Who is the captain of the aurora. The legendary Aurora returned home

"Aurora"

Historical data

common data

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dock

Booking

Armament

Ships of the same type

"Aurora"- Russian armored cruiser I rank type "Diana". He took part in the Tsushima battle. The cruiser "Aurora" gained worldwide fame by giving a signal with a blank shot from the gun to the beginning of the October Revolution of 1917. During the Great Patriotic War, the ship took part in the defense of Leningrad. After the end of the war, he continued to serve as a blockship training ship and a museum, moored on the river. Neva in St. Petersburg. During this time, the Aurora has become a symbol of the Russian fleet and is now an object of Russia's cultural heritage.

General information

The cruiser "Aurora", like other ships of its type ("Diana" and "Pallada"), was built according to the shipbuilding program of 1895 with the aim of " equalization of our naval forces with the German and with the forces of the secondary states adjacent to the Baltic". Diana-class cruisers were among the first armored cruisers in Russia, the design of which took into account, first of all, the experience of foreign countries. Nevertheless, for their time (in particular, during the Russo-Japanese War), ships of this type turned out to be ineffective due to the “backwardness” of many tactical and technical elements (speed, armament, armor).

History of creation

Prerequisites for creation

By the beginning of the XX century. Russia's foreign policy position was rather complicated: the persistence of contradictions with England, the growing threat from developing Germany, and the strengthening of Japan's position. Accounting for these factors required the strengthening of the army and navy, that is, the construction of new ships. Changes in the shipbuilding program, adopted in 1895, assumed the construction in the period from 1896 to 1905. 36 new ships, including nine cruisers, of which two (then three) - " carapace", that is, armored. Subsequently, these three armored cruisers became the Diana class.

Design

The basis for the development of tactical and technical elements (TTE) of future cruisers was the project of a cruiser created by S. K. Ratnik with a displacement of 6000 tons, the prototype of which was the latest (launched in 1895) English cruiser HMS Talbot and French armored cruiser D "Entrecasteaux(1896). At the beginning of June 1896, the planned series was expanded to three ships, the third of which (the future Aurora) was ordered to be laid down in the New Admiralty. On April 20, 1896, the Marine Technical Committee (MTC) approved the technical design of the armored cruiser of the 1st rank.

Construction and testing

Silver mortgage plate of the cruiser "Aurora"

On March 31, 1897, Emperor Nicholas II ordered that the cruiser under construction be called the Aurora in honor of the Roman goddess of dawn. This name was chosen by the autocrat from eleven proposed names. L. L. Polenov, however, believes that the cruiser was named after the sailing frigate Aurora, which became famous during the defense of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky during the Crimean War.

Despite the fact that, in fact, work on the construction of the Aurora began much later than the Diana and Pallada, the official laying of the cruisers of this type took place on the same day: May 23, 1897. . the solemn ceremony was held on the Aurora in the presence of Admiral General Alexei Alexandrovich. A silver mortgage plate was fixed between the 60th and 61st frames, and the flag and guis of the future cruiser were raised on specially installed flagpoles.

Diana-class cruisers were supposed to be the first mass-produced cruisers in Russia, but it was not possible to achieve uniformity among them: machines, boilers, steering devices other than Diana and Pallada were installed on the Aurora. Electric drives for the latter were ordered from three different factories as an experiment: in this way it was possible to find out which drives would turn out to be the most effective, so that they could then be installed on other ships of the fleet. So, the electric drives of the Aurora steering machines were ordered by Siemens and Halke.

The slipway work began in the fall of 1897, and they dragged on for three and a half years (largely due to the unavailability of individual elements of the ship). Finally, on May 24, 1900, the hull was launched in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II and Empresses Maria Feodorovna and Alexandra Feodorovna. Following this, the installation of the main machines, auxiliary mechanisms, general ship systems, weapons and other equipment began. In 1902, for the first time in the Russian fleet, Aurora received Hall anchors, a novelty that the other two ships of this type did not have time to equip. In the summer of 1900, the cruiser passed the first tests, the last on June 14, 1903.

Four builders participated in the direct construction of the cruiser (from the moment of construction until the end of running changes): E. R. de Grofe, K. M. Tokarevsky, N. I. Pushchin and A. A. Bazhenov.

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

Design Description

Frame

Museum ship and cultural heritage site of the Russian Federation

"Aurora" - cruiser-museum in St. Petersburg

In the middle of 1944, it was decided to create the Leningrad Nakhimov Naval School. Part of the Nakhimovites was planned to be placed on a floating base, which was temporarily supposed to be the Aurora. However, by the decision of A. A. Zhdanov, the Aurora cruiser was to be permanently installed on the Neva, “ as a monument to the active participation of the sailors of the Baltic Fleet in the overthrow of the bourgeois Provisional Government". Immediately, work began on restoring the watertightness of the cruiser's hull, which received numerous damages. During more than three years of overhaul (from mid-July 1945 to mid-November 1948), the following were repaired: the hull, propellers, onboard steam engines, onboard propeller shafts, onboard machine shaft brackets, the remaining boilers; reorganization was also carried out in connection with the new function of the mother ship. (Unfortunately, this reorganization had a negative impact on the preservation of the historical appearance of the cruiser. By the way, this was also affected by the participation of the Aurora in the role of the Varyag in the film of the same name, filmed in 1947) On November 17, 1948, the cruiser took its place for the first time on the eternal parking lot on the Bolshaya Nevka. Immediately on the "Aurora" was placed the graduation company of the Nakhimots. From that time until 1961, it became a tradition for Nakhimov graduates to live and serve on the Aurora.

Towing the cruiser "Aurora" to the Leningrad Shipbuilding Plant named after A. A. Zhdanov for repairs. 1984

By the Decree of the RSFSR Council of Ministers No. 1327 of August 30, 1960, the Aurora was given the official status of a state-protected monument ship. Since 1961, the museum, which had existed on the ship since 1950 on the initiative of several officers, was open to free admission, and its exposition was expanded. Soon "Aurora" became one of the popular places in the city.

The final canonization of the Aurora, its transformation into a symbol ship took place in 1967, when, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the 1917 revolution, the Aurora again fired a blank shot from a 152-mm tank gun at exactly 21 hours 45 minutes. In February 1968, the cruiser was awarded the Order of the October Revolution, the second most important order in the country. So, "Aurora", once becoming the first order-bearing ship, became the first twice-ordered ship in the history of the Soviet Navy.

The cruiser "Aurora" passes through the Palace Bridge in St. Petersburg, 2014

"Aurora" in the dock of the Kronstadt Marine Plant, November 2014

By the end of the 1970s, the Aurora hull fell into disrepair. Required repair-reconstruction. After proposals were developed by a specially created commission, repairs began in August 1984 and continued until August 1987. Instead of a complete restoration, it was decided to replace the old building with a new one. The "restoration" of the Aurora (however, having the original drawings, the reenactors failed to bring much to its original state in view of the numerous conversions of the cruiser before that) cost about 35 million rubles.

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 society.

Battle glory

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

The revolutionary nature of the ship

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

historical shot

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

Explosions and drunken sailors

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

Cruiser Star Life

Every schoolboy who is going to visit St. Petersburg definitely 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 midshipman, with a sly wink at us, said: “Read carefully the plate on the shield, it says that a historical shot was fired from the bow gun of the cruiser. And about the fact that they shot specifically from this gun - it is not said anywhere. ”

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 navy 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 plants.

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 squadron battleship Oslyabya, the cruiser Dmitry Donskoy, and several destroyers and auxiliary vessels. However, the detachment was late for the Far East - in the African port of Djibouti, on Russian ships, they learned about the Japanese night attack on the Port Arthur squadron and the start of the war. It was considered too risky to proceed 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 Singapore area and go with them to Vladivostok, and not to Port Arthur, but this quite reasonable proposal was not accepted.

"Favorite" of Admiral Rozhdestvensky

April 5, 1904 "Aurora" returned to Kronstadt, where she 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 patrol service at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland in order to timely notify of the appearance of German dreadnoughts.

The cruisers went on patrol in pairs, and at the end of the patrol period, one pair replaced the other. The Russian ships achieved their first success 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 served both the Russians and the British in good stead during the war.

But a new danger awaited Russian ships - since October, German submarines began to operate in the Baltic Sea. Anti-submarine defense in the fleets of the whole world was then in its infancy - no one knew how and with what it was possible to hit an invisible enemy hiding under water, and how to avoid his sudden attacks. There were no diving shells, let alone depth charges and sonars. Surface ships could only rely on the good old ram - after all, they should not take seriously the developed anecdotal instructions, in which it was prescribed 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 much more tempting prey than the 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 in 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 disguise herself as her character - they removed the shields from the guns (there were none on the Varyag), and installed a fourth fake pipe 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.

The Andreevsky flag was again raised on the ship in 1992, the cruiser is listed in 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

The cruiser Aurora is one of the most recognizable symbols of the October Revolution. However, the history of the ship includes many more events and military campaigns, without which the idea of the cruiser's historical path would be incomplete.

cruiser project

The construction of the Aurora cruiser (a Diana-class ship) began in 1896. According to the previous shipbuilding program, this project was not in the plans of the fleet at all. However, at the end of the 19th century, the foreign policy situation deteriorated noticeably. An arms race with Germany began. Against this background, the state needed such new courts as the Aurora.

The ship became the third among the cruisers of its class (the first two were "Diana" and "Pallada"). The ship was laid down in the New Admiralty. Its project belongs to the authorship of the naval design engineer Xavier Ratnik. The draft version was approved by the Marine Technical Committee, after which preparations for construction began.

In the spring of 1897, Emperor Nicholas II was offered 12 ideas for the name of the future ship. The king chose "Aurora" - a name adopted from the ancient Roman goddess of the dawn. The laying ceremony took place on June 4. It was attended by the Admiral General of the Fleet. The remaining two cruisers were completed before the Aurora appeared. The ship was made belatedly due to the fact that the executor of the order could not agree on the delivery of a steam engine for a long time. The company at first did not want to transfer valuable drawings to the Baltic Shipyard. Finally, the conflict was settled, and the contract was signed (July 20).

Service start

May 24, the ship "Aurora" was launched. The ceremony took place in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna and mother Maria Feodorovna. It is symbolic that during the descent there was a sailor on board, who had previously served on the Aurora frigate of the same name, which participated in the defense of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky during the Crimean War. Installation of machines and auxiliary mechanisms began the next day.

The main technical ones are as follows: length - 126 meters, width - 16 meters, draft - 6 meters. "Aurora" has a displacement of 6731 tons. The designers chose Belleville as the engine. With a power of about 12 thousand horsepower, the ship could reach speeds of up to 35 kilometers per hour (19 knots). The ship's crew consisted of 550 sailors and 20 officers.

For several years, the ship was tested, after which, in 1903, it became part of a detachment under the command of Rear Admiral Andrey Virenius. The further fate of the ship was connected with the Second Pacific Squadron, created due to the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War. She went to Port Arthur in order to unblock the besieged port. The ships had a long way to go, which usually stretched for at least a year.

Hull Incident

While sailing in the Baltic Sea on October 22, 1904, a serious incident occurred. The ships of the squadron fired on an unidentified suspicious vessel in the fog. It turned out that they were English fishermen. Two of them died. The Aurora also came under friendly fire due to poor visibility. The ship was hit by 5 shells. Because of the wound he received, the hieromonk who was on the cruiser soon died. The event became known as the Hull Incident. Due to a mistake by the fleet, relations between Russia and Great Britain were seriously damaged. In order to find out all the circumstances of the tragedy, the parties agreed to an arbitration investigation. It was the first such case in the world practice.

Despite what happened, the squadron continued its journey. What was the situation on the cruiser "Aurora"? The ship was quickly patched up, and its damage did not cause her to return to her homeland. On the island of Madagascar, during the stay, the sailors learned that Port Arthur had fallen, and the First Pacific Squadron had died.

Tsushima battle

On May 14 or 27, 1905, according to the new style, the Aurora ship took part in the famous battle of Tsushima. For the Russian fleet, this was a decisive battle and the last hope for saving the entire military campaign. The second Pacific squadron suffered a crushing defeat. The Aurora was lucky - the ship was damaged, but did not capitulate and was not sunk, unlike most other domestic ships.

After the battle, the cruiser found 18 hits. The anchor chain was broken, and the hawse was disabled. The rest of the damage was a hole. On May 21, the ship, accompanied by Americans, moored in the port of Manila, Philippines. The ship was interned. The team gave a subscription about non-participation in further hostilities with the Japanese. The Aurora remained parked in Manila until the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the war. The cruiser returned home on February 19, 1906. The anchor in Libau was thrown 458 days after the ship went on an expedition as part of the Second Pacific Squadron.

World War I

Immediately after the outbreak of the First World War, the ship-cruiser Aurora arrived at the port of Reval in anticipation of new orders. On August 26, 1914, the Magdeburg ran aground in the waters of the Gulf of Finland. "Aurora" went to intercept the German ship. Russian sailors managed to capture the ship. It was later broken up for scrap.

This was followed by a long stay in the port of Helsingfors. In 1916, the Aurora entered the Gulf of Riga and assisted the ground forces with heavy artillery fire. In autumn the ship went to Kronstadt for repairs.

February Revolution

During the stay in Kronstadt, Captain Mikhail Nikolsky tried to resist the political revolutionary agitation that flourished at the local factory where the ship was being repaired. The factories went on strike. The requirements of the workers were different. Someone wanted to reduce the working day, others generally opposed the authorities. In such a situation, the captain rightly feared for the morale of his sailors.

On February 27, the armament of the guard guarding the Aurora cruiser was strengthened. The history of the ship already included dangerous naval battles, but if a riot broke out on the ship, then the officers would simply have nothing to rely on. In addition, agitators spread rumors that the Aurora would be made into a floating prison.

On the eve of the February Revolution, riots broke out on the ship. The sailors stopped obeying Nikolsky's orders, after which the officers opened fire on them. Three people were wounded, one later died from complications. Meanwhile, mass popular demonstrations were already taking place in Petrograd, and power in the capital was virtually paralyzed.

On the 28th, a demonstration began in front of the Aurora. Workers filled the ship. When they learned that there had been shooting on the ship the day before, outrage arose. The dissatisfied detained Captain Nikolsky and another officer Ogranovich. Their shoulder straps were torn off. The two were mauled to death by the crowd in the growing chaos of the demonstration. Nikolsky was shot dead for not wanting to go in with a red cloth in his hands. The officers failed to protect the ship from the agitators.

Restless 1917

In 1917, the Aurora ship model was still combat-ready and relatively modern. The cruiser, despite all the costs of war and revolution, could be used for its intended purpose. After the February events and the overthrow of the monarchy, the sailors established a ship's committee. There were many representatives of the left parties, but not a single Bolshevik.

However, in the summer the situation has changed radically. Lenin's supporters carefully worked with the army and navy. Therefore, they, of course, could not ignore such an important cruiser "Aurora". The history of the ship was briefly known to all residents of the capital. If the Bolsheviks managed to win over the ship's crew to their side, this would be an unconditional success.

The most eloquent agitators of the party (for example, Mikhail Kalinin) spoke on the Aurora, which emphasized its special attitude towards the ship standing in the parking lot. The result was not long in coming. By summer, the committee already had 42 representatives of the RSDLP(b). Sailors began to actively participate in Bolshevik street actions. On July 4, during a mass demonstration in Petrograd, sailors came under machine-gun fire from an army that remained loyal to the Provisional Government. Soon the repressions against the Bolsheviks began. Lenin fled to a hut in Razliv, and some especially zealous sailors of the Aurora were under arrest.

October Revolution

In September, the next re-elections of the ship committee took place. Bolshevik Alexander Belyshev was elected its chairman. Nikolai Erickson became the captain. Since the repair of the ship was completed, it was soon to go to sea. However, on October 10, the Bolsheviks, at a meeting of the Central Committee, decided on an armed coup in Petrograd. They needed the Aurora not only as a well-armed cruiser, but also as an important symbol.

The Bolsheviks controlled not only the ship, but also the Petrograd Soviet. According to his decision, on October 24, the sailors left the ship in St. Petersburg. "Aurora" was supposed to reduce City authorities tried to block the crossings in order to stop the coup in the capital, and the rebels tried to prevent this.

On the night of October 25, the ship entered the Neva. Captain Erickson initially resisted this decision, but nevertheless agreed. He was afraid that inept sailors would simply run the ship aground. The Nikolaevsky bridge was in the hands of the junkers. As the Aurora approached, they fled, and the Bolshevik supporters were able to restore traffic across the river.

Blank shot

By the morning of October 25, Lenin from Smolny controlled the entire communication infrastructure of Petrograd - the telegraph, post office, railway station, etc. The Provisional Government still remained in the Winter Palace. The Bolsheviks were going to fire on him from the Peter and Paul Fortress, in case the ministers refused to surrender him.

How could Aurora help in the assault? The type of ship and its armament made it possible to fire a signal shot. The Bolsheviks decided to take advantage of this opportunity. On the afternoon of the 25th, Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, the head of the field headquarters of Lenin's supporters, arrived on the ship. He ordered a blank shot, which was planned to be fired after a signal from the Peter and Paul Tower. In addition, the Bolsheviks used the radio on the Aurora to broadcast the appeal of the leader of the world proletariat.

A blank shot rang out at 21:40. It was produced by gunner Yevdokim Ognev. The shot served as a signal for the storming of the Winter Palace. In addition, he caused the ministers of the Provisional Government, who had settled in their last stronghold, to panic. Historians are still arguing about whether it was technically possible for Aurora to fire on the Winter Palace in the field. Some researchers argue that there could be no fire to kill, if only because of the location of the ship. One way or another, no further firing was needed. The Winter Palace ended up in the hands of the rebels without the help of the Aurora.

Subsequent history

The episode that took place during the October Revolution became the most famous for the Aurora cruiser. The history of the ship was immediately turned into an important image of the birth of Soviet power. Three days after the events in the Winter Palace, he returned for repairs. Soon the Aurora again became part of the operating fleet.

In the summer of 1918, the power of the Bolsheviks was still fragile. Near Petrograd, the offensive of Yudenich's white army developed. The Aurora class of ship could do nothing to help the battles on the ground. Nevertheless, it was decided to use the cruiser in a slightly different way. At the same time, Petrograd faced the threat of foreign intervention. The Bolsheviks wanted to sink the Aurora and several other ships in order to block the path of enemy ships. However, there was no such need.

In peacetime, the Aurora ship, whose photo was featured on the front pages of many Russian and foreign newspapers during the October events in Petrograd, became a training ship. The cruiser participated in several foreign voyages. During these expeditions, new sailors of the RKKF gained experience. On the tenth anniversary of the revolution in 1927, Aurora was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

The ship made its last long-distance voyage in 1930, when it circled the Scandinavian Peninsula. A long overhaul followed. However, he could not smooth over the fact that the ship was outdated. By 1941, it was generally planned to withdraw from the fleet, but this was prevented by the onset of the war.

During the blockade of Leningrad, the Aurora was subjected to numerous bombardments by German aircraft. Even at the beginning of the war, the Soviet leadership decided to make the ship part of the city's air defense system. The ship had several anti-aircraft guns that could be useful in the fight against Luftwaffe aircraft. The shelling led to the fact that the ship received many holes. At the end of 1941, the sailors were evacuated. The shooting at the Aurora stopped only after the blockade was lifted.

In the eternal parking

In 1944, it was decided to send the ship to eternal parking near Petrogradskaya Embankment and turn it into a museum. By that time, there were almost no such legendary monuments as the Aurora cruiser in the entire Soviet Union. The excursion on the ship has become obligatory for tourists of the Northern capital.

Over the next few decades, the Aurora went through a dozen restorations. In 2014, the ship was sent to Kronstadt for another repair. It is planned that he will return to the eternal parking at the Petrogradskaya embankment in the summer of 2016.

Aurora fired! Aurora gasped!
The eagle fell under the boots...
For the cause of Lenin! For the will of Trotsky!
We will win all over the world...
folk revolutionary song

D to understand what the cruiser Aurora is dreaming of"
I propose to recall her his long and glorious military and life path ...

History of the Aurora
The armored cruiser "Aurora" was laid down on May 23, 1897 in St. Petersburg (in the New Admiralty). The ship is of the same type with the previously laid down "Pallada" and "Diana".

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.

The main purpose is to conduct reconnaissance, destroy enemy merchant ships, cover ships of the line from attacks by enemy destroyers, patrol service. The ship could not conduct artillery duels with modern battleships of that time. It did not have armor and sufficient firepower. But 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.

On September 25, 1903 (only 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. The war began and 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.

Admiral Rozhdestvensky was an original and (perhaps for the purpose of conspiracy) gave warships nicknames, with salty naval humor. The cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov" was called the "Idiot", the battleship "Sisoy the Great" - "Invalid shelter", the yacht "Svetlana" was called "Maid", and the "Aurora" was awarded the "honorary" title "Hooker under the fence"))))

On October 2, 1904, as part of the squadron, changing the commander (it was the captain of the 1st rank E. R. Egoriev ("Aurora" went to Tsushima.

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

During the battle, the cruiser received 18 hits from shells of various calibers, had serious crew losses - up to a hundred people were killed and wounded.

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.

But with all this, the ship managed to escape from the encirclement and go to Manila, where it stood disarmed until the end of the war.

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.
In November 1911, the Aurors took part in the celebrations in Bangkok in honor of the coronation of the Siamese king.

In 1910, the cruiser accompanied the imperial yacht to Riga.

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 cruisers went on patrol in pairs, and at the end of the patrol period, one pair replaced the other.

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 correctly assessed and classified the targets and attacked. A torpedo hit caused the detonation of ammunition magazines on the battleship Pallada, and the cruiser sank along with the entire crew. And the veteran of the Russian-Japanese war, the cruiser "Aurora" managed to hide in the skerries under the guise.

It is not worth talking seriously about the fateful role of the Aurora in the events of October 1917. The cruiser could not shoot the Winter Palace with guns. It was under repair, and all the ammunition from it was unloaded. But it is possible that the Bolsheviks found a couple of shells for a salvo and effect.

The Aurora did not take part in the civil war and in battles with the English fleet. There was an acute shortage of fuel and other supplies.

In 1918, the Aurora was in deep reserve, without guns, which were used to equip home-made light gunboats.

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.

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.

In 1946, during the repair, "Aurora" played the steward of the cruiser "Varyag" in the film of the same name. Then the Aurora, as a true actress, even had to disguise herself as her character - they removed the shields from the guns (there were none on the Varyag), and installed a fourth fake pipe to make the image of the most heroic cruiser of the Russian-Japanese war true.

In 1967, the 50th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution was widely celebrated in the Soviet Union. For the anniversary, they filmed the film "Volley of the Aurora", where the cruiser played himself. All filming was done on location. The Aurora was towed to a historical place to the Nikolaevsky Bridge. The sight was impressive, and thousands of Leningraders and guests of the city watched the gray three-pipe the beauty slowly and majestically floats along the Neva.

Towing to a parking lot after filming in 1967.

A major restoration of the Aurora took place in 1984. Powerful tugboats removed the cruiser from the eternal parking lot and dragged it to the Northern shipyard.

At the docks, the cruiser of the revolution was simply cut into pieces. The lower part of the vessel, including the entire underwater part, was completely replaced with a new one.

Severe alteration was subjected to what was above the water. By the anniversary date, the Aurora returned to its usual place, and then the question arose of what to do with the skeleton left at the shipyard. The scrapping of the cruiser of the revolution in Soviet times would have been considered ideological sabotage. So they decided to hide the real Aurora from the eyes of the people.

During the restoration, the Aurora was slowly taken away for souvenirs, both military and civilian. From the surface parts, they tore off the sheathing of sheet copper, which covered the entire ship. The chief mechanic of the Baltika fishing state farm, Vladimir Yurchenko, as a deeply religious economic man, tore off all the tiles from the shower room of the heroic ship and laid them in the dacha. And that's right, the good does not disappear. Many took the doors along with the jambs and took out the portholes.

According to the recollections of eyewitnesses, the workers who plundered the restored cruiser stumbled upon a completely serviceable fire extinguishing system. It worked when, with the help of a welding machine, they began to open the bulkheads. At the same time, half of the ship was flooded with foam.

They wanted to turn the cut off hull into a breakwater, but it did not work out. Corpse The severed part sank in the wrong place. Now you can easily find the remains of the cruiser of the revolution.

Against the background of the wreckage, casual tourists willingly take pictures, in the summer local boys recklessly climb the skeleton. At low tide, the hull, stretching 120 meters in length, is visible in its entirety.

And the reborn cruiser Frankinstein "Aurora" was solemnly returned to eternal parking.

The modern cruiser is a partial remake. Of the most noticeable differences from the original is the use of welds on the new body instead of rivet technology.

On the ship in 1992, the Andreevsky flag was again raised, the cruiser was listed as part of the Russian Navy as No. 1. Until recently, officers and sailors served on the ship. All auxiliary mechanisms and life support systems are maintained by the cruiser team in working condition. In working well-groomed condition and ship guns.

On the night of June 6, 2009, a banquet and a solemn presentation of the Russian Pioneer magazine were held on the ship, which were also attended by distinguished guests. The prosecutor's office became interested in the case, and the Minister of Defense and the Navy turned out to be the last one, as overwatch)))

December 1, 2010 "Aurora" lost the status of ship number 1 of the Russian Navy. The ship became a branch of the Central Museum of the Navy.

On August 1, the Aurora was finally transferred to the jurisdiction of the Central Naval Museum. The military unit that served on the ship was disbanded. The crew of the cruiser "Aurora" was reorganized into a staff of three military personnel and 28 civilian personnel; the status of the ship remained the same.

In October 2011, a flag with a skull and crossbones was hung on the mast of the cruiser Aurora. Two young people and a girl sat on the mast under the Jolly Roger for about five hours, alarming the police, rescuers, the city commandant's office and military sailors.

The troublemakers called themselves representatives of the organizations "People's Share" and "Food Instead of Bombs." They dedicated the action "Memorable October or Aurora Sunday" to the fight against the crisis, poverty, oligarchs, "endemic pedophilia" and "religious extremism."

A conditional shot from the head gun of the Aurora cruiser at the house of People's Artist Mikhail Boyarsky was reported to herald the beginning of the Russian October Political Postmodernization (ROPP).

The slogans were beautiful and revolutionary.
Russia from tyrants - will! To the people - from oil, gas - a share! Food is a right, not a privilege! Our cause is just - we are not piz..m!

Activists managed to be removed from the masts without loss (for activists). Their further fate is humane and disappointing (it was up to the pussies).

Now officially the crew is recruited from former military sailors. But besides them, there are also sailors on the Aurora. They are seconded to the ship and continue to perform the functions of the crew, as before. It turns out that the status of the cruiser was not finally sorted out.

Now "Aurora" has again left its place at the Nakhimov School.

At the shipyard in Kronstadt, the first stage of repair will take place, after which the cruiser will be moved to another point. It is assumed that by the end of the year the legendary ship will be returned to its permanent mooring.

Historical photos and info (C) different places on the Internet.

Portal for the student. Self-training