Aurora - 1st rank cruiser of the Baltic Fleet, known for its role in October revolution 1917. Aurora announced the attack with her salvo 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 that we'll talk below…
It all started with the fact that the construction of the ship lasted more than 6 years - the Aurora was launched on May 11, 1900 at 11:15 a.m., and the cruiser entered the fleet (after completion of all outfitting work) only on July 16, 1903 .
This ship was by no means unique in its combat qualities. The cruiser could not boast of a special speed (only 19 knots - squadron battleships of that time reached a speed of 18 knots), or weapons (8 six-inch main caliber guns - far from amazing firepower). Ships such as armored cruisers ("Bogatyr") were much faster and one and a half times more powerful. And the attitude of the officers and crews towards these “domestic-made goddesses” was not very good - the Diana-class cruisers had a lot of shortcomings and constantly broke down
However, its tasks are to conduct reconnaissance, destroy enemy merchant ships, cover battleships from attacks by enemy destroyers, patrol duty - these cruisers were quite adequate, having a solid (about seven thousand tons) displacement and good seaworthiness. With a full supply of coal (1430 tons), the Aurora could reach from Port Arthur to Vladivostok and return back.
All cruisers were intended 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. On September 25, 1903, the Aurora with a crew of 559 people under the command of Captain 1st Rank I.V. Sukhotin left Kronstadt. In the Mediterranean Sea, the Aurora joined the detachment of Rear Admiral A. A. Virenius, which consisted of the squadron battleship Oslyabya, the cruiser Dmitry Donskoy and several destroyers and auxiliary ships. However, the detachment was late for the Far East - in the African port of Djibouti, on Russian ships they learned about the Japanese night attack on the Port Arthur squadron and about the beginning of the war. It was risky to continue 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 the Singapore area to meet Virenius and go with them to Vladivostok, and not to Port Arthur, but this quite reasonable proposal was not accepted.
On April 5, 1904, the Aurora returned to Kronstadt, where it was included in the 2nd Pacific Squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Rozhestvensky, which was preparing to march to the Far Eastern theater of operations. Here, six of the eight main caliber guns were covered with armor shields - the experience of the battles of the Arthurian squadron showed that fragments of high-explosive Japanese shells literally mowed down unprotected personnel. In addition, the commander of the cruiser was changed - he became captain 1st rank E.R. Egoriev. On October 2, 1904, as part of the Aurora squadron, it set off for the second time - to Tsushima.
Admiral Rozhdestvensky was a rather unconventional personality. Among the many “quirks” of the admiral was the following - he had the habit of giving the warships entrusted to him nicknames that were very far from examples of fine literature. Thus, the cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov" was called "Idiot", the battleship "Sisoy the Great" - "Invalid Shelter", and so on. The squadron included two ships with female names- former yacht "Svetlana" and "Aurora". The commander called the first cruiser “Maid”, and “Aurora” was awarded the title “Fence Prostitute”. If Rozhdestvensky knew what kind of ship he calls that...
"Aurora" was part of the detachment of cruisers of Rear Admiral Enquist and during the Battle of Tsushima conscientiously carried out Rozhdestvensky's order - it covered the transports. This task was clearly beyond the capabilities of four Russian cruisers, against which first eight and then sixteen Japanese cruisers acted. They were saved from heroic death only by the fact that a column of Russian battleships accidentally approached them and drove away the advancing enemy. The cruiser did not distinguish itself in anything special in the battle - the author of the damage attributed to the Aurora by Soviet sources, which the Japanese cruiser Izumi received, was in fact the cruiser Vladimir Monomakh.
At the beginning of the Battle of Tsushima on May 14, Aurora followed second the flagship cruiser of the Oleg detachment, covering the convoy of transports from the east. At 14:30, as part of his detachment, together 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). At about 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-firing side of the 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 shells of 8 to 3 inches in caliber, the crew lost 15 people killed and 83 wounded. The ship's commander, Captain 1st Rank E.R. Egoryev, died - he was mortally wounded by a shell fragment that hit the conning tower (he was buried at sea at 15°00"N, 119°15"E). (The commander’s son, who served in the Vladivostok cruiser squadron (on the cruiser Rossiya), also took part in the Russo-Japanese War, becoming a Soviet time rear admiral and taught naval history at Leningrad Institute precision mechanics and optics - LITMO.)
After the death of the captain, senior officer Captain 2nd Rank A.K. Nebolsin, also wounded, took command of the Aurora. The cruiser Aurora received 37 holes, but was not damaged. The chimneys were seriously damaged, the bow mine compartment and several coal pits of the forward stoker were flooded. Several fires were extinguished on the cruiser. All rangefinder stations, four 75 mm and one 6 mm guns were out of action.
On the night of May 14/15, following the detachment's flagship, he forced the speed to 18 knots, broke away from enemy pursuit in the dark and turned south. After several attempts to turn north, repelling torpedo attacks by Japanese destroyers, two ships of O. A. Enquist’s detachment - “Oleg” and “Aurora” - with the cruiser “Pearl” joining them, arrived on May 21 at the neutral port of Manila (Philippines, US protectorate ), where they were interned on May 27, 1905 by American authorities until the end of the war. The team was forced to sign an undertaking not to participate in further hostilities. To treat the sick and wounded, both during 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. The case and mechanisms underwent a major overhaul in St. Petersburg in 1906-1908. with the dismantling of torpedo tubes, the installation of an additional two 6-mm guns instead of four 75-mm guns, and the installation of rails for laying mine barriers. On October 10, 1907, she was reclassified from rank I cruisers to cruisers.
From the autumn of 1909 to the spring of 1910, “Aurora” made a long voyage with a “midshipman 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 Mankovsky’s detachment (4 cruisers), he was in the ports of Greece due to 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 a member of the 1st reserve cruiser brigade. From the autumn of 1911 to the summer of 1912, the Aurora went on its third long training voyage to participate in the celebrations of the coronation of the King of Siam (November 16 - December 2, 1911), and visited ports of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans. In the spring and summer of 1912, the cruiser was part of the international squadron of the “patron powers” of Crete and stood as a Russian stationary in Suda 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 a Central Mine and Artillery Position was set up. The cruiser was entrusted with the task of carrying out patrol duty at the mouth of Gulf of Finland in order to promptly notify about the appearance of German dreadnoughts. The cruisers went out on patrol in pairs, and after the patrol period expired, one pair replaced the other. The Russian ships achieved their first success on August 26, when a German ship landed on the rocks near the island of Odensholm. light cruiser"Magdeburg". The cruisers "Pallada" (the older sister of the "Aurora" died in Port Arthur, and this new "Pallada" was built after the Russo-Japanese War) and the "Bogatyr" arrived in time and tried to capture the helpless enemy ship. Although the Germans managed to blow up their cruiser, at the scene of the accident Russian divers found secret German codes, which served both the Russians and the British well during the war.
But a new danger awaited the Russian ships - in October, German submarines began operating in the Baltic Sea. Anti-submarine defense in the fleets of the whole world was then in its infancy - no one knew how and with what it was possible to hit the invisible enemy hiding under water, and how to avoid its surprise attacks. There were no traces of diving shells, much less depth charges or sonars. Surface ships could only rely on a good old ram - after all, one should not take seriously the anecdotal instructions that were developed, which instructed to cover spotted periscopes with bags and roll them up with sledgehammers. On October 11, 1914, at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, the German submarine U-26, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander von Berkheim, discovered two Russian cruisers: the Pallada, which was finishing its patrol service, and the Aurora, which had come to replace it. The commander of the German submarine, with German pedantry and scrupulousness, assessed and classified the targets - in all respects, the new armored cruiser was a much more tempting prey than a veteran of the Russian-Japanese War. The torpedo hit caused the detonation of the ammunition magazines on the Pallada, and the cruiser sank along with the entire crew - only a few sailor caps remained on the waves... The Aurora turned around and took refuge in the skerries. And again, one should not accuse Russian sailors of cowardice - as already mentioned, they did not yet know how to fight submarines, and the Russian command already knew about the tragedy that had happened ten days earlier in the North Sea, where german boat sank three British armored cruisers at once. "Aurora" escaped destruction for the second time - fate was clearly protecting the cruiser.
There is no need to dwell too much on the role of the Aurora in the events of October 1917 in Petrograd - more than enough has been said about this. Let us only note that the threat to shoot the Winter Palace from the cruiser’s guns was pure bluff. The cruiser was under repair, and therefore all the ammunition was unloaded from it in full accordance with the instructions in force at that time. And the common artistic cliche “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 from the spring of 1919 it was mothballed. In September 1922, a special commission examined the ship and concluded: “The external condition of the ship and the nature of its long-term storage make it possible, after relatively simple repair work, to make the ship ready for use as a training ship.” In 1940-1945, the Aurora was stationed in Oranienbaum. In 1948, the cruiser was placed in “eternal mooring” at the quay wall of the Bolshaya Nevka River, where the museum ship 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. One of the most noticeable differences from the original is the use of welds on the new body instead of rivet technology. The ship itself was towed to a naval base in the coastal strip of the Gulf of Finland near the village of Ruchi, where it was cut into pieces and scuttled. Parts of the ship sticking out of the water were stolen by village residents for building materials and scrap metal in the late 80s...
The ship, whose name was chosen by the emperor, is a symbol of St. Petersburg.
The New Admiralty shipyard exactly 107 years ago - June 4, 1897 - began 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 cruiser "Aurora" is undergoing repairs 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" became the last in a series of three ships with a displacement of 6.6 thousand tons, built at the New Admiralty shipyard in late XIX century.The first two ships of the project were named “Pallada” and “Diana”. The third was unnamed for a year. According to tradition, which has existed since the time of Peter I, the right to name large ships belonged to the emperor. A list was placed in front of Nicholas II, which included the following names: “Heliona”, “Juno”, “Psyche”, “Polkan”, “Boyarin”, “Neptune”, “Askold”, “Bogatyr”, “Varyag” and “Aurora” " The emperor emphasized the latter, and also, so that there were no mistakes, wrote it in the margins with his own hand.
The ship under construction was named "Aurora" by order of April 6, 1897.However, previously a three-masted sailing frigate had the same name. That “Aurora” was built in 1835 in St. Petersburg at the Okhtinskaya shipyard.
Cruiser Aurora". 1902 Campaign Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Crocodiles, lemurs and boas
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 at one of the African ports on the way to Japan.The crocodiles' names were Sam and Togo. According to the memoirs of the writer Yuri Chernov, who spoke about the life of 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 the exotic animals on board after the death of the dog Sharik.Reptiles were waiting difficult fate: He himself threw himself off the deck and died, and Togo was killed during the Battle of Tsushima.
The cruiser Aurora during trials on June 14, 1903 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Cover yourself near Tsushima
The second squadron of the Pacific Fleet, which consisted of 38 warships and auxiliary vessels, reached the shores of Japan. Having crossed three oceans, she was unable to pass the Korea Strait. There, 89 ships of the Japanese fleet were waiting for her under the flag of Admiral Heihachiro Togo (ed. - it was in his honor that the crocodile on the Aurora was named).
The Japanese tried to disable the battleships with powerful fire.
The cruiser Aurora managed to survive the battle near Tsushima, protecting the ships. The ship's hull covered the wounded Russian battleships. Only three cruisers survived that battle - “Pearl”, “Oleg” and “Aurora”. The Russians also managed to survive with one destroyer and two auxiliary vessels. In the Battle of Tsushima, the Aurora received about 10 hits from shells ranging from 75 to 200 mm in caliber, and five guns were disabled. 16 crew members were killed, including the ship's captain, Evgeny Yegoryev. 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 was signed with Japan.
Sending the cruiser for repairs to Kronstadt. Photo: AiF / Irina Sergeenkova
Idle salvo of 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 26.Many people still have doubts about this salvo. The fact is that the Aurora team immediately rushed to convince everyone who believed in the legend of firing 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 had received serious damage, arrived for repairs at the Baltic Shipyard, where it was to be prepared for installation in eternal parking.
At this time, Soviet officials decided to use the ship for filming in a film about the cruiser “Varyag”. By that time, the latter had already rested at the bottom of the Irish Sea, so its role was played by the legendary cruiser Aurora, which the filmmakers had to significantly “make up”, changing its appearance. The film was presented to the public in 1946.
We can't wait to see him back from the renovation.
"Aurora" is a Russian armored cruiser of the 1st rank of the "Diana" class. Took part in the Battle of Tsushima. The cruiser "Aurora" gained worldwide fame by firing a blank signal from a gun at the beginning of the October Revolution of 1917. During the Great Patriotic War, the ship took part in the defense of Leningrad. After the end of the war, he continued to serve as a training block ship and museum, mooring on the river. Neva in St. Petersburg. During this time, the Aurora became a symbol ship Russian fleet and is now an object of cultural heritage of Russia.
The cruiser "Aurora", like other ships of its type ("Diana" and "Pallada"), was built according to the shipbuilding program of 1895 with the goal of "equating our naval forces with the German and with the forces of minor states adjacent to the Baltic." Diana-class cruisers became one of the first armored cruisers in Russia, the design of which took into account, first of all, experience foreign countries. Nevertheless, for their time (in particular, during the Russo-Japanese War), ships of this type turned out to be ineffective due to the “backwardness” of many tactical and technical elements (speed, weapons, armor).
By the beginning of the 20th century. Russia's foreign policy situation was quite complex: the persistence of contradictions with England, the growing threat from developing Germany, the strengthening of Japan's position. Taking these factors into account required strengthening the army and navy, that is, building new ships. Changes in the shipbuilding program adopted in 1895 assumed construction in the period from 1896 to 1905. 36 new ships, among them nine cruisers, of which two (then three) were “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 design of a cruiser with a displacement of 6000 tons created by S.K. Ratnik, the prototype of which was the newest (launched in 1895) English cruiser HMS Talbot and 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 at the New Admiralty. On April 20, 1896, the Marine Technical Committee (MTK) approved the technical design of an armored cruiser of rank I.
On March 31, 1897, Emperor Nicholas II ordered that the cruiser under construction be named “Aurora” in honor of the Roman goddess of dawn. This name was chosen by the autocrat from eleven proposed names. L.L. Polenov, however, believes that the cruiser was named after the sailing frigate "Aurora", which became famous during the defense of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky during the Crimean War.
Despite the fact that, in fact, work on the construction of the Aurora began much later than the Diana and Pallas, the official laying down of cruisers of this type took place on the same day: May 23, 1897. The first one at 10:30 a.m. . the solemn ceremony was held on the Aurora in the presence of Admiral General Alexei Alexandrovich. The silver mortgage plate was secured between the 60th and 61st frames, and the flag and jack of the future cruiser were raised on specially installed flagpoles.
The Diana-class cruisers were supposed to be the first serial cruisers in Russia, but it was not possible to achieve uniformity among them: the Aurora was equipped with different machines, boilers, and steering devices than the Diana and Pallada. Electric drives for the latter were ordered from three different factories as an experiment: this way it was possible to find out which drives would be the most effective, so that they could then be installed on other ships of the fleet. Thus, electric drives for Aurora steering gears were ordered from Siemens and Galke.
The slipway work began in the fall of 1897, and it dragged on for three and a half years (largely due to the unavailability of individual elements of the ship). Finally, on May 24, 1900, the hull was launched in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II and Empresses Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna. Following this, the installation of main vehicles, auxiliary mechanisms, general ship systems, weapons and other equipment began. In 1902, for the first time in the Russian fleet, the Aurora received Hall system anchors, a novelty that the other two ships of this type did not have time to equip. In the summer of 1900, the cruiser passed its first tests, the last on June 14, 1903.
Four builders participated in the direct construction of the cruiser (from the moment of construction until the end of the sea changes): E. R. de Grofe, K. M. Tokarevsky, N. I. Pushchin and A. A. Bazhenov.
The total cost of building the Aurora is estimated at 6.4 million rubles.
The Aurora's hull has three decks: an upper and two internal ones (battery and armor), as well as a tank superstructure. There is a platform along the entire perimeter of the armored deck, which was called the living deck, and two more at the ends of the ship.
The main transverse bulkheads (below the armored deck) divide inner space hold with thirteen compartments. Four compartments (bow, boiler rooms, engine rooms, aft) occupy the space between the armor and battery decks and ensure the ship's unsinkability.
The outer steel skin was 6.4 m long and up to 16 mm thick and was attached to the kit with two rows of rivets. In the underwater part of the hull, steel sheets were fastened overlapping, in the surface part - end-to-end 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 a millimeter-thick copper plating, which, in order to avoid electrochemical corrosion and fouling, was attached to a teak wooden cladding secured to the hull with bronze bolts.
In the center plane, on a horizontal keel, a false keel was installed, which had two layers and was made of two types of trees (the top row was made of teak, the bottom 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; mainmast - 21.6 m.
The design of an armored cruiser assumes the presence of a continuous carapace deck that protects all vital parts of the ship (engine rooms, boiler rooms and tiller rooms, artillery and mine ammunition magazines, a central combat post, underwater mine vehicle rooms). Its horizontal part on the Aurora has a thickness of 38 mm, which increases to 63.5 mm at 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 aft heading angles; on top - armor plate 51 mm thick made of low-magnetic steel.
Vertical armor 38 mm thick has projectile elevators and control drives where there is no armor deck.
The boiler plant consisted of 24 Belleville system boilers of the 1894 model, which were located in three compartments (bow, stern and middle boiler room). The main steam pipeline to the main steam engines was laid along the sides of the cruiser. The Aurora, like other ships of its type, did not have auxiliary boilers. In view of this, steam was supplied to the auxiliary mechanisms through a steam line from the main boilers.
Above all three boiler rooms there was a chimney 27.4 m high. To ensure the operation of the boilers, the ship's tanks contained 332 tons fresh water(for the needs of the crew - 135 tons), which could be replenished using desalination plants of the circle system, the total productivity of which reached 60 tons of water per day.
To accommodate coal, the Aurora had 24 coal pits located in the inter-hull space near the boiler rooms, as well as 8 coal pits for 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 last for 4,000 miles of sailing at a speed of 10 knots.
The main engines were three triple expansion steam engines (total power - 11,600 hp). They were supposed to be capable of 20 knots (during testing, the Aurora reached a maximum speed of 19.2 knots, which generally exceeded the maximum speed of the Diana and Pallada in testing). Condensation of the exhaust steam was carried out by three refrigerators; there was also a condenser for steam of auxiliary machines and mechanisms.
The cruiser's propellers are three three-bladed bronze propellers. The middle propeller was a left-handed propeller, the right one rotated counterclockwise, the left one rotated clockwise (view from stern to bow).
Drainage system
The purpose of the system is to pump out the bulk of water from the ship’s compartments after the hole has been repaired. For this purpose, one turbine (water supply - 250 t/h) was used autonomously at the ends, in the MKO - circulation pumps of refrigerators and six turbines with water supply of 400 t/h each.
Drying system
The purpose of the system is to remove water remaining after the operation of drainage systems or accumulated in the hull due to filtration, flooding of bearings, sweating of sides and decks. For this purpose, the ship had a main pipe made of red copper, which had 31 receiving branches and 21 isolation valves. The drainage itself was carried out by three Worthington pumps.
Ballast system
The Aurora had one flood system at the ends and two in the middle watertight compartments, which were controlled from the battery deck. The drives of the flooding kingstons were brought to the living deck.
Fire system
A red copper fire main pipe was laid under the armored deck along the starboard side. 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 connecting fire hoses.
Boat weapons
two 30-foot steam launches;
one 16-oar longboat;
one 18-oar longboat;
one 14-oar boat;
one 12-oar boat;
two 6-oar whaleboats;
All rowing ships were served by rotating davits, and steam boats were served by tilting davits.
The living quarters were designed for 570 crew members and to accommodate the flagship of the formation 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 slept in rooms between the bow and middle chimneys.
The food supply was designed for two months, there was a refrigerator and a refrigeration machine.
The Aurora's artillery armament consisted of eight 152-mm guns of the Kane system with a barrel length of 45 calibers, 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. According to their effect, shells were divided into armor-piercing, high-explosive and shrapnel.
On the upper and battery decks, twenty-four 75-mm guns with a barrel length of 50 calibers of the Kane system were installed 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. On the top and bridges there are 8 single 37-mm Hotchkiss guns and two 63.5-mm landing guns of the Baranovsky system. For these guns there were 3600 and 1440 rounds of ammunition, respectively.
Mine weapons included one surface retractable torpedo tube, which fired torpedoes through the stem, and two underwater traverse shield tubes installed on the side. Whitehead torpedoes were fired with compressed air at ship speeds of 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 were stored in the underwater vehicle compartment.
The mine armament also included 35 spheroconic barrage mines, which could be installed from rafts or boats and boats of the ship. On the sides of the Aurora, anti-mine barriers 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 often) “Mangin battle lanterns” - 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 means, new for that time, consisted of two lanterns, red and white flowers. 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 transmitting numbers in Morse code: a dot was indicated by a flash of a white flashlight, and a dash by a red one.
Observation was carried out using 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 Stroud system rangefinder purchased in England.
Prolonged sea trials allowed the Aurora to make its first trip to sea only on September 25, 1903. The cruiser was sent to the Far East along the route Portland - Algeria - La Spezia - Bizerte - Piraeus - Port Said - Port 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 it arrived by April 1904.
After returning to the Baltic, "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 defeat 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 beginning a long transition to 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 the latter’s ally, so Z. P. Rozhdestvensky ordered all ships to be put on high alert. In the Dogger Banks area, the formation discovered unidentified vessels (which turned out to be British fishing vessels) and fired at them. Moreover, the Aurora and Dmitry Donskoy also came under fire from the battleships. This so-called Gull incident eventually caused a major international scandal.
By May 1, 1905, Z.P. Rozhdestvensky’s squadron reached Van Fong Bay, from where it set out on its final journey 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, Aurora operated as part of the Cruiser detachment of Rear Admiral O. A. Enquist. Due to the formation of 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 13:45 to 14:30). 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. Whenever possible, they were also helped by “Vladimir Monomakh”, “Dmitry Donskoy” and “Svetlana”. However, the defeat of the Russian squadron was already inevitable. As night fell on May 15, scattered ships of the Russian squadron made separate attempts to break through to Vladivostok. So, “Aurora”, “Oleg” and “Pearl” made such attempts, but without success. Dodging torpedo attacks from Japanese destroyers, these ships received orders from O. A. Enquist to turn south, thereby leaving the battle zone and the Korean Strait. By May 21, these three cruisers, with almost depleted fuel supplies, 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 received serious damage; 10 crew members were killed and another 80 were wounded. The only officer of the cruiser who died in battle was its commander, Captain 1st Rank E. G. Egoriev.
While in Manila for four months, the crew of the Aurora 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 jack 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. The condition of the ship was examined here. After this, the cruiser and its artillery weapons were repaired by the Franco-Russian, Obukhov factories and the Kronstadt military port. 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 Aurora just returned to Libau, they appreciated the new qualitative level of development of shipbuilding in other countries. The chief inspector of shipbuilding, K.K. Ratnik, drew up a proposal in order to study a new product of that time - a turbine engine - to refrain from immediate construction large ships with such a power plant, and install them on the Aurora and Diana, or build a cruiser with a displacement of up to 5000 tons similar to the Novik cruiser. 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 reservation system), the Aurora, as well as the Diana, was classified as 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, they set off on October 1, 1909 for the Mediterranean Sea, in whose waters they were until March 1910. During this time, many different exercises and exercises were carried out. 1911 - 1913 "Aurora" remained a training ship, making long voyages to Thailand, on the island. Java.
In July 1914, the accumulated knot of contradictions between the countries of the two blocs - the Entente and Germany with its allies - was broken, and the First World War began. World War. In mid-August, after almost a ten-year break, the Aurora was included in the warships and was assigned to 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 patrol service.
In November-December 1914, the Aurora examined the fairways leading from the Gulf of Finland to the Gulf of Bothnia. The Aurora and Diana, which was also included in this formation, spent the winter in Sveaborg, where during this time they underwent some modernization. Then - again patrol and skerry service.
Only during the 1916 campaign did the Aurora have the opportunity to take part directly in hostilities. At this time, the cruiser was at the disposal of the command of the Naval Corps, where they took exams on how to control the ship. During this year, the cruiser's 75-mm guns were converted in such a way as to be able to fire at low-flying, low-speed aircraft, which was enough to successfully fire at aircraft from the First World War. Thus, while in the Gulf of Riga, the Aurora successfully repelled air attacks.
But the ship required 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 renovation, the second bottom in the MKO area was replaced, new boilers and repaired steam engines were received. The cruiser's armament 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, whose forces were carrying out repairs. The commander of the Aurora, M.I. Nikolsky, wanting to prevent a riot on the ship, opened fire from a revolver at the sailors who tried to go ashore, for which he was eventually shot by the rebel crew. From that moment on, the ship's commanders were elected by the ship's committee.
From October 24, 1917, the Aurora took part directly in revolutionary events: by order of the Provisional Revolutionary Committee (PRK), on that day the cruiser sailed upstream of the Bolshaya Neva from the outfitting wall of the plant to the Nikolaevsky Bridge, built by the cadets, 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 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, at the signal shot of the Peter and Paul Fortress, will fire a couple of blank shots from a six-inch gun.” At 21:40 gun shot 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 storming of the Winter Palace was not directly connected with this shot, since it began later.
At the end of October 1922, the cruiser was decommissioned in order to later use it as a training ship for the Baltic Fleet. On the holiday of February 23, 1923, despite the fact that the Aurora was still technically unready, the flag and jack were raised on the cruiser. During June 1923, the ship's hull was significantly repaired; a little later it was rearmed, including the artillery magazines and elevators. Thus, Aurora received ten 130 mm guns (instead of 152 mm), two 76.2 mm Lender anti-aircraft guns, and two pairs of 7.62 mm Maxim machine guns. On July 18, sea trials were carried out, and already in the fall the cruiser took part in maneuvers of 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 state power. This immediately increased 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 cruise under the Soviet flag: the cruiser circled Scandinavia, reaching 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, recalling with sincere admiration during the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution the struggle of the cruiser “Aurora” at the forefront of the revolution, awarded him the Order of the Red Banner for the differences he showed in the Days of October.
(From the resolution of the Central Election Commission.) "
In the same year, the epic film “October” was shot, 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, Swinemund, Oslo, and Bergen. A visit to Bergen in August 1930 was the last overseas trip for the Aurora due to the deterioration of the boilers (a third of them were taken out of service). The cruiser needed a major overhaul, for which it set out at the end of 1933. In 1935, for various reasons, including the fact that it was impractical to repair a morally and technically outdated ship, the repairs were stopped. Now it has become non-self-propelled due to the fact that the workers of the plant named after. Marty did not have time to replace the boilers during the repair, the Aurora had to become a training fire guard: it was taken to the Eastern Kronstadt roadstead, 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 the Great Patriotic War. When there was a threat of exit 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 of the cruiser’s crew began (by the beginning of the war - 260 people), which were distributed to 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 cannons, and one Maxim machine gun. From July 1941, they began to dismantle the Aurora's artillery armament and use it either on other ships (for example, on the gunboats of the Peipus military flotilla) or use it as part of land batteries. On July 9, 1941, a special-purpose artillery battery was formed from the cruiser's 9 130-mm guns. From the exquisite guns 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, there were only a small number of personnel in Battery A. Battery A first opened fire on the advancing enemy on September 6, 1941. Then, for a week, the battery fought with German tanks, fighting completely encircled until the last shell. By the end of the eighth day of fighting, out of 165 personnel, only 26 reached their home base.
The cruiser Aurora itself took part in the hostilities 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's anti-aircraft gunners managed to shoot down one enemy aircraft. At the same time, the Aurora was constantly under artillery fire, which was fired from time to time 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 shore.
This is how 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 cruiser Aurora was not of serious combat value, but performed all possible service throughout the years of the war. The share of individual ships falls to long-term service, even after they have “lost” their original combat qualities. This is the cruiser Aurora.
In mid-1944, it was decided to create the Leningrad Nakhimov Naval School. It was planned to place some of the Nakhimov crew on a floating base, which was temporarily to become the Aurora. However, according to the decision of A. A. Zhdanov, the cruiser “Aurora” was to be permanently installed on the Neva, “as a monument active participation sailors of the Baltic Fleet in the overthrow of the bourgeois Provisional Government." Work immediately began to restore the waterproofness of the cruiser's hull, which had received numerous damage. During more than three years of overhaul (from mid-July 1945 to mid-November 1948), the following were repaired: the hull, propellers, onboard steam engines, onboard propeller shafts, onboard engine shaft brackets, the remaining boilers; reorganization was also carried out in connection with new feature mother ship. (Unfortunately, this reorganization had a negative impact on preserving the historical appearance of the cruiser. By the way, this was also influenced by the participation of “Aurora” in the role of “Varyag” in the film of the same name, filmed in 1947.) On November 17, 1948, the cruiser took its place for the first time permanently parked on Bolshaya Nevka. The graduating company of Nakhimovites was immediately stationed on the Aurora. From this time until 1961
There were many memorable events in the history of the cruiser Aurora. The ship participated in the Battle of Tsushima, rescued Italians during an 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. Rolled off the shipyard's stocks in 1900, it had nothing outstanding for its time. It was an ordinary military ship. But the events in which he happened to take part elevated the ship to Olympus of glory. The history of the cruiser Aurora is rich in dangerous incidents, but it survived and has survived to this day.
Ship construction
Construction of the cruiser Aurora began in 1896. She was the last ship in a series of three armored cruisers for the Pacific Ocean. The first ship was called "Pallada", and the second - "Diana". It is noteworthy that the project was named not after the first vessel, as is customary, but after the second - “Diana”. It is more sonorous and concise. Construction of the shipyards began in 1985:
- The galley island was equipped for the hulls of the ships "Pallada" and "Diana".
- The new Admiralty prepared the site for the Aurora.
All buildings were solemnly laid down on one day, May 23, 1987. The aggravation of relations with Germany in the Baltic made adjustments to the program, and the production time of the ships was compressed as much as possible. On May 11, 1900, the Aurora hull was the last to be launched to great applause. royal family. Next, add-ons and installation of a power engine were carried out on the cruiser. And three years later, on July 17, the ship was put into operation.
For a whole year the third cruiser did not have a name. In the documentation it was referred to as a “Cruiser with a displacement of 6,630 tons, Diana type.” Only in 1987, Nicholas II was provided with a list of names: “Askold”, “Aurora”, “Bogatyr”, “Boyar”, “Varyag”, “Heliona”, “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. It was made of mild steel for shipbuilding. The armored (carapace) deck was protected from enemy artillery fire. Each hold was divided by 13 bulkheads for maximum survivability of the vessel after mine damage. The main power plant included 3 vertically mounted machines and 24 steam boilers. The generated energy was transmitted to the shafts of 3 screws. Coal was used as fuel, reserves of which reached 1,000 tons.
| Author of the project | K.K. Ratnik, director of the Baltic plant |
| Crew (sailors, foremen), persons. | 550 |
| Officers, people | 20 |
| Displacement, t | 6731,3 |
| Length, m | 126,8 |
| Width, m | 16,8 |
| Draft, m | 6,4 |
| Maximum speed, knots | 19,2 |
| Maximum range of the trip, miles | 4,000 (at 10 knots) |
| Power plant power, l/s | 11 610 |
| Hydroacoustics | Fessenden sound communication station (since 1916) |
| Means of communication | Radio station of the A. S. Popov system |
| Radio station of the T.S.F system | |
| 75 mm Mangin system floodlights (6 pcs.) | |
| Fire control devices | PUAO system of N. K. Geisler |
| 1.4-meter rangefinders of the Barra-Struda system (2 pcs.) | |
| Armament | Artillery |
| Mine | |
| Mine protection (networks) | |
| Torpedo |
For the first time, an automatic water pumping system 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. The problems were resolved only on the Aurora, just before the trip to the Pacific Ocean.
Battle of Tsushima
The tense military-political situation in Far East demanded the immediate strengthening of the Pacific Fleet. A detachment was formed from the Baltic ships, which included the Aurora, reducing the time frame for its testing. On September 25, 1903, the cruiser weighed anchor in the Great Kronstadt roadstead. Throughout the journey, shortcomings of the ship constantly appeared, which the team eliminated on the fly.
On May 1, 1905, the Second Pacific Squadron set out from the coast of Vietnam in the direction of Vladivostok. The Aurora took second place in the order of ship construction 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 Korean Strait. Japanese ships were already waiting for them there, which were discovered at 6:30. At 10:30 a battle broke out with the lead military vessels.
Aurora entered the battle at 11:14. At first, the young ship was supported by fire from the cruiser Vladimir Monomakh, which dominated the firefight with the Japanese armored cruiser Izumi. Over the course of an hour, the Japanese reinforced themselves with reinforcements, and the full power of enemy fire went to the Aurora. It was especially difficult at 15:00.
The ship managed to maneuver from enemy torpedoes. But it was not possible to avoid multiple damage from enemy artillery salvoes. One shell hit the control room, where shrapnel cut off everyone present. The captain was mortally wounded in the head. The bow compartment was flooded. The mast with the flag was knocked down and raised 6 times.
By 19:00, the surviving Russian ships of Admiral Enquist’s detachment: Oleg, Zhemchug and Aurora, retreated in a chaotic order to the southwest, leaving the Korea Strait. Defeat became obvious. The route 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. The following people died on the Aurora: 1 officer (ship’s commander, Captain 1st Rank Evgeniy Romanovich Egoryev) and 8 crew members. The cruiser, repaired in Manila, returned to the Baltic Sea in 1906.
Italian oranges
In 1910, the Aurora was located near the Apennine Peninsula and called at the port of Messina to collect a reward. The cruiser was waiting Golden medal, since two years earlier the team saved Italians during an earthquake. On the first night of mooring, the city began to flicker with flames. Russian sailors rushed to save local residents, ahead of the arrival of local firefighters. In addition to the gold medal that had been awaiting the team for 2 years, the population thanked the crew for saving them from the fire by filling the holds with lemons and oranges.
Ghull incident
During the voyage 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 Dogger Bank shoal, an unknown three-masted ship, accompanied by a flotilla, appeared on a crossing 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 received 5 shells from its own, since in the dark the cruiser was mistaken for a Japanese ship. Later it turned out that Russian ships collided with English fishing ships. As a result of the incident, two people died. The incident complicated diplomatic relations between Britain and Russia.
Participation of the ship in the First World War
The cruiser Aurora, as a warship, could not help but take part in the First World War. However, it was possible to show its combat power only in the middle of the military conflict in 1916. The 75mm naval guns have been upgraded to effectively engage low-flying aircraft. The Aurora's combat duty was assigned to a square in the Gulf of Riga, where the cruiser successfully suppressed air raids on combat and civilian ships.
February Revolution
After the front moved, the Aurora was sent for maintenance. On February 27, 1917, a strike of workers occurred 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, commanders on the Aurora were appointed by the ship's committee.
October Revolution: a historical salvo
After February Revolution the cruiser was subordinate to the Provisional Revolutionary Committee. On October 24, 1917, the ship’s commander was given the task of ascending the Neva to the Nikolaevsky Bridge, which was opened by the cadets. Aurora power engineers managed to bridge the bridge, reuniting Vasilyevsky Island and the city center. By evening, preparations were being made for the assault on the Winter Palace. They decided to use a cannon shot as a signal for the capture. At 21:54, the Aurora fired a blank salvo from her bow gun that brought fame to the warship.
Filming in the film about “Varyag”
In the summer of 1944, the Leningrad administration operating during the siege ordered the installation of the Aurora near the Petrogradskaya embankment with subsequent equipment on the museum cruiser. But the decision was postponed for 2 years, since filming about the legendary cruiser Varyag began in the fall of 1945. The image of “Varyag” went to “Aurora”. For this purpose, the ship was restored after shelling by German aircraft, a 4th chimney was erected and the deckhouses were built on.
The cruiser Aurora was supposed to sink into oblivion in the fall of 1941. The People's Commissar of the Navy signed a decree assigning this name to the new ship under construction. Two ships with the same name are prohibited in the navy. But the destruction of the cruiser was prevented by the outbreak of World War II.
Base of the Nakhimov School
In 1948, the Aurora was moored at the Petrogradskaya embankment, across the road from the Nakhimov School. Educational institution took patronage of the cruiser. On the decks of the ship there were organized learning Campus for cadets and a branch of the Central Naval Museum. In 1960, the Soviet government gave the cruiser the status of a monument and transferred it to the maintenance of the state.
Repair and new life of the museum ship
On September 21, 2014 at 10:00 the cruiser Aurora was unmoored from 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 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. We created an updated museum exhibition. On the opening day, 1,500 people visited Aurora.
Shouldn't we call the cruiser "Polkan"?
When, in September 1896, the construction of a new naval vessel began at the St. Petersburg shipyard “New Admiralty”, the proud name “Aurora” did not even occur to anyone. New project called “a cruiser with a displacement of 6630 tons of the Diana type,” with which the cruiser existed for 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 again, was offered a list of possible names. Among them: “Aurora”, “Naiad”, “Helione”, “Juno”, “Psyche”, “Askold”, “Varyag”, “Bogatyr”, “Boyarin”, “Polkan”, “Neptune”. The Emperor read the list , thought and wrote the word “Aurora” in the margins of the note.
Crocodiles from the Aurora refuse to fight
The ceremonial 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 to the shores of the Land of the Rising Sun, there were a couple of crocodiles taken on board during one of the stops in an African port. Such an unusual “cargo” can be explained simply: sailors were allowed to take their pets with them on the voyage. Of course, crocodiles can hardly be called pets, but, as they say, there is no arguing about tastes. They gave the crocodiles the nicknames Sam and Togo, arranged routine baths for them, and even tried to tame them. However, as it turned out, training crocodiles is a troublesome and thankless task: having seized a good moment, one of the crocodiles rushed into the ocean and disappeared forever in its blue waters. The commander's diary that evening was supplemented with a note: “One of the young crocodiles, whom the officers released today on the poop deck for fun, did not want to go to war; he chose to jump overboard and die.” The second reptile was killed during the Battle of Tsushima.
Those who are thinking about maritime service, imagines that the sailors bend their backs all day, scrubbing the deck or getting poked by the captain, you can immediately disappoint by talking about the structure of life on the cruiser. Leisure time on the Aurora was fun and varied: On Maslenitsa there were boat races, races across the mars (a platform on one of the masts), aiming competitions and a theatrical performance. By the way, the cruiser’s “troupe”, consisting of sailors, turned out to be so talented that they often visited other ships of the squadron to perform.
Hero Cruiser
During the Battle of Tsushima, the cruiser proved itself 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 was missing five guns, irretrievably lost 16 people (including the captain of the ship) and received ten “wounds”
Symbol of revolution
In the 1917 revolution, the role of the cruiser was given special importance. Of course, now new government had its own formidable symbol of triumphant justice, which overnight destroyed the autocracy. However, literally in the first days after the salvo, rumors spread throughout the city, which... do not cease to this day. For example, there is an opinion that on the day of the storming of the Winter Palace, fire was opened from the cruiser. Those who believed this legend were first of all hastened to convince the ship’s crew, who sent a note to the editor of the newspaper Pravda, which stated that only one blank shot was fired from the cruiser, calling for “vigilance and readiness.” Also, this shot could not be called a signal shot, since it was fired at 21:40, while the assault began after midnight. In addition, it is worth considering that these days the cruiser was undergoing repairs, which excluded the possibility that live ammunition was fired.
The further fate of the cruiser
In 1941, the cruiser was supposed to be turned into a monument, but this was prevented by the war, during which the ship received serious damage. In July 1944, the cruiser was sent for repairs, which dragged on for four years, but eventually turned the Aurora into a monument, on board of which was located the training base of the Leningrad Nakhimov School, which later became a branch of the Central Naval Museum.
When two years later they began filming the film “Cruiser “Varyag””, they decided to film the “Aurora” as the ship. For filming, the cruiser was modified by installing a fourth, false funnel, and remodeling the bow.
In the summer of 1984, the cruiser was towed to the shipyard “for major repairs and re-equipment.” Three years later, the ship was in its place, but experts say that the cruiser now standing at the famous pier has little in common with the former Aurora. All that remains of the real cruiser is the part of the hull above the waterline. The lower one, filled with concrete, rests in the ship’s cemetery.
On September 21, 2014, the cruiser will again undergo repairs, which were previously estimated at 120 million rubles. So if you are a fan of naval technology or 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.