served both the Russians and the British in good stead during the war.
But a new danger awaited Russian ships - since October, German submarines began to operate 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 an invisible enemy hiding under water, and how to avoid his sudden attacks. There were no diving shells, let alone depth charges and sonars. Surface ships could only rely on the good old ram - after all, they should not take seriously the developed anecdotal instruction, which ordered to cover the sighted periscopes with bags and fold them 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 ending its patrol service, and the Aurora, which had come up 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. A torpedo hit caused a detonation of the ammunition cellars on the Pallada, and the cruiser sank along with the entire crew - only a few sailor caps remained on the waves ... The Aurora turned around and took refuge in skerries. And again, you should not blame the Russian sailors for cowardice - as already mentioned, they still did not 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 death for the second time - fate clearly kept the cruiser
It is not worth dwelling on the role of Aurora in the events of October 1917 in Petrograd - more than enough has been said about this. We only note that the threat to shoot the Winter Palace from the guns of the cruiser was pure bluff. The cruiser was under repair, and therefore all the ammunition was unloaded from it in full accordance with the instructions in force. And the stamp “Aurora salvo” is purely grammatically incorrect, since a “volley” is simultaneously fired shots from at least two barrels. This leads to the conclusion that the legends about the aurora as a symbol of the revolution are a myth.
In 1918, the Aurora was laid up, and since the spring of 1919 - in conservation. In September 1922, a special commission examined the ship and concluded: "The external condition of the ship and the nature of bringing it to long-term storage make it possible, after relatively simple repairs, to bring the ship into readiness for use as a training ship." In 1940-1945, the Aurora stood in Oranienbaum. In 1948, the cruiser was put on "eternal parking" at the quay wall of the Bolshaya Nevka, where the ship-museum is currently located. However, the modern cruiser is only a replica, since during the last reconstruction in 1984, more than 50% of the hull and superstructures were replaced. Of the most notable differences from the original is the use of welds on the new hull instead of rivet technology. The ship itself was towed to the naval base of the Navy in the coastal strip of the Gulf of Finland near the village of Ruchi, where it was sawn into pieces and flooded. Parts of the ship sticking out of the water were stolen by the inhabitants of the village in the late 80s for building materials and scrap metal.
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The construction of the cruiser "Aurora" began in St. Petersburg exactly 107 years ago - June 4, 1897 - at the shipyard "New Admiralty". Three years later, the ship was launched in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II, and three years later, in 1903, put into operation. Now a museum has been opened on the Aurora, and the sailors continue to serve on the ship.
From the battle of Tsushima to the defense of Kronstadt
The cruiser "Aurora" did not differ in fighting qualities. There were only eight guns of the main caliber, the ship developed a speed of 19 knots (miles) per hour, and the engine reached a power of 11 thousand horsepower. For comparison, the power of the Titanic was five times greater. Then it was impossible to imagine that the Aurora would become a real legend. The cruiser made its first voyage in 1903, from Kronstadt to the Far East to reinforce the Port Arthur squadron. The crew of the ship was six hundred people.
Baptism of fire took place on May 14, 1905 in the Battle of Tsushima. During the battle, the Aurora received ten hits from enemy guns. Several compartments were completely flooded, the guns were out of order, and fire was blazing on the ship. Despite this, the cruiser withstood the battle.
The Chinese wanted to get this gun. Photo: AiF / Yana Khvatova
However, the cruiser is no longer known as a warship, but as a symbol of the October Revolution of 1917. On October 25, 1917, a blank shot from a ship served as the signal for the start of the assault on the Winter Palace.
The service life of military cruisers is 25 years. "Aurora" served almost twice as long - 45 years. The ship managed to take part in the defense of Kronstadt from fascist shelling. In 1948, the cruiser was sent to eternal parking, and a museum was opened in its premises. Over the years, the cruiser was visited by Yuri Gagarin, Margaret Thatcher and the Princess of Monaco. In the 1980s, the ship underwent a major overhaul. The underwater part had to be completely replaced - it was not subject to reconstruction.
Descent into the heart of the Aurora
The museum consists of six halls from the 10th to the 68th frame of the cruiser. More than 500 exhibits are stored on board the Aurora, including unique photographs, real live ammunition and various ship items. The cruiser's wardroom looks exactly the same as it did a hundred years ago. The tables in the room do not stand on legs, but are suspended from the shelf with the help of rods, like a swing. This is done on purpose: when there is a storm on the sea, the food from the table will not fall, but will sway along with the table top. There are hammock beds nearby. They served sailors not only for sleeping. If the cruiser was pierced by a shell, the bed was rolled up and the leak was plugged.
You can not only sleep on beds, but also plug leaks with them. Photo: AiF / Yana Khvatova
Among the black-and-white photographs, a portrait of the cruiser's second commander, captain of the first rank Evgeny Egoriev, who died during the Battle of Tsushima, stands out. The frame for the photograph is made from the planks of the Aurora's deck, and the passe-partout is made from the shell of the cruiser pierced by a shell. This photograph was brought to the museum by the son of the deceased captain, naval officer Vsevolod Egoriev.
The ship's commander Evgeny Egoriev died in the Battle of Tsushima. Photo: AiF / Yana Khvatova
Visitors to the cruiser are allowed not only to walk on the deck and premises of the Aurora, but also to descend into the very heart of the ship - the engine and boiler rooms, which are located deep below the water level astern.
Waiting for a new life
The first decade of the XXI century turned out to be difficult for the ship. In the summer of 2009, during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, a party was held on board the cruiser with the participation of VIPs, which caused public outrage. And a year and a half later, the Aurora was withdrawn from the combat strength of the Navy. This angered both the sailors and some city officials. In 2012, the deputies of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly appealed to the President with a request to return the status of ship No. 1 in the Navy to the cruiser, while retaining the military crew.
The cruiser is open to the public five days a week. Photo: AiF / Yana Khvatova
In January 2013, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the Aurora cruiser would be repaired and put into working order. It is planned that the ship will be equipped with modern means of communication and radio equipment. Thus, it is possible that in a few years the cruiser will begin a second life.
The cruiser is permanently parked on the Petrogradskaya embankment. Photo: AiF / Yana Khvatova
Museum on the cruiser "Aurora" daily, except Monday and Friday, from 10.30 to 16.00 at Petrogradskaya emb., 2. The cost of an adult ticket is 200 rubles, a reduced ticket for students and schoolchildren is 100 rubles.
Next year will pass under the sign of a big and controversial anniversary - the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution. On the eve of this date, Rodina will publish unknown documents and memoirs, analytical articles and transcripts of discussions, photographs and verbal portraits of the characters of 1917. And it opens the anniversary column "VECTORS OF THE REVOLUTION" with its main symbol.
I heard this text on March 30, 2003 on board the cruiser "Aurora", where the writer-sailor Viktor Konetsky was commemorated. He loved this ship very much. And those who came here loved Konetsky very much.
Tables were laid in the wardroom. They spoke quietly and not only about sad things. When Konetsky's friend from the Naval Academy, the St. Petersburg actor Ivan Krasko, began to read this letter, the admirals and officers also began to smile. But then they suddenly reached for scarves ...
_Igor Kots, editor-in-chief of Rodina
"Having received 18 shells in battle..."
Let's look at the article of the dashing Mars Fleet L. I call him so familiarly, because he loves artistic images very much. Let's start with the title of his article - "Pirate Cruiser".
"A ship of dubious fame, he writes, participated in the sadly ended campaign of the 2nd Pacific squadron of Admiral Rozhdestvensky to the Far East and even managed to avoid death at the bottom of the Tsushima Strait - the cruiser broke through to Manila.
Here the most interesting word is "even" and also "at the bottom of the Tsushima Strait".
Ships do not die "at the bottom", but in the waves of the ocean. You still have to get to the bottom. And you must be able to avoid death in battle and break through the encirclement of enemy ships, having received 18 shells in battle, with the commander and 14 sailors killed, having 8 wounded officers and 75 wounded sailors on board ...
You, Mr. L., just try to imagine what it means for the crew to remain in battle without a commander. The ability to maneuver, the ability to shoot, the ability to close up holes, the ability to evade torpedoes and shells, the ability to work for all the dead and wounded, and, most importantly, not to lower the flag, but to break through the enemy’s encirclement, which is ten times stronger than you both in number and in terms of quality, and still walk from Tsushima to Manila on a ship riddled with shells.
"What are you dreaming about, cruiser Aurora, at the hour when the morning rises over the Neva?"
A spectacular ending for a novice writer in a literary circle. Aurora dreams of many things, a lot. Let's take the collection of articles "Russian naval art", volume 2, p. 364. An officer of the cruiser "Aurora" who participated in the Tsushima battle writes:
“Our teams held themselves in battle beyond praise. Each sailor showed remarkable composure, resourcefulness and fearlessness. Golden people and hearts! They cared not so much about themselves as about their commanders, warning about every enemy shot, covering the officers at the moment of rupture. Covered with wounds and blood, the sailors did not leave their places, preferring to die at the guns. They didn’t even go for dressings! You send, and they: "It will be in time, later, now there is no time!" Only thanks to the dedication of the team, we forced the Japanese cruisers to withdraw, sinking two ships , and four incapacitated, with a large roll. "
You write: "Aurora" is a monument to the Russian rebellion, senseless and merciless."
L. writes: "The revolutionary ferocity of Russian sailors, their sadistic hatred of naval officers has not yet been explained by historians. Were they a response to the specific aristocratic rudeness of graduates of the Naval Corps, or were they formed by the stress of service in a closed room of cabins and cockpits?"
What a hell of a hair dryer can be stress, if a thousand years sailors lived "in a closed room"? Of course, this is not a suite for you at the Astoria Hotel. And did they go to the nok-for-bom-bram ray in Perth at a height higher than the Pillar of Alexandria? Nice enclosed space!
Now about the ferocity and sadistic hatred of officers, which our historians still cannot explain.
Have you ever tried molting, Mr. L.? A line is a thin rope of white yarn, no thicker than an inch and a half in circumference.
"Specific aristocratic rudeness of graduates of the Naval Corps", of course, was. But you read Boris Lavrenev or Sergei Kolbasiev. Did Nakhimov, Lazarev, Ushakov and hundreds of others, whom Russia is proud of, not finish the Naval Corps?
Why are you, Mr. L., so angry at the sailors? Officers and admirals educate sailors and lead them into battle. Yes, for one voyage of the Aurora to Siam (autumn - winter 1911 - 1912) with the Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich on board, the sailors should have gone berserk. So much tyranny, rudeness, Boris Vladimirovich managed to show on the campaign, not at all embarrassed by either sailor or officer eyes. He brought three chefs with him and 500 bottles of champagne.
You write further: "... the sailors of the Aurora, together with the" petrels of the revolution "from Kronstadt, tried to capture Petrograd in July 1917, and in October, having shelled the city, they finally earned their notorious fame of the" cruiser of the revolution ..."
Yes, the Aurora did not fire (it "fired" at you) at St. Petersburg, except for one idle clap in the direction of Zimny.
Lieutenant Commander Viktor Konetsky
ONLY THE FACTS
And the guns of the cruiser smashed the Nazis
- On May 11, 1900, the cruiser was solemnly launched at the St. Petersburg shipyard "New Admiralty". Received the name "Aurora" - in memory of the sailing frigate of the same name, which fought heroically during the Eastern War of 1854 near Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka.
- In 1903 he became part of the Russian Navy.
- Participated in the Russo-Japanese and World War I.
- On October 25, 1917, he fired a blank shot from a tank gun, which became the signal to storm the Winter Palace. From the "Aurora" was transferred written by V.I. Lenin's appeal "To the citizens of Russia!"
- Since 1923 she became a training ship.
- During the Great Patriotic War, Aurora sailors smashed the Nazis in the area of Voronya Gora and Pulkovo Heights from the main caliber guns taken from the ship.
- November 17, 1948 anchored at the place of eternal parking at the Petrograd embankment of Bolshaya Nevka.
- In 1956, a branch of the Central Naval Museum was opened on the ship.
