At the first session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in January 1938, the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars V.M. Molotov said: "The mighty Soviet state must have a naval and oceanic fleet corresponding to its interests, worthy of our great cause." The words of the Soviet prime minister reflected the changed views of the leadership of the USSR, and, above all, I.V. Stalin, on the priorities for the further construction of the Navy. It was at this time that the 10-year "Big Shipbuilding Program" was born, which envisaged, first of all, the construction of battleships and heavy cruisers that would personify the ocean power of the state.

According to the original version of the 10-year program, by 1946 the Soviet fleet was to have 15 battleships, 15 heavy and 28 light cruisers, 144 destroyers, 336 submarines, dozens of ships of other classes, and hundreds of combat boats.

Thus, in contrast to the first and second five-year plans, when the main attention was paid to the means of the "small war" at sea, and, first of all, to submarines, the priority of battleships and cruisers was clearly defined in the "Large shipbuilding program".

The emphasis taken on large-scale surface shipbuilding did not quite meet the requirements of military science, the prevailing views on war at sea. In connection with the rapid development of aviation and submarines, the age of the power of battleships was coming to an end.

Undoubtedly, the experience of the leading naval powers, which continued the intensive construction of battleships, had a certain influence on the direction of Soviet shipbuilding. In the mid-30s, at the shipyards of six states, there were only 20 battleships under construction, although in general the proportion of large surface ships in the fleets was falling. True, aircraft carriers were also built abroad.

It was quite obvious that the economy of the USSR could not ensure the creation of such a fleet. The cost of building only the first four laid down battleships of the "Soviet Union" class reached almost a quarter of the country's annual budget. Now it is no secret that the fulfillment of the plans of the first and second five-year plans was systematically disrupted. Basically, both five-year plans remained unfulfilled. The system of financing the current construction through advances against future plans flourished. The percentage of "unfinished" was growing.

The creation of a large fleet required a number of organizational measures to improve the management of the fleet and the shipbuilding industry. In December 1937, the People's Commissariat of the Navy was formed, and in January 1939, the People's Commissariat of the Shipbuilding Industry.

Five main groups of shipyards and shipyards began to form: Leningrad, southern, Far Eastern, northern and central (river). Of these, the first two produced up to two thirds of all shipbuilding products.

The first new battleship “Soviet Union” of Project 23 was laid down in Leningrad at the Baltic Shipyard on July 15, 1938. The ship's chief designer is B.G. Chilikin. He was advised by prominent scientists of the fleet: A.N. Krylov, Yu.A. Shimansky, P.F. Papkovich, V.G. Vlasov.

For two years, the lead ship was followed by the laying of three more battleships: "Soviet Ukraine" in Nikolaev, "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Belorussia" in Molotovsk (since 1957 - Severodvinsk). It was believed that domestic battleships would be the world's largest warships. Their standard displacement was 59150 tons, length was 260 m, width - 38 m, draft - 9.27 m.With the nominal power of the main machines 201 thousand hp. the battleship could reach speeds of up to 28 knots. The main artillery consisted of nine 406-mm guns in three turrets. The thickness of the main armor belt reached 402 mm. The construction of the laid down battleships proceeded slowly. The planned dates for advancing technical readiness were disrupted mainly due to delays in the supply of materials and equipment. By the end of 1940, the readiness of the "Soviet Union" was 19.44%, "Soviet Ukraine" - only 7%.

In November 1939, the heavy cruisers Kronstadt (Leningrad) and Sevastopol (Nikolaev) of project 69 were laid down. Their displacement was about 35,000 tons. The main caliber artillery consisted of nine 305-mm guns in three-gun turrets. Full speed -32 knots. By the beginning of the war, the readiness of cruisers reached 12%.

In September 1938, the lead light cruiser "Kirov" of project 26 (see photo on p. 58), laid down in Leningrad in October 1935, was commissioned. The chief designer of the ship was A.I. Maslov. Two years later, the Baltic Fleet was replenished with one more light cruiser - "Maxim Gorky" of project 26-bis, and the cruisers "Voroshilov" and "Molotov" appeared in the Black Sea Fleet just before the start of the Great Patriotic War. All of these four cruisers took an active part in the war, received combat damage, but remained in service. The light cruisers Kalinin and Lazar Kaganovich of Project 26 bis were built in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. They joined the Pacific Fleet during the war years.

On October 19, 1940, the country's leadership decided to stop laying down battleships and heavy cruisers, and dismantle one of the battleships under construction. It is ordered to concentrate the efforts of industry on the construction of small and medium-sized warships and on the completion of large ships with a high degree of readiness. In general, shipbuilding was again reoriented to the construction of submarines and light surface ships. Nevertheless, the construction of previously laid ships of various classes continued.

The next stage of Soviet cruiser construction was the design and laying of light cruisers of Project 68. Seven cruisers of this project were laid down in Leningrad and Nikolaev in 1939-1940. Before the start of the war, 5 of them were launched.

The lead cruiser "Chapaev" by the beginning of the war had 35% readiness. It will enter service in 1950 according to the revised project 68K, taking into account the experience of the war (chief designer N.A.Kiselev). A large series of cruisers were built according to the 68-bis project (chief designer A.S. Savichev). The lead ship, cruiser Sverdlov, was accepted into the Baltic Fleet in 1952.

In 1938-1941, as well as during the war, the fleet continued to replenish with destroyers of projects 7 and 7U.

The new destroyer of Project 30 was designed by a group of designers led by A.M. Yunovidov. The lead ship of this series "Ognevoy" was laid down in Nikolaev in August 1939. It was planned to bring it to acceptance tests in December 1941. The outbreak of war delayed the construction of "Ognevoy". It was completed and surrendered to the fleet in Poti in 1944-1945. Before the war, 10 Project 30 destroyer hulls were manufactured.

Mass construction of new destroyers began only in the first post-war decade, however, already according to the improved project 30-bis. The destroyers with welded hulls were armed with four 130-mm guns in two towers and equipped with radar and sonar equipment.

After a noticeable break, the design and construction of patrol ships resumed. A group of designers headed by Ya.A. Koperzhinsky in 1937-1939. the project of the patrol ship "Yastreb" (project 29) was developed. Before the start of the war, they managed to launch six ships of this series. During the war years (1944) the lead ship "Yastreb" was handed over to the fleet according to the revised project 29. The displacement of the patrol boat is 998 tons, the speed is -33.5 knots. The artillery equipment included three 100-mm cannons and four 37-mm anti-aircraft guns. There was a three-pipe 450-mm torpedo tube. It took up to 24 minutes on board. At the stern, two bomb throwers were installed with a set of depth charges. The five remaining ships launched after the war were completed according to the 29K project.

In 1938, by order of the NKVD, a project 122 naval border guard ship was developed. The Navy used this project in a slightly modified form as a large submarine hunter. According to project 122A (chief designer N.G. Loshchinsky), a series of large hunters was laid. The first two - "Artillerist" and "Miner" - entered the Caspian Flotilla in November 1941. Three years later, together with other ships of this project, they were relocated to the Black Sea Fleet.

On the eve and during the war, small hunters for submarines of the MO-2 and MO-4 types (chief designer L.L. Ermash), with a displacement of 56 tons, with a full speed of 25.5 knots, were built in large numbers. The hull of these ships was wooden. The armament consisted of two 45-mm cannons, and there were two bomb releases with depth charges. 4 mines were taken on board the boat. The hunter was equipped with a portable sound direction-finding station.

Since 1943, small hunters for submarines of the OD-200 type, with a displacement of 47 tons, at a speed of 28 knots, began to enter the fleet. Their armament consisted of 37-mm and 25-mm machine guns. A total of 334 small hunters of the MO-2, MO-4 and OD-200 types were built. Small hunters became the most versatile ships of the Great Patriotic War. They landed assault forces, carried out patrol service, escorted transports, escorted submarines, suppressed points of fire on the shore.

The armored small submarine hunters of project 194 (chief designer A.N. Tyushkevich) were built in besieged Leningrad and entered the Baltic Fleet in June 1943. Their displacement was 61 tons, the speed reached 23 knots, and they were armed with 45 mm a cannon and a 37-mm machine gun, two bomb throwers with depth charges, a hydroacoustic station. A total of 66 armored hunters were built. They were intended for operations in skerry areas, provided fire support for ground forces, and participated in amphibious operations.

In the pre-war years, mine action ships were further developed. The project of a squadron high-speed minesweeper (project 59) was developed by the end of 1938 under the leadership of the chief designer L.M. Nogida. In addition to contact trawls, it also provided for an electromagnetic trawl. Armament consisted of two 100-mm and one 45-mm cannons, three 37-mm machine guns. The lead minesweeper "Vladimir Polukhin" and the second ship "Vasily Gromov", laid down in 1939, passed acceptance tests and were transferred to the fleet in Leningrad in 1942-1943. The minesweeper's displacement was 879 tons. The steam turbine unit allowed a speed of 22.4 knots without a trawl, with a trawl up to 19 knots. There were bomb throwers and bomb throwers with depth charges, a hydroacoustic station.

The minesweepers of the project 253L, built at two Leningrad factories during the blockade, received a large replenishment of minesweepers - "hundred-tonners" of the project 253L during the war years. The first ship entered service in January 1944. The minesweepers were built in two series - MT-1 and MT-2. Their displacement was about 100 tons, the full speed during the operation of three diesel engines reached 12.5 knots. (without trawl). The mine-sweeping set included acoustic, electromagnetic and paravan-sweeps, 24 mines. The artillery included two 45-mm cannons.

Back in 1938, the construction of type L-type underwater minelayers of XIII-bis series was started. The new 1D diesel engine allowed to increase the surface speed. The ammunition load of torpedoes and mines was also increased, and habitability was improved. Beginning in 1940, the new "Leninists" began to be equipped with Mars noise-direction-finding stations and Sirius sound-underwater communication devices.

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR Navy had 19 underwater minelayers of the Leninist type of four series.

On the eve of the war, in 1938-1941, 13 submarines of the "Sh" type of the X-bis series were laid down. Of these, 9 were completed during the war, two - after the war, the construction of two was stopped.

In the number of medium-sized submarines accepted into the fleet during the last three pre-war years, in addition to the “pikes”, there were 15 submarines of the “C” type of the 1X-bis series.

Small submarines of the KhP series were designed by the P.I. Serdyuk. They represented single-hull, all-welded and single-shaft submarines. Unlike the VI series, their robust hull was divided into six compartments. Displacement-209/258 t, speed on the surface -14 knots, under water - 7.8 knots. The small XII series submarine had two bow torpedo tubes with a total ammunition load of 4 torpedoes. The artillery included one 45 mm cannon. Before the war, the navy received 28 such ships from industry. There were 17 in the building, which were completed during the war.

The project of a more advanced small submarine of the XV series was developed by a group of engineers led by F.F. Polushkin in 1939. The submarine was equipped with a two-shaft power plant, and the torpedo armament was increased to four devices. Until 1947, the fleet received 10 boats of this series.

Under the leadership of the chief designer, fleet officer, employee of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Naval Forces of the Red Army M.A. Rudnitsky in 1934-1936. a cruising squadron submarine of type "K" XIV series was designed, which sailors and shipbuilders were deservedly proud of. In the acceptance act of the lead submarine “K”, the State Commission noted that “in its tactical elements, it significantly surpasses foreign submarines of this type, especially in armament and speed. The largest, fastest, most powerful. ”

The double-hull submarine of the "K" type had a displacement of 1500/2100 tons, two diesel engines with a total capacity of 8400 hp, which made it possible to reach speeds of up to 22 knots on the surface. In a submerged position under electric motors, the speed reached 10 knots. Working immersion depth -100m. Maximum cruising range up to 15,000 miles. The artillery equipment includes two 100-mm and two 45-mm guns. In the bow of the seven-compartment boat there were six, in the stern and in the superstructure, two tubes of torpedo tubes. The total ammunition load was 24 torpedoes. The boat took up to 20 minutes in the mine and ballast tank, which were dropped through hatches under the keel. The light hull, the bulkheads of the robust hull and the tank were welded. The State Commission also noted the weak points of the “K” type boat. These included high noise levels, unreliable mine equipment design, and an imperfect torpedo loading system.

Before the start of the war, the fleet included six K-class cruising submarines. The same number was in the building. They were completed and handed over to the Navy during the war years.

By the beginning of World War II, the ship structure of the USSR Navy consisted of 3 battleships, 7 cruisers, 59 leaders and destroyers, 218 submarines, 269 torpedo boats, 22 patrol ships, 88 minesweepers, 77 submarine hunters and a number of other ships and boats. as well as auxiliary vessels. There were 219 ships under construction, including 3 battleships, 2 heavy and 7 light cruisers, 45 destroyers, 91 submarines. In terms of combat and operational qualities, the built domestic surface ships were at the level of similar ships of foreign fleets. They had sufficient speeds, adequate protection, high survivability and unsinkability. The cruisers and destroyers were armed with reliable long-range artillery systems of 180-mm and 130-mm calibers.

Large and medium-sized submarines, as well as patrol ships and minesweepers, were armed with single-gun 100-mm B-24 deck gun mounts.

Unfortunately, medium-caliber artillery (130-mm, 100-mm) was not universal and could not fire at air targets. Before the war, 37-mm 70K anti-aircraft guns were developed and adopted, but in large quantities they began to enter the fleet only in the second half of the war, which negatively affected the air defense of ships.

To control the fire of gun mounts of the main caliber, fire control systems "Molniya AC" and "Mina-7" were created, which had high accuracy in solving problems. The first Russian systems of naval antiaircraft artillery fire control devices (MPUAZO) "Horizon" (for cruisers) and "Soyuz" (for destroyers) were adopted in 1940 and 1941. However, their serial production was delayed and by the beginning of the war, many ships did not have these systems. The automated system MPUAZO was tested on the leader “Baku” in 1943. In it, the total angles of aiming the guns and the installation of the tube, taking into account the ship's pitching, were determined by the height of the target's flight and the vector of its speed.

During the war years, a power gyroazimuth horizon appeared in the fleet, which became the main device for ship artillery gyroscopy. It was installed on cruisers, destroyers, patrol ships.

The production of the firing control system (PUS) increased sharply at the end of the war and especially in the first post-war years. If in 1944 21 systems were manufactured, in 1945 -54, then in 1946 the fleet received 99 systems. The ships were equipped with the Molniya ATs-68 and Zenit-68 cruising systems.

The naval gunners had good training in firing at naval targets, which took a lot of time in the naval schools. Little attention was paid to shooting at coastal targets. Meanwhile, it was coastal firing that became predominant in the course of naval combat operations.

Submarines had a fairly high tactical and technical characteristics, powerful weapons, survivability, but until the last period of the war did not receive high-speed and traceless torpedoes. During the war, the boats were equipped with bubbleless torpedo firing devices.

The main types of torpedoes in service with ships are 53-38 torpedoes, and 45-36 torpedoes in service with aircraft (high-altitude and low torpedo throwing). Torpedo firing control devices required a dramatic improvement.

The disadvantages of the combat composition of the fleets of the pre-war period include the absence of landing ships and a small number of minesweepers. Warships and ships were found to be unprotected from non-contact weapons. The first domestic non-contact trawls appeared in our fleet at the end of 1942 as a result of the work of a group of scientists and engineers led by N.N. Andreeva and L.M. Brekhovsky (they began to enter service with the Navy only in 1943-1944 (aircraft mines AMD-500 and AMD-1000)).

The importance of the Northern Fleet for the defense of the country was understood by the leadership of the Navy, but before the war it had a small number of ships, including only 8 destroyers, 2 torpedo boats, 7 patrol ships, 15 submarine hunters and 15 submarines. Coastal defenses were under construction. It consisted of only 70 guns with a caliber from 45 to 180 mm. The air defense included several anti-aircraft battalions. The aviation of the fleet had 116 aircraft (49 fighters, 11 bombers and 56 reconnaissance aircraft), which could be based on one land and two sea airfields.

The Baltic and Black Sea fleets each numbered 200 ships of various classes and more than 600 aircraft each, including the new MIG-3 fighters and torpedo bombers. These fleets had an extensive network of bases and airfields. The coastal defense of each fleet included 424 large (up to 305 mm) and medium-caliber guns, anti-aircraft battalions, and railroad artillery.

The Pacific Fleet had the largest number of submarines (91), torpedo boats (135) and aircraft (1,183) of all fleets. However, here, as in the Northern Sea Theater, destroyers were the largest ships. Two cruisers were under construction.

In addition to the fleets, the USSR Navy had five river and lake flotillas.

In general, despite the noted shortcomings in the development of the fleet and military shipbuilding, naval weapons and ship technology, by the beginning of World War II, the Navy was created, capable of conducting hostilities both together with the ground forces and independently in the adjacent seas for the purpose of defense of the coast and disruption of enemy sea transport. The Navy and fleets were headed by talented admirals.

On June 22, 1941, at 4:00 am, Germany treacherously attacked the Soviet Union. The Great Patriotic War began. Fascist German aviation carried out raids on the naval bases of Kronstadt, Riga, Libava, Sevastopol, Izmail. The anti-aircraft forces of the fleets transferred a few hours before the start of the war by order of the People's Commissar of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov on operational readiness number 1, repelled the attacks of enemy aircraft. Not a single ship of the fleet was lost on the first day of the war.

The initial period of the war took place in extremely difficult conditions for the Soviet Army and the Navy.

By the end of November 1941, the enemy occupied the Baltic States, Belarus, most of the Ukraine and part of the territory of the RSFSR.

The first most difficult period of the Great Patriotic War for the USSR lasted from June 22, 1941 to November 18, 1942.

In these months, the main task of the Navy was to assist ground forces in coastal areas, as well as to protect their own and disrupt enemy sea communications. The ships and units of the fleet took an active part in the heroic defense of the naval bases of Hanko, Libava, Odessa and Sevastopol, in the difficult battle for Leningrad, in which naval artillery played an essential role. It was used mainly to counter the enemy's heavy artillery shelling the city, as well as to fire at targets farthest from the front.

The sailors also fought on land fronts. From the crews of ships, cadets of naval schools, brigades and separate battalions of the marines were formed. In 1941 alone, almost 150 thousand sailors were sent to the land front, of which a third part fought near Moscow.

In the first two weeks of the war, the central mine and artillery position in the Gulf of Finland functioned effectively in the Baltic Fleet. During this time, more than 3000 mines and about 500 mine defenders were deployed. On August 8, 1941, the naval aviation launched the first bombing strike on Berlin. The operation of the forced redeployment of the Baltic Fleet ships from Tallinn to Kronstadt, which was carried out on August 28-30, became extremely difficult. During the crossing, in conditions when both shores of the Gulf of Finland were in the hands of the enemy, out of 153 units from mines and enemy aircraft, one third of the warships, transport ships and floating equipment were lost. And yet the main shipbuilding of the fleet arrived safely in Kronstadt. 17 thousand people were evacuated on ships and vessels from Tallinn. Despite the blockade of the fleet in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic submariners, showing courage, forced their anti-submarine lines, went out to sea to operate on enemy lines of communication. In 1942 they sank 29 enemy ships.

On the Black Sea, defensive minefields were placed near Sevastopol and Odessa, Novorossiysk and Tuapse, in the Kerch Strait and near Batumi. At the end of June 1941, the strike group of the Black Sea Fleet ships, consisting of the leaders "Moscow" and "Kharkov", inflicted an artillery strike on the Romanian naval base of Constanta. On New Year's Eve, 1942, the Black Sea Fleet conducted the largest Kerch-Feodosia landing operation in the war. The operation involved two armies of the Caucasian Front, naval units, over 250 ships and vessels, including the cruisers Krasny Kavkaz and Krasny Krym, about 600 aircraft. By the end of January 2, the landing troops cleared the Kerch Peninsula of the enemy, which significantly improved the position of the besieged Sevastopol. Unfortunately, the enemy subsequently drove out the Soviet troops from the peninsula.

Submarines of the Black Sea Fleet operated on the enemy's communications routes, carried out, together with surface ships, sea transportation to Sevastopol and evacuated people and especially valuable property from the city.

The heroic defense of Sevastopol for 250 days was possible largely thanks to the actions of the Black Sea Fleet. Along with direct participation in the defense of the base, the fleet ensured regular communication of the garrison with the rear areas on the coast of the North Caucasus.

The Northern Fleet played an important role in stabilizing the front in the Murmansk direction - protecting its communications, it actively violated enemy lines along the coast of Northern Norway. With the creation of the anti-Hitler coalition and the spread of the American Lend-Lease Law, the USSR began regular deliveries of military equipment, weapons and food from the allies. There were three routes for transporting military cargo for the USSR: northern, Pacific and Iranian.

Only along the northern route during the first period of the war, 20 convoys, of which there were 288 ships, proceeded from the ports of Great Britain and Iceland to Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. Transport ships went from the USSR to the West in convoys with traditional Soviet export goods, primarily strategic raw materials. Allied convoys were guarded by British naval forces along the route. The Northern Fleet was included in the protection of the convoy ships from the meridian 20 ° to the east and southeast. Providing sea transportation with cargo under Lend-Lease has become one of the most important tasks of the fleet.

The second period of the Great Patriotic War (November 1942 - the end of 1943) began with a counter-offensive by Soviet troops and the defeat of the 330,000-strong German group at Stalingrad. As a result of the growth in military production and the expansion of combat reserves, the USSR achieved an economic and military superiority over Nazi Germany.

During this period, the Navy continued to assist the ground forces on the coastal flanks, and more actively to fight in sea lanes. River flotillas provided direct fire support to the troops. Fleets and flotillas landed operational and tactical assault forces, transported troops and equipment along sea and river routes. An important role was played by the Volga military flotilla, providing strategic oil communication along the Volga. The Black Sea Fleet conducted a number of landing operations in the regions of Novorossiysk, Taganrog and Mariupol. The Kerch-Eltigen landing operation ended with the capture of the Kerch bridgehead, which later made it possible to conduct successful battles for the liberation of Crimea.

In contrast to the first period of the war, when mainly submarines operated on sea lanes, aviation began to be involved on a large scale in 1943. About half of the total tonnage of enemy transports sunk is the result of air strikes. The air forces of the fleets were replenished with aircraft with mine and torpedo weapons. Aviation took the lead in disrupting enemy sea traffic. The combat activity of submarines was noticeably restrained by the weakness of the repair base, and in the Baltic by the enemy's powerful anti-submarine lines. The conquest of air supremacy by aviation, equipping ships with effective anti-aircraft weapons made it possible to strengthen the air defense in the fleet. The most valuable sea transportation began to be covered by fighters. The loss of ships at sea crossings has decreased.

The third period of the Great Patriotic War (January 1944 - May 1945) was characterized by the conduct of offensive operations by the Soviet Army on all fronts. The Navy took part in many of them.

The troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts with the assistance of the Baltic Fleet lifted the blockade of Leningrad. The artillery and aviation of the fleet assisted the advancing troops in breaking through the enemy's defenses. The fleet transported troops of the 2nd Shock Army to the Oranienbaum bridgehead. Together with the troops of the Leningrad Front in September-October

1944 the fleet successfully carried out an operation to liberate the Moonsund Islands. During the offensive on the right-bank Ukraine, Soviet troops reached the state border, entered the territory of Romania.

By the forces of the 4th Ukrainian Front. The Crimea was liberated by a separate Maritime Army and the Black Sea Fleet.

In the third period of the war, the main content of the combat activity of the fleets and flotillas remained as before: the landing of sea and river assault forces, artillery support of the army flanks, and the transport of troops and equipment. The fleet has established itself as a powerful strike force capable of dramatically changing the situation in the coastal zone of operations of ground forces. The independent operations of the fleet included, first of all, the actions of submarines, light forces of the fleet and naval aviation in the North, the Black and Baltic Seas. Aviation achieved the highest results in these operations. In the war against Japan in August-September

1945 The Pacific Fleet successfully landed a number of operational and tactical assault forces. Together with units of the Soviet Army, the fleet liberated South Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, ports on the east coast of Korea, Port Arthur.

The Amur Flotilla assisted the ground forces in defeating the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria. She ensured the crossing of rivers, helped the offensive of troops along the river. Sungari, supporting them with artillery fire and the landing of tactical troops.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Navy sunk 708 warships and auxiliary ships of Germany and its allies, as well as 791 transport ships with a total capacity of 1.84 million tons. The reliability of these figures is confirmed by bilateral data. Almost half of the sunk ships and vessels were the result of air strikes. Submarines account for 5% of the sunk warships and 20% of the transports. About 15% of all the sunk German ships and vessels died from the impact of mine weapons. Surface ships of the USSR Navy sunk 53 warships and auxiliary ships and 24 enemy transports. In general, during the Great Patriotic War, the Navy inflicted significant losses on the enemy. “He fulfilled his duty to the Motherland to the end,” it was noted in the final order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

Our country during the Great Patriotic War was defended by four fleets - the Black Sea, Baltic, Northern and Pacific. All of them were in different conditions, which influenced the peculiarities of their combat operations.

Disposition

By the beginning of the war, about a thousand ships of various classes were in the service of the USSR Navy. Among them - 3 battleships, 8 cruisers, 54 leaders and destroyers, 287 torpedo boats, 212 submarines. In addition, the fleet was reinforced by more than 2,500 aviation units and 260 coastal defense batteries. It was a powerful force capable of significantly influencing the course of hostilities both at sea and in the coastal zone of operations of ground forces.
The Soviet fleet also lacked weaknesses. First of all, this is the low level of operational and tactical training of the command personnel, which became apparent even during the Soviet-Finnish war. Historians attribute the main blame to the massive repressions, as a result of which the fleet lost more than 3 thousand competent and mature commanders. The officers who came to replace them, as a rule, were ill prepared for the performance of their duties. Later, this became one of the reasons for great losses and painful defeats.
The geographical isolation of the Northern, Baltic and Black Sea fleets posed a serious obstacle to the successful waging of the war with Germany at sea. The situation was aggravated by the fact that a significant part of the forces (50% of torpedo boats, 45% of naval aviation, 40% of submarines, 30% of minesweepers) were in the Far East. The enemy successfully used this at first.
The large losses in the fleet in the first period of the war can also be explained by the failures of our ground forces and the air supremacy of German aviation. The most unfavorable for the Soviet fleet was the period 1941-1942, when we lost three times more ships than the enemy. However, all the failures were compensated for by the fierce resistance of the Soviet sailors, because of which the countries of the Hitlerite coalition were never able to achieve an obvious advantage at sea.

Black Sea Fleet

The Black Sea Fleet was one of the most trained formations of the USSR Armed Forces. It consisted of about 300 ships and boats of different classes, in particular, 1 battleship, 6 cruisers, 16 leaders and destroyers, 47 submarines, 600 aircraft of various types. The fleet had five bases: in Odessa, Nikolaev, Novorossiysk, Batumi and the main one in Sevastopol.
Already on June 22, 1941, German aviation launched a bomb attack on Sevastopol. However, it was not possible to catch the Soviet sailors by surprise. The attack was repulsed thanks to the timely detection of the enemy squadron by the radars of the cruiser Molotov. And on June 25, the forces of the Black Sea Fleet and Aviation dealt a series of strikes against the Romanian Constanta. According to German data, several oil tanks and railroad tank cars caught fire from the shells hit, and a train with ammunition exploded.
Until July 21, Soviet sailors installed 7115 mines and 1404 mine defenders, which, unfortunately, later brought more losses to the Black Sea Fleet than to the enemy. So, in 1941-1942, three destroyers were blown up on their own mines.
Ships of the Black Sea Fleet took part in the defense of Odessa, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk and in the battle for the Caucasus. Not only at sea. Chernomorets joined the ranks of the marines and garrisons defending the cities. For their rage in battle, the Germans called them "Black Death".
The Black Sea Fleet retained its independence from the army ground command longer than others, which, according to military experts, in specific conditions had much more negative consequences than positive ones.
The Black Sea Fleet included a unique ship - anti-aircraft floating battery No. 3, which was a steel square with cannons and anti-aircraft machine guns. This vessel, designed by Captain 1st Rank Grigory Butakov, managed to destroy more than 20 German aircraft in 9 months of fighting.
The submariner, captain of the 3rd rank Mikhail Greshilov was also noted in battles on the Black Sea. On the M-35 submarine, he sank 4 enemy transports, and at the end of 1942, having switched to the Sch-215 boat, he added 4 more enemy transports and two barges to his combat account.
The turning point in the Black Sea theater of military operations came at the end of 1942 - early 1943. The landing on Malaya Zemlya on 4 February 1943 was the first offensive operation of the Black Sea Fleet since the beginning of the war in two years of fighting.

Northern Fleet

By the beginning of World War II, the Northern Fleet had relatively modest resources at its disposal. There were 8 destroyers in service, of which 2 were old, 7 patrol ships, 15 submarines, several torpedo boats and minesweepers. However, during the war, the fleet was replenished with aircraft and ships from the Pacific Ocean and the Caspian Sea.
The military-geographical conditions favored the actions of the Northern Fleet. The location of Polyarny (the main base of the fleet), Vaenga and Murmansk (rear base) in the depths of the Kola Bay favored their defense from the sea.
In addition to the defense of the coast, the Northern Fleet provided internal and external sea transportation, and also operated in the area of \u200b\u200benemy sea lanes, supported the coastal flank of the 14th Army. In 1944, the Northern Fleet took part in the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation, as a result of which the Germans were completely squeezed out of the territory of the Soviet Arctic.
Due to the large accumulation of German mines in 1942, the Northern Fleet lost 9 submarines. In May of the same year, the submarine K-23 under the command of Captain 3rd Rank Leonid Potapov crossed over to the Norwegian coast for operations against enemy transport vessels. On May 12, the submarine managed to sink one transport ship, however, due to damage, it was forced to surface.
The wounded submarine entered into an artillery duel, sinking two more German patrol ships. The German ships and aircraft called by the reconnaissance aircraft surrounded the boat, and the crew, in order not to surrender to the enemy, decided to plunge into the abyss of the sea.
The Northern Fleet sent a lot of efforts to disrupt the enemy's sea traffic along the coast of Norway. During the first two years of the war, mainly submarines were involved in these operations, and starting in the second half of 1943, units of naval aviation came to the fore.
In total, during the war years, the Northern Fleet destroyed over 200 enemy warships and auxiliary vessels, over 400 transports with a total tonnage of over 1 million tons, as well as about 1,300 aircraft.

Baltic Fleet

On the eve of the war, the Baltic Fleet consisted of 2 battleships, 2 cruisers, 2 destroyer leaders, 7 patrol ships, 2 gunboats, 65 submarines; it also included minelayers, minesweepers, submarine hunters, boats.
On June 22, 1941, at 3 hours 6 minutes, Rear Admiral Ivan Eliseev gave the order to open fire on enemy aircraft that had invaded Soviet airspace. This was the first order to repulse Hitlerite Germany in the Great Patriotic War.
The Baltic Sea is comparatively small in size, with shallow depths and a rugged coastline. This favored the use of mine weapons and the organization of anti-submarine defense. The enemy often managed to mine water in the operational zones of the Soviet fleet without interference, which is why our ships went to the bottom without even firing a shot.
On August 28, the Germans captured the main base of the Baltic Fleet - Tallinn, which allowed them to block the surface fleet in Leningrad and Kronstadt with minefields. On August 30, the remaining ships of the Baltic Fleet broke through from Tallinn to Kronstadt. Of the 200 ships that left, 112 warships, 23 transport and support ships arrived at their destination, on which over 18 thousand people were delivered.
The fiercest battles in the Baltic took place over the Moonsund Islands. In the most difficult conditions for 49 days, the ships of the fleet and units of the ground forces, inferior in numbers and weapons to the German army, held back the enemy's onslaught. During the defense of the Moonsund Islands, the Nazis lost up to 25 thousand soldiers and officers, a lot of military equipment and weapons, as well as over 20 ships.
The submarine fleet also operated successfully in the Baltic Sea. At the cost of heavy losses, he managed to periodically break through the blockade and disrupt the enemy's sea communications. In January 1943, the Baltic Fleet assisted the ground forces during the operation to lift the blockade of Leningrad.

Pacific fleet

On the night of 8 to 9 August, the Pacific Navy of the USSR entered the war with Japan. The fleet was fully prepared for the upcoming battles. It consisted of 2 cruisers, 1 leader, 12 destroyers, 19 patrol ships, 10 minelayers, 52 minesweepers, 49 "hunters" for submarines, 204 torpedo boats, 78 submarines.
Despite the fact that our Pacific naval forces were inferior to the Japanese fleet in the number of large surface ships, this was offset by complete air superiority. Among the tasks facing the fleet commander, Admiral Ivan Yumashev, was the destruction of Japanese sea communications between Manchuria, North Korea and Japan, as well as assistance to the troops of the Far Eastern Front in the offensive in the coastal direction.
The first target of our amphibious assault was the Seishin naval base. On the morning of August 14, the fighters of the first echelon of the landing force landed in Seisin, and on August 15, of the second echelon. The landing of the third echelon was not required, since the forces of 6 thousand sailors were enough to capture the city. Now the enemy was deprived of the opportunity to use this base for the transfer of reinforcements, equipment, ammunition from the metropolis and for the evacuation of the wounded and material values \u200b\u200bto Japan.
After the capture of Seishin, the Pacific liberated two more large enemy strongholds - the ports of Odetsin and Wonsan. In the last operation, 6,238 Japanese soldiers and officers were taken prisoner. Until the end of August, Toro and Maoka also fell. In Otomari (now Korsakov), a Soviet landing force of 1,600 people landed. The 3400-strong Japanese garrison was so overwhelmed by the Russian victories that it surrendered almost without resistance.
The forces of the Pacific Fleet sunk 2 destroyers, up to 40 warships, 28 transports, 3 tankers, 12 barges and schooners belonging to Japan. At sea and in occupied ports, over a hundred more ships were captured, and 9 Japanese aircraft were shot down and eliminated at airfields. Fleet artillery destroyed several dozen coastal and field guns, an armored train and numerous military installations.
After the defeat of the Japanese troops in Manchuria and Sakhalin, favorable conditions were created for the liberation of the Kuril Islands from the enemy. By September 1, the Pacific Fleet took control of the entire southern part of the Kuriles, and up to 60,000 Japanese soldiers were captured. The Kuril landing operation was the last operation of the Second World War.

USSR Navy (USSR Navy) - the navy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that existed from 1918 to 1992, created on the basis of the post-October Revolution. In 1918-1924 and 1937-1946 it bore the name Workers 'and Peasants' Red Fleet (RKKF); in 1924-1937 and 1950-1953 - Naval Forces of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (Red Army Navy).

Creation of a fleet

The Soviet Navy was created from the remnants of the Russian Imperial Navy, which was almost completely destroyed as a result of the October Revolution and the Civil War.

During the revolution, sailors left their ships en masse, and officers were partially repressed or killed, partially joined the White movement or resigned. Work on the construction of the ships was stopped.

The battleships of the "Soviet Union" type were to become the basis of the naval power of the Soviet fleet, and the construction of a modern fleet was one of the priority tasks of the USSR, but the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War prevented the implementation of these plans.

The workers 'and peasants' Red Fleet took part in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, which came down mainly to artillery duels between Soviet ships and Finnish coastal fortifications.

The Second World War

In 1941, as a result of the attack by the Nazi German army on the Soviet Union, the Soviet army suffered huge losses, many sailors were transferred to the land forces, and naval guns were removed from ships and turned into coastal ones. The sailors played an especially important role on land in the battles for Odessa, Sevastopol, Stalingrad, Novorossiysk, Tuapse and Leningrad.

Submarine type M.

The composition of the Red Navy in 1941

Soviet Navy on the eve of World War II

By 1941, the Soviet Union's Navy included the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific Fleets.

In addition, it included the Danube, Pinsk, Caspian and Amur flotillas. The combat power of the fleet was determined by 3 battleships, 7 cruisers, 44 leaders and destroyers, 24 patrol ships, 130 submarines and more than 200 ships of various classes - gunboats, monitors, torpedo boats, auxiliary ships ... 1433 aircraft were numbered by naval aviation ....

The forces of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet were 2 battleships, 2 cruisers, 2 leaders, 17 destroyers, 4 minelayers, 71 submarines and more than 100 smaller ships - patrol boats, minesweepers, torpedo boats and others. The aviation attached to the fleet consisted of 656 aircraft.

The Northern Fleet, formed in 1933, by 1941 had 8 destroyers, 7 patrol ships, 2 minesweepers, 14 submarine hunters, a total of 15 submarines. The Navy's Air Force had 116 aircraft at its disposal, but half of them were obsolete seaplanes. On ships and in parts of the fleet, there were 28 thousand 381 personnel.

By the beginning of World War II, a well-equipped fleet at that time was created on the Black Sea, consisting of 1 battleship, 5 cruisers, 3 leaders and 14 destroyers, 47 submarines, 2 brigades of torpedo boats, several divisions of minesweepers, patrol and anti-submarine boats, the Air Force of the fleet (St. 600 aircraft) and strong coastal defense. The Black Sea Fleet included the Danube (until November 1941) and the Azov military flotilla, created in July 1941.

The Pacific Fleet included: 2 leaders of destroyers - "Baku" and "Tbilisi", 5 destroyers, 145 torpedo boats, 6 patrol ships, 5 minelayers, 18 minesweepers, 19 submarine hunters, 86 submarines, about 500 aircraft.

With such forces, the fleet met the news of the beginning of the Second World War.

In August 1941, after the attack of the Nazis, 791 civilian ships and 251 border guard ships were "seconded" to the Navy after going through the appropriate re-equipment and armament. For the needs of the "Red Banner Fleet" 228 coastal defense batteries, 218 anti-aircraft batteries and three armored trains were formed.

The Red Fleet in 1941 included:

• 7 cruisers (including 4 light cruisers of the Kirov class)
• 59 destroyers (including 46 ships of the "Wrathful" and "Sentinel" types)
• 22 patrol ships
• a number of smaller ships and vessels

Another 219 ships were under construction in varying degrees of readiness, including 3 battleships, 2 heavy and 7 light cruisers, 45 destroyers and 91 submarines.

During the years of World War II, the United States and Great Britain transferred to the USSR under the Lend-Lease program ships, boats and vessels with a total displacement of 810,000 tons.

Fleet fighting

After the capture of Tallinn by the German army, the Baltic Fleet was blocked by minefields in Leningrad and Kronstadt. However, surface ships continued to play an important role in the defense of Leningrad - they actively participated in the air defense of the city and fired at German positions with main battery guns. One of the examples of the heroism of the sailors is the actions of the battleship "Marat", which continued to fight and fire from main battery guns until the end of the war, despite the fact that on September 23, 1941, as a result of an attack by German Ju-87 dive bombers, the ship was actually broken into two parts and was in a semi-submerged state.

The submarines of the Baltic Fleet managed to break through the naval blockade and, despite the losses, they made a great contribution to the destruction of enemy sea lanes in the Eastern European theater of operations.

Cold war

The military potential of the United States was already enormous by the mid-1940s. Their armed forces included 150,000 different aircraft and the largest fleet in the world, with over 100 aircraft carriers alone. In April 1949, at the initiative of the United States, a military-political bloc, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was created, followed by two more blocs - CENTO and SEATO. The goals of all these organizations were directed against the socialist countries.

The international situation dictated the need to oppose the united forces of the capitalist countries with the united might of the socialist states. To this end, on May 14, 1955 in Warsaw, the heads of government of the social. countries signed a collective allied Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, which went down in history as the Warsaw Pact.

Development of the Soviet Navy after World War II

In the very first post-war years, the Soviet government set the task of accelerating the development and renovation of the Navy. In the late 40s - early 50s, the fleet received a significant number of new and modern cruisers, destroyers, submarines, patrol ships, minesweepers, submarine hunters, torpedo boats, and ships of pre-war construction were undergoing modernization.

At the same time, much attention was paid to improving the organization and raising the level of combat training, taking into account the experience of the Great Patriotic War. The existing charters and teaching aids were revised and new manuals were developed, and the network of naval educational institutions was expanded to meet the increased personnel requirements of the fleet.

Equipment and weapons of the USSR Navy at the end of the 1980s

Aircraft carriers Riga and Tbilisi.

A.S. Pavlov cites the following data on the composition of the USSR Navy at the end of the 1980s: 64 nuclear and 15 diesel submarines with ballistic missiles, 79 submarines with cruise missiles (including 63 nuclear ones), 80 multipurpose torpedo nuclear submarines (all data on the submarine as of January 1, 1989), four aircraft carriers, 96 cruisers, destroyers and missile frigates, 174 patrol and small anti-submarine ships, 623 boats and minesweepers, 107 landing ships and boats. A total of 1380 warships (not counting auxiliary ships), 1142 combat aircraft (all data on surface ships as of July 1, 1988).

In 1991, the shipbuilding enterprises of the USSR built: two aircraft carriers (including one nuclear), 11 nuclear submarines with ballistic missiles, 18 multipurpose nuclear submarines, seven diesel submarines, two missile cruisers (including one nuclear), 10 destroyers and large anti-submarine ships, etc.

Organization

As of the end of the 1980s, the USSR Navy organizationally consisted of the following branches:

• underwater
• surface
• naval aviation
• coastal missile and artillery troops
• marines

The fleet also included special-purpose units and units, ships and vessels of the auxiliary fleet, as well as various services. The main headquarters of the USSR Navy was in Moscow.

The following naval associations were part of the USSR Navy:

• Red Banner Northern Fleet

  After the collapse of the USSR and the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Navy was divided among the former Soviet republics. The main part of the fleet passed to Russia and on its basis the Navy of the Russian Federation was created.

  Due to the ensuing economic crisis, a significant part of the fleet was scrapped.

  Base points

  Over the years, the USSR Navy by foreign points of logistics (PMTO of the USSR Navy):

  • Porkkala Udd, Finland (1944-1956);
  • Vlora, Albania (1955-1962);
  • Surabaya, Indonesia (1962);
  • Berbera, Somalia (1964-1977);
  • Nokra, Ethiopia (1977-1991);
  • Victoria, Seychelles. (1984-1990);
  • Cam Ranh, Vietnam (1979-2002)

  And this is only a small part of the basing system of the Soviet fleet - the Soviet Navy managed to "light up" in many other places:

  • The Cienfuegos Naval Base (Naval Base) and the Priboy Naval Communications Center in El Gabriel, Cuba);
  • Rostock, GDR;
  • Split and Tivat, Yugoslavia;
  • Piggy, Poland;
  • Hodeidah, Yemen;
  • Alexandria and Marsa Matruh, Egypt;
  • Tripoli and Tobruk, Libya;
  • Luanda, Angola;
  • Conakry, Guinea;
  • Bizerte and Sfax, Tunisia;
  • Tartus and Latakia, Syria;
  • Training ground of the Marine Corps on about. Socotra in the Arabian Sea, Yemen.

  In addition, the USSR Navy used listening stations in Poland (Piggy), Germany (Rostock), Finland (Porkkala-Udd), Somalia (Berbera), Vietnam (Cam Ranh), Syria (Tartus), Yemen (Hodeida), Ethiopia (Nokra), Egypt and Libya.

  Ship and vessel prefix

  Ships and vessels belonging to the Soviet Navy did not have prefixes in their names.

  Flags of ships and vessels

  The naval flag of the USSR was a rectangular white panel with an aspect ratio of 2: 3, with a narrow blue stripe along the lower edge. Above the blue stripe on the left side of the flag was a red star, and on the right a red hammer and sickle. The flag was adopted on May 27, 1935 by the decree of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 1982/341 "On the naval flags of the USSR."

  Insignia

  see also

  Notes

  Literature

  • Ladinsky Yu.V. On the fairways of the Baltic... - Military Memoirs. - Moscow: Military publishing house of the USSR Ministry of Defense, 1973 .-- 160 p.
  • Achkasov V.I., Basov A.V., Sumin A.I. and others. The combat path of the Soviet Navy... - Moscow: Military Publishing, 1988 .-- 607 p. - ISBN 5-203-00527-3
  • Monakov M.S. Commander-in-Chief (Life and work of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S.G. Gorshkov)... - M .: Kuchkovo field, 2008 .-- 704 p. - (Admirals Club Library). - 3500 copies. -

Director: D. Andreev

A documentary series dedicated to the history of the victories of the Soviet Navy. The series covers the events of naval battles during the Great Patriotic War from 1941 to 1945. The most powerful and significant ships of that time are described in detail.

An interesting and well-made documentary cycle, using a chronicle, stories by a veteran and computer graphics for better clarity.
By the beginning of World War II, the RKKF naval staff consisted of 3 battleships, 7 cruisers, 59 leaders and destroyers, 218 submarines, 269 torpedo boats, 22 patrol ships, 88 minesweepers, 77 submarine hunters and a number of other ships and boats, and also auxiliary vessels. There were 219 ships under construction, including 3 battleships, 2 heavy and 7 light cruisers, 45 destroyers, 91 submarines.
In addition to the fleets, the USSR Navy had five river and lake flotillas.

In general, by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, a navy was created, capable of performing the most important tactical and strategic tasks both jointly with the ground forces and independently in the adjacent seas in order to defend the coast and disrupt sea traffic. However, there were some shortcomings in the operational and tactical training of the Navy.

01. Battleship "Marat"

At 4 o'clock on June 22, 1941, the ringing of the loud battle bells woke the ship's crew. Unidentified planes were approaching Kronstadt from the sea. This is how the war against German fascism began for "Marat". On the morning of September 23, more than seventy fascist bombers simultaneously attacked Kronstadt. Their main target was the "Marat", which was at the pier. Bomb explosions followed one after another. Cascades of debris and rubble fell on the ship every now and then. With a shrill clang and roar, the entire bow superstructure separated and fell into the water, the first multi-ton tower flew overboard, the bow end of the battleship broke off and disappeared in the waves. But the Marat did not die. The battleship, which was restored to its former name "Petropavlovsk" on May 31, 1943, bravely defended the hero-city on the Neva throughout the nine hundred days of the blockade.

02. Cruiser "Red Crimea"

In the ranks of the legendary ships of the Black Sea Fleet squadron, a cruiser with the name on board - "Red Crimea", occupied a worthy place. His name is engraved on the Commemorative Sign to the ships of the squadron. "Red Crimea", like many other ships of the fleet, appeared in the Big Sevastopol Bay at the most critical moments, delivering manpower and equipment. The ship's artillery rained down on the enemy a barrage of fire, while repelling numerous attacks from bombers and torpedo bombers. The cruiser was commanded by the permanent captain of the first rank A. Zubkov. For their courage in the battles for the Fatherland against the German invaders, for the heroism of the personnel, the crew of the cruiser "Red Crimea" was awarded the rank of Guards.

03. Battleship "Paris Commune"

Battleships are the most powerful artillery armored ships. The battleship "Paris Commune" fought three wars - the First World War, the civil one, and in the Great Patriotic War - not only fought - fought! During the war, the battleship made 15 military campaigns, having covered 7700 miles, fired 10 artillery fires at enemy positions near Sevastopol and on the Kerch Peninsula. The ship's anti-aircraft artillery repelled 21 air attacks and shot down 3 aircraft. Subsequently, the Battleship was returned to the name "Sevastopol" with the award of the Order of the Red Banner.

04. "Cruiser" Maxim Gorky ""

The cruiser Maxim Gorky took part in a naval parade on the Neva on July 27, 1940 in honor of the Day of the Navy. On the very first day of the Great Patriotic War, the cruiser headed out to sea to cover mine laying in the mouth of the Gulf of Finland, but in the morning of the next day she was blown up by an enemy mine. The explosion ripped off the bow of the ship. Nevertheless, the team managed to reach the port in Talin, and then to Kronstadt, where a new bow part was welded to it in a short time. He was relocated from Kronstadt to Leningrad and was included in the city's artillery defense system. During the war years, the ship conducted 126 artillery fires and fired 2,311 main-caliber shells at the enemy's manpower, military equipment, transport and engineering structures.

05. "White Sea Flotilla"

The White Sea military flotilla was formed in August 1941 as part of the Northern Fleet to protect communications in the White Sea, the eastern part of the Barents Sea and the Arctic. The main base is Arkhangelsk. The city turned out to be the only northern port that could accept for unloading caravans of ships delivering military cargo under Lend-Lease. Therefore, at a conference of representatives of the three powers, held from September 27 to October 1, 1941 in Moscow, England and the United States pledged from October 1941 to June 30, 1942 to supply 400 aircraft, three hundred tanks, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns and strategic raw materials monthly. ... The flotilla included transport and passenger ships, tugs and fishing trawlers, which were armed with cannons, machine guns, trawling equipment and depth charges. During the war, the White Sea military flotilla provided escort for more than 2,500 transport ships.

06. "Kerch-Feodosia landing operation"

The Kerch-Feodosia landing operation was the largest naval operation at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. In mid-November 1941, German troops, together with Romanian formations, captured the Kerch Peninsula. Vice-Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, developed an operation plan, according to which on December 26, troops were to land north and south of Kerch, seize the city and port, then advance on the Turkish shaft and Vladislavovka and thus draw off part of the German troops from the besieged Sevastopol. The landing of army troops was carried out by the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla. The landing plan worked in full. As a result of the Kerch-Feodosiya operation in the Crimea, a new front was created, the enemy lost the opportunity to invade the Caucasus through the Kerch Peninsula and was forced to stop the offensive near Sevastopol, whose defense continued for another six months.

07. "Ladoga Flotilla"

A special place in the history of the Great Patriotic War is occupied by the Road of Life - the only connection between besieged Leningrad and the lands free from fascist invaders. But it was exactly the expensive one that was only 150 days out of 900 blockade days. The rest of the time Leningrad was assisted by the Ladoga Flotilla. Admiral Cherokov, heading the flotilla in October 1941, insisted on strengthening it, but in the difficult war years, only cargo-passenger ships, minesweepers and tugs could help. During the night, weapons were put on them, and in the morning they went into battle. People and equipment were taken out of Leningrad, whole factories were evacuated. Food and ammunition were delivered to the city. She was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Disbanded on November 4, 1944.

08. "Dnieper flotilla"

During the war, with the exit of the Red Army to the Dnieper river in September 1943, the Dnieper military flotilla was formed. It was created on the basis of the ships of the Volga military flotilla. It consisted of sixteen armored boats, ten patrol boats, forty river minesweepers, thirty-two half-gliders, a floating artillery battery and two anti-aircraft battalions. The Dnieper military flotilla operated on the rivers Dnieper, Berezina, Pripyat, Western Bug, Vistula, Oder, Spree. Assisted the advancing Soviet troops in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland.
For military merits, the flotilla was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, Ushakov, 1st degree.

09. "Project 7 destroyers"

Marine cavalry - the so-called destroyers for their speed and maneuverability. In the design of these ships, everything was subject to speed. That is why they were not equipped with heavy armor protection, as on cruisers. Destroyers of Project 7 were created for artillery combat and torpedo attacks. The ships bore sonorous names - "Bouncy", "Merciless", "Resolute", "Furious", "Crushing". The lead ship of the series was the Wrathful. It also turned out to be the first major loss of the Soviet fleet. The destroyer was blown up by a German anchor mine. But there were also the first victories. The gunners of the destroyer "Thundering" shot down a German bomber. The destroyers have become the "universal soldiers" of the sea. They defended the bases of the fleet, carried out patrol service, escorted transport convoys, transported troops and equipment. For military distinctions during the Great Patriotic War, four Project 7 destroyers were awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and the "Thundering" received the title of "Guards".

10. "Monitors"

Monitors - armored artillery low-sided ships with a shallow draft, intended for shelling coastal targets and enemy troops, destroying enemy ships in coastal areas and on rivers. The operation with the participation of the Flagin monitor under the command of Senior Lieutenant Didenko at the end of July 1941 near the village of Tripolye was very successful. The monitors took over a significant part of the combat work in the defeat of the Kwantung Army in the Far East. Maneuverable, well-protected and armed armored boats became a real headache for the Japanese generals. Even the kamikaze could not destroy the Soviet "armored punt". The work of the crews and gunners was so well coordinated that a certain rhythm was even guessed behind the fire of the artillery. Is this why, in the professional slang of river workers, the well-coordinated work of the crew is still called the "Viennese waltz".

11. "Submarines" Malyutki ""

"Babies" are the smallest submarines in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. "Baby" managed to show all its best qualities during Valentin Starikov's campaign in Petsamo in September 1941. In May 1942, another boat made an equally daring maneuver in the waters of the Arctic. Thanks to its design, "Baby" managed to go under water faster than the Germans came to their senses from torpedo explosions. The submariners managed to retreat to the shores where the Soviet batteries were located. On the Malyutka, Alexander Marinesko set a fantastic diving record. The famous submariner hid the boat under water in just nineteen and a half seconds, when, according to the standards, thirty-five were allotted for this. His boat M-95 was recognized several times as the best in the Baltic Fleet. The officer was awarded the Order of Lenin. Submariners M-171 won the Challenge Red Banner, established for the best submarine in the country. In almost a year, this submarine destroyed twelve enemy ships - more than any other submarine in the entire Soviet fleet. The submarine commander Valentin Starikov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

12. "Submarines of the" C "series"

The Eski achieved the greatest successes in the Baltic: during the war they sank eleven ships and damaged five. Of the ten ships, only the S-13 survived the war under the command of Captain Third Rank Marinesko, who sank two German transports "Wilhelm Gustloff" and "General Steuben". The death of these ships was one of the ten largest maritime disasters. The S-56 submarine under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Shchedrin sunk the Oirstadt tanker and the Warterland transport. This was the only time in the entire war when a Soviet submarine hit two ships at once with one salvo. Today the S-56 is installed as a museum boat in Vladivostok.

13. "Leader of destroyers"

The destroyers did not act alone, but in whole groups. It soon became clear that such units needed a special command ship. So the leader appeared. The combat mission of these ships was of a pronounced offensive character. But the Soviet leaders never met a worthy enemy at sea throughout the war. They did not have to fight against battleships and cruisers. The main enemies of the ships were mines, aircraft and coastal batteries. The film tells about the fate of the first ship of this series "Leningrad", about the difficult service of the leader "Minsk", about the tragic death of the best ships of the Black Sea Fleet - the leaders "Moscow" and "Kharkov". Naval combat did not become the main type of military operations in Soviet waters. The leaders remained the symbol of a strong maritime power.

14. "Submarines of the" D "series"

A silver plate with the inscription "Decembrist", attached by the Baltic to the fast diving cistern at the rally in honor of the laying down of ships, served as the name of the entire series of submarines of this type. The "D" series boats had a sturdy double-hulled structure. For the first time in Soviet submarine building, the hull was divided into watertight compartments. The strength of the structure allowed diving to a depth of 90 meters - one of the best indicators in the world. The film will tell about the creation of the first submarine of the D-1 series - "Decembrist", about the difficult fate of the submarine D-4 - "Revolutionary", which has earned the fame of unsinkable in the Black Sea Fleet, about the core of the Northern Fleet, formed from the boats D-1, D-2, D-3. Of all the Decembrists, only the D-2 submarine, the Narodovoltsov, was destined to navigate the seas until the end of the war, which is now installed on the banks of the Neva in St. Petersburg.

15. "Defense of Odessa"

The film will tell about the first major offensive operation - the landing of a tactical assault on September 22, 1941 in the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Grigorievka in the rear of the Romanian troops besieging Odessa. The Marines jumped into the sea, and with their weapons raised above their heads, chest-deep in the cold autumn water, walked towards the shore. As a result of this operation, two Romanian divisions were defeated, long-range guns and other trophies were captured. The Black Sea Fleet, together with units of the Red Army, could continue to hold Odessa. However, the situation was such that the further retention of the naval base became less and less expedient. When the order came from the Headquarters to leave Odessa, the sailors did not believe it. “Do not surrender Odessa and defend it to the last opportunity” - these lines of the directive they carried with them, and whenever the enemy pressed on, the sailors fought desperately - at sea, in the air and on land.

16th edition: Pacific Fleet

The film will tell about the end of the Second World War, which the Pacific Fleet put an end to. On August 8, the USSR declared war on Japan. The theater of military operations moved to the East. The troops of the 1st and 2nd Far Eastern and Trans-Baikal fronts were concentrated near the hills of Manchuria under the general command of Marshal Vasilevsky. The main striking force in the Sea of \u200b\u200bJapan was the Pacific Fleet. Fleet commander Admiral Yumashev decided to strike not at Seisin, but at Yucca and Racine, where they were least expected. There was a risk. Both ports had powerful coastal artillery. The admiral made a bet in the operation on the massive use of aviation and small high-speed ships. Such a decision for the headquarters of Marshal Vasilevsky was so unexpected that the plan was approved only after the intervention of the People's Commissar of the Navy, Admiral Kuznetsov.