The age 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 the entire world history. Of course, this is the famous cruiser Aurora.

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

The Aurora managed to survive in 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 kept the cruiser. Today this ship is one of the most famous museums in St. Petersburg, annually visited by up to half a million tourists. Currently, the cruiser is undergoing another repair, the 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, at the Admiralty shipyards in St. Petersburg, a new Diana-class cruiser was launched. It has long been a tradition in the Russian Navy to name 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.

The ceremony of launching the ship was attended by the Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

"Aurora" belonged to the cruisers of the first class or to the so-called armored cruisers, in which the deck had armor protection from the mounted fire of 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 real cold war with Great Britain, 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 Rozhdestvensky, was supposed to leave St. Petersburg for the Far East to come to the aid of the besieged Russian fortress.

This idea initially looked like a gamble, in the end it led to the defeat at Tsushima - the worst defeat in the history of the Russian fleet. During the battle, the Aurora carried out the order of the admiral - she guarded the transports. Eighteen enemy shells of various calibers hit the cruiser, the ship was seriously damaged, about a hundred crew members were wounded or killed. The commander of the cruiser was killed in action.

After the end of the artillery duel, Russian warships were attacked by Japanese destroyers. It was they who inflicted the most serious damage to 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 stood until the end of the war.

The order to flee from the battlefield was given by Rear Admiral Enqvist, 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 just gave up on him.

"Aurora" returned to St. Petersburg in 1906, after which the ship got up for repairs, in 1915 the cruiser was modernized and acquired a familiar appearance. The artillery of the cruiser was reinforced, the number of main battery guns was increased to fourteen.

During the First World War, the Aurora operated in the Baltic, the ship was part of the second brigade of cruisers. They chased German cruisers, destroyed enemy minesweepers and minelayers, and conducted sentinel service 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. As a target for the attack, the captain of the submarine chose a more modern "Pallada". The torpedo hit detonated the ship's ammunition, the cruiser went under water in a matter of seconds. There were no rescued. "Aurora" managed to hide in 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 from it was unloaded.

After the revolution, the Aurora turned into a training ship: it made several trips and participated in maneuvers. In 1933, the cruiser was turned into a non-self-propelled floating training base.

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 fired on the ships of the Baltic Fleet many times, but they were not too interested in the veteran cruiser devoid of artillery. Despite this, the Aurora received its due portion of enemy shells. On September 30, 1941, as a result of artillery shelling, the ship was seriously damaged and sat on the ground.

After the lifting of the siege 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 boilers, mechanisms and lead screws were removed from the cruiser, and the artillery that was on it in 1915 was installed. In the post-war years, the Aurora turned into a symbol of the revolution, into a kind of fetish for the entire population of a vast country.

The image of this ship could be found everywhere, on postcards, stamps, coins. His role in the revolutionary events was praised in every possible way. The silhouette of the cruiser has become the same symbol of St. Petersburg, like St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Bronze Horseman. Books were written about the Aurora, songs were written, 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. In the holds, pumps were constantly working, scooping out several tens of tons of water every day. It became clear that without a major overhaul, the ship would simply sink.

It is with this repair that rumors are connected that the current Aurora is not real.

The work was carried out at the Northern Shipyard. The 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 has undergone no less serious alteration. The reconstruction of the interior was also carried out, to which they tried to give their original appearance. Some units and machines of the ship were replaced with mock-ups.

Estimates of the work carried out are different, but many historians believe that in 1987 the "remake" returned to the place of the eternal parking of the ship. Too little in the current Aurora cruiser is left of the ship that left the stocks in 1900.

After the repair, the underwater part of the cruiser was not cut into scrap metal, but was towed to the village of Ruchii (near St. Petersburg) and flooded there.

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

In recent Russian history, the Aurora cruiser 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's elite (including the governor of St. Petersburg) have chosen the ship-museum for celebrating corporate parties and other VIP parties.

In 2014, the planned renovation began, which should be completed this year. So, at least, the authorities of St. Petersburg promised. The return of the Aurora is scheduled for July 16. However, there is every reason to believe that when the cruiser returns to its place, it will even less resemble the ship, the launching of which 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, the maximum speed is 19.2 knots. The ship could travel economically (10 knots) a distance of 4,000 nautical miles.

The main power plant of the ship consisted of three vertical triple expansion steam engines and 24 steam boilers. Its total power was 11610 hp. with.

The ship was propelled by the rotation of three propellers.

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

The crew of the cruiser is 570 people, including 20 officers.

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

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

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

If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.

Torpedo-mine armament 3 381-mm TA (8 torpedoes of the "98" type) until 1908; up to 150 mines of the M-1908 type barrier 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 combat. In fact, he could not solve any of these tasks due to insufficient (for the 1900s) cruising range for a cruiser, low speed, weak armament and protection, therefore, from 1908, he served as a training cruiser.

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

Launching

Built according to the shipbuilding program of 1895.

The Irony of History - the cruiser, which was considered the harbinger of the revolution, the gravedigger of the Russian Empire and the Imperial family, was solemnly launched on May 11 (24), 1900 on the personal command of the Emperor of All Russia 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, arrived in the Mediterranean Sea and on October 25 arrived at the port of Spezia (Italy), where she joined the rear admiral's detachment at sea A. A. Virenius (EDB "Oslyabya", 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers, 3 ships DF), following to the Far East to strengthen the Port Arthur squadron. She sailed along the route: Bizerte (Tunisia, France) - Piraeus - the port of Suez - Djibouti. During a stay in Djibouti (French Somalia) in connection with the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War (!) The entire detachment was recalled to the Baltic on February 2, 1904.

In preparation for the new campaign, the cruiser received three machine guns of the Maxim system, 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 listed with the 2nd Squadron of the Pacific Fleet. On August 29, as part of this squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Z. P. Rozhestvensky, he left Kronstadt for the Pacific Ocean to the theater of operations of the Russo-Japanese War. I walked along the route Revel (30.08-28.09) - Libava (2.10) - Skagen (7.10). Then he followed as part of the 4th detachment under the command of Rear Admiral O. A. Enkvist. During the "Hull Incident" ca. 1:00 10.10.1904 was on the beam of the Russian detachment, which fired at ships mistaken for Japanese destroyers. At the same time, several shells hit the cruiser, from which the ship's priest Father Anastasius was mortally wounded and one gunnery was slightly wounded. Then he followed with a detachment along the route Tangier (Sultanate of Morocco, 16-23.10) - Dakar (10-30-3.11) - Gabun (13-18.11) - Great Fish Bay (Portuguese West Africa, 23-24.11) - Angra Pekwena (German Southwest Africa, 28.11-4.12) - Nossi-be bay on about. Madagascar (colony of France, 12/16/1904-3/3/1905). All detachments of the squadron gathered again in Madagascar, which then proceeded through the Malacca Strait to Kamrang Bay (French Annam protectorate, 03-13.04) - Van Phong Bay (French Annam, 13-26.04), where a squadron of counter- Admiral N. I. Nebogatov, - Kua Be Bay (26.04). On May 1, 1905, the cruiser, as part of the joint squadron, left Kua Be Bay to sail to Vladivostok by the Korean Strait.

World War I

In the winter of 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 "air cannon" (anti-aircraft guns). In the campaign of 1915, the cruiser was on patrol to the west of the central mine and artillery position in the Baltic, guarding minesweeping operations, and made trips to study hidden skerry fairways in Finland.

Since May 1916 assigned to the 6th maneuver group (armored cruiser "Gromoboy", cruiser "Aurora" and "Diana"). On August 1 and 2, he conducted training firing at the firing range near Heinland Island to find out the possibility of destroying coastal wire obstacles 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 dredging was completed on the Moonsund Canal, on August 14, 1916, the cruiser was transferred by this canal to the Gulf of Riga and became part of the Naval Defense Forces of the Gulf of Riga; based at Kuyvast.

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

Revolutions of 1917

The cruiser stationed in Petrograd was at the center of the events of two revolutions in the year. Being in close contact with the workers of the plant, the sailors of the cruiser "Aurora" were involved in revolutionary agitation. This was facilitated by the general situation in Russia, which the war brought to the brink of disaster. The relationship between the officers and the crew on the cruiser heated up to the limit. On February 27 (March 12), the crew demanded that the commander release three imprisoned agitators from custody. During the dispersal of the rally that followed, the cruiser commander Captain 1st Rank M.I. Nikolsky and senior officer P.P. Ogranovich opened fire on the team with pistols; were injured. 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, most of the crew went ashore and joined the uprising.

A ship's committee was elected to exercise the democratic rights of the sailors on the Aurora. According to the results of a secret ballot on March 3 (26), on the question of the form of government in Russia, it was unanimously decided that such a form is a democratic republic. During 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, both on the part of 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 team in terms of political opinions, and the ship's committee did not obstruct the officers in terms of the order of service, discipline and ship work.

When in October 1917 the political situation in the country escalated again 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, on the orders of the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, the Aurora team captured and brought down the Nikolaevsky bridge in Petrograd, which connected Vasilyevsky 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 Commissar Belyshev, gave the signal to storm the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government was located.

On November 28 (December 11), 1917, the Aurora, after repairs, returned to the 2nd cruiser brigade in Sveaborg. After the decree on the dissolution of the old fleet and the organization of the new RKKF on a voluntary basis, most of the team was demobilized. Only 40 people remained on the ship, necessary for ongoing work and protection. In 1918, a civil war broke out 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 152-mm guns of the Aurora were removed and sent to Astrakhan to arm the floating batteries. Most of the sailors of the cruiser went partly to the fronts of the civil war, partly just to go home. In 1922, the ship was transferred to the Kronstadt port for long-term storage (mothballed).

Interwar period and the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945

Cruiser tank (bow) gun plate

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 due to the fact that she had already undergone a major overhaul four years ago. After refurbishment and staffing in 1922-1924, the Aurora cruiser 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), Swinemünde (Germany, 1929), Oslo (1930). The merit of "Aurora" in the training of 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 surveyed and it was concluded that a second major overhaul was necessary. Since 1933 at the shipyard named after. A. Marty 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-self-propelled training base for first-year cadets of naval schools. During the winter, the cruiser served as a floating base for submarines. It was planned to decommission the ship.

memorial ship

Even before the end of the war, in 1944, it was decided 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 guns of Kane were installed, the same type as those that were in 1917 on the ship, but, unfortunately, guns were found in the arsenals only on land machines. Ship shields for them were made according to the drawings of veteran Aurors. The underwater part of the hull was made waterproof using a concrete "shirt" worn on the inner surface of the ship's skin. The internal premises were converted for the life and service of cadets and teachers. The power plant was removed, with the exception of two boilers for heating and a medium steam engine left as a teaching aid. The superstructures were restored, including the complete replacement of the chimneys, badly damaged during the war. As a result, the ship became a full-fledged training base for students of the Nakhimov School, against 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, served as ship outfits.

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 by the children's cartoon of the same name (1976), the song from which "What are you dreaming about, the cruiser Aurora?" gained popularity and became strongly associated with the ship. During the repair, in 1945-46, the cruiser participated in the filming of the movie "Cruiser Varyag", playing the role of "Varyag".

The museum on the ship began to be created in 1950 by the 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 students of the school were transferred to the museum, the staff of which was increased to 5 people. For ordinary visitors, the upper deck and forecastle with a 152-mm gun, as well as the premises of the ship's museum, were open. The rest of the ship's quarters were inaccessible. Simultaneously with 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 Aurora cruiser was awarded the Order of the October Revolution.

In the late 1980s, the ship's hull was in dire need of a major overhaul. In 1984-1987, repair and restoration work and re-equipment were carried out on the cruiser. The work was carried out at the Leningrad Shipbuilding Plant. 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, to the Neva

The underwater part of the ship's hull (1.2 m above the waterline) was considered unrepairable; it was cut off and handed over to the butcher. The cut off lower part was towed to the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland to the unfinished naval base Ruchi, flooded near the coast, where it is currently being pulled apart for metal. Instead, a new welded underwater part (dummy) was made. The wooden and copper cladding was not recreated. Screws are missing.

• 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 aft main machine was put in order and installed in its place. The carapace deck was made anew. Most of the old armor plates were returned to it (except for the lower belt).

• The superstructures were installed in their places and mostly externally decorated to look like a ship as it was in 1917. The pipes and masts were made from scratch, since the old ones were also "remake". It was decided to leave the guns on coastal mounts.

• Almost all of the interior of the ship has been redesigned. On the battery deck there is a museum, a compartment for museum employees, a team catering unit with a galley, an officer's quarters, a wardroom and a commander's saloon. Below, on the living deck, are the crew's new living quarters. All accommodation units are equipped according to the habitability requirements of a modern navy. In two aft engine rooms, an engine and boiler room was organized with auxiliary mechanisms and additionally placed combat steam dynamos. The premises of the boiler departments are occupied by modern PEP (energy and survivability post), 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 compartment of the refrigerator car and the central post remained unredesigned.

After repair and restoration work, the Aurora was returned to its place of parking on August 16, 1987 - at the Nakhimov VMU. At present, in addition to scientific staff, a team of 6 officers, 12 midshipmen and 42 sailors is serving on the ship.

cruiser commanders

cruiser commanders

• Cap. 1st rank rank A. A. Melnitsky (November 1897 - October 1898),
• cap. 1st rank P.P. Molas (October-November 1878, November 1898 - January 1900),
• VRID commander cap. 1st rank A.P. Kitkin (January-June 1900),
• cap. 1st rank N.K. Jenish (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 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 (since 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. 2 ranks V. E. Emme (October 1934 - January 1938),
• cap. 2nd rank G. N. Arseniev (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. 2 ranks 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 scheme

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

Helpful information

• The address: 197046, St. Petersburg, Petrovskaya emb., cruiser "Aurora"; tel. 230-8440
• Directions: Art. m. "Gorkovskaya", tram. 2, 6, 30, 63
• Working mode: Daily from 10.30 to 16.00, except Monday and Friday
• Tours: 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.: Military Publishing House, 1981. S. 57.
• Andreev V. Revolutionary keep step. - M., 1973. S.168-177.
• Aseev N. Earth and people. - M.: 1961. S. 203.
• Badeev A."Aurora". - In the book: Father's house: collection. - M.: “Mol. guard", 1978.
• Baltic Fleet. Historical essay. - M., Military publishing house, 1960.
• Bartev G.P. Baltic dawns. - Yaroslavl: Upper Volga book. publishing house, 1987.
• Bartev G.P. and others. 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. S. 41-46.
• Belyshev A. How it was (Memoirs of the first commissioner of the cruiser "Aurora"). - In the book: Ships-heroes. - M., 1976. S. 106-107.
• Berezov P. Volley 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. and others. 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. 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 with us. - L .: Lenizdat, 1982. S. 70-84.
• Dubinkin V. E. Commander 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: "Galya Print", 1998. - ISBN 5-8172-0002-3.
• Letov B. Hero ships. - M.-L.: Detgiz, 1950.
• Maksimikhin I. A. Legendary ship. - M .: "Youth Guard", 1977.
• Melnikov R. M. Ships-monuments // “Man. Sea. Technics". - L .: Shipbuilding, 1987. Ss. 301-321.
• Moiseev. I.I. List of ships of the Russian steam and armored fleet (from 1861 to 1917). - M .: Military Publishing House, 1948. S. 76.
• Nevolin A.S. Aurors. - M.: Military Publishing, 1987.
• Polenov L. L. Cruiser Aurora". L.: Shipbuilding, 1987.
• Polenov L. L."Aurora": the 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.: Military Publishing House, 1966. S. 59, 62, 63, 134, 270.
• Chernov B. M. The fate of the Aurora is high. - M.: Politich. lit., 1983.
• Kharchenko V.I. Flasks are broken on the Aurora. - M.: Ed. DOSAAF, 1967.
• Kholodniak A."Aurora". - L., 1925.
• Yunga E. S. Cruiser Aurora". - M.: Military Publishing, 1949.

Cruiser in art

Literature

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

Films

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

Poems and music

The cruiser "Aurora" has become one of the main symbols of St. Petersburg, and the history of its service is covered with myths and legends.

Russian naval commander, Admiral Z. P. Rozhestvensky loved a non-standard approach to standard processes. Among the admiral's favorite quirks was the habit, which amused the sailors, of arbitrarily giving out "nicknames" to warships under his command. So, the battleship Sisoy Veliky became the Invalid Shelter, the yacht Svetlana became the Maid, the cruiser Admiral Nakhimov was named the Idiot, and the Aurora was awarded the title Prostitute Podzabornaya.
We are not responsible for Rozhdestvensky, but he would know what kind of ship he called!

The appearance of the legend

Contrary to the patriotic role of the ship in the history of the country, there is an opinion that the famous cruiser was built abroad. In fact, the miracle of shipbuilding arose in the same place where it ended its glorious path - in St. Petersburg. The development of the project began in 1895, but only in July 1897 a contract was signed with the Society of Franco-Russian Factories for the manufacture of machines, boilers and all the mechanisms listed in the specification. Such a late deadline for reaching an agreement was due to the reluctance of the management to share the drawings with the Baltic Plant, and over the next six years, the Admiralty Izhora and Aleksandrovsky iron foundries, the Ya.S. Perm. In total, four ship builders, officers of the Corps of Naval Engineers, were directly involved in the construction of the cruiser from September 1896 until the end of sea trials, that is, for almost eight years. Unfortunately, the author of the cruiser project is still unknown - two names are mentioned in different sources: K.M. Tokarevsky and De Grofe, and officially the construction was carried out at the New Admiralty plant, under the leadership of the Franco-Russian factories.

Battle glory

The Aurora is known to many contemporaries only by the ambiguous fact of its naval biography, as the ship whose guns gave the signal to storm the Winter Palace. But the cruiser participated neither more nor less in four wars and two revolutions. Emperor Nicholas II himself, after the battle of Tsushima, telegraphed the crew: “I heartily thank you, commanders, officers and the crew of the cruisers Oleg, Aurora and Zhemchug for their unrequited, honest service in a difficult battle. May you all be consoled by the consciousness of a holy duty .Nicholas II". In 1968, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the cruiser "Aurora" was awarded the Order of October Revolution, and in the harsh years of the Great Patriotic War, the sailors of the Aurora took an active part in the heroic defense of Leningrad on the Duderhof Heights, as one of the paintings exhibited in the museum on the Aurora tells about.

The revolutionary nature of the ship

A rebellious ship is not glorious with a single shot. A few years before the historical events of 1917, in 1905, the disarmed Aurora was in the port of Manila under the control of the Americans after the Battle of Tsushima. The Philippine Islands turned out to be a prison for miraculously surviving sailors, forced to eat rotten food, unable to contact their relatives, seized by a brewing outburst of anger. They managed to raise an international signal on the mast, symbolizing the beginning of a riot, which led to the arrival of local police and port officials on board. The Aurors put forward their ultimatum - improved nutrition and immediate distribution of letters addressed to the sailors. The conditions were accepted by the Americans, but immediately led to a new outbreak of rebellion - opened envelopes and read letters finally informed the sailors about the horrors of "Bloody Sunday". Upon returning to Russia, most of the sailors were decommissioned from the ship - in this way the tsarist government sought to separate the existing combat crews in order to avoid revolutionary sentiments. Attempts were unsuccessful, and in the future it was the sailors, including recruits, who formed the revolutionary backbone of Russia.

historical shot

The volley that signaled the assault on the Winter Palace on October 25, 1917 is one of the most colorful legends about the cruiser. Rumor has it that the beauty who boarded the ship, despite the well-known saying about a woman on a ship, the sailors not only did not drive away, but did not dare to disobey. A pale-faced, tall and slender girl of unearthly beauty gave the order “Blow!”, And then disappeared from sight. At the moment, it is not known for certain who dared to become the ghost of the Aurora, but most historians tend to believe that he was the famous journalist, Soviet writer and revolutionary Larisa Reisner. They say that she was not sent to the Aurora by chance, it was purely psychologically calculated that not a single sailor would refuse such a beautiful woman. Yes, and the shot, according to historians, was fired at 21:40, while the assault began after midnight, which, alas, does not confirm the theory of the Aurora's signal function in the capture. Nevertheless, the Aurora cruiser is depicted on the Order of the October Revolution, which he himself was awarded in 1967.

Explosions and drunken sailors

And where without myths about alcohol and its consequences? Recently, curious information has appeared from various sources about the participation of drunken revolutionary sailors of the Aurora in the explosion of Fort Pavel in 1923. It is even rumored that drunken sailors set fire to the mine depot located there. In July 1923, several sailors sailed here on a boat from the battleship "Paris Commune" (formerly "Sevastopol"). The "rest" of the sailors ended with a big fire. Cadets from the cruiser "Aurora" tried to put out a burning mine set on fire by sailors from the "Paris Commune". The fort rumbled for several days, and, they say, in all of Kronstadt there was not a single whole glass left. According to one of the members of the current crew of the cruiser, four sailors died during the fire, and many were awarded medals for their heroic help in extinguishing. The authors of the brochure "Forts of Kronstadt" were among the first to voice the version of the cause of the explosion. In Soviet books this question was bypassed, it was left to think that the evil counter-revolution was to blame.

Cruiser Star Life

Every schoolboy who is going to visit St. Petersburg definitely strives to visit the legendary ship that served faithfully in so many battles and is now a branch of the Central Naval Museum. In fact, in addition to military merit and excursion programs, the Aurora did not bypass the path of show business: in 1946, the cruiser played the role of the no less famous colleague of the Varyag in the film of the same name. To match, the "make-up artists" had to work: they installed a fake fourth tube and several guns on the ship, built a commander's balcony in the stern and redesigned the bow. These two ships are completely different from each other, but for the undemanding viewer, the “fake” went unnoticed. In parallel, the Aurora's hull was reinforced with concrete, which already meant that the ship could not be restored, which determined the future fate of the ship.

Ship or layout

It is believed that the Aurora is the only domestic ship that has retained its original appearance to this day. The legendary cruiser was put on "eternal parking" in front of the St. Petersburg Hotel, however, this is already half the ship that the rumor does not stop: the ship itself was towed to the village of Ruchi near the coastal strip of the Gulf of Finland, sawn into pieces, flooded and taken away by the patriots of the 80s. During the reconstruction in 1984, most of the main part and superstructures of the unforgettable Aurora were replaced, the current museum ship on the new hull used the technology of welds instead of the rivets that distinguished the original. The batteries, which included guns removed from the cruiser, died on the Dudergof heights, another gun was installed on the Baltiets armored train. About the historic gun that heralded the “new era of the proletarian revolution”, the senior warrant officer, with a sly wink at us, said: “Read carefully the plate on the shield, it says that a historic shot was fired from the cruiser’s bow gun. And about the fact that they shot specifically from this gun - it is not said anywhere. ”

Authentic biography of "Aurora" with little-known details

For several generations of Soviet (and not only Soviet) people, the name of this cruiser has become a kind of fetish. The legendary ship, which heralded with its volley the onset of a new era in the history of mankind, the symbol of the Great October Socialist Revolution - this is the most replicated cliché. And what is the actual history of the cruiser "Aurora"?

A ship born at the turn of the century

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

Armored cruiser "Aurora", 1903

In the Russian Navy, there was (and still is) a tradition of succession in the names of ships, and the new cruisers inherited the names of sailing frigates.

The construction of the ship took more than six years - the Aurora was launched on May 11, 1900 at 11:15, and the cruiser entered the fleet (after completion of all outfitting work) only on July 16, 1903.

Its name - "Aurora" (morning dawn) - the cruiser inherited from the forty-four-gun Russian frigate, which in 1854 distinguished itself in battles during the siege of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The construction of the Aurora was carried out under the guidance of a talented Russian engineer K. M. Tokarevsky at the Novoadmiralteysky and Franco-Russian factories.

CRUISER AURORA. TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

• Class - Cruiser 1st rank.
• Type - KR I "Pallada".
• Shipyard - "New Admiralty". St. Petersburg.
• Laid down - May 23 (June 4 according to the old style), 1897
• Launched - 11 (24 according to the old style) May 1900
• Entered service - 16 (29 according to the old style) July 1903 (Baltic Fleet).
• Full displacement - 6,731 tons.
• Length - 126.7 m.
• Width - 16.8 m.
• Draft - 6.2 m.
• The power of the mechanisms is 11,971 hp.
• Speed ​​- 20.0 knots.
• Cruising range - 4,000 miles (7,200 km).
• Fuel supply - 964 tons of coal.
• Artillery weapons (as of 1917): 152 calibers (Kane system) - 14; 76.2 caliber (Lender anti-aircraft guns) - 6.
• Torpedo tubes - 3 (1 surface; 2 underwater).
• The mass of metal fired by guns from one side: in a side salvo - 267 kg; in one minute - 652 kg.
• Crew - 570 people (including officers - 20 people).
• The armor was supplied by Izhorsky, and the artillery by the Obukhov factories.

This ship was by no means unique in its combat qualities. Neither a particularly frisky speed (only 19 knots - squadron battleships of that time developed a speed of 18 knots), nor weapons (8 six-inch main caliber guns - far from amazing firepower) the cruiser could boast.

Ships of another armored cruiser type (Bogatyr), which was then adopted by the Russian fleet, were much faster and one and a half times stronger.

And the attitude of officers and crews towards these "goddesses of domestic production" was not too warm - the cruisers of the "Diana" type had a lot of shortcomings and constantly arising technical problems.

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

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

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

"Favorite" of Admiral Rozhdestvensky

On April 5, 1904, the Aurora returned to Kronstadt, where it was included in the 2nd Pacific Squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Rozhdestvensky, who was preparing to march on the Far Eastern theater of operations.

1. Adjutant General E.I. Alekseev, Viceroy of the Far East.

2. Commander of the Manchurian Army, acting against the Japanese, Adjutant General, Infantry General A.N. Kuropatkin.

3. Kont-Admiral A.A. Virenius, commander of a squadron that sailed into the waters of the Eastern Ocean.

4. Rear Admiral M.P. Molas, appointed at the disposal of the governor.

5. Lieutenant General N.P. Linevich.

6. The commander of the battleship "Tsesarevich" I.K. Grigorovich.

Poster from the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

Zinovy ​​Petrovich Rozhdestvensky

Here, six of the eight main-caliber guns were covered with armored shields - the experience of the battles of the Arthurian squadron showed that fragments of high-explosive Japanese shells literally mow down unprotected personnel. In addition, the commander was replaced on the cruiser - Captain 1st Rank Evgeny Romanovich Egoriev became him.

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

"Aurora" was in the detachment of cruisers of Rear Admiral Enkvist and during the Tsushima battle conscientiously carried out the order of Rozhdestvensky - she covered the transports.

This task was clearly beyond the capacity of the four Russian cruisers, against whom first eight, and then sixteen Japanese ones acted. They were saved from a heroic death only by the fact that a column of Russian battleships accidentally approached them, driving away the pressing enemy.

The cruiser did not distinguish itself with anything special in battle - the author of the damage attributed to the Aurora by Soviet sources that the Japanese cruiser Izumi received was actually the cruiser Vladimir Monomakh. The Aurora itself received about a dozen hits, had a number of injuries and serious losses in people - up to a hundred people were killed and wounded.

damage to the Aurora after the Tsushima battle

The commander died - his photograph is now exhibited in the museum of the cruiser, framed by a steel sheet pierced by a fragment of a Japanese shell and charred deck planks.

Cruiser damage
According to the senior mine officer, Lieutenant G.K. Stark, during the battle, the Aurora received 18 hits by medium and small caliber shells. The main damage to the cruiser:

1. On the starboard side, the hawse was disabled by shrapnel; broken anchor chain; the anchor stopped releasing.

2. From the fairlead to the upper deck, a meter from the waterline, there were two holes with an area of ​​0.18 m² and 10-15 small holes; two frames are deformed.

3. In the room of the bow mine apparatus, the fastening of the right anchor was damaged, several rivets were knocked out.

4. A shell that exploded in the area of ​​the 71st starboard frame at the junction of the battery deck caused a large hole and gaps over 3.7 m; two frames are bent.

5. In the area of ​​the 40th frame there is a crack and 5 holes.

6. There are more than ten small holes in the second coal pit.

7. Three holes formed on the left side in the area of ​​​​the 65th frame; broken ladder to the navigation bridge.

8. On the spardeck in the region of the 47th frame there is a hole with an area of ​​0.45 m².

9. The chimneys received multiple damages, the largest of which was a 3.7 m hole in the front pipe; the middle pipe, due to a hole of approximately the same area, leaned forward somewhat.

10. All boats, boats and barges of the cruiser are riddled with fragments, as are the ventilation bells.

11. The foremast of the Aurora received three hits: the fore-topmast and fore-mars-yards were demolished first, a third of the topmast was shot down with the second, the third hit the mast at the top, making a crack in it.

12. The cruiser's artillery suffered significant damage: all but one of the 75-millimeter guns were damaged, and five of them were completely out of order. The aft 152 mm starboard gun became unusable for firing, the right 37 mm gun of the aft bridge was knocked overboard with the entire installation.

13. Mars rangefinding station destroyed; a searchlight was shot down from the right wing of the aft bridge. Barr and Stroud's only rangefinder is broken.

Based on the results of the inspection of the cruiser in Manila, the American commission determined that the Aurora needed 30 days of repairs to continue sailing safely.

Cruiser 1st rank "Aurora" on the roads of Manila after the battle of Tsushima, June 1905

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

The Aurora returned to the Baltic at the beginning of 1906, along with several other ships that had survived the Japanese defeat. In 1909-1910, the Aurora, together with the Diana and the Bogatyr, was part of the foreign navigation detachment, specially designed for the practice of midshipmen of the Naval Corps and the Naval Engineering School, as well as students of the Training Team of combatant non-commissioned officers.

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

World War I in the Baltic

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

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

Armored cruiser "Aurora" in 1916

The Aurora met the First World War as part of the second brigade of cruisers of the Baltic Fleet (together with Oleg, Bogatyr and Diana). The Russian command expected a breakthrough of the powerful German High Seas Fleet into the Gulf of Finland and an attack on Kronstadt and even St. Petersburg. To counter this threat, mines were hastily laid, and the Central mine-artillery position was equipped. The cruiser was assigned the task of carrying out sentinel service at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland in order to timely notify of the appearance of German dreadnoughts.

The cruisers went on patrol in pairs, and at the end of the patrol period, one pair replaced the other. The Russian ships achieved their first success already on August 26, when the German light cruiser Magdeburg landed on stones off the island of Odensholm.

The cruisers Pallada arrived in time (the older sister of the Aurora died in Port Arthur, and this new Pallada was built after the Russo-Japanese War) and the Bogatyr tried to capture the helpless enemy ship. Although the Germans managed to blow up their cruiser, Russian divers found secret German ciphers at the accident site, which during the war served both the Russians and the British in good stead.

But a new danger awaited Russian ships - since October, German submarines began to operate in the Baltic Sea. Anti-submarine defense in the fleets of the whole world was then in its infancy - no one knew how and with what it was possible to hit an invisible enemy hiding under water, and how to avoid his sudden attacks. There were no diving shells, let alone depth charges and sonars. Surface ships could only rely on the good old ram - after all, they should not take seriously the developed anecdotal instruction, which ordered to cover the sighted periscopes with bags and fold them with sledgehammers.

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

A torpedo hit caused a detonation of 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 cover in the skerries. And again, do not blame Russian sailors for cowardice - as already mentioned, they still did not know how to fight submarines, and the Russian command already knew about the tragedy that happened ten days earlier in the North Sea, where a German boat sank three English armored cruisers at once. The Aurora escaped death for the second time - fate clearly kept the cruiser.
In the fire of revolutions and wars

It is not worth dwelling on the role of the Aurora in the events of October 1917 in Petrograd - more than enough has been said about this.

We only note that the threat to shoot the Winter Palace from the guns of the cruiser was pure bluff. The cruiser was under repair, and therefore all the ammunition was unloaded from it in full accordance with the instructions in force. And the stamp "Aurora salvo" is purely grammatically incorrect, since a "volley" is simultaneously fired shots from at least two barrels.

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

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

Then for ten years - from 1923 to 1933 - the cruiser was engaged in a business already familiar to him: cadets of naval schools were practicing on board.

The ship made several foreign voyages, participated in the maneuvers of the newly resurgent Baltic Fleet. But the years took their toll, and due to the poor condition of the boilers and mechanisms, the Aurora, after another repair in 1933-1935, became a non-self-propelled training base. In winter, it was used as a floating base for submarines.

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

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

Cruiser "Aurora" in Oranienbaum, 1942

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

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

The Aurora ceased to be a training ship for pupils of the Leningrad Nakhimov School in 1961, but it retains the status of a museum ship to this day. Long voyages and naval battles are a thing of the past - the time has come for a well-deserved and honorable pension. Such a fate rarely falls to a ship - after all, ships usually either die at sea, or end up at the wall of the plant, where they are cut for scrap ...

Generalist Veteran

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

In 1967, the 50th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution was widely celebrated in the Soviet Union. In Leningrad, bonfires were burning near Smolny, near which, leaning on rifles, stood people in soldier's overcoats and jackets of revolutionary sailors of the seventeenth year with an indispensable attribute - with machine-gun belts crossed on their chests and on their backs.

The cruiser "Aurora" follows the location of the film "Aurora Volley", 1967

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

However, the "Aurora" itself was not the first time to act as a movie star. Back in 1946, during the repair, "Aurora" played the role of the cruiser "Varyag" in the film of the same name. Then the Aurora, as a true actress, even had to make up for her character - the shields were removed from the guns (there were none on the Varyag), and a fourth fake pipe was installed to make the image of the most heroic cruiser of the Russian-Japanese war true.

The last repair of the Aurora took place in the mid-80s of the last century, and rumors about the “fake Aurora” are connected with this. The fact is that the bottom of the cruiser was completely replaced, and the old one was dragged into the Gulf of Finland and abandoned there. amputated remains and gave rise to rumors.

In 1992, the Andreevsky flag was raised on the ship again, the cruiser is listed as part of the Russian Navy, and now officers and sailors are serving on the ship (even if there are ten times less of them than they once were). Of course, the Aurora itself will no longer be able to move away from the place of eternal parking, but all auxiliary mechanisms and life support systems are maintained by the cruiser's team in working condition. In working well-groomed condition and ship guns.

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

Museum on the Aurora

It's great that Aurora has survived to this day. All over the world, such monument ships can be counted on the fingers:

" Victoria "

"Cutty Sark"

"Queen Mary"

"Mikasa"

"Victoria" and "Cutty Sark" in England, "Queen Mary" in the USA, "Mikasa" in Japan. It remains only to wish the veteran good health for the next hundred years; after all, a blank shot in October 1917 is just one of many pages in the long biography of the glorious cruiser. And from it, as from a song, you can’t throw out the words ...

Vladimir Kontrovsky

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

This cruiser of the 1st rank of the Baltic Fleet was laid down in 1897 in St. Petersburg at the New Admiralty shipyard. The Aurora was launched on the personal instructions of Emperor Nicholas II, in the presence of two empresses (the dowager and the wife of the tsar) 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 projectile that fell into the conning tower. Unlike most other ships, the Aurora escaped destruction, together with two other cruisers 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 to the third farthest to participate in the celebrations on the occasion of the coronation of the King of Thailand, and also visited the ports of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the 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 factory.

The cruiser was one of the first to join the February Revolution and raised the red flag. Most of the crew in 1917 joined the Bolsheviks. On the night of October 25, 1917, by order of the Military Revolutionary Committee, the Aurora team captured and brought down the Nikolaevsky Bridge in Petrograd, which connected Vasilyevsky 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 Commissar Belyshev, gave the signal to storm the Winter Palace. On November 28 (December 11), 1917, the Aurora, after repairs, returned to the 2nd cruiser brigade in Sveaborg. After the decree on the dissolution of the old fleet and the organization of the 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 used to protect Leningrad from the Nazis. The cruiser itself was fired on September 30, 1941 and sank in the port of Oranienbaum. After the war, the Aurora was raised, restored and placed in perpetual parking. In 1984, the cruiser was again sent for a major restoration, which lasted until 1987. During the restoration, a part of the ship below the waterline, due to the impossibility of restoration, was replaced with a new welded one. Now