The ship, whose name was chosen by the emperor, is a symbol of St. Petersburg.
The shipyard "New Admiralty" exactly 107 years ago - on June 4, 1897 - began the construction of the legendary cruiser "Aurora". Emperor Nicholas II personally chose the name for the ship, and was also present at its launch in 1900.At the moment, the Aurora cruiser is being repaired in Kronstadt and is waiting to return to Petrogradskaya Embankment.
SPB.AIF.RU has collected five interesting facts about the legendary ship, which will return to its historical place in 2016.
"Polkan" or "Bogatyr"
The armored cruiser of the first rank "Aurora" was the last in a series of three ships with a displacement of 6.6 thousand tons, built at the shipyard "New Admiralty" at the end of the 19th century.The first two ships of the project were named "Pallada" and "Diana". The third within a year was unnamed. According to the tradition that has existed since the time of Peter I, the right to give names to large ships belonged to the emperor. A list was placed in front of Nicholas II, in which there were such names: “Helion”, “Juno”, “Psyche”, “Polkan”, “Boyarin”, “Neptune”, “Askold”, “Bogatyr”, “Varangian” and “Aurora” ". The emperor emphasized the latter, and also, so that there were no mistakes, he wrote it in the margins with his own hand.
The ship under construction was named Aurora by order of April 6, 1897.However, earlier the three-masted sailing frigate had the same name. That Aurora was built in 1835 in St. Petersburg at the Okhta shipyard.
Cruiser Aurora". Campaign of 1902 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Crocodiles, lemurs and boa constrictor
The cruiser was solemnly launched in St. Petersburg in 1900. The ceremony was attended by Emperor Nicholas II, as well as Empresses Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna.
In 1905, when the Aurora sailed to the shores of the Land of the Rising Sun at the height of the Russo-Japanese War, two crocodiles lived on board the ship - they were the sailors' pets. The reptiles were taken on board in one of the African ports on the way to Japan.The crocodiles were called Sam and Togo. According to the memoirs of the writer Yuri Chernov, who spoke about the life of the sailors from the Aurora in the book The High Fate of the Aurora, there were also several chameleons, lemurs and a boa constrictor on board. The crew took exotic animals on board after the death of Sharik's dog.A difficult fate awaited the reptiles: Sam threw himself off the deck and died, and Togo was killed during the Battle of Tsushima.
Cruiser "Aurora" on trial June 14, 1903 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Cover yourself at Tsushima
The second squadron of the Pacific Fleet, which consisted of 38 warships and auxiliary vessels, reached the coast of Japan. Having crossed three oceans, she could not pass the Korea Strait. There, 89 ships of the Japanese fleet were waiting for her under the flag of Admiral Heihachiro Togo (ed. note - it was in his honor that the crocodile was named on the Aurora).
With the most powerful fire, the Japanese tried to disable the battleships.
The cruiser "Aurora" managed to survive in the battle at Tsushima, protecting the ships. The hull of the ship covered the wounded Russian battleships. In that battle, only three cruisers survived - Zhemchug, Oleg and Aurora. Also, one destroyer and two auxiliary ships were able to withstand the Russians. In the Tsushima battle, the Aurora received about 10 hits from 75 to 200 mm caliber shells, five guns were disabled. 16 crew members were killed, including the captain of the ship Yevgeny Egoriev. Also, 89 crew members were injured (according to other sources - 15 killed and 83 wounded).
A detachment of cruisers left for the Philippine port of Manila. The Americans disarmed the ships there. They left the foreign harbor only at the end of 1905, when a peace treaty with Japan was signed.
Sending the cruiser for repairs to Kronstadt. Photo: AiF / Irina Sergeenkova
Blank volley of the revolution
The cruiser "Aurora" is considered one of the main symbols of the October Revolution of 1917, primarily because of the historic shot on the night of October 26th.Many people still have doubts about this volley. The fact is that the Aurora team immediately hurried to convince everyone who believed in the legend about the firing of live shells at the Winter Palace by sending a note to the newspaper. It said that only one blank salvo was fired from the ship, serving as a call for "vigilance and readiness."This shot also could not be called a signal shot, since it was fired at 21.40 Moscow time, and the assault on the Winter Palace began after midnight.It was important for the sailors who wrote a note in the Pravda newspaper to emphasize that the ship did not fire live shells at the Winter Palace and did not threaten the lives of ordinary people.
Cruiser - actor
After the Great Patriotic War, the Aurora, which received serious damage, arrived for repairs at the Baltic Shipyard, where it was to be prepared for installation in an eternal parking lot.
At this time, the Soviet officials decided to give the ship to shoot in the film about the cruiser "Varyag". By that time, the latter was already resting at the bottom of the Irish Sea, so the legendary cruiser Aurora played its role, which the filmmakers had to significantly “make up”, changing its appearance. The film was presented to the public in 1946.
Can't wait for it to come back from reconstruction
Aurora is a Russian armored cruiser of the 1st rank of the Diana class. He took part in the Tsushima battle. The cruiser "Aurora" gained worldwide fame by giving a signal with a blank shot from the gun to 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 blockship training ship and a museum, moored on the river. Neva in St. Petersburg. During this time, the Aurora has become a symbol of the Russian fleet and is now an object of Russia's cultural heritage.
The cruiser "Aurora", like other ships of its type ("Diana" and "Pallada"), was built according to the shipbuilding program of 1895 with the aim of "equalizing our naval forces with the German and with the forces of the minor states adjacent to the Baltic." Diana-class cruisers were among the first armored cruisers in Russia, the design 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, armament, armor).
By the beginning of the XX century. Russia's foreign policy position was rather complicated: the persistence of contradictions with England, the growing threat from developing Germany, and the strengthening of Japan's position. Accounting for these factors required the strengthening of the army and navy, that is, the construction of new ships. Changes in the shipbuilding program, adopted in 1895, assumed the construction in the period from 1896 to 1905. 36 new ships, including nine cruisers, of which two (then three) are "carapace", that is, armored. Subsequently, these three armored cruisers became the Diana class.
The basis for the development of tactical and technical elements (TTE) of future cruisers was the project 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 the 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 in the New Admiralty. On April 20, 1896, the Marine Technical Committee (MTC) approved the technical design of the armored cruiser of the 1st rank.
On March 31, 1897, Emperor Nicholas II ordered that the cruiser under construction be called the 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 Pallada, the official laying of the cruisers of this type took place on the same day: May 23, 1897. . the solemn ceremony was held on the Aurora in the presence of Admiral General Alexei Alexandrovich. A silver mortgage plate was fixed between the 60th and 61st frames, and the flag and guis of the future cruiser were raised on specially installed flagpoles.
Diana-class cruisers were supposed to be the first mass-produced cruisers in Russia, but it was not possible to achieve uniformity among them: the Aurora was equipped with vehicles, boilers, and steering devices other than the Diana and Pallada. Electric drives for the latter were ordered to three different factories as an experiment: in this way it was possible to find out which drives would turn out to be the most effective, so that they could then be installed on other ships of the fleet. So, the electric drives of the Aurora steering machines were ordered by Siemens and Halke.
The slipway work began in the fall of 1897, and they 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 the main machines, auxiliary mechanisms, general ship systems, weapons and other equipment began. In 1902, for the first time in the Russian fleet, Aurora received Hall 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 the 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 running 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.
The Aurora's hull has three decks: an upper deck and two inner decks (battery and armor), as well as a tank superstructure. On the entire perimeter of the armored deck, which was called residential, there is a platform, two more - at the ends of the ship.
The main transverse bulkheads (below the armored deck) divide the interior of the hold into thirteen compartments. Four compartments (bow, boiler rooms, engine rooms, aft) occupy the space between the armor and battery decks and ensure the unsinkability of the ship.
The outer steel sheathing had a length of 6.4 m and a thickness of up to 16 mm and was attached to the set with two rows of rivets. In the underwater part of the hull, steel sheets were fastened in a lap, in the surface part - butt-to-butt on backing strips. The thickness of the bulwark sheathing sheets reached 3 mm.
The underwater part of the hull and its surface part, 840 mm above the waterline, had millimeter copper plating, which, in order to avoid electrochemical corrosion and fouling, was attached to teak wood plating, fixed to the hull with bronze bolts.
In the diametrical plane on the horizontal keel, a false keel was installed, which had two layers and was made of two types of trees (the upper row was made of teak, the lower row was made of oak).
The cruiser had two masts, the bases of which were attached to the armored deck. Foremast height - 23.8 m; mainmasts - 21.6 m.
The design of the armored cruiser assumes the presence of a solid carapace deck that protects all vital parts of the ship (engine, boiler and tiller rooms, artillery and mine ammunition magazines, a central combat post, underwater mine vehicles rooms). Its horizontal part on the Aurora has a thickness of 38 mm, which increases to 63.5 mm on the bevels to the sides and ends.
The conning tower is protected in front, on the sides and behind by armor plates 152 mm thick, which made it possible to protect it even from the stern heading angles; on top - armor plate 51 mm thick made of low-magnetic steel.
Vertical armor with a thickness of 38 mm have shell elevators and control drives where there is no armored deck.
The boiler plant consisted of 24 boilers of the Belleville system of the 1894 model, which were located in three compartments (bow, stern and middle boiler). Along the sides of the cruiser, pipes of the main steam pipeline to the main steam engines were laid. The Aurora, like other ships of the type, did not have auxiliary boilers. In view of this, steam was supplied to the auxiliary mechanisms through a steam pipeline from the main boilers.
Above all three boiler rooms there was a chimney 27.4 m high. To ensure the operation of the boilers, ship tanks contained 332 tons of fresh water (for the needs of the crew - 135 tons), which could be replenished with the help of desalination plants of the circle system, the total productivity of which reached up to 60 tons of water per day.
To place coal on the Aurora, there were 24 coal pits located in the inter-board space near the boiler rooms, as well as 8 coal pits of spare fuel located between the armor and battery decks throughout the engine rooms. These 32 pits could hold up to 965 tons of coal; 800 tons of coal were considered a normal fuel supply. A full supply of coal could be enough for 4,000 miles of sailing at a speed of 10 knots.
The main engines were three triple expansion steam engines (total power - 11600 hp). They had to be able to provide a 20-knot speed (during the tests, the Aurora reached a maximum speed of 19.2 knots, which generally exceeded the maximum speed of the Diana and Pallas during the tests). The exhaust steam was condensed by three refrigerators; there was also a steam condenser for auxiliary machines and mechanisms.
Cruiser propellers - three three-bladed bronze propellers. The middle screw was a left-handed screw, the right one rotated counterclockwise, the left one clockwise (view from stern to bow).
Drainage system
The task of the system is to pump out the bulk of the water from the compartments of the ship after sealing the hole. For this, one turbine was used autonomously (water supply - 250 t / h) at the ends, in the MKO - circulation pumps of refrigerators and six turbines with water supply of 400 t / h.
Drying system
The task of the system is to remove water left after the operation of drainage facilities or accumulated in the hull due to filtration, flooding of bearings, sweating of the sides and decks. To do this, the ship had a main pipe made of red copper, which had 31 receiving processes and 21 uncoupling valves. The drainage itself was carried out by three pumps of the Worthington system.
Ballast system
The Aurora had one kingston of the flooding system at the extremities and two each in the middle watertight compartments, which were controlled from the battery deck. The drives of the flooding kingstones were brought to the living deck.
fire system
Under the armored deck along the starboard side, a red-copper pipe of the fire main was laid. Two Worthington pumps were used to supply water. Branches from the main pipe were located on the upper deck, turning into copper swivel horns for attaching fire hoses.
Boat armament
two 30-foot steam launches;
one 16-oar barge;
one 18-oar barge;
one 14-oar boat;
one 12-oar boat;
two 6-oared whaleboats;
All rowboats were serviced by swivel davits, and steam boats were serviced by tumblers.
The living quarters were calculated for 570 crew members and for the placement of the flagship of the compound with its headquarters. The lower ranks slept on hanging bunks located in the bow of the ship. 10 conductors slept in five double cabins on the armored deck, officers and admirals - in the rooms between the bow and middle chimneys.
The food supply was designed for two months, there was a refrigerator and a refrigerator.
Artillery weapons "Aurora" were eight 152-mm with a barrel length of 45 caliber guns of the Kane system, placed one on the forecastle and poop, and six on the upper deck (three on each side). The maximum firing range of the gun is up to 9800 m, the rate of fire is 5 rounds per minute with mechanical feeding of shells and 2 shots with manual feeding. The total ammunition consisted of 1414 rounds. Shells according to their action were divided into armor-piercing, high-explosive and shrapnel.
Twenty-four 75-mm 50-caliber guns of the Kane system were installed on the upper and battery decks on vertical machines of the Meller system. The firing range is up to 7000 m, the rate of fire is 10 rounds per minute with mechanical feed and 4 with manual feed. Their ammunition consisted of 6240 armor-piercing rounds. 8 single 37-mm Hotchkiss guns and two landing 63.5-mm guns of the Baranovsky system were installed on the top and bridges. For these guns, respectively, there were 3600 and 1440 rounds of ammunition.
Mine weapons included one surface retractable torpedo tube, which fired torpedoes through the stem apple, and two underwater traverse shield tubes installed on board. Whitehead torpedoes were fired with compressed air at ship speeds up to 17 knots. The torpedo tubes were aimed using three sights (one for each tube) located in the conning tower. The ammunition was eight torpedoes with a caliber of 381 mm and a range of 1500 m. Two of them were stored at the bow apparatus, and six more - in the compartment of underwater vehicles.
The mine armament also included 35 spherical mines, which could be installed from rafts or boats and boats of the ship. On the sides of the Aurora, anti-mine barrier nets were hung on special tubular poles if the cruiser was anchored in an open roadstead.
External communication of the ship was provided by signal flags, as well as (less commonly) "Mangin's battle lights" - searchlights with a mirror diameter of 75 cm. The main purpose of the latter was to illuminate enemy destroyers in the dark. "Aurora" was armed with six searchlights. For night long-range visual signaling, the cruiser had two sets of lights from the system of Colonel V. V. Tabulevich. This new tool for that time consisted of two lanterns of red and white colors. To enhance the light intensity of the lights, a special combustible powder was used, which made it possible, under favorable meteorological conditions, to see the lights at a distance of up to 10 miles. The signaling was carried out by the transmission of numbers in Morse code: a dot was indicated by a flash of a white lantern, and a dash by a red one.
Observation was carried out with the help of spotting scopes and binoculars.
The cruiser's artillery fire control system allowed the artillery officer to control all of the ship's artillery and each gun individually. The distance to the target was measured using a Barr and Strood rangefinder purchased in England.
Protracted sea trials allowed the Aurora to make its first exit to the sea only on September 25, 1903. The cruiser was sent to the Far East along the route Portland - Algiers - La Spezia - Bizerte - Piraeus - Port Said - the port of Suez. Having reached Djibouti at the end of January 1904, the formation of Rear Admiral A. A. Virenius learned about the beginning of the war with Japan and went back to the Baltic, where he arrived by April 1904.
After returning to the Baltic, the Aurora was included in the 2nd squadron of the Pacific Fleet, which was supposed to go to Vladivostok as soon as possible in order, firstly, to help the ships of the 1st Pacific squadron, and, secondly, to break Japanese fleet and establish dominance in the Sea of Japan. The cruiser came under the command of Vice Admiral Z. P. Rozhestvensky, and on October 2, 1904, as part of his formation, left Libau, thereby starting a long transition to the Pacific Ocean.
On October 7, the cruiser and its formation almost reached the shores of Great Britain, which was Russia's political opponent in the fight against Japan and an ally of the latter, so Z. P. Rozhdestvensky ordered all ships to be put on high alert. In the Dogger Bank area, the formation found unidentified vessels (which turned out to be British fishing boats) and fired on them. Moreover, the Aurora and Dmitry Donskoy also came under fire from the armadillos. This so-called Hull Incident resulted in a major international scandal.
By May 1, 1905, the squadron of Z. P. Rozhdestvensky reached Van Phong Bay, from where it left for the last transition to Vladivostok. On the night of May 14, 50 ships of the formation entered the Korea Strait, where the Battle of Tsushima took place a few hours later. During this battle, the Aurora operated as part of the Cruiser Detachment of Rear Admiral O. A. Enkvist. Due to the construction of the ships chosen by Z. P. Rozhdestvensky, the Aurora, like the other cruisers of its formation, did not take part in the first 45 minutes of the battle (from 13 hours 45 minutes to 14 hours 30 minutes). By 2:30 p.m. nine Japanese cruisers chose the transport ships of the Russian squadron as their targets, and the Aurora, together with the flagship cruiser Oleg, entered into battle with them. To the extent possible, they were also assisted by "Vladimir Monomakh", "Dmitry Donskoy" and "Svetlana". However, the defeat of the Russian squadron was already inevitable. At nightfall on May 15, scattered ships of the Russian squadron made separate attempts to break through to Vladivostok. So, "Aurora", "Oleg" and "Zhemchug" made such attempts, but unsuccessfully. Avoiding torpedo attacks by Japanese destroyers, these ships were ordered by O. A. Enkvist to turn south, thereby leaving the battle zone and the Korea Strait. By May 21, these three cruisers, with almost out of fuel, were able to reach the Philippine Islands, where they were interned by the Americans in the port of Manila. During the Battle of Tsushima, the Aurora was seriously damaged; 10 crew members were killed and 80 more were wounded. The only officer of the cruiser who died in battle was his commander, Captain 1st Rank E. G. Egoriev.
While in Manila for four months, the Aurora crew carried out repair and restoration work on their own. On October 10, 1905, having received a message about the end of the war with Japan, the St. Andrew's flag and guis were again raised on the cruiser; the Americans returned the previously surrendered gun locks. Having received an order to return to the Baltic, the Aurora reached Libau on February 19, 1906. Here the condition of the ship was examined. After that, the forces of the Franco-Russian, Obukhov plants and the Kronstadt military port repaired the cruiser and its artillery weapons. Already in 1907 - 1908. "Aurora" was able to take part in training voyages.
It is noteworthy that domestic naval designers back in 1906, i.e. when the Aurora had just returned to Libau, they appreciated the new qualitative level of development of shipbuilding in other countries. The chief inspector of shipbuilding, K.K. according to the type of cruiser "Novik". However, this proposal was not implemented.
When a new classification of ships of the Russian fleet was introduced in September 1907, according to it (cruisers were now divided into armored cruisers and cruisers, and not by rank and depending on the booking system), the Aurora, as well as the Diana, was assigned to cruisers.
In 1909, "Diana" (flagship), "Aurora" and "Bogatyr" were included in the "Detachment of ships assigned to sail with ship midshipmen", and after the highest review by Nicholas II, went on October 1, 1909 to the Mediterranean Sea, in the waters of which they were until March 1910. During this time, many different exercises and exercises were carried out. 1911 - 1913 "Aurora" remained a training ship, having made long voyages to Thailand, on about. Java.
In July 1914, the accumulated knot of contradictions between the countries of the two blocs - the Entente and Germany with its allies - broke, and the First World War began. In mid-August, after almost a ten-year break, the Aurora was included in the warships, she was enlisted in the 2nd cruiser brigade. All the ships of this brigade were built before the Russo-Japanese War, so the command sought to use them only as a sentinel service.
In November-December 1914, the Aurora surveyed the fairways leading from the Gulf of Finland to the Gulf of Bothnia. The Aurora and Diana, which was also included in this compound, spent the winter in Sveaborg, where they underwent some modernization during this time. Then - again sentinel and skerry service.
Only during the 1916 campaign did the Aurora happen to take part directly in the hostilities. At that time, the cruiser was at the disposal of the command of the Naval Corps, where they took exams in ship management on it. Over the course of that year, the cruiser's 75mm guns were re-equipped to be able to fire at low-flying, low-speed aircraft, which was enough to successfully fire on World War I aircraft. So, while in the Gulf of Riga, Aurora successfully repelled attacks from the air.
But the ship needed repairs, which is why on September 6, 1916, the Aurora arrived in Kronstadt. In September, she was transferred to Petrograd to the outfitting wall of the Admiralty Plant. During the repair, the second bottom in the MKO area was replaced, new boilers and repaired steam engines were received. The armament of the cruiser was also modernized: the maximum elevation angle of the 152-mm guns and, accordingly, the maximum firing range were increased; places were prepared for the installation of three 76.2-mm anti-aircraft guns of the F.F. Lender system, which, however, were installed only in 1923.
On February 27, 1917, a strike began at the Admiralty and Franco-Russian factories, which were carrying out repairs. The commander of the Aurora, M. I. Nikolsky, wanting to prevent a riot on the ship, opened fire on the sailors who tried to go ashore with a revolver, for which he was eventually shot dead by the rebel team. From that moment on, ship commanders were elected by the ship's committee.
From October 24, 1917, the Aurora took part directly in the revolutionary events: on the orders of the Provisional Revolutionary Committee (VRC), on that day the cruiser went up the Bolshaya Neva from the outfitting wall of the plant to the Nikolaevsky bridge, drawn by the junkers, forcing the latter to leave it. Then the Aurora electricians brought the bridge openings together, thereby connecting Vasilyevsky Island with the city center. The next day, all the strategic objects of the city were in the hands of the Bolsheviks. By agreement with the secretary of the Military Revolutionary Committee V. A. Antonov-Ovseenko, "Aurora" "shortly before the start of the attack of the Winter Palace on the signal shot of Petropavlovka will give a couple of blank shots from a six-inch gun." At 21:40 a shot from the guns of the Peter and Paul Fortress followed, and five minutes later the Aurora fired one blank shot from the bow 152-mm gun, which made her famous. However, the assault on the Winter Palace was not directly connected with this shot, since it began later.
At the end of October 1922, the cruiser was reactivated to be used as a training ship for the Baltic Fleet in the future. On a holiday on February 23, 1923, despite the fact that the Aurora was still technically unprepared, the flag and guis were hoisted on the cruiser. In June 1923, the ship's hull was significantly repaired, a little later it was re-equipped, including the artillery cellars and elevators. So, the Aurora received ten 130-mm guns (instead of 152-mm), two 76.2-mm Lender anti-aircraft guns, two pairs of 7.62-mm Maxim machine guns. July 18 conducted sea trials, and in the fall the cruiser took part in the maneuvers of the ships of the Baltic Fleet.
But the canonization of Aurora began earlier. On August 3, 1923, the Central Executive Committee took patronage over the cruiser, i.e. supreme body of state power. This immediately raised the ideological and political status of the ship, elevating it to the rank of a symbol of the revolution.
In 1924, the Aurora made its first long-distance voyage under the Soviet flag: the cruiser circled Scandinavia, reached Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. Until 1927, the ship participated in various campaigns (mainly in the territorial waters of the USSR). On November 2, 1927, in honor of the 10th anniversary of the revolution, Aurora was awarded the only state award at that time - the Order of the Red Banner:
“The Presidium, with sincere admiration, recalling the struggle of the Aurora cruiser in the front lines of the revolution on the days of the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution, awards it the Order of the Red Banner for the distinctions it showed on the Days of October.
(From the decision of the CEC.) "
In the same year, the epic film "October" was filmed, where "Aurora" also took part in the filming. These two events made the cruiser even more famous.
Since 1928, the cruiser again became a training ship and annually made training trips on board with cadets abroad. In particular, Aurora visited Copenhagen, Swinemünd, Oslo, Bergen. A visit to Bergen in August 1930 was the last foreign campaign for the Aurora due to the deterioration of the boilers (a third of them were decommissioned). The cruiser needed a major overhaul, which he went to at the end of 1933. In 1935, for various reasons, including because it was not practical to repair the morally and technically obsolete ship, the repair was stopped. Now it has become non-self-propelled due to the fact that the workers of the plant. Marty did not have time to replace the boilers during the repair, the Aurora had to become a training guard: she was taken to the Eastern Kronstadt raid, where first-year cadets of naval schools practiced on it.
According to some researchers, in 1941 the Aurora was planned to be excluded from the fleet, but this was prevented by the outbreak of World War II. When there was a threat of the exit of German troops to Leningrad, the cruiser was immediately included in the air defense system of Kronstadt. Back in June 1941, the Aurora cadets went to the front, then a gradual reduction in the cruiser crew began (by the beginning of the war - 260 people), which was distributed to the active ships of the Baltic Fleet or to the front.
By the beginning of the war, Aurora had ten 130-mm guns, four 76.2-mm anti-aircraft guns, three 45-mm guns, and one Maxim machine gun. Since July 1941, artillery weapons began to be dismantled from the Aurora and used either on other ships (for example, on the gunboats of the Chudskaya military flotilla), or used as part of land batteries. On July 9, 1941, a special-purpose artillery battery was formed from 9 130-mm cruiser guns. From the guns refined in the arsenals of Leningrad and Kronstadt, the 2nd battery was soon formed, and both were transferred to the 42nd Army of the Leningrad Front. In the history of the defense of Leningrad, they are known as battery "A" ("Aurora") and battery "B" ("Baltiets" / "Bolshevik"). Of the actual crew of the Aurora, only a small number were in the personnel of Battery A. Battery "A" opened fire on the advancing enemy for the first time on September 6, 1941. Then, for a week, the battery fought German tanks, fighting in complete encirclement to the last shell. By the end of the eighth day of fighting, out of 165 personnel, only 26 came out to their own.
The Aurora cruiser itself took part in the fighting near Leningrad on September 8, 1941. The crew remaining on the ship had to repel German air raids, and on September 16, according to eyewitnesses, the Aurora anti-aircraft gunners managed to shoot down one enemy aircraft. At the same time, the Aurora was constantly under artillery fire, which from time to time was carried out by German batteries until the final lifting of the blockade of Leningrad. In total, during the war, the cruiser received at least 7 hits. At the end of November, living conditions on the cruiser became unbearable, and the crew was transferred to the shore.
So the People's Commissar of the USSR Navy N. G. Kuznetsov spoke about the modest, but still significant participation of the Aurora in the defense of Leningrad:
“The Aurora cruiser did not represent a serious combat value, but carried out all possible service throughout the war years. Long-term service falls to the share of individual ships, even after they have “lost” their initial combat qualities. This is the cruiser Aurora.
In the middle of 1944, it was decided to create the Leningrad Nakhimov Naval School. Part of the Nakhimovites was planned to be placed on a floating base, which was temporarily supposed to be the Aurora. However, according to the decision of A. A. Zhdanov, the Aurora cruiser was to be forever installed on the Neva, "as a monument to the active participation of the sailors of the Baltic Fleet in the overthrow of the bourgeois Provisional Government." Immediately, work began on restoring the watertightness of the cruiser's hull, which received numerous damages. 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 machine shaft brackets, the remaining boilers; reorganization was also carried out in connection with the new function of the mother ship. (Unfortunately, this reorganization had a negative impact on the preservation of the historical appearance of the cruiser. By the way, this was also affected by the participation of the Aurora in the role of the Varyag in the film of the same name, filmed in 1947) On November 17, 1948, the cruiser took its place for the first time on the eternal parking lot on the Bolshaya Nevka. Immediately on the "Aurora" was placed the graduation company of Nakhimov. From now until 1961
Shouldn't we call the cruiser "Polkan"?
When in September 1896 at the St. Petersburg shipyard "New Admiralty" they start building a new naval vessel, the proud name "Aurora" still does not even occur to anyone. The new project was called the "cruiser with a displacement of 6630 tons of the Diana type", with which the cruiser lasted almost a year. Only in 1897 did he receive the name that Nicholas II came up with for him. The emperor, so that he would not bother himself once again, was offered a list of possible names. Among them: Aurora, Naiad, Helion, Juno, Psyche, Askold, Varyag, Bogatyr, Boyar, Polkan, Neptune. The emperor read the list , thought and wrote the word "Aurora" in the margins of the note.
Aurora crocodiles refuse to fight
The solemn launching took place on May 11, 1900 in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II and Empresses Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna, who watched what was happening from the Imperial Pavilion.
In 1905, at the height of the Russo-Japanese War, along with members of the crew of a cruiser heading for the shores of the Land of the Rising Sun, there was a couple of crocodiles taken on board during one of the stops in an African port. Such an unusual “cargo” is explained simply: sailors were allowed to take pets with them on a voyage. Of course, crocodiles can hardly be called domestic animals, but, as they say, they don’t argue about tastes. The crocodiles were given the nicknames Himself and Togo, they arranged planned bathing for them and even tried to tame them. However, as it turned out, the training of crocodiles is a troublesome thankless task: having seized a good moment, one of the crocodiles rushed into the ocean and disappeared forever in its blue waters. The diary of the commander that evening was replenished with a note: “One of the young crocodiles, which the officers released today for fun, did not want to go to war, he preferred to jump overboard and die.” The second reptile was killed during the Battle of Tsushima.
Those who, thinking about naval service, imagine that the sailors bend their backs all day long, scouring the deck or getting poked from the captain, you can immediately be disappointed when talking about the life on the cruiser. Leisure time on the Aurora was fun and varied: Boat races, races across Mars (a platform on one of the masts), aiming competitions and a theatrical performance were organized on Maslenitsa. By the way, the "troupe" of the cruiser, which consisted of sailors, turned out to be so gifted that they often visited other ships of the squadron with performances.
Cruiser Hero
During the Battle of Tsushima, the cruiser proved to be a reliable ship capable of not only repelling an attack, but also inflicting crushing losses on the enemy: During the battle, the cruiser fired over 300 shells at the enemy, and more than once covered other Russian battleships. After the battle, the Aurora missed five guns, irretrievably lost 16 people (including the captain of the ship) and received ten "wounds"
Revolution Symbol
In the revolution of 1917, the role of the cruiser is of particular importance. Still, now the new government had its own formidable symbol of triumphant justice, which overnight destroyed the autocracy. However, literally in the first days after the volley, rumors spread around the city that ... do not stop to this day. So, for example, there is an opinion that on the day of the storming of the Winter Palace, fire was opened from a cruiser. Those who believed this legend were first of all rushed to convince the crew of the ship, who sent a note to the editorial office of the Pravda newspaper stating that only one blank shot was fired from the cruiser, serving as calls for "vigilance and readiness." Also, this shot could not be called a signal, since it was fired at 21:40, while the assault began after midnight. In addition, it should be borne in mind that these days the cruiser was under repair, which excluded the possibility that live ammunition was fired.
The further fate of the cruiser
In 1941, the cruiser was supposed to turn into a monument, but this was prevented by the war, during which the ship was seriously damaged. In July 1944, the cruiser was sent for repairs, which, after dragging on for four years, nevertheless made the Aurora into a monument, on board of which the training base of the Leningrad Nakhimov School was located, which later became a branch of the Central Naval Museum.
When two years later they started filming the film "Cruiser" Varyag "", they decided to shoot the Aurora as a ship. For filming, the cruiser was modified by installing a fourth, fake tube, and redesigning the bow.
In the summer of 1984, the cruiser was towed to the shipyard "for overhaul and refitting." Three years later, the ship fell into place, but experts say that the cruiser, now standing at the famous pier, has little in common with the former Aurora. Only part of the hull above the waterline remained from the real cruiser. The lower one, filled with concrete, rests in the ship cemetery.
On September 21, 2014, the cruiser will again go for repairs, which was tentatively estimated at 120 million rubles. So if you are a fan of naval technology or you are interested in the history of one of the most famous ships in Russia, hurry up, the pier will be empty for about two years.
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. Rumor has it that the beauty who boarded the ship, despite the well-known saying about a woman on a ship, the sailors not only did not drive away, 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. At the same time, 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 historical gun that heralded the “new era of the proletarian revolution”, the senior midshipman, with a sly wink at us, said: “Read carefully the plate on the shield, it says that a historical shot was fired from the bow gun of the cruiser. And about the fact that they shot specifically from this gun - it is not said anywhere. ”
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 flotillas mixed up, the Aurora got 5 shells from her own, as in the darkness 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.
