Destroyer Kerch. Monument to the destroyer "Kerch. Command staff of the Novorossiysk squadron
Spring of 1918... The Entente countries opposed the young Soviet Republic. The Germans ruled the Black Sea at that time. The Kaiser's army hastily advanced into the interior of Ukraine. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin closely monitored the situation in Ukraine and Crimea. According to oral instructions, and often with the personal signature of the leader, the most important directives that determined the fate of the Black Sea Fleet went south. When hordes of the enemy occupied Odessa, Nikolaev, Perekop and the threat of occupation of Crimea loomed, the head of the Soviet government ordered urgent measures to be taken to relocate ships from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk. The Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR decides: “Withdraw the Black Sea Fleet to Novorossiysk in order to avoid its capture by the Germans.”
At the request of V.I. Lenin, the Chief of the Naval General Staff, E.A. Behrens, prepared a report on the situation of the Black Sea Fleet. This document was thoroughly discussed in the Supreme Military Council of the Republic. “In view of the hopelessness of the situation, proven by the highest military authorities, the fleet should be destroyed immediately. Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars V. Ulyanov (Lenin),” wrote V. I. Lenin on May 24, 1918, in the report of the Chief of the Naval General Staff.
On May 28, signed by V.I. Lenin, a secret directive was given to the commander and chief commissar of the Black Sea Fleet, which stated: “In view of Germany’s obvious intentions to seize the ships of the Black Sea Fleet located in Novorossiysk, and the impossibility of securing Novorossiysk from a dry route or transfer to another port, the Council of People's Commissars, at the request of the Supreme Military Council, orders you, upon receipt of this, to destroy all ships of the Black Sea Fleet and commercial ships located in Novorossiysk."
The most revolutionary-minded crew of the destroyer “Kerch” under the command of V. A. Kukel was entrusted with carrying out the order of the leader of the revolution.
On the morning of June 17, crowds of people gathered on the shores of Tsemes Bay. Every now and then exclamations of indignation and indignation were heard. In the outer roadstead the ships dropped anchor, the crews of which, under the influence of counter-revolutionaries, decided to go to German-occupied Sevastopol. These were the battleship "Volya", the destroyers "Daring", "Pospeshny", "Restless", "Ardent", "Loud" and the destroyers "Zharkiy" and "Zhivoy". Following the departing ships, a signal went up on the halyards of the Kerch: “Ships going to Sevastopol: shame on the traitors to Russia!”
The crew of the destroyer Gromky, which went to sea, decided to sink their ship. This was the first of the ships of the Black Sea Fleet to sink to the bottom near Novorossiysk, near Cape Myskhako.
The battleship "Free Russia", the destroyers "Gadzhibey", "Kerch", "Kaliakria", "Fidonisi", "Piercing", "Captain-Lieutenant Baranov", "Lieutenant Shestakov" and the destroyers "Smetlivy" and "Swift" remained in Novorossiysk. . Late in the evening, V.A. Kukel gathered on the Kerch officers from other ships, active supporters of the sinking, and proposed to them an operation plan, which, after clarification, was accepted for execution. According to the plan, it was assumed that the ships, either independently or in tow, would begin entering the open roadstead at 5 a.m. on June 18. There they anchor and wait for the arrival of “Free Russia” abeam the Doob lighthouse. At a signal from the Kerch, the ships open their kingstons, and then the Kerch torpedoes the Free Russia. By morning it became clear that on all the ships, except for the Kerch and Lieutenant Shestakov, the crews had almost fled, and on the destroyer Fidonisi there was not a single person left at all; even the ship’s commander, Senior Lieutenant Mitskevich, had fled.
Having fulfilled its duty, the destroyer “Kerch” headed towards Tuapse. On the night of June 18, on the approach to the Kadosh lighthouse, a radiogram that became historical was sent on air: “To everyone, everyone, everyone... He died, destroying those ships of the Black Sea Fleet that preferred death to the shameful surrender of Germany. Destroyer "Kerch". And at dawn on June 19, the sailors sank their ship. (With)
In memory of this event, fifty years later, in 1968, a monument was erected in Tuapse. It is known that the ship, scuttled at a depth of twenty-seven meters, three miles from the Tuapse port, was attempted to be raised from the bottom by Epronovites in 1929, but only in 1932 was it possible to carry out the intention by raising the middle part of the hull.
After repairs, the turbines were moved from the ship’s engine room to the Tuapse power plant, where they worked for a long time. The remaining parts of the destroyer continue to lie at the bottom of the Black Sea.
The monument to the destroyer “Kerch” is located on the embankment of the city of Tuapse and is a huge block of sandstone, shaped like the bow of a ship with an Admiralty anchor attached to it. The monument was erected in 1968, on the fiftieth anniversary of the tragic events that occurred during difficult times for the country.
In the spring of 1918, the opposing Entente army captured Odessa, Nikolaev and Perekop - a real threat arose of the complete occupation of Crimea. The Council of People's Commissars, headed by Lenin, decided to withdraw the entire Black Sea fleet, based in Sevastopol, to Novorossiysk, in order to avoid the capture of ships by the Germans. In total, twelve destroyers, ten boats and eight transporters, two battleships and five destroyers were transported to Novorossiysk. In response to this, the Germans, violating the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, occupied Sevastopol and issued an ultimatum to the Soviet leadership demanding that the fleet be returned to Sevastopol within six days. Since the Red Army at that time did not have enough forces to resist, it was decided to sink the entire fleet.
On June 17, 1918, this decision was carried out, and it was the destroyer “Kerch” that played a fatal role in these events. The decision to sink the fleet caused a storm of protests both among the population and the sailors themselves. The only ardent supporter of the sinking of the fleet was the commander of the destroyer “Kerch” - V.A. Kukel, who took upon himself the execution of the order. At dawn on June 19, the destroyer Kerch was also sunk near Tuapse.
It is worth noting that part of the fleet was nevertheless managed to be saved and the ships were transported to Tsaritsyn, where on this basis the Volga-Caspian military flotilla was created.
Tsemes Bay near Novorossiysk. On a high bank near the highway there is a monument that catches your eye. And your soul - if you get out of the car and read the inscriptions on the granite slabs.
Signal "I'm dying, but I'm not giving up!"
In June 1918, ships of the Black Sea Fleet were sunk here. They were methodically shot down with mine torpedoes by the destroyer Kerch, commanded by Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Kukel.
Grandson of Admiral Gennady Ivanovich Nevelsky.
In the footsteps of my grandfather
Yes, the famous sailor and explorer of the Far East was the grandfather of Vladimir Andreevich Kukel. He was born in 1885 and also joined the navy, graduating from the Marine Corps in 1902. He served on the ships of the Baltic Fleet, and began World War I as the commander of the destroyer "Amurets". After 1917, he remained in the Red Fleet, unconditionally accepting the victory of the Bolsheviks. He was transferred to the Black Sea Fleet and in March 1918 was appointed commander of the destroyer Kerch.
Could he have imagined what a dark mission for any sailor would fall to his lot...
Poster for the film "Death of the Squadron"
"Destroy the fleet immediately"
The collapsed empire emerged from the world war, which Germany immediately took advantage of. The German offensive began on all fronts. At the same time, the independent Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR) opened a front against the Soviets, which concluded a separate agreement with Germany and immediately tried to get ahead of the new allies in capturing Crimea. The main goal was a group of troops under the command of P.F. Belbochana aimed at the liberation of the peninsula from Soviet power and the capture of the Black Sea Fleet.
But the Germans had exactly the same plans.
When the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral M.P. Sablin, under German artillery fire, withdrew two battleships and 15 destroyers from Sevastopol to move to Novorossiysk, the Germans forced the remaining ships to lower the Ukrainian flags, hastily raised by the “allies.” And instead of them they installed their own. After which the “independents” were disarmed...
But seventeen ships still escaped from the Sevastopol trap and went to Novorossiysk. The very thought of surrender was blasphemous for their crews. On these ships, the sailors not only served and fought, but also lived most of their young lives. If everything depended only on them...
The Germans demanded that Mikhail Sablin return the fleet to Sevastopol and transfer it under German control. German planes began to appear over Novorossiysk, and submarines began to appear at sea. German ground forces advanced deep into our territory, capturing Kerch and Rostov. At the same time, the German command demanded the transfer of the fleet from the leadership of the Soviet Republic, threatening a further offensive on all fronts...
The head of the Council of People's Commissars, Vladimir Lenin, did not intend to surrender the fleet to the Germans. But fighting with them was not part of his plans. This is how an encrypted telegram appeared addressed to the fleet commander:
“In view of the hopelessness of the situation, proven by the highest military authorities, the fleet should be destroyed immediately.
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars V. Ulyanov (Lenin)"
<<< Старший лейтенант Владимир Кукель
Two orders
In an official order for the fleet, Lenin explained the details:
"In view of Germany's obvious intentions to seize the ships of the Black Sea Fleet located in Novorossiysk, and the impossibility of securing Novorossiysk from the dry route or transfer to another port, the Council of People's Commissars, on the recommendation of the Supreme Military Council, orders you, upon receipt of this, to destroy all ships of the Black Sea Fleet and commercial ships located in Novorossiysk" . Commander Sablin left for Moscow, ostensibly to cancel this decision, leaving Captain 1st Rank Alexander Tikhmenev as commander of the battleship Volya (former Emperor Alexander III). He, in turn, demanded that the Soviet government postpone the decision to scuttle the ships...
To gain time, the Council of People's Commissars sent an open telegram to the fleet about the need to transfer the ships to the Germans. And encrypted - to Tikhmenev, with a categorical demand to sink the fleet. Kaperang brought the contents of both telegrams to the personnel. A series of stormy meetings of the ship's crews followed. It was not possible to develop a common point of view. Confusion in the minds was added by the arrival at the fleet of the chairman of the Kuban-Black Sea Republic, Abram Rubin, who demanded that the decision of the central government to sink the ships not be carried out and promised to take over the supply of the fleet...
Confusion, loss of discipline, desertion - it was hard to expect anything else. At that time, there were 2 battleships, 10 destroyers, and 6 destroyers in Tsemes Bay. Which order should you obey? Leninsky? Tikhmenevsky?
They were doomed to split.
On June 17, 1918, at a signal from commander Alexander Tikhmenev, 8 ships entered the roadstead and left for Sevastopol (by this time it had come under the control of Denikin’s army) - the battleship Volya, the destroyers Derzky, Pospeshny, Bespokoyny, Pylky ", "Loud" and the destroyers "Zharkiy" and "Zhivoy".
The crews of the remaining ships - the battleship "Free Russia", the destroyers "Gadzhibey", "Kerch", "Kaliakria", "Fidonisi", "Piercing", "Captain-Lieutenant Baranov", "Lieutenant Shestakov", the transport "Elbrus", destroyers " Sharp-witted" and "Swift" decided to carry out Lenin's order.
The main role was assigned to Vladimir Kukel.
On the deck of the battleship "Free Russia". 1918
Last parade
By this time, almost all ships, with the exception of the destroyer Lieutenant Shestakov, had lost the ability to move independently. And only the destroyer Kerch was in full combat readiness. With general confusion and vacillation, Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Kukel managed to save most of the crew of his ship.
On June 18, Kukel, together with the representative of the Council of People's Commissars F.F. Raskolnikov hastily completed the “Lieutenant Shestakov” team. This destroyer towed the ships into the deep water of Tsemes Bay. Here the last scenes of the tragedy played out, which not a single revolutionary playwright in the world could call optimistic.
When towing the destroyer "Gadzhibey" a signal was set "I'm dying, but I'm not giving up", which made the picture of what was happening even darker. The destroyer Fidonisi was the first to go under water, followed by the failure to sink the battleship Free Russia for an hour and a half, whose buoyancy was impressive. Some of the ships died after opening the kingstons. The rest were torpedoed by Vladimir Kukel from the Kerch. When the last mast disappeared under the water, the senior lieutenant sent the destroyer to Tuapse, where the next day he also opened the kingstons. His last radiogram:
“Everyone, everyone. He died by destroying those ships of the Black Sea Fleet that preferred death to the shameful surrender of Germany - the destroyer Kerch.”
The battleship Volya leaves Novorossiysk on June 17, 1918. In the foreground is the destroyer Kerch, which was left to be sunk.
The century of "Will" is not to be seen
The fate of the battleship Volya and other ships that went to Sevastopol was no less tragic. After the departure of the German troops, they were captured by the British and French and sent to Turkish ports. Later, "Volya" led the White Black Sea Fleet, was renamed "General Alekseev", and in 1920 participated in the evacuation of the White Guards to Constantinople. And until 1924, when the French recognized the USSR, she stood in the port of Bizerte with the rank of internee - like other Russian ships. Despite all the agreements, the French never returned the squadron to their homeland...
And Vladimir Kukel, who returned to Moscow in 1920, was appointed chief of staff of the Baltic Fleet, commanded by his friend Fyodor Raskolnikov. In 1921, at the request of the latter, who was appointed ambassador to Afghanistan, he went with him to Kabul as the second secretary of the Soviet embassy. In 1928, he headed the maritime border guard of the OGPU in Sevastopol, in 1932 he supervised the construction of ships ordered by the Soviet Union in Italy, and then supervised their passage from Genoa to Vladivostok. In 1935, he was appointed head of the Maritime Border Guard of the Far East, became captain 1st rank...
Here, on September 18, 1937, Kukel was arrested, and on September 16, 1938, he was shot in Khabarovsk. Son Nikolai Vladimirovich, born in 1921 in Kabul, refused to renounce his parents, went through a colony for juvenile delinquents, and then as a marine and intelligence officer - through the Great Patriotic War...
V. Tevtoradze. Flooding of the Black Sea squadron.
ONLY NUMBERS
By the beginning of the First World War, the Black Sea Fleet included:
5 battleships,
2 cruisers,
17 destroyers,
12 destroyers,
4 submarines.
During the war, the fleet included
Of all the ships sunk in Tsemes Bay, only two returned to service - in 1925, the transport Elbrus and the destroyer Kaliakria were raised. After restoration, they were renamed "Valerian Kuibyshev" and "Dzerzhinsky", both were lost in 1942 during hostilities on the Black Sea.
5.3. "Kerch" carries out Lenin's order
In 1918, the situation in the south of the country was also difficult. At the beginning of the year, the Kaiser's army advanced deep into Ukraine. Crimea could end up in the hands of the enemy. A threat also loomed over the Black Sea Fleet. On March 22, 1918, the MGSH addressed the Supreme Military Council of the Republic with a report in which it was proposed to transfer the fleet to Novorossiysk. The Supreme Military Council found this measure correct and timely 295. On March 27, the Moscow General Staff sent a telegraphic order to the Central Committee of the Black Sea Fleet on immediate preparations for the evacuation of the fleet to Novorossiysk. At a plenary meeting of the Central Fleet in Sevastopol, a majority vote adopted the Bolsheviks’ proposal to “immediately prepare a base for the fleet in Novorossiysk. The fleet should also be brought into combat readiness as soon as possible." 296
On April 25, Simferopol was captured. The German command presented the Soviet government with an ultimatum to surrender the Black Sea Fleet located in Sevastopol. Ukrainian bourgeois nationalists, Socialist Revolutionaries and counter-revolutionary-minded officers began to vigorously campaign on ships for raising the yellow-blue flags of the Central Council 297 and leaving the ships in Sevastopol. On April 29, on the battleships Volya (formerly Emperor Alexander III), Free Russia (formerly Empress Catherine II) and some destroyers, such flags were raised by order of the fleet commander, Rear Admiral M.P. Sablin . In response to this, the signal “Shame and sale of the fleet!” went up on the foremast of the destroyer “Kerch!” On the same day, representatives of the teams of the mine brigade ships gathered on this destroyer to discuss the situation. The crew of the Kerch suggested going to Novorossiysk 298. He was supported by representatives of seven destroyers “Kaliakria”, “Piercing”, “Ardent”, “Loud”, “Hasty”, “Gadzhibey”, “Restless”, six coal destroyers “Zharkiy”, “Zhivoy”, “Lieutenant Shestakov”, “ Lieutenant-Captain Baranov", "Sharp-witted", "Swift", divisions of patrol boats and submarines.
Immediately after the meeting, the commanders of the destroyers “Pospeshny” and “Gromky” came to the fleet commander M.P. Sablin and reported on the decision of some of the ships to go to Novorossiysk. The commander did not interfere, but advised us to leave before 24 hours, since by this time the booms would be closed.
At 10 p.m., on the destroyer “Piercing,” the commanders of the departing ships discussed the plan for going to sea and the voyage. The meeting entrusted command of the detachment to the commander of the Kaliakria, and in case of delay of the ship, to the commander of the Kerch, V. A. Kukel.
The counter-revolutionaries, on behalf of the crews of the battleship Volya and Free Russia, told the ships preparing to depart that they would shoot them from main caliber guns. In response, the destroyers prepared for a torpedo attack. According to the deployment commanders’ meeting, at about 11:30 p.m., the ships, in full combat readiness, began leaving the South Bay for the sea, ordering the transports stationed in the roadstead to follow them 299 .
The day before, April 30, German units approached Sevastopol and occupied heights above the bay, from where they could shoot ships at point-blank range. The crews of the ships demanded that the fleet commander M.P. Sablin immediately withdraw the remaining fleet to Novorossiysk. At 23:00, without lighting the lights, the ships began to leave Sevastopol Bay. The destroyers “Daring” and “Gnevny” were the first, then “Zvonky” and “Zorky”.
The Germans noticed the movement of ships in the roadstead. As soon as the destroyers approached the passage in the side barriers, the bay was illuminated by rockets, and gun and machine-gun fire was opened from the shore. “Daring” managed to get through the fire zone at full speed unharmed, and “Gnevny” was hit by a barrage of fire. While performing an evasive maneuver to avoid artillery fire, the Gnevny ran into the side barriers, and a hole was formed in the hull when hit by enemy shells. The team decided not to surrender the ship to the enemy. The destroyer turned into the bay and washed ashore in Ushakovskaya Balka. The crew, leaving the ship, opened the seacocks and blew up the vehicles.
A wall of fire blocked the path of the destroyers Zvonkoy and Zorkoy, submarines and transport ships, and they were forced to return to the South Bay.
The battleships "Volya" and "Svobodnaya Rossiya", which had powerful armor, despite the fierce fire, safely left Sevastopol and on May 2, accompanied by the "Daring", arrived in Novorossiysk. On the same day, the destroyers Fidonisi (from Feodosia) and Zhivoy (from Yalta) arrived here. The remaining ships of the Black Sea Fleet were forced to remain in Sevastopol, partly due to repairs, partly due to lack of crews 300.
By May 2, 1918, 2 battleships, 10 Novik-class destroyers, 6 coal-fired destroyers and 10 patrol ships 301 had assembled in Novorossiysk. The ships received a telegram from Moscow that said: “We express fraternal greetings to all the personnel of the fleet that came to Novorossiysk on behalf of the Naval Commissariat and the Council of People's Commissars. The revolution will appreciate the heroic efforts aimed in these difficult conditions to save the fleet, the country and the revolution” 302.
Thus, all three divisions of Novik-class destroyers were concentrated in Novorossiysk Bay: 1st Division “Daring”, “Restless”, “Piercing”; 2nd Division “Ardent”, “Loud”, “Hasty”; 3rd Division “Kerch”, “Gadzhibey”, “Fidonisi”, “Kaliakria”.
In Sevastopol there remained 7 old squadron battleships, 3 cruisers, 2 Novik-class destroyers “Bystry” and “Schastlivy” 9 coal destroyers, 16 submarines, 4 floating bases. Four “new” destroyers “Zante”, “Corfu”, “Levkas”, “Tserigo” were in Nikolaev for completion and also went to the German occupiers.
A few days after part of the fleet arrived in Novorossiysk, it became clearly clear that the port was not suitable for long-term basing of warships. The MGSH again addressed the Supreme Military Council of the Republic with a report. It said that “at the moment, Germany and Turkey are clearly hunting for our ships, while violating the Brest Treaty in the most unceremonious and obvious way... They demand the return of ships from Novorossiysk to Sevastopol, which they occupied” 303. The report especially emphasized that the ships moved to Novorossiysk in the most haste and were unable to take with them the necessary equipment and supplies for a long-term stay in an unsuitable port.
The threat of the capture of Novorossiysk from land also caused anxiety. The ships had nowhere to go, since other Caucasian ports were even less suitable for long-term parking of the fleet than Novorossiysk. The MGSH presented a memorandum stating that under such conditions the only thing left to do was to sink their own ships. On the note, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin wrote: “In view of the hopelessness of the situation, proven by the highest military authorities, the fleet should be destroyed immediately. Prev. SNK V. Ulyanov (Lenin)"( 304}.
On May 28, the acting commander of the Black Sea Fleet A. I. Tikhmenev 305 and the chief commissioner N. P. Glebov-Avilov received a secret directive signed by V. I. Lenin. It spoke of the need to destroy all ships of the Black Sea Fleet and commercial ships located in Novorossiysk, in view of Germany's obvious intentions to seize them and the impossibility of transferring them to another port or protecting Novorossiysk from the land side 306.
General leadership in carrying out this task was entrusted to I. I. Vakhrameev, a member of the Board of the People's Commissariat for Maritime Affairs. He arrived in Novorossiysk on June 2.
Having received this important document, Vakhrameev and Glebov-Avilov carefully tried to convince A.I. Tikhmenev of the need to sink the fleet at a night meeting. A long discussion ensued among the crews of the ships, delegate meetings were opened one after another, and sailor referendums were held. Their topic was one: sink the ships or return to Sevastopol. Some of the delegates from the battleship Volya, destroyers Derzkiy, Bespokoyny, Pylkiy, Zhivoy and others spoke in favor of returning to Sevastopol. Most of the crews of the ships of the mine brigade, including the entire Ushakovo division, remained faithful to the cause of the revolution and decided to carry out Lenin’s order: to destroy their ships so that they would not fall to the enemy.
At about 11 a.m. on June 17, following the order of the acting fleet commander, Captain 1st Rank A.I. Tikhmenev, to proceed to Sevastopol, the destroyers Bespokoiny, Derzkiy, Pospeshny began to slowly leave the bay for the outer roadstead, some in tow. “Ardent”, “Live” and “Hot”, followed by the battleship “Volya”.
The destroyers Kerch, Gadzhibey, Kaliakria, Fidonisi, Prozitelny, Lieutenant Shestakov, Captain-Lieutenant Baranov, Smetlivy, and Swift refused to carry out this order. After an unsuccessful attempt to separate the couples, the battleship Free Russia remained at the pier. When all the ships that decided to return to Sevastopol anchored in the outer roadstead, a signal was raised on the destroyer “Kerch”: “To the ships going to Sevastopol: Shame on the traitors to Russia” 307.
The destroyer Gromky on the morning of June 17 began preparing to leave for Sevastopol. But the ship's crew decided earlier not to surrender to the enemy. In the evening, the destroyer went to the outer roadstead. The team intended to scuttle the ship after the squadron left for Sevastopol. The commander of the destroyer N.A. Novakovsky deliberately hesitated to weigh anchor. A.I. Tikhmenev, who held the flag on the battleship Volya, decided that the delay of the Gromky was due to the absence of part of the crew and ordered the commander of the Ardent to take the Gromky in tow.
When the team saw that the “Ardent” was heading towards the “Loud”, the latter wanted to weigh anchor, but the left anchor was sucked into the ground, and the car did not lift it. While they were freeing themselves from the anchor, the Ardent came very close, intending to take it in tow. At this time, the only miner prepared the left side apparatus, and commander Novakovsky ordered the commander of the Ardent: “Immediately move away from the destroyer Gromky, otherwise I will attack.” The threat worked. The destroyer immediately turned around and went to Volya 308.
Finally, “Gromky” weighed anchor and headed for Myskhako. At a distance of 3 miles from the shore, the ship stopped the cars, and the crew lowered the boat. Most of the crew loaded onto it with weapons and food supplies. The ship's commander N.A. Novakovsky, the chairman of the ship's committee Gobelko, the radio operator and several sailors remained on the Gromkoy. When the boat moved away from the side, the radio operator transmitted an open radiogram: “Everyone, everyone, everyone! The destroyer "Gromky", bearing the name of its heroic brother 309, is faithful to the traditions of the Russian fleet, does not surrender to the enemy, but is sunk. Calls on the sailors of other ships to follow our example. Chairman of the Ship Committee Gobelko" 310.
With the kingstons and clinkets open, the "Gromky" sank and sank at a depth of 65 m.
Late in the evening of June 17, a meeting was held on the destroyer "Kerch", which was attended by the commander of the "Gadzhibey" V. Alekseev, the commander of the "Lieutenant Shestakov" S. Anensky, the commander of the "Kaliakria" E. Gernet and others. At the meeting, a detailed plan for sinking the ships was developed , the implementation of which was decided to begin the next day.
At dawn on June 18, the destroyer Lieutenant Shestakov began towing ships to the site of the flooding. They walked from the harbor to the roadstead, holding a signal on the masts: “I’m dying, but I’m not giving up.”
It was “a sad and difficult picture,” recalls V. A. Kukel. The harbor is extinct, empty, and only slowly towing destroyers, helpless, without signs of life on them, with individual gloomy figures in the amount of 56 people on the deck, like plague-stricken and doomed to death, from which all living things have fled and from which everyone is staying away" 311.
By 4 o'clock all the warships that had previously been in the harbor concentrated on the roadstead of Tsemes Bay. “Kerch” approached “Fidonisi” and fired a torpedo at it from a distance of 4 cables. From the explosion, the destroyer was literally torn in half, its stern and bow rose and, turning over to the starboard side, sank. The death of the Fidonisi served as a signal for the sinking of other ships. Special teams placed explosive cartridges in the engine rooms, opened the kingstons and clinkers, and cleared the portholes.
One after another, the glorious Black Sea “novices” “Gadzhibey”, “Kaliakria”, “Piercing” went to the bottom of Tsemes Bay. After 25 minutes the raid was deathly empty.
After the explosion on the destroyer Fidonosi, the Kerch approached the battleship Free Russia. From 5 cables, the destroyer fired a salvo of two torpedoes: one exploded under the ship, the second passed by. The ship remained afloat, only a column of black smoke rose above the conning tower. Half an hour later, the third torpedo was fired, and although it exploded in the stern of the battleship, the ship did not receive significant damage, there was no roll or trim. The fourth torpedo exploded near the aft 12-inch turret, but the ship still floated on the surface of the water. The next torpedo, fired into the middle of the battleship's hull, suddenly turned back on course. Only the sixth Kerch torpedo completed the job. “The effect of the explosion was amazing. A column of white and black smoke rose above the masts and covered almost the entire ship with its base... When the smoke cleared somewhat, a depressing picture presented itself: the armor and side plating of both the right and left sides fell off, and a huge gap appeared through this part of the ship . 2 minutes 3 seconds after the explosion, the battleship began to slowly list to starboard, trimming to the bow. After another 3 minutes 42 seconds, the ship turned upside down. All this was accompanied by a terrible clang and roar of huge three-gun 12-inch towers tearing off their bases, which rolled down the inclined deck of the Free Russia, sweeping away everything in its path, until they finally collapsed into the water, raising huge columns of water and fountains of spray. » 312 the former commander of “Kerch” V.A. Kukel writes in his memoirs.
After 37 minutes, the ship's hull disappeared under water. After this, V.A. Kukel switched the engine telegraph to “the most complete”, and “Kerch” headed for Tuapse. At about 10 pm, when approaching the Kadosh lighthouse, the Kerch radio operator sent a radiogram on the air: “Everyone, everyone! He died, destroying those ships of the Black Sea Fleet that preferred death to the shameful surrender of Germany. Destroyer "Kerch" 313. The crew had to complete the most difficult task - to sink their ship.
On June 19 at 4:30 a.m., after the crew went ashore, the Kerch was sunk at a depth of 27 m. Senior mate Podvysotsky, chairman of the ship committee Kulinich, machinist Bachinsky, and helmsman Kovalenko took part in the sinking of the heroic destroyer, which carried out Lenin’s order. and motor mechanic Basyuk. Under the leadership of their commander V.A. Kukel 314, the Kerch sailors honorably fulfilled their duty to revolutionary Russia and the Black Sea Fleet.
Having carried out the order of V.I. Lenin, most of the Black Sea sailors from the ships sunk in Novorossiysk went to the fronts of the civil war. Already on June 18, 1918, the first sailor trains departed from Novorossiysk. Most of the sailors went to the Volga to Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan. They carried with them small-caliber cannons and machine guns taken from the ships. Small ships were also delivered there by rail.
About 1000 Black Sea residents arrived in Arkhangelsk. 200 people joined the Baltic Fleet.
The ships that remained in Sevastopol and returned there from Novorossiysk ended their lives ingloriously. On May 3 and 4, 1918, the Kaiser's flags were raised on them. In November 1918, a revolution broke out in Germany, forcing the occupiers to leave Ukraine and Crimea. The Anglo-French-American interventionists, who replaced the German troops, handed over the Russian ships to General Denikin and Wrangel.
In 1920, fleeing from Crimea, the White Guards and interventionists took with them to Constantinople all the ships and transport vessels that were running, including the destroyer "Tserigo", which entered service in 1919. They also tried to take with them from Nikolaev the destroyer "Zante", which was in a high state of readiness, but were unable to recruit a crew of factory workers and sailors. Then it was decided to deliver the destroyer in tow to Odessa, which was still in the hands of the interventionists. During the passage, a storm broke out, the tug broke, and the ship ran aground several miles from Odessa.
Thus, during the intervention, 2 battleships, 2 cruisers, 7 Novik-class destroyers and other ships and vessels were captured 315.
From Constantinople, the ships were soon transferred to the French naval base of Bizerte in Tunisia. The destroyer "Schastlyvy" sank in Mudroye Bay near the island while moving from Constantinople to Bizerte while being towed in stormy weather. Tenedos (Aegean Sea).
Here, in Bizerte, the ships met their end after the French government broke down negotiations on their transfer to the Soviet Republic in 1925 316 . Among them were six Novik-class destroyers: “Restless”, “Gnevny”, “Daring”, “Pospeshny”, “Ardent” and “Tserigo”.
After the expulsion of the invaders from Crimea and Ukraine, out of 17 Black Sea Novik-class destroyers, only 3 unfinished ships remained: “Zante”, “Corfu”, “Levkas”. The destroyers “Piercing”, “Gadzhibey”, “Fidonisi”, “Kaliakria”, “Kerch” and “Gromky” rested on the bottom of the Black Sea.
On October 27, 1925, the destroyer Kerch was discovered by Soviet divers. It lay at a depth of 27 m with its keel up, deeply embedded in the ground. Epronovites began work on raising the famous destroyer, which ended in November 1926. The ship floated to the surface with the help of pontoons, but, breaking into pieces, sank to the bottom again. In December 1932, individual parts of the Kerch were raised. The turbines, which were carefully lubricated by the ship's crew before it was sunk, were found to be suitable for use at the local power plant. So, after the death of the revolutionary ship, his heart continued to serve his Motherland.
On September 14, 1968, on the shore of Tsemes Bay, at the 12th kilometer of the Sukhumi Highway, a monument was unveiled in memory of the fallen ships of the Black Sea Fleet. On the reinforced concrete octagon torch are carved the words of Lenin’s order: “In view of the hopelessness of the situation, proven by the highest military authorities, the fleet should be destroyed immediately. Prev. SNK V. Ulyanov (Lenin).” The inscription on the other side reads: “On June 18, 1918, in Tsemes Bay, in the name of the revolution, courageous Black Sea sailors sank warships so that they would not fall to the Kaiser’s Germany.” TsGA Navy, f. r-55, op. 1, d. 1, l. 7.
296 Ibid., f. r-181, op. 1, d. 43, l. 225.
297 Bourgeois-nationalist authority in Ukraine in 19171918.
298 TsGA Navy, f. r-29, op. 1, d. 177, l. 12.
299 Ibid., f. r-342, op. 1, d. 146, l. 177178.
300 Sailors for Soviet power in Ukraine. (Collection of documents). Kyiv, Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, 1963, document No. 120, p. 129.
313 Right there.
314 Kukel (Kukel-Kraevsky) Vladimir Andreevich (1885–1940), after the sinking of the Kerch, took an active part in the hostilities of the flotilla of the Astrakhan region. At the beginning of February 1919, he was transferred to the Baltic Fleet and appointed commander of the cruiser Bogatyr. In June 1919, he was appointed chief of staff of the naval forces of the Caspian Sea and the Azerbaijan Fleet. For his skillful leadership of the operation to liberate Fort Aleksandrovsky, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In July 1920 he was appointed chief of staff of the Baltic Fleet. In 19201923 held various command positions in the Baltic Fleet. After his dismissal from naval service in 1923 and until 1937, he held responsible positions in the People's Commissariat for Maritime Affairs and in the shipbuilding industry.
315 TsGA Navy, f. r-1, op. 3, d. 755, l. 1011.
316 Civil War, vol. 3. M., Ed. Maritime history. commissions, 1925, p. 95.
Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia
| "Kerch" | |
|---|---|
| Service: | Russia, Russia RSFSR RSFSR |
| Vessel class and type | Destroyer |
| Organization | Navy of the Russian Empire Naval forces of the RSFSR |
| Manufacturer | Naval |
| Construction has started | 29th of October |
| Launched | May 18 |
| Commissioned | 27th of June |
| Status | scuttled by crew on June 19 |
| Main characteristics | |
| Displacement | 1326 (normal), 1580 (full) |
| Length | 92,51 |
| Width | 9,05 |
| Draft | 3,2 |
| Engines | 2 Parsons steam turbines, 5 Thornycroft boilers in 3 boiler rooms |
| Power | 28,400 l. With. (during acceptance tests) |
| Mover | 2 propellers |
| Travel speed | 31.1 knots (during acceptance tests) |
| Crew | 136 people, including 9 officers |
| Armament | |
| Artillery | 4x1 102 mm/60 guns (600 rounds of ammunition) |
| Flak | from the end of 1917: 2 57 mm AU |
| Mine and torpedo weapons | 4x3 457-mm torpedoes of the 1913 model (14 torpedoes of the 1910 model), 80 mines of the 1908 or 1912 model |
Service history
On June 18, 1918, by decision of the Soviet government, in order to avoid the capture of Black Sea Fleet ships by German troops, the destroyer Kerch sank the battleship Free Russia and the destroyer Fidonisi located in Tsemes Bay with torpedoes, after which it went to Tuapse, where on June 19 it was scuttled by its crew at the Kadosh lighthouse three miles from the entrance to the Tuapse port (at a depth of 27 meters). The ship sank upside down.
An attempt by EPRON to lift the ship on November 22, 1929 was unsuccessful (the destroyer's hull was cut into several parts by pontoon slings). The middle part of the Kerch hull (with the engine room) was raised by EPRON in 1932. After repairs, the destroyer's turbines operated at the Tuapse power plant for a long time. The remaining wreckage of the ship's hull, the best preserved of which is the stern section, continues to remain unrecovered from the seabed.
Data
It was from the destroyer “Kerch”, following the ships of the Black Sea Fleet leaving for Sevastopol, that the signal, which later became famous, was broadcast: “Ships going to Sevastopol - Shame on the traitors to the Motherland!”
Commanders
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An excerpt characterizing Kerch (destroyer)
Julie played Boris the saddest nocturnes on the harp. Boris read Poor Liza aloud to her and more than once interrupted his reading from the excitement that took his breath away. Meeting in a large society, Julie and Boris looked at each other as the only indifferent people in the world who understood each other.Anna Mikhailovna, who often went to the Karagins, making up her mother’s party, meanwhile made correct inquiries about what was given for Julie (both Penza estates and Nizhny Novgorod forests were given). Anna Mikhailovna, with devotion to the will of Providence and tenderness, looked at the refined sadness that connected her son with the rich Julie.
“Toujours charmante et melancolique, cette chere Julieie,” she said to her daughter. - Boris says that he rests his soul in your house. “He has suffered so many disappointments and is so sensitive,” she told her mother.
“Oh, my friend, how attached I have become to Julie lately,” she said to her son, “I can’t describe to you!” And who can not love her? This is such an unearthly creature! Ah, Boris, Boris! “She fell silent for a minute. “And how I feel sorry for her maman,” she continued, “today she showed me reports and letters from Penza (they have a huge estate) and she is poor, all alone: she is so deceived!
Boris smiled slightly as he listened to his mother. He meekly laughed at her simple-minded cunning, but listened and sometimes asked her carefully about the Penza and Nizhny Novgorod estates.
Julie had long been expecting a proposal from her melancholic admirer and was ready to accept it; but some secret feeling of disgust for her, for her passionate desire to get married, for her unnaturalness, and a feeling of horror at renouncing the possibility of true love still stopped Boris. His vacation was already over. He spent whole days and every single day with the Karagins, and every day, reasoning with himself, Boris told himself that he would propose tomorrow. But in the presence of Julie, looking at her red face and chin, almost always covered with powder, at her moist eyes and at the expression of her face, which always expressed a readiness to immediately move from melancholy to the unnatural delight of marital happiness, Boris could not utter a decisive word: despite the fact that for a long time in his imagination he considered himself the owner of Penza and Nizhny Novgorod estates and distributed the use of income from them. Julie saw Boris's indecisiveness and sometimes the thought occurred to her that she was disgusting to him; but immediately the woman’s self-delusion came to her as a consolation, and she told herself that he was shy only out of love. Her melancholy, however, began to turn into irritability, and not long before Boris left, she undertook a decisive plan. At the same time that Boris's vacation was ending, Anatol Kuragin appeared in Moscow and, of course, in the Karagins' living room, and Julie, unexpectedly leaving her melancholy, became very cheerful and attentive to Kuragin.
“Mon cher,” Anna Mikhailovna said to her son, “je sais de bonne source que le Prince Basile envoie son fils a Moscou pour lui faire epouser Julieie.” [My dear, I know from reliable sources that Prince Vasily sends his son to Moscow in order to marry him to Julie.] I love Julie so much that I would feel sorry for her. What do you think, my friend? - said Anna Mikhailovna.
The thought of being a fool and wasting this whole month of difficult melancholy service under Julie and seeing all the income from the Penza estates already allocated and properly used in his imagination in the hands of another - especially in the hands of the stupid Anatole, offended Boris. He went to the Karagins with the firm intention of proposing. Julie greeted him with a cheerful and carefree look, casually talked about how much fun she had at yesterday's ball, and asked when he was leaving. Despite the fact that Boris came with the intention of talking about his love and therefore intended to be gentle, he irritably began to talk about women's inconstancy: how women can easily move from sadness to joy and that their mood depends only on who looks after them. Julie was offended and said that it was true that a woman needs variety, that everyone will get tired of the same thing.
“For this, I would advise you...” Boris began, wanting to tell her a caustic word; but at that very moment the offensive thought came to him that he could leave Moscow without achieving his goal and losing his work for nothing (which had never happened to him). He stopped in the middle of his speech, lowered his eyes so as not to see her unpleasantly irritated and indecisive face and said: “I didn’t come here at all to quarrel with you.” On the contrary...” He glanced at her to make sure he could continue. All her irritation suddenly disappeared, and her restless, pleading eyes were fixed on him with greedy expectation. “I can always arrange it so that I rarely see her,” thought Boris. “And the work has begun and must be done!” He blushed, looked up at her and told her: “You know my feelings for you!” There was no need to say any more: Julie’s face shone with triumph and self-satisfaction; but she forced Boris to tell her everything that is said in such cases, to say that he loves her, and has never loved any woman more than her. She knew that she could demand this for the Penza estates and Nizhny Novgorod forests and she received what she demanded.