Who built the cruiser Aurora. What is enough to know about the cruiser Aurora. Damage to the Aurora after the Battle of Tsushima

The life of ships is short and their end is usually sad: the seabed or the wall of a shipyard, where they are cut into scrap metal. However, there are a few exceptions - these are famous ships, which, after the end of their service, become monuments or museums. You can count such cases on your fingers: “Queen Mary” and “Missouri” in the USA, “Mikasa” in Japan, “Cutty Stark” and “Victoria” in the UK. Russia also has a legendary ship that changed the course of not only domestic but also entire world history. Of course, this is the famous cruiser Aurora.

Most of our compatriots primarily associate the cruiser Aurora with a blank shot, which became the signal for the storming of the Winter Palace in October 1917. But this is not very fair: the cruiser was a participant in the most fateful events in the history of Russia of the last century. And revolution is just one of them.

The Aurora managed to survive the hell of the Tsushima battle, escaped destruction during the First World War and was restored after being sunk during the Leningrad blockade. Fate clearly protected the cruiser. Today this ship is one of the most famous museums in St. Petersburg; up to half a million tourists visit it annually. Currently, the cruiser is undergoing regular repairs; city authorities promise that the Aurora will return to its rightful place on July 16.

Ship history

At the beginning of the last century, the Russian navy grew rapidly and was replenished with new pennants. In 1900, a new Diana-class cruiser was launched at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg. The Russian Navy has long had a tradition of naming new ships after famous ships in the past, so the cruiser was named “Aurora” in honor of the frigate that distinguished itself during the Crimean War.

Russian Emperor Nicholas II was present at the ship's launching ceremony.

"Aurora" belonged to the first class cruisers or the so-called armored cruisers, whose deck had armor protection against mounted fire from enemy artillery. It cannot be said that the new ship was distinguished by outstanding combat qualities: it could develop a speed of 19 knots (the newest battleships of that time gave 18), its eight sixteen-inch guns also did not impress with their firepower. But he was quite capable of conducting reconnaissance, destroying enemy transport ships and protecting battleships from destroyers.

The geopolitical situation at the beginning of the last century was complex. Russia was in a state of real Cold War with Great Britain, and Germany was rapidly gaining strength in Europe. A conflict with Japan was brewing in the Far East.

After the Japanese attack on Port Arthur, the Aurora became part of the 2nd Pacific Squadron, which, under the command of Admiral Rozhestvensky, was supposed to travel from St. Petersburg to the Far East to come to the aid of the besieged Russian fortress.

This idea initially looked like a gamble, but it ultimately led to the defeat of Tsushima - the heaviest defeat in the history of the Russian fleet. During the battle, "Aurora" carried out the admiral's order - it guarded the transports. The cruiser was hit by eighteen enemy shells of various calibers, the ship was seriously damaged, and about a hundred crew members were wounded or killed. The cruiser commander died in the battle.

After the artillery duel ended, the Russian ships were attacked by Japanese destroyers. It was they who inflicted the most serious damage on the Russian squadron. The cruisers were supposed to guard their battleships, but instead they abandoned their main forces and headed for the Philippines, where they were disarmed and remained until the end of the war.

The order to flee the battlefield was given by Rear Admiral Enquist, who commanded a detachment of cruisers. After the ships returned to their homeland, the military leadership did not know what to do with the admiral: reward him for saving the ships or put him on trial for cowardice and indecision. In the end, they simply gave up on him.

The Aurora returned to St. Petersburg in 1906, after which the ship underwent repairs; in 1915, the cruiser was modernized and acquired a familiar appearance. The cruiser's artillery was strengthened, and the number of main caliber guns was increased to fourteen.

During the First World War, the Aurora operated in the Baltic Sea, the ship was part of the second brigade of cruisers. They chased German cruisers, destroyed enemy minesweepers and minelayers, and conducted patrol duty in the Gulf of Finland.

Already in 1914, in the Baltic, the Germans began to use a new weapon for that time - submarines. In October of the same year, the German submarine U-26 collided with two Russian cruisers: the new Pallada (the old one died near Port Arthur) and the Aurora. The submarine captain chose the more modern Pallada as the target for the attack. The torpedo hit detonated the ship's ammunition, and the cruiser went under water in a matter of seconds. There were no survivors. "Aurora" managed to take refuge in the skerries. So, thanks to chance, the ship escaped destruction for the second time.

The revolutionary events of 1917 are well known to everyone; hundreds of books and articles have been written about it. It can be noted that the threat to open fire on the Winter Palace was an outright bluff - the ship was undergoing regular repairs, and the ammunition was unloaded from it.

During the Great Patriotic War, the main caliber guns were removed from the cruiser; they defended the approaches to the city. The Germans bombed and shelled the ships of the Baltic Fleet many times, but they were not too interested in the veteran cruiser, deprived of artillery. Despite this, the Aurora received its fair share of enemy shells. On September 30, 1941, as a result of artillery shelling, the ship received serious damage and sat on the ground.

After the siege was lifted from the city, Aurora was reanimated. She was picked up and sent for another repair. It was decided to turn the Aurora into a museum ship. All the boilers, mechanisms and propellers were removed from the cruiser, and the artillery that was on it in 1915 was installed. In the post-war years, “Aurora” turned into a symbol of the revolution, into a kind of fetish for the entire population of a huge country.

The image of this ship could be found everywhere, on postcards, stamps, and coins. His role in revolutionary events was extolled in every possible way. The silhouette of the cruiser has become the same symbol of St. Petersburg as St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Bronze Horseman. Books were written about Aurora, songs were composed, films were made.

The last major overhaul of the cruiser was carried out in the mid-80s. Its cause was the severe deterioration of the body; in many places it simply rotted. Pumps were constantly running in the holds, bailing out several tens of tons of water every day. It became clear that without major repairs the ship would simply sink.

It is with this renovation that rumors are associated that the current Aurora is not real.

The work was carried out at the Northern Shipyard. Workers had to cut off the entire underwater part of the cruiser and replace it with a new one. The surface part of the vessel underwent no less serious alterations. A reconstruction of the interior was also carried out, to which they tried to give its original appearance. Some units and machines of the ship were replaced by mock-ups.

There are different assessments of the work carried out, but many historians believe that in 1987 the “remake” returned to the ship’s eternal mooring site. Too little of the current cruiser Aurora remains from the ship that left the stocks in 1900.

After repairs, the underwater part of the cruiser was not cut for scrap metal, but was towed to the village of Ruchi (not far from St. Petersburg) and scuttled there.

In 2010, the Aurora was withdrawn from the Russian Navy and transferred to the Central Naval Museum. In 2013, Shoigu said that the cruiser was awaiting another overhaul, during which it would be equipped with a diesel-electric installation. That is, the ship will become seaworthy again.

In recent Russian history, the cruiser Aurora has been repeatedly mentioned in connection with a number of high-profile scandals that have received wide resonance in society. The fact is that representatives of the city elite (including the governor of St. Petersburg) chose the museum ship to celebrate corporate events and other VIP parties.

Planned renovations began in 2014 and should be completed this year. So, at least, the authorities of St. Petersburg promised. The Aurora's return is scheduled for July 16. However, there is every reason to believe that when the cruiser returns to its place, it will resemble even less the ship whose launching was blessed by the Russian Emperor himself.

Description

"Aurora" belongs to the class of cruisers of the 1st rank. Its total displacement is 6731.3 tons, maximum speed is 19.2 knots. The ship could travel at an economical speed (10 knots) a distance of 4 thousand nautical miles.

The ship's main power plant consisted of three vertical triple expansion steam engines and 24 steam boilers. Its total power was 11,610 hp. With.

The ship moved due to the rotation of three screws.

The maximum supply of coal that the cruiser could take on board was 1 thousand tons.

The cruiser's crew is 570 people, including 20 officers.

In 1903, the Aurora had the following artillery armament: eight 152 mm Kane main caliber guns, twenty-four 75 mm Kane guns, eight 37 mm Hotchkiss guns and two 63.5 mm Baranovsky landing guns.

Torpedo armament was represented by one surface and two underwater torpedo tubes. The mine armament included 35 mines of 254 mm caliber. Since 1915, the cruiser was armed with 150 mines of the 1908 type.

The cruiser's deck had armor of 38-63.5 mm, and the conning tower had armor of 152 mm.

The main event in the history of the cruiser Aurora is considered to be a blank shot, which became the signal for the storming of the Winter Palace during the Great October Socialist Revolution.

Much less is known about the main military event in the cruiser’s history—Aurora’s participation in the tragic Battle of Tsushima for the Russian fleet.

The Aurora is undoubtedly a lucky ship. The cruiser, whose technical characteristics were significantly inferior to the most modern ships of that time, not only managed to survive the battle, but also avoided the shameful participation of lowering the flag in front of the victorious enemy.

The ship, which was launched on May 24, 1900 in the presence of the Emperor Nicholas II and empresses Maria Feodorovna And Alexandra Fedorovna, was accepted into the Russian fleet in June 1903 and by the time the Russo-Japanese War began it was one of the newest.

The newest, but by no means the most advanced. The problems with the Aurora began at the design stage and never ended. The deadlines for the construction of the vessel were repeatedly missed, and when it came to testing, the engineers clutched their heads from the huge number of shortcomings and shortcomings. Due to the overload of state-owned shipyards in St. Petersburg, where the construction of the Aurora was underway, work on its construction was carried out in a hurry and at the same time with a lack of workers.

The Aurora's engines and boilers turned out to be unreliable, the cruiser never reached its planned speed, and there were many questions about the ship's armament.

Peter Pickart

The ship "Lefort". Unknown artist

I.K. Aivazovsky. "Wreck of a Ship"

K.V. Krugovikhin “The wreck of the ship “Ingermanland” on August 30, 1842 off the coast of Norway,” 1843.

I. K. Aivazovsky “The Ship “The Twelve Apostles.” 1897

First trip

Testing of the cruiser continued at the beginning of 1903, and a lot of time was still needed to bring the Aurora to fruition, but it was not there. The aggravated situation in the Far East required the immediate strengthening of the Pacific squadron, for which a special detachment of ships was formed in the Baltic. The Navy Ministry intended to include the Aurora in this detachment, for which it was ordered to complete the tests as soon as possible.

On June 16, 1903, the Aurora officially became part of the Russian Imperial Navy and was almost immediately included in the rear admiral's detachment Virenius, focusing on the Mediterranean Sea for the fastest route to Port Arthur.

September 25, 1903 "Aurora" under the command of captain 1st rank Sukhotin left the Great Kronstadt roadstead, going to join Virenius’ detachment.

The cruiser Aurora during trials on June 14, 1903. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

During this campaign, the Aurora encountered a lot of technical malfunctions, including further problems with the vehicles, which caused extreme dissatisfaction among the command. While in Suez, the crew was forced to fix problems with the steering gear. In Djibouti, on January 31, 1904, the Aurora received the news of the outbreak of war with Japan, and on February 2, the highest order to return to Russia.

The Aurora reached the Russian military base in Libau on April 5, 1904, where its first campaign ended.

The Aurora's ship's chaplain died from "friendly fire"

The military situation for Russia was developing unfavorably, and the Russian command decided to form the Second Pacific Squadron, which was to pass through three oceans and change the situation in the naval theater of military operations.

At Aurora, work was carried out to eliminate technical deficiencies and strengthen weapons. Captain 1st Rank became the new commander of the Aurora Evgeny Egoriev.

On October 2, 1904, the Second Pacific Squadron, in four separate echelons, left Libau to proceed to the Far East. "Aurora" led the third echelon of ships consisting of the destroyers "Bezuprechny" and "Bodriy", the icebreaker "Ermak", the transports "Anadyr", "Kamchatka" and "Malaya". On October 7, the Russian ships were divided into small detachments. "Aurora" ended up in the 4th detachment under the command of Rear Admiral Oscar Enquist and was supposed to move together with the cruiser "Dmitry Donskoy" and the transport "Kamchatka".

The tension that reigned on Russian ships led to the fact that in the North Sea, off the coast of Great Britain, the Russian squadron mistook fishing ships for enemy destroyers. In the ensuing chaos, Russian sailors fired not only at the fishermen, but also at each other.

As a result of such “friendly fire,” the Aurora was damaged, and the ship’s chaplain father Anastasy was mortally wounded.

Record holders for loading coal

The further hike was quite calm. The team on the Aurora was united, which was greatly facilitated by its commander.

Senior ship's officer doctor Kravchenko wrote in his diary: “The first impression of the Aurora is the most favorable. The crew is cheerful, vigorous, looks straight into the eyes, and not from under their brows, does not walk on the deck, but flies straight, carrying out orders. It's good to see all this. At first I was struck by the abundance of coal. There is a lot of it on the upper deck, and even more in the battery deck; three quarters of the wardroom are littered with it. The stuffiness is therefore unbearable, but the officers do not even think of losing heart and not only do not complain about the inconvenience, but, on the contrary, proudly informs me that until now their cruiser has been the first in loading, received the first bonuses and is generally in very good standing with the admiral.”

Leisure on the Aurora was provided by an amateur theater troupe of sailors and officers, whose performances were highly valued by sailors from other ships.

The Aurora crew was also very strong in the matter of loading coal. So, on November 3, 1300 tons of coal were loaded onto the Aurora in unbearable heat at a rate of 71 tons per hour, which was the best result in the entire squadron. And in the last days of December 1904, with a new fuel load, the Aurora sailors broke their own record, showing a result of 84.8 tons of coal per hour.

If the mood of the crew and its preparation did not cause alarm in Captain Yegoriev, then the same could not be said about the ship itself. The infirmary and operating room were so poorly constructed that they were completely unusable in the tropics. It was necessary to adapt new premises and arrange possible protection for them from artillery fire. All provisions were concentrated in almost one place, and therefore, if this part of the ship were flooded, 600 people would be left without food. Much of this kind had to be corrected. On the upper deck, it was necessary to construct protection from the masts from wooden fragments from spare Bullivin anti-mine nets and traverses from the same nets with sailor's bunks to protect the servants of the guns. The internal wooden shields of the sides were broken and removed, which could produce a lot of fragments,” wrote the commander of the Aurora in March 1905, when the meeting with the enemy was already approaching.

The captain of the Aurora was one of the first to die

On May 1, 1905, the Second Pacific Squadron, after some reorganization and brief preparations, left the shores of Annam and headed for Vladivostok. "Aurora" took its place on the right outer side of the column of transports in the wake of the cruiser "Oleg". On May 10, in complete calm, the last coal loading took place; coal was accepted with the expectation of having a reserve at the entrance to the Korean Strait, which should have been enough to reach Vladivostok. Soon after the separation of the transports, the cruisers Oleg, Aurora, Dmitry Donskoy and Vladimir Monomakh, together with the third armored detachment, formed the left wake column.

On the night of May 14, 1905, the Russian squadron entered the Korean Strait, where Japanese ships were already waiting for it.

For the Aurora, the Battle of Tsushima began with a firefight with Japanese ships at 11:14. At the beginning of the battle, the Aurora supported with fire the cruiser Vladimir Monomakh, which was exchanging fire with the Japanese reconnaissance cruiser Izumi, forcing the latter to retreat.

With the appearance of the third and fourth Japanese detachments, which launched an attack on Russian transports, the Aurora, which was covering the transport ships, found itself under heavy enemy fire. The cruiser received the first damage.

But it was really hard for the crew of the Aurora around three o’clock in the afternoon, when the Japanese ships managed to come within close range and put the Russian cruisers under crossfire. The damage followed one after another; as a result of one of the hits, a fire started dangerously close to the bomb magazine, fraught with an explosion of ammunition. It was only thanks to the dedication of the Aurora sailors that the disaster was averted.

At 15:12, a 75-mm shell hit the front bridge ladder. Its fragments and debris from the ladder fell through the viewing slot into the wheelhouse and, reflected from its dome, scattered in different directions, injuring everyone in the wheelhouse. The commander of the Aurora, captain 1st rank Evgeny Romanovich Egoriev, received a fatal wound to the head and died soon after. One of the senior officers took command of the ship.

The crew did not drop the honor of the flag

Twenty minutes later, the Aurora barely dodged an enemy torpedo. The hit by a 203-mm Japanese shell caused holes, which resulted in the flooding of the bow torpedo tube compartment.

Despite the losses and damage, the Aurora continued to fight. The ship's flag was knocked down by shrapnel six times, but Russian sailors put it back in place.

At about half past four in the evening, the Russian cruisers found themselves covered from Japanese fire by a column of Russian battleships, which gave the Aurora crew time to catch their breath.

The artillery battle finally ended around seven in the evening. The defeat of the Russian squadron was obvious. The surviving ships did not maintain their overall formation and control; the remaining part of the squadron left the battlefield, literally in all directions.

By the evening of May 14, its commander Evgeny Yegoriev, as well as nine sailors, died on the Aurora. Five more sailors died from their wounds. 8 officers and 74 lower ranks were injured.

By ten in the evening, Admiral Enquist’s cruising detachment consisted of three ships - in addition to the Aurora, they were Oleg and Zhemchug. In the dark, Japanese destroyers tried to attack Russian ships, and Aurora had to evade Japanese torpedoes more than ten times during the night of May 14-15.

Admiral Enquist He tried several times to turn the cruisers towards Vladivostok, but the Japanese blocked the way, and the naval commander no longer believed in the possibility of a breakthrough.

The dead were buried at sea

As a result, the cruisers headed southwest, leaving the Korean Strait and breaking away from the enemy destroyers.

The night was hot for the Aurora doctors: those who, in the heat of battle, did not pay attention to their wounds, flocked to the infirmary. Those remaining in the ranks were engaged in minor repairs, awaiting new attacks by the Japanese.

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

At noon on May 15, Admiral Enquist and his headquarters moved to the Aurora, taking command of the cruiser that had lost its commander. At about four o'clock in the afternoon, the sailors who died and died from wounds were buried at sea; Captain Yegoryev's body was going to be buried on the shore.

Two hours later, a military squadron was spotted from the Aurora, which was initially mistaken for Japanese, but the ships turned out to be American - the Philippine port of Manila was under US control. On the same day, the Aurora and other Russian ships dropped anchor in the port of Manila.

Damage to the Aurora received in the Battle of Tsushima. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Hostages of Manila

The United States officially took a neutral position in the Russo-Japanese War, but secretly expressed support for Japan. Therefore, on May 24, the American Admiral Tran received a directive from Washington - Russian ships must either disarm or leave the port within 24 hours.

Admiral Enquist requested St. Petersburg and received the following response: “In view of the need to repair the damage, I authorize you to give an undertaking to the American government not to participate in hostilities. Nikolai."

In this situation, this decision was the only correct one - the damaged Russian ships could no longer change the situation that arose after the defeat at Tsushima. The war was coming to a disappointing conclusion for Russia, and it was already pointless to demand new sacrifices from the sailors.

On May 26, 1905, the Aurora crew gave the American administration a subscription not to participate in further hostilities, and the gun locks were removed from the cruiser and handed over to the American arsenal. The war for the crews of Russian ships is over.

40 wounded from the Aurora were sent to an American hospital. A few days later, hired local workers began repairing the cruiser.

Return

The longer the forced stay in Manila continued, the more discipline on the Aurora fell. News of revolutionary unrest in Russia caused unrest among the lower ranks, which the officers, with difficulty, managed to calm down.

Repairs to the Aurora were completed in August 1905, shortly before the peace treaty between Russia and Japan was signed in Portsmouth. Russian ships began preparing to return home. A captain of the 2nd rank was appointed as the new commander of the Aurora. Barsch.

On October 10, 1905, after the final approval of the Russian-Japanese treaty by the parties, official Washington lifted all restrictions on the actions of Russian ships.

On the morning of October 15, the Aurora, as part of a detachment of ships that were ordered to return to the Baltic, headed for Russia.

The return journey was also long. The Aurora celebrated New Year 1906 in the Red Sea, where it received orders to proceed to Russia on its own. At the same time, 83 sailors from the cruiser "Oleg" who were subject to demobilization came on board. After this, the Aurora turned into a real “demobilization cruiser” - from the crew of the Aurora itself, about 300 lower ranks had to be demobilized upon returning to Russia.

At the beginning of February 1906, while staying in Cherbourg, France, an incident occurred that prophetically indicated the future glory of the Aurora as a ship of the revolution. The French police received information that the ship's crew had purchased a batch of revolvers for revolutionaries in Russia. The search on the Aurora, however, did not yield any results, and the cruiser continued its journey home.

On February 19, 1906, the Aurora dropped anchor in the port of Libau, completing the longest military campaign in its history, which lasted 458 days.

On March 10, 1906, after the dismissal of all sailors subject to demobilization, just over 150 people remained in the cruiser’s crew. Aurora was transferred to the fleet reserve.

There were 11 and a half years left before the main shot of the cruiser...

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

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

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

Launching

Built according to the shipbuilding program of 1895.

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

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

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

Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905

On April 17, 1904, the ship was transferred to the 2nd Squadron of the Pacific Fleet. On August 29, as part of this squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Z.P. Rozhestvensky, it left Kronstadt for the Pacific Ocean to the theater of military operations of the Russo-Japanese War. I walked along the route Revel (30.08-28.09) - Libau (2.10) - Skagen (7.10). Then he followed as part of the 4th detachment under the command of Rear Admiral O.A. Enquist. During the "Ghull Incident" ca. 1:00 10.10.1904 was abeam of a Russian detachment that was firing at ships mistaken for Japanese destroyers. At the same time, several shells hit the cruiser, from which the ship's priest, Father Anastasy, was mortally wounded and one gunner was slightly wounded. Then the detachment followed the route Tangier (Sultanate of Morocco, 16-23.10) - Dakar (30.10-3.11) - Gabun (13-18.11) - Great Fish Bay (Portuguese West Africa, 23-24.11) - Angra Pequena (German South-West Africa, 28.11-4.12) - Nossi Be Bay on the island. Madagascar (French colony, 12/16/1904-03/3/1905). In Madagascar, all detachments of the squadron again gathered, which then proceeded through the Strait of Malacca to Kamrang Bay (French protectorate of Annam, 03/31-13/04) - Van Fong Bay (French Annam, 13-26/04), where the squadron of Z.P. Rozhdestvensky was joined by a squadron of counter- Admiral N.I. Nebogatov, - Cua Be Bay (26.04). On 05/01/1905, the cruiser as part of the combined squadron left Kua Be Bay to travel to Vladivostok through the Korea Strait.

World War I

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

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

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

Revolutions of 1917

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

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

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

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

Interwar period and Great Patriotic War 1941-1945

Plaque for the cruiser's tank (bow) gun

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

Memorial ship

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cruiser commanders

Cruiser commanders

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

Historical images

	Cruiser bow gun	Cruiser layout

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

Helpful information

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

Notes

Literature

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

Cruiser in art

Literature

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

Movies

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

Poetry and music

May 24, 1900 In the New Admiralty of St. Petersburg, with the personal participation of Tsar Nicholas II, the legendary cruiser Aurora was launched, which during the October Revolution became one of the destroyers of the Russian Empire.

This 1st rank cruiser of the Baltic Fleet was laid down in 1897 in St. Petersburg at the New Admiralty shipyard. "Aurora" was launched on the personal orders of Emperor Nicholas II, in the presence of two empresses (the dowager and the tsar's wife) and numerous members of the Imperial family. In July 1903, the Aurora entered service. In September 1903, the Aurora, as part of a detachment of cruisers under Rear Admiral A. A. Virenius, was sent to the Far East.

On May 27 and 28, 1905, the cruiser took part in the Battle of Tsushima; in this battle, the crew lost 15 people killed and more than 80 wounded. The captain of the ship, E.R. Egoriev, died - he was killed by a fragment of a shell that hit the conning tower. Unlike most other ships, the Aurora escaped destruction; together with two other cruisers, it managed to break through to a neutral port (Manila), where it was interned on May 25 (June 7), 1905.

In 1906, the Aurora returned to the Baltic, where it became a training ship for the naval corps.

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 Thailand, and also visited ports of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

"Aurora" took part in the First World War. At the end of 1916, the ship was sent for serious repairs to Petrograd, to the Franco-Russian plant.

The cruiser was one of the first to join the February Revolution and raised the red flag. Most of the crew joined the Bolsheviks in 1917. On the night of October 25, 1917, by order of the Military Revolutionary Committee, the Aurora team captured and demolished the Nikolaevsky Bridge in Petrograd, which connected Vasilievsky Island with the city center.

On October 25 at 21:45, a blank shot from the Aurora's bow gun, fired on the orders of Commissioner Belyshev, gave the signal for the assault on the Winter Palace. On November 28 (December 11), 1917, after repairs, the Aurora returned to the 2nd Cruiser Brigade in Sveaborg. After the decree on the dissolution of the old fleet and the organization of a new RKKF on a voluntary basis, most of the team was demobilized. In 1918, the cruiser was transferred to Kronstadt and mothballed.

Since 1922, the Aurora again became a training ship, but during the Great Patriotic War, the turret guns were dismantled from the cruiser and were used to protect Leningrad from the Nazis. The cruiser itself was fired upon on September 30, 1941 and sank in the port of Oranienbaum. After the war, the Aurora was raised, restored and permanently moored. In 1984, the cruiser was again sent for major restoration, which continued until 1987. During the restoration, the part of the ship below the waterline, due to the impossibility of restoration, was replaced with a new welded one. Now

The legendary Aurora is not just one of the symbols of the cultural capital of Russia, but also a full-fledged combat vehicle that managed to take part in dozens of military clashes at sea. We invite you to familiarize yourself with the difficult fate of the cruiser Aurora, with a brief description.

The ship belongs to the Diana class, cruiser of the 1st rank. The name of the car was given by the sailing frigate of the same name, which won glory in the Crimean War. Since the middle of the last century (1948) it took its place at the Peter and Paul embankment in St. Petersburg. The ship is included in the list of cultural heritage sites of the state.

History of the ship

By the end of the 19th century, the political situation prompted the creation of a new Diana-class cruiser:

• Initially, the reason was contradictions with England, however, they were soon resolved without bloodshed;
• the next reason was the growing threat from Germany in the Baltic.

Thus, a new round of the arms race at sea was provoked, which led to an adjustment to the country’s shipbuilding program from 1881. Changes were made in 1895 and included three carapace cruisers.

The Baltic Plant took over the order, and literally a month after receiving the order, the engineers provided sketches of the machines. 4 variants with different displacements were developed, but only one received approval - a 6000-ton prototype, which was inspired by the latest English Talbot machine. The development of ships and sketches was carried out by S.K. Ratnik.

Immediately after the approval of the preliminary designs, a long stage of approval began, ending only in the winter of 1896. During the discussion, changes were made to the project and instead of 2 ships, 3 were laid down. It was the famous “Aurora” that became the 3rd; during the entire assembly period it lagged behind from the remaining two government-ordered vehicles.

From the beginning of construction (autumn 1896), difficulties arose:

• there was not enough ship steel;
• The Admiralty Izhora Plant could not produce channels for the battery and armor decks due to overload with orders.

The administration of the institution asked to extend the work period. This led to the transfer of part of the order to the Aleksandrovsky Iron Foundry in order to fulfill the order in a short time.

The construction time was also affected by the order of machines for the ship:

1. Kotlov;
2. Machines;
3. Mechanisms of all components.

It was possible to sign a contract for the supply of all these mechanization elements only in the summer of 1897; representatives of the Society-Franco-Russian factories were selected for implementation. The delay was due to the fact that the management did not want to transfer the drawings to the Baltic Plant. After the third ship appeared on the list, we managed to obtain a 2% discount on the supply of equipment for it. The total cost of the order reached 2.275 million rubles.

The backlog of the Aurora was already large during the slipway period. When the remaining vehicles were 60% complete (hulls), the legendary cruiser was only 28% complete.

During construction, various officers and ship specialists came aboard. Thanks to their comments, changes were made to the torpedo armament; there were 3 devices.

By the spring of 1900, the legendary machine was 78% assembled, and devices were being installed on board.

The launch of the warship took place in May 1900 (11th or 24th according to different sources) at 11:15. The next morning, its towing began to the wall of the Franco-Russian plant - the installation of the main power units was to take place. By this time, the displacement was 6731 tons.

In addition to the installation of the machines, the following work was carried out on board:

• installation of a steam pipeline;
• auxiliary mechanisms;
• general ship systems.

Despite the fact that in the fall of 1900 the commission decided that all cruisers of the series were capable of independently moving to Kronstadt, many works had not even begun:

1. Installation of tiller device;
2. Steam steering engine;
3. Electric steering system.

A significant part of the work remained at the implementation stage.

Two ships of the series, significantly ahead of the Aurora, participated in tests in the summer of 1900, which revealed serious shortcomings. Easily fixable ones began to be corrected on a lagging machine in 1901. The main problem was the ports of the 75 mm guns on the battery deck; the firing angles were significantly increased.

A serious problem during construction was the shortage of labor. It was associated with a serious load on production capacity and an order for 6 more ships (transporter and battleships), which occupied the factories of the cultural capital. Among the most pressing problems:

• It was necessary to improve the fastenings, as deficiencies were identified during water resistance tests;
• The Izhora plant was unable to produce high-quality vertical armor for the conning tower; it appeared on the ship only in the spring of 1902;
• The most difficult was the modification of electrical equipment. At that time, the state industry was just mastering the production of such systems.

In the finale, Hall system anchors were installed on the ship - for the first time in the shipbuilding practice of the Russian Empire. Already in May 1902 the ship was 100% ready.

During the passage to Kronstadt (July 28, 1902), the control failed for a short time, the cruiser touched the edge of the canal, but escaped with minor damage to the propeller on the right side. After arrival, 10-day preparation for the tests began.

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

Description of design and technical characteristics

The level of electrification and mechanization of ships of this class at that time was the highest in the fleet. Otherwise, it was a classic layout, typical of other representatives, like Diana.

In the event of damage and a leak, the built-in water pumping system could remove up to 2,900 tons of water from the housing every hour.

Vessels of significantly smaller displacement were hung on the sides of the cruiser:

• 2 steam boats;
• 16 and 18 oar longboat;
• 12 and 14 oar boat;
• 2 yawls;
• 2 six-oared whaleboats.

The suspension was carried out on davits equipped around the perimeter of the hull.

Vessel class

Structurally, the vehicle belongs to the class of armored cruisers; its layout, description and installed systems were identical to warships of the same class produced in the late 18th - early 19th centuries.

Displacement

The normal displacement of the ship is 6731 tons. All main, permanent and variable loads can be estimated in tons. Of the indicated value, most of the load fell on the hull - 38.8% of the displacement or 2621.36 tons.

Main load sections:

• power plant – 21.9%;
• normal coal reserve – 12%;
• armor – 10.5%;
• weapon systems – 6;
• supply/team – 4.8.

The least load was produced by auxiliary units and desalinated water. Accordingly, they occupied 3 and 2%.

Power plant

The steam equipment of the ship consisted of 3 three-cylinder engines of the 3rd expansion. The total power exceeded 11.5 thousand hp, which allowed it to accelerate to 35.6 km/h or 19.2 knots. To set such a colossus in motion, three 3-blade propellers with a diameter of 4100 mm were used. The screws were cast from bronze and rotated in different directions: the middle and right ones turned to the left, the left one rotated in the opposite direction.

24 Belleville steam boilers were installed on board, which were later replaced by the Belleville-Dolgolenko system. Three boiler rooms were allocated for placing the equipment, above each of which a pipe was installed to remove smoke. The operating pressure of the boilers was 17.2 atm.

The boilers required a huge supply of water, which was constantly replenished. Storage was provided by tanks with a capacity of 467 tons, of which 135 were allocated for the life of sailors, and the rest to provide steam. The supply was replenished by Krug desalination plants (2 units), which restored 60 tons of fresh water daily.

The fuel tanks of the boilers were coal pits equipped at each boiler house. Along the engine rooms between the armor and battery decks there were 8 pits with a supply of coal.

This way it was possible to store up to 972 tons of coal, which made it possible to travel up to 4000 miles at a speed of within 10 knots.

The cruiser was powered by steam dynamos that produced a direct current of 105 Volts. Consumers of electricity were controls, household and lighting fixtures, winches for the ammunition supply system and a number of other units. For example, electrical devices raised anchors.

Crew

Accommodations for the ship's crew could accommodate 570 people, not counting the formation's flagship and headquarters officers.

Decks and armor

Equipped with 3 decks:

• top;
• battery;
• armored or carapace.

There is a prepared platform that occupies the entire horizontal perimeter of the last deck. There are 2 more platforms in the hold: at the bow and stern. The hold is divided into separate sections by 13 bulkheads located in the transverse plane.

The outside of the body was sheathed with sheet steel 10-13 mm thick.

Since construction, the keels have been made from:

• vertical (1m in height) 11 mm thick;
• horizontal internal – 10-13;
• horizontal outer – 14-16.

Below the waterline, the perimeter was sheathed with 102 mm thick teak boards, the outer layer of copper millimeter sheets. The stems are bronze, cast. The second bottom was equipped not along the entire length of the hull, but between 22-98 frames.

Decks and platforms were covered with steel sheets and teak boards, the surface thickness varied between 5-19 mm. The floor of the interior was covered with linoleum.

Teak boards were used in various thicknesses, depending on the deck and purpose:

• upper deck – 76 mm;
• deck with fuel tanks – 64;
• in the area of ​​spiers – 144.

Around the beaters, bollards and guns, the flooring was made of 89 mm oak boards. This material resisted loads better, was durable and unpretentious in sea conditions.

To save weight and material, protective sheets on the ship were placed of uneven thickness. The most vulnerable areas with equipment and crew were equipped with thick armor, while others were much lighter.

The armor protection was steel plates:

1. On the steel flooring of the armored deck, 38 mm sheets were laid in a horizontal plane, on bevels of 51 and 63.5 mm on bevels adjacent to the sides;
2. The glacis of the engine hatches had a thickness of 25.4 mm;
3. Control system drives, pipe casings and elevator shafts were protected with 38 mm sheets;
4. Behind the aft deckhouse, the protective beam was made of 16-mm sheet steel laid across the deck.

The pipe from the conning tower to the central post was best protected - 89 mm sheets. Even thicker slabs were placed on the barbette of the conning tower and on the beam in front of the conning tower entrance - 152 mm.

Dimensions and weight

The length of the ship from nose to tail is 126.8 meters, width - 16.8 m. The average draft is 6.4 m.

Armament

Since its launch, various gun systems have been installed on the Aurora. Heavy and medium naval guns, anti-aircraft systems, torpedoes and barrage mines. However, during operation the ship was re-equipped several times.

The cruiser Aurora entered service with the following set of weapons:

• 152 mm guns – 8 pcs.;
• 75 mm Kane system – 24 pcs.;
• 37 mm Hotchkiss guns – 8 pcs.;
• 63.5 mm Baranovsky guns, landing – 2 pcs.;
• 3 torpedo tubes of 381 mm caliber were located above the water in the stem (1 piece) and under the water on each side.

The most numerous guns - 75 mm, were located on the bridges and top of the ship.

The cellars contained ammunition for the guns: 1,414 rounds were provided for the heaviest ones, 6,240 for 75 mm, and 3,600 and 1,440 for 37 mm guns and landing guns, respectively. The torpedo tubes were equipped with 8 Whitehead mines (1898), and 35 spherical mines were stored in the hold. To install the latter, special rafts or cruiser boats/steam boats were used.

For 152 mm shells, a separate loading system was used. In 4 cellars there were shells weighing 41.4 kg and a powder charge in the form of cartridges. Functionally, they were divided into armor-piercing, high-explosive and with a shrapnel charge for effective destruction of manpower. The 75 mm guns were supplied with armor-piercing ammunition weighing 4.9 kg; they were located in 8 cellars.

In order to supply ammunition to the upper/battery deck, gazebos were used, which were moved by winches with electric drives along the elevators. For delivery to the guns, monorail guides were used.

Artillery fire was controlled using devices from the St. Petersburg Electromechanical Plant.

The cruiser was rearmed 5 times:

1. Summer 1903;
2. In the spring of 1907;
3. Winter 1916;
4. 1923;
5. 1941.

From the moment it entered service with the troops, the ship had 152 mm guns, in 1907 their number increased to 10, and in 1916 - 14. During the rearmament of 1923, all large-caliber guns were replaced with 130 mm B-7 guns, 10 of them were mounted.

The 75 mm caliber began to be dismantled in 1907, first removing 4 systems, and from 1916 they were completely abandoned. A similar fate befell 37 mm - in 1907 they were all removed at once. At the same time, 2 landing guns were dismantled. By the way, all torpedo tubes were removed from the ship after the first rearmament.

Since 1916, anti-aircraft systems have been installed on the Aurora. At first there were four 75 mm Kane anti-aircraft guns and one 40 mm Vickers. In 1923, instead of them, 2 Lander guns of 76 mm caliber were installed, which remained on the ship until the very end of its operation. In 1941, they added 2 more 76 mm guns and 3 45 mm anti-aircraft guns.

Participation in hostilities

In August 1902, the Aurora entered factory testing, during which the propeller was straightened and shields were mounted on the torpedo tubes. At the beginning of October, the ship was handed over for official tests, during which a number of malfunctions and breakdowns were identified. The plant corrected the shortcomings within the allotted 2 weeks.

After repeated tests, the commission did not accept the car due to the fact that it could not travel at full speed for 6 hours continuously. After repeated testing, this indicator was achieved, but only under ideal operating conditions, far from practical use. As a result, the tests were postponed to the summer of 1903.

The situation on the world stage required the speedy commissioning of new ships, therefore it was necessary to evaluate the qualities of the machine, work out all the shortcomings and enter service as soon as possible. By the end of July 1903, the ship was supposed to be completely ready for the transition to the Far East.

Tests in mid-June showed that the cruiser is capable of withstanding the established operating conditions. However, it was not possible to achieve the speed specified in the contract with the factories, as with all other ships of the class. Despite this shortcoming, Aurora entered service on June 16, 1903.

The cruiser's first assignment was to replenish the detachment of Rear Admiral Virenius, who was in the Mediterranean Sea and was supposed to head to Port Arthur. After arriving at the collection site, the cruiser underwent repairs by the team and craftsmen from the shore, for which two weeks were allocated. The long journey was interrupted by reports of the outbreak of war with Japan, and the entire detachment was ordered to return to the port of St. Petersburg. Along the way, the ships of the group did not meet the enemy.

The second episode of military service began almost immediately after returning. It is known that the cruiser was included in the Second Pacific Squadron. Preliminary repairs were carried out to eliminate identified breakdowns and deficiencies. The weapons underwent serious modernization, in particular, the armor protection of the guns was strengthened, lighting devices and sighting devices were installed. Then the cruiser took part in exercises held in Kronstadt.

The first combat experience was the transition to Tangier, from the very beginning of which Japanese attacks were expected. By mistake, the ships of the squadron mistook each other for enemy ships at night. During the firefight, the Aurora received 5 hits. Two were injured, the priest’s arm was torn off, and he later died in hospital. This incident later negatively affected relations with Britain.

After long passages, the cruiser as part of the squadron arrived in the Tsushima Strait on May 14, and was ordered to be in full combat readiness by morning. The main task of the ships was to protect transport ships. During the difficult 19-hour battle, the Aurora received multiple hull damage. 1 officer and 9 sailors were killed, later 5 more lower ranks died from their wounds, 74 sailors and 8 officers were wounded.

As night fell, the ships tried to escape the encirclement, and on May 15 they managed to overcome the mine attack area. The transition was completed on May 20 in Manila, and the next day a commission was assembled to determine the time required for repairs.

Based on the results of the assessment, it turned out that the repairs would take 30 days. This is how the stopover in Manila began, during which disarmament was carried out (and a subscription was also given for the crew not to participate in hostilities), and after the end of the war, the crew and the ship stayed for a long time in the American port.

The repairs were completed in August 1905, after which the ship was able to leave the mooring site by the beginning of October. Along the way, due to information about the revolution in Russia, it was necessary to have a conversation with the crew in order to calm the tension that had arisen. It was spurred on by the fact that 300 team members were awaiting demobilization. The ship arrived in Libau only on February 19, 1906.

Interwar service

After the sailors were transferred to the reserve, repairs of the cruiser and modernization of vulnerable components began. The total repair time was almost a year, during which the gun systems and interior spaces were redesigned to improve ergonomics for the crew.

First World War

The ship's service in World War I began on July 17, 1914, when the command was given to put the ships of the Baltic Fleet on alert. From this moment until participation in hostilities, another modernization was carried out.

The ship was in the Gulf of Riga in mid-July, when the ground forces received serious artillery support. The ship was attacked several times by anti-ship aircraft, but no damage was sustained.

On September 6, the Aurora returned to Kronstadt, where repair work began, which dragged on until 1917.

February Revolution

The parking lot for major repairs coincided with revolutionary events. The main concern during this period was the possibility of the crew succumbing to agitation. The situation worsened until the installation of machine guns on board, which would help repel a possible attack from the shore. As a result, the officers refused to use them.

On February 27, in order to prevent a riot, fire was opened at the ship's command, two were wounded, one was killed. On February 28, the captain refused to prevent the sailors from going ashore, but 2 officers responsible for the shooting the day before were killed.

October Revolution and Civil War

After repairs, the ship remained on the Neva, as it could play a decisive role in the upcoming uprising. The first task from the Bolsheviks was the installation of the raised Nikolaevsky Bridge, for which it was enough to move the cruiser to the middle of the river.

A single shot was fired - a blank, however, some historians believe that it was fired from the Peter and Paul Fortress. It is believed that from its position the ship could not fire at the Winter Palace.

The ship later returned to the Franco-Russian shipyard to complete repairs.

Training ship of the Baltic Fleet

In 1919, the ship was docked, and in 1922 it was transferred to the Kronstadt port for long-term storage. In the same year, the commission came to the conclusion that minor modifications and repairs would allow the Aurora to be used as a training ship. In July 1923, the first campaigns of the training team began.

The Great Patriotic War

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the cruiser was included in the air defense system; the crew at that time numbered 260 people. As the troops of the fascist invaders approached, the guns were dismantled from the ship, and thus a defensive line was created: battery “A”, consisting of nine 130 mm guns of the ship and crews from among the sailors.

The fighters held out for 8 days from the moment the first shots were fired on September 3; out of 165 people, only 26 returned.

Meanwhile, the ship itself was regularly bombed by aircraft, then by artillery from the shore; from September 16, attacks were daily. As a result, the cruiser sat on the ground due to holes on September 30.

The last dismantled gun was installed on the Baltiets armored train.

Where is the cruiser now?

In the modern history of the ship, the latest event was the repair in 2014. On September 21, the cruiser Aurora in St. Petersburg was towed to the repair dock of the Kronstadt plant. The first stage of repairs was completed on November 26, after which it was towed to the extension wall to continue work.

The ship returned to its post on November 26, 2016, where the cruiser Aurora is now located. The legendary car appears in the form of a museum and a monument to the bloody events of human history in general and Russian history in particular.