The corvettes of the Baltic fleet have returned from a long voyage. Corvettes of the Baltic Fleet returned from a long voyage Tatyana Altunina, a resident of Baltiysk
On Sunday, a detachment of warships of the Baltic Fleet, consisting of corvettes Boyky, Soobrazitelny and the tanker Kola, entered the harbor of Baltiysk after completing tasks in the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, according to the Western District.
The corvettes and the tanker were on the march for more than 90 days, covering more than 35,000 nautical miles during this time. During the trip, business calls were made to the ports of Limassol (Cyprus), Djibouti (Republic of Djibouti), Tartus (SAR). At sea, the crews of the ships as part of the OBC completed a set of combat training tasks, including air defense and anti-submarine defense exercises, ship exercises and training, as well as artillery firing,
It says in the release.
Commander of the Baltic Fleet Alexander Nosatov, on behalf of the Military Council of the Baltic Fleet, congratulated the crews on the successful fulfillment of the assigned tasks of long-range ocean navigation and wished the sailors new successes in combat training.
“The servicemen who distinguished themselves in the long-range campaign were awarded with valuable gifts from the command of the fleet. A number of servicemen will be nominated for state and departmental awards,” the district added.
The press service noted that the ships returned technically sound and ready to perform their intended tasks after replenishing the necessary supplies.
Initially, it was reported that the ships should return to Baltiysk on December 30, 2017, but as a result, their stay in the Mediterranean was extended by two weeks. Only on January 2, all three ships proceeded from the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar to the Atlantic Ocean and headed back to the Baltic.
The corvettes Boikiy and Soobrazitelny, as well as the tanker Kola, returned to the military harbor of Baltiysk. As part of a three-month campaign, a detachment of ships carried out planned tasks in the regions of the North Atlantic, in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.
At the entrance to the military harbor, families of sailors meet ships. The corvettes were built according to the same project, they can only be distinguished by their names and serial numbers. The first to the moorings of Baltiysk went "Smart". To greet midshipman "Boyky" Artyom Altunin, his mother, wife and aunt will have to spend at least half an hour in the cold.
Tatyana Altunina, resident of Baltiysk:
- We will see him, we will shout, we will wave, and only then we will go there, we will run, well, that's how it is! We will see him first, well, this is generally happiness. We would have taken his little son, but it's very cold!
"Boikiy" is the last to enter the military harbor. Here sailors are expected not only by relatives and friends. They are greeted by crews from the Soobrazitelny, the Kola tanker and the fire tug. All four of them took part in the campaign together.
Konstantin Morozov, correspondent:
- The corvettes Boikiy and Soobrazitelny returned to their native harbor of Baltiysk three months later. Warships made for the first time in their history a long-range ocean voyage. Off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden, they protected civilian ships from pirates.
Not only the crew was tested, but the whole detachment. One of the tasks that was assigned by the command to the captains of "Savvy" and "Boykoy" was to check weapons and military equipment in different climatic conditions.
Andrey Kuznetsov, Commander of the surface ships formation of the Baltic Fleet:
- The entire ship as a whole was tested, and this campaign confirmed that the equipment that was entrusted to us, it justifies itself.
After the performance of the anthem, the command to disperse followed. Even the January frost is unable to cool the emotions of combat officers and sailors. Midshipman Artyom Altunin falls into the arms of his relatives.
Artyom Altunin, midshipman of the Boikiy corvette:
- I have joy and pride - everyone returned home alive, healthy, and this is the most important thing, the son is waiting at home.
If necessary, the crews of "Boyky" and "Savvy" in 4 hours will be able to start the task again.
Alexander Nosatov Commander of the Baltic Fleet:
- The Baltic Fleet is growing, maturing, and there are more campaigns this year than last year. This is a necessity for the country to live in peace and develop normally, we must be combat-ready.
“Boikiy” and “Savvy” after replenishment of supplies will be ready to go to sea to perform combat missions.
And here is another most difficult sea crossing during the Second World War.
By order of the People's Commissar of the Navy No. 00192 dated June 19, 1942, a plan was approved for the transfer of several warships from the Pacific Fleet to the Northern Fleet. The operation under the code "EON-18" (special purpose expedition) was carried out in conditions of maximum secrecy, and the entire passage of ships along the Northern Sea Route had to be completed before the end of navigation.
Such operations for the covert transfer of warships from one fleet to another have been carried out before. The first of them, "EON-1", took place in the summer of 1933, when the destroyers "Uritsky" and "Rykov", patrol ships "Smerch" and "Hurricane", submarines D -1 and D-2. Passed the ships of the Navy and the Northern Sea Route. Thus, in 1936, Pacific Ocean the destroyers "Stalin" and "Voikov" were transferred (operation "EON-3"), and in 1940 - the submarine Shch-423 ("EON-10").
Now it's time to move the ships in the opposite direction - from the Pacific Ocean to the Barents Sea.
The memory of the ships that participated in the secret expedition "EON-18" is kept in the form of a few surviving photographs and modern models. In the photo, the destroyer "Reasonable".
According to the plans of "EON-18", the leader "Baku" and three destroyers went to the Northern Fleet: "Reasonable", "Furious" and "Zealous". The main advantage of such ships has always been considered a high speed (up to 40 knots!) And high maneuverability, which was achieved due to very weak armor protection. Their hull withstood water pressure of only 2 t/m2, so the thickness of the plating in some places did not exceed 10 mm. But the destroyers were never intended for navigation in the Arctic, where the ice pressure could reach 10-12 t/m2. That is why in the docks of Vladivostok, all EON-18 ships were dressed in a special “ice coat” made of boards and wooden beams 100 x 100 mm, sheathed with steel sheets with a thickness of 3–5 mm along the sides to 15 mm in the stem area. Such a "fur coat" protected the destroyers 3 m below the waterline and 1 m above it. To imagine the amount of work performed, it should be noted that it was not tiny boats that had to be “dressed”, but full-fledged warships with a displacement of 1700 to 2500 tons and a hull length of 113 to 127 m.
All the interiors of the destroyers were insulated for the upcoming frosts and seriously reinforced with additional internal bracing made of box-shaped metal beams and timber 250 x 250 mm. In addition, many mechanisms have also been specially modified to take into account the expected low temperatures and strong vibrations of the hull due to collision with ice. Bronze propellers received reinforcement in the form of special steel fittings, and some of them were simply replaced with collapsible steel propellers with removable blades, which made it possible to repair them during the voyage. All these works were carried out almost around the clock under the guidance of the flagship ship engineer, captain of the 2nd rank A.I. Dubrovin, who already had experience of participating in the EON-3 operation. In order to maintain secrecy, the ships were preparing for a long voyage under the legend of the official relocation of the destroyer division to Kamchatka.
Crash in the fog
On July 15, the EON-18 ships weighed anchor and left Peter the Great Bay for the Sea of Japan. The leader of "Baku" was commanded by the captain of the 3rd rank B.P. Belyaev. Destroyers - captain of the 3rd rank V.K. Nikiforov ("Zealous") and Lieutenant Commander V.V. Fedorov ("Reasonable") and N.I. Nikolsky ("Furious"). The captain of the 1st rank V.N. was appointed the head of the entire operation. Obukhov, who in 1936 commanded the destroyer "Stalin" during its passage through the Northern Sea Route as part of "EON-3". Together with warships, the Lok-Batan tanker and the Volga and Kuznets Lesov transport support vessels set off on a campaign.
Two days later, the caravan passed the Tatar Strait and arrived in De-Kastri Bay (now Chikhachev Bay). At that time, the southern part of Sakhalin and all the Kuril Islands belonged to Japan, so for the warships of the USSR it was the only possible path in the Bering Sea. Having replenished supplies of fuel oil and water in De-Kastri, the caravan continued to move, but the next day the destroyer Zealous had an accident in the Amur Estuary. Moving in dense fog, he broke down the caravan and collided with the Terney transport. The entire bow of the destroyer was crumpled and turned to the right by about 10 m in length. The EON-18 ships stayed at anchor until July 19, when the People's Commissar of the Navy decided to reduce the composition of the caravan.
The damaged Zealous was towed to Sovetskaya Gavan, where the mangled bow of the ship was cut off at the dock and remade from three new sections. On the tenth day after the accident, the destroyer had already left the dock, but the command decided that the Zealous was hopelessly behind the caravan, so it was left in the Pacific Ocean. In August 1945, during the fighting against Japan, the ship took part in the landing of Soviet troops on Sakhalin in the port of Maoku (now Kholmsk).
And the caravan passed the Sea of Okhotsk, passed the Soviet and Japanese minefields, and on July 22 reached the First Kuril Strait, along which the border between Japan and the USSR passed. At that time, Japanese destroyers were constantly on duty here, in front of which the ships and vessels of the EON-18 proceeded to the Pacific Ocean. It is believed that it was after this meeting that Japanese intelligence reported to Berlin about the relocation of warships from the Pacific Ocean to Murmansk. In the evening of the same day, Soviet destroyers entered Avacha Bay and anchored in Tarya Bay (now the city of Vilyuchinsk), where a base of diesel submarines had been deployed since 1938. Three days later, the ships replenished their stocks of fuel oil, which was supplied from coastal tanks by gravity through hoses drawn along the rafts 200 m from the coast. Having refueled, the destroyers left the base and continued to move north.
On the morning of July 30, the ships arrived at Chukotka, covering almost the entire path from Kamchatka to Provideniya Bay in dense fog. Another emergency happened here: when approaching the pier, the Furious caught the ground, damaging the propellers and bending the tip of the right propeller shaft. Repair work was carried out afloat, taking a whole week, but it was not possible to get rid of the beating of the shaft. In the future, the course of the destroyer had to be limited to eight knots, and later (already in Dikson), the right screw from the damaged shaft was completely removed.
Destroyer "Reasonable"
Attention - raider!
In Providence Bay, the Mikoyan icebreaker joined the caravan. From November 1941, he made an unprecedented circumnavigation from Batumi through the Bosphorus and the Suez Canal to the Cape of Good Hope, and then, bypassing Cape Horn, passed through the entire Pacific Ocean to Chukotka. Moreover, in the Aegean Sea, the icebreaker was forced to actually break through the zone of operations of the Navy and Air Force of Italy and Germany.
On August 14, the destroyer caravan again went to sea and met the first ice near the village of Uelen. The next day, already in the Chukchi Sea, the ships entered the ice with a density of 7 to 9 points. The destroyers could move through such ice only with the help of the Mikoyan and Kaganovich icebreakers, which simultaneously with the EON-18 caravan provided escort for five transport ships with strategic cargo. It was the Chukchi Sea that became the most difficult part of the entire transition. At some moments, the pressure of the ice fields became critical, while the ship's instruments recorded the deflection of the sides by more than 100 mm.
True, the destroyers were worried not only polar ice. So on August 26, EON-18 received a message about the appearance of the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer in the Kara Sea. The command of the Navy ordered urgently to take all measures to increase combat readiness, and in the event of a meeting with enemy ships, they had to be attacked and destroyed. It is curious that our ships went to the area of operations of the German raider for another month, and our three destroyers were simply not able to offer him at least some serious resistance. But in the last days of August, the Admiral Scheer itself returned to Norway, and the EON-18 ships at that time were still off the coast of Chukotka.
Moving slowly into heavy ice, icebreakers escorted each destroyer separately, so the caravan was forced to temporarily separate in the Chukchi Sea.
For this reason, by September 15, "Baku" and "Furious" had already arrived in Tiksi Bay, and "Reasonable" at the same time was still going through the East Siberian Sea. Only in Tiksi the ships again gathered into a single detachment and later moved only together.
By September 24, the caravan had completed the most difficult and dangerous section of the Northern Sea Route and, accompanied by the Krasin icebreaker, arrived in Dixon.
After a difficult transition, the destroyers looked quite satisfactory, although their hulls received small dents from compression in the ice. True, the screws of "Baku" and "Furious" had bends and cracks, while the beating of the shaft on the "Furious" caused a very strong vibration of the entire body. Noticeably reduced the speed of the ships and the "ice coat". Thus, the maximum move of the "Baku" leader was 26 knots, "Reasonable" - 18, and "Furious" - only 8 knots in clear water.
The destroyer Razumny makes its way through the Chukchi Sea. After the completion of EON-18, the ship actively participated in military campaigns, including escorting 14 Arctic convoys. Was in service until the end of the war (with a break for repairs).
Interestingly, after the arrival of the caravan in Dikson, the headquarters of the White Sea military flotilla tried to use the EON-18 destroyers as an escort for icebreakers and transports returning from the Arctic to Arkhangelsk. The command of the Navy was even sent a special request, which immediately received a categorical refusal.
New warships were urgently waiting in Murmansk. On October 9, the destroyers left Dixon and the very next day they arrived in the Yugorsky Shar Strait. In Varneka Bay, the ships replenished their fuel supplies and on the evening of October 12 safely passed into the Barents Sea, miraculously avoiding death on German mines. The fact is that German intelligence knew about the passage of Soviet destroyers through the Yugorsky Shar Strait, although the exact timetable for their movement was unknown to the enemy. Covert mining of the strait was carried out by the submarine U-592, placing 24 mines at the exit from Yugorsky Shar various types. But the German submarine was a day late, having mined the strait after the caravan passed into the Barents Sea. Nevertheless, on October 14, one of these mines nevertheless blew up the Shchors transport, which was heading through the strait to the western coast of Novaya Zemlya.
And the destroyer caravan safely arrived in Vaenga Bay (now the city of Severomorsk) in the early morning of October 14th. On the approach to the Kola Bay, they were met by the commander of the Northern Fleet, Vice Admiral A.G. Golovko, who went to sea aboard the destroyer Thundering. Thus, in three months, a detachment of EON-18 ships traveled from Vladivostok to the main base of the Northern Fleet almost 7360 miles in 762 running hours at an average speed of about 9.6 knots. With an autonomy of about 2,000 miles for the destroyers, the ships had to replenish their fuel supplies several times from the shore and from the Lok-Batan tanker accompanying the caravan. For a significant part of this long journey, the damaged destroyer "Furious" was towed by the leader "Baku".
One of the commemorative signs issued for the 30th anniversary of the heroic transition from Vladivostok to Murmansk. This badge is dedicated to the destroyer Reasonable.
Thus, the most difficult operation was successfully completed, and two days later the EON-18 caravan was officially disbanded. As a result, the Northern Fleet was replenished with the most modern ships built at the shipyards of Nikolaev and Komsomolsk-on-Amur in 1938-1941.
sources
I bring to your attention a small review of the long-range cruises of our Navy in 2017. As in previous years, the main tasks of our fleet are:
1) Participation in the military operation in Syria
2) Ensuring the actions of our SSBNs
3) Control of the Arctic zone
4) Protection of maritime traffic
5) Demonstration of the flag, participation in international events.
Thus, it is possible to single out a zone of permanent presence (where our fleet is permanently located) - this is the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, where our operational squadron operates.
The areas of regular presence (where our ships are located for several months of the year) are the North Atlantic, the Arctic, Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
And the zones of periodic presence, where our ships are "raids", if there is a free pennant - these are the Caribbean Sea and the South Atlantic.
This requires intense and intense activity from our fleet, and the significantly “shrunken” ship structure compared to Soviet times forces our naval command to make remarkable efforts to correctly distribute combat-ready pennants across the World Ocean, maintain their combat readiness and quickly maneuver forces.
So, the main operational unit at the moment is a detachment of ships - a formation consisting of 1-2 ships of 1-2 ranks and 2-3 auxiliary ships. This is the minimum squad of forces capable of performing the above tasks. The operational Mediterranean squadron is a reinforced detachment of ships, which, in addition to 1-3 ships of 1-2 ranks, includes 1-3 smaller ships and boats, several diesel-electric submarines (and possibly nuclear submarines), as well as several auxiliary ships and large landing ships.
Also, the command is actively attracting ships of coastal navigation and the near sea zone to solve problems in the far sea zone. Last year they were Black Sea RTOs, this year they are Baltic corvettes. Despite the unusual tasks, the ships successfully carried out combat service.
Northern Fleet
The Northern Fleet is the most powerful of the 4, but it also has the largest area of responsibility - this is the North Atlantic, the Arctic, and also (together with the Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet) the Mediterranean Sea and the western part of the Indian Ocean. At the same time, the presence of our fleet in the Arctic is of particular importance, since, unlike other operational commands, the main force in the USC "Sever" is not ground troops, and the Navy.
Despite the completion of the repair of two ships of the 1st rank (the cruiser Marshal Ustinov and the BOD Admiral Levchenko), the Northern Fleet slightly reduced its activity compared to last year. Or, rather, it will be returned to the usual mode of operation - 2 long-distance trips of single BODs + an Arctic trip. Somewhat apart is the transition of a detachment of ships to participate in the parade - this is a long trip, but not a full-fledged military service.
Long-distance voyage of the BOD "Severomorsk".
During the long-distance voyage, which began on October 15, 2016, the crew of the BOD Severomorsk solved tasks in the Mediterranean Sea twice. For the first time, the ship entered the Mediterranean Sea as part of a naval aircraft carrier group led by the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov of the Fleet of the Soviet Union and operated there for three months.
In mid-January, the Severomorsk BOD began to carry out long-range missions accompanied by the Altai rescue and tugboat and the Dubna medium sea tanker. Through the Suez Canal, Russian sailors made the transition to the Red Sea and then to the Indian Ocean.
The crew of the ship adequately represented the Russian Navy in the AMAN-2017 international naval exercise, which took place in the waters of the Arabian Sea and at the coastal base of the Pakistani Navy.
Then the Russian sailors made a round trip around the African continent, visiting 10 ports in Africa and Asia: Salalah (Oman), Karachi (Pakistan), Victoria (Seychelles), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Pemba (Mozambique), Cape Town (South Africa) ), Walvis Bay (Namibia), Luanda (Angola), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) and Praia (Cape Verde).
During the long voyage, the Russians also made business calls to the ports of Limassol (Cyprus), Tartus (Syria), Lisbon (Portugal).
On June 6, the ship arrived at the base. The long-distance voyage of the Severomorsk BOD took place under the flag of the chief of staff of the anti-submarine ships formation of the Kola Flotilla of diverse forces of the Northern Fleet, Captain 1st Rank Stanislav Varik. During the long voyage, a large anti-submarine ship traveled more than 40,000 nautical miles.
Participation of a detachment of ships of the Northern Fleet in the Main Naval Parade
On July 17, a detachment of ships of the Northern Fleet left Severomorsk for the Barents Sea to participate in the Main Naval Parade. The detachment included the Marshal Ustinov cruiser, the Vice-Admiral Fists BOD, several auxiliary vessels, as well as the world's largest nuclear-powered combat attack ships - the Pyotr Veliky heavy nuclear missile cruiser and the strategic heavy missile submarine cruiser. appointment "Dmitry Donskoy".
At the same time, TPKSN pr. 941 "Dmitry Donskoy" was supposed to take part in the parade for the first time. And indeed, for the first time in its service, the largest nuclear submarine in the world appeared in the Baltic Sea. The passage of ships through the Baltic straits was an impressive sight, and many local residents came to look at our nuclear giants.
Video from youtube.com
Video from youtube.com
On July 31, the ships took part in a grandiose parade, in which they were undoubtedly the main decoration.
Video from youtube.com
After the parade, the detachment of the Northern Fleet headed home. On the way, the BOD "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" separated from him, which headed for the Red Sea.
On August 12, the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov, and the heavy nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine Dmitry Donskoy arrived at the main base of the Northern Fleet (SF) Severomorsk, having successfully completed the inter-fleet transition after participating in the Main Military naval parade on the Kronstadt roadstead. Then "Dmitry Donskoy" moved on September 4 to the Belomorsk naval base, thus completing its 3-month campaign.
Campaign BOD "Vice-Admiral Kulakov"
On August 12, the BOD of the Northern Fleet “Vice-Admiral Kulakov” completed the passage of the narrowest part of the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea. Then he made a call at the port of Limassol (Cyprus), replenished supplies and on August 25 entered the Red Sea through the Suez Canal. By this moment, during the long voyage, the ship had already left more than 8 thousand miles behind the stern.
From September 1 to October 17, the ship escorted foreign merchant ships from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and performed anti-piracy tasks. During this time, the Chinese tanker Casco Jay, a bulk carrier under the flag of the state of Barbados, and an Indian tanker were escorted.
Twice in September, a call was made to the port of Salalah (Oman).
On October 19-21, the BOD of the Northern Fleet “Vice-Admiral Kulakov” completed the passage of the Suez Canal and entered the port of Alexandria (Arab Republic of Egypt).
On November 3-7, the ship passed Gibraltar and made a business call to the capital of Portugal, the port of Lisbon. This is the fourth business call by a Russian ship to a port of a foreign country since the start of the long-distance voyage. On November 28, the ship returned to the main base of the Northern Fleet, the city of Severomorsk. The direct long-distance campaign of the BOD "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" lasted more than three months. From late August to mid-October, the crew of the BOD "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" operated in the southern part of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The main task of the ship was to ensure the regular naval presence of Russia in the region and the safety of civil navigation.
During the long-distance voyage, the BOD "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" traveled more than 23 thousand nautical miles and made four business calls to foreign ports: Limassol (Cyprus), Salalah (Oman), Alexandria (Egypt) and Lisbon (Portugal).
Arctic hike
On August 10, a detachment of ships and support vessels of the Northern Fleet consisting of the large anti-submarine ship Severomorsk, the large landing ships Kondopoga, Alexander Otrakovsky and ", the tanker Sergei Osipov, the rescue tug Pamir and the killer ship KIL-164 in accordance with the combat training plan, he left the main base of the Northern Fleet of Severomorsk in the Barents Sea and headed for the eastern regions of the Arctic.
As part of a special exercise on the types of support for the forces of the Russian Navy, which started in the Northern Fleet on August 7, the departure of a detachment of ships and support vessels for the Northern Fleet from their permanent bases in the Barents Sea was ensured by the ship-sweeping group of the Kola flotilla of diverse forces.
Minesweepers "Kolomna", "Yelnya" and "Yadrin" also completed the tasks of short-range mine support along the deployment route of a detachment of ships and support vessels in the Barents Sea.
On August 13, a detachment of ships and support vessels of the Northern Fleet, led by the large anti-submarine ship Severomorsk, left the Barents Sea for the Kara Sea through the Kara Gate Strait and on August 15 arrived at Dikson, the northernmost port of continental Russia.
After that, a detachment of ships first entered the port at the mouth of the Yenisei - Dudinka.
Video from youtube.com
Where major interspecies exercises took place.
Video from youtube.com
On September 1, officers and midshipmen of the BOD "Severomorsk" of the large landing ship "Kondopoga" took part in events dedicated to the Day of Knowledge in educational institutions Dudinka and held courage lessons for Taimyr schoolchildren.
On September 5, a detachment of ships of the Northern Fleet, performing the tasks of a long-range voyage to the Arctic, was divided into two groups. The first - as part of the large landing ships "George the Victorious" and "Alexander Otrakovsky" with the personnel and equipment of the Marine Corps and the Arctic Brigade of the Northern Fleet and a company of airborne paratroopers - left the Yenisei Bay for the Kara Sea and headed west.
The second group, led by the Severomorsk BOD, the Kondopoga large landing ship with personnel and equipment of the Arctic Brigade of the Northern Fleet, the Sergey Osipov tanker, the Pamir rescue and tugboat and the KIL-164 killer will carry out resupply and continue to perform tasks according to the plan of the Arctic campaign.
September 6 in the Belushya Bay of the Southern Islands of the archipelago New Earth amphibious landing took place from the large landing ship (BDK) "George the Victorious". A unit of the Marine Corps of the Northern Fleet (SF) on standard equipment was involved in the exercise.
After that, the BDK returned to the base. "Alesander Otrakovsky" - September 9, and "George the Victorious" - September 12.
The large anti-submarine ship "Severomorsk", the large landing ship "Kondopoga" with the personnel and equipment of the units of the Arctic brigade of the Northern Fleet, the tanker "Sergey Osipov", the rescue and tugboat "Pamir" and the KIL-164 pilot continued to move in a northeasterly direction in the areas close to the route of the Northern Sea Route.
For the first time in history, an amphibious assault was landed on the northernmost point of the Eurasian continent - Cape Chelyuskin. The landing operation involved 2 platoons of the Arctic Brigade and 5 multi-purpose armored transporters MT-LBV, equipped with Kord heavy machine guns, landed from the Kondopoga large-caliber landing craft.
After landing from the BDK, Arctic motorized riflemen, supported by assault groups of marines from the Severomorsk BOD, practiced tactical actions to seize the coastal bridgehead and made a 5-kilometer march - a throw deep into the Taimyr Peninsula.
On September 10, a detachment of warships and auxiliary vessels of the Northern Fleet, continuing its passage from the Yenisei Gulf to the New Siberian Islands, met with the nuclear icebreaker Vaigach in the Kara Sea and entered the Laptev Sea on September 11.
On September 14-23, a detachment of ships performed tasks in the area of the New Siberian Islands. In particular, the large anti-submarine ship "Severomorsk" and the large landing ship "Kondopoga" ensured the landing of amphibious assault forces on the unequipped coast of Kotelny Island. During the landing operation, units of the Arctic motorized rifle brigade of the Northern Fleet practiced combat tactics to capture and hold the coastal bridgehead with live firing from automatic small arms and grenade launchers.
Video from youtube.com
On September 28, the personnel and equipment of the Arctic motorized rifle brigade of the Northern Fleet (SF) for the first time in modern Russian history made a landing from the large landing ship "Kondopoga" on the Golomyanny Island of the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago.
The landing was carried out in a point-blank manner, during which units of the Arctic motorized rifle brigade on four MT-LBV multi-purpose armored transporters equipped with Kord heavy machine guns worked out a number of issues on conducting raid operations in unfamiliar terrain in the Arctic.
On October 4, the large anti-submarine ship Severomorsk, together with the large landing ship Kondopoga and support vessels, arrived at the main base of the Northern Fleet - Severomorsk.
The detachment under the flag of the commander of the Kola flotilla of diverse forces, Vice Admiral Oleg Golubev, traveled more than 6,000 nautical miles within 55 days to the New Siberian Islands in the Laptev Sea through the waters of the Barents and Kara Seas, as well as along the Yenisei River to the port of Dudinka. The Severomorstsy carried out four amphibious landing operations on the unequipped coast. Three large landing ships "George the Victorious", "Alexander Otrakovsky" and "Kondopoga" were involved in the landing on the coast of the Yenisei near Dudinka.
During their stay in Taimyr, the military personnel of the Northern Fleet carried out a large cultural program. The ships of the Northern Fleet were open to the public as part of the military-technical forum "Army-2017" in the Northern Fleet. More than 10,000 residents of the Far North were on board. 160 Taimyr schoolchildren were accepted into the ranks of the Yunarmiya.
Campaigns landing ships.
On April 5, after successfully completing the tasks of a long-range voyage, the large landing ship "George the Victorious" arrived at the main base of the Northern Fleet under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Andrei Zharkov.
BDK "George the Victorious" went on a long voyage on May 5 last year and during 2016-2017 performed tasks mainly in the Black and Mediterranean Seas. During this period, the ship had about 4400 sailing hours.
In total, the ship covered more than 45 thousand nautical miles (if converted to kilometers, it turns out that the North Sea sailors circled the Earth 2 times along the equator). During the long trip, 2 boys were born in the families of the crew members of the BDK "George the Victorious".
On September 13, the large landing ship "Alexander Otrakovsky" left the main base of the Northern Fleet in the city of Severomorsk in the Barents Sea and headed for the western regions of the Atlantic. September 21 "Alexander Otrakovsky" completed the passage of the English Channel.
Baltic Fleet
Our Baltic fleet is the smallest (“former fleet”), moreover, 2 out of 3 ships of the far sea zone are under long-term repair. This fact made us send a couple of corvettes on a long trip this year.
On October 14, ships of the Baltic Fleet under the command of Captain 1st Rank Andrey Kuznetsov, as part of the Boikiy, Soobrazitelny corvettes and the Kola medium sea tanker, left the Military Harbor in Baltiysk today and headed for the Atlantic to carry out planned long-range missions.
On October 18, a detachment of ships of the Baltic Fleet, consisting of the Boikiy, Soobrazitelny corvettes and the Kola tanker, performing planned long-range missions, passed the Scandinavian Kattegat straits, on October 23 - the English Channel and on October 29 entered the Mediterranean Sea.
On November 7-9, the Boikiy and Soobrazitelny corvettes, performing long-range missions, made a business call at the Cypriot port of Limassol. Further, the ships split up: the Boyky corvette remained to carry out tasks in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and the Soobrazitelny corvette on November 14 through the Suez Canal entered the Red Sea, where it carried out the piloting of civilian ships for a month. At the same time, the ship twice called at the port of Djibouti (next to which, by the way, is the Chinese naval base).
Corvette "Soobrazitelny" project 20380 of the Russian Navy on the roads of Limassol (Cyprus)
On December 11, a detachment of ships of the Baltic Fleet, consisting of the corvettes Boikiy and Soobrazitelny, performing the tasks of a long-range voyage, completed a business call at the Cypriot port of Limassol.
In the first half of the year, the Baltic corvettes twice made long trips to the North Sea:
April 7 - May 1, a detachment of ships of the Baltic Fleet, consisting of corvettes Boikiy, Soobrazitelny, sea tug MB-123, tanker Kola, performed tasks in the North Atlantic. During the campaign, the detachment left more than 4 thousand nautical miles astern, conducted dozens of shipboard exercises to search for a conditional submarine in various regions of the North Atlantic. The Ka-27 carrier-based helicopters have completed more than 20 flight shifts, performing combat training tasks.
In June, a detachment of ships of the Baltic Fleet was on a long voyage as part of the Boikiy and Guarding corvettes.
In addition, on January 29, the Ivan Shabalin large landing ship returned from a long voyage, and on May 7, a detachment of ships of the Baltic Fleet as part of the large landing ship (BDK) Korolev and the Kola tanker. Both campaigns were quite long in time - the large landing craft "Korolev" went on a campaign in November 2016, and the large landing craft "Alexander Shabalin" - in July 2016.
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is the basis for the formation of our operational squadron in the Mediterranean, so all combat-ready ships of 1-2 ranks are on duty off the coast of Syria in shifts. Last year, the fleet was replenished with two new frigates, project 11356, which allows us to solve the problem of ensuring the actions of our group in Syria mainly on our own, despite the withdrawal of the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the cruiser Moskva, to the reserve.
This year, the operational squadron alternately included the Smetlivy TFR (from October 28, 2016 to March 5 and from May 23 to June 3), the frigate Admiral Grigorovich (from April 8 to July 12, from September 25 to October 4 , from December 1 to the present), SKR "Inquisitive" (from July 21 to August 3 and from September 13 to November 14).
Also, for the first time, the frigate Admiral Essen entered combat service, which began the inter-naval transition from the Baltic on April 28 and carried out combat service from May 5 to July 5 and from July 11 to September 22. At the same time, in May, June and September 2017, the ship carried out launches of Caliber cruise missiles at the shelters of ISIS militants during the operation. Russian troops in Syria.
Video from youtube.com
As you can see, in 2017 there was only one month when not a single one of our large ships was in the eastern Mediterranean - this is from March 5 to April 8. In the future, 1-3 of our frigates / TFRs were constantly on duty near Syria (and from the beginning of November to the beginning of December, the BF corvette).
In the course of military service, our ships repeatedly called at the port of Limassol (Grigorovich - 3 times, Essen - 1 time). Patrol ship "Inquisitive" took part in the first naval parade of ships in honor of the Day of the Russian Navy, which took place on the roadstead of the Syrian port of Tartus. From September 28 to October 1, the frigate of the Black Sea Fleet "Admiral Grigorovich" made a visit to the port of Kerkyra on the Greek island of Corfu.
Also in the Mediterranean this year, the Black Sea "Varshavyanka" began to be located almost on a permanent basis.
On May 6, the newest large diesel submarine of the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) "Krasnodar" began an inter-fleet transition from the Baltic to Black Sea. Then she served in the Mediterranean until August 7. In May and June 2017, the boat carried out launches of Kalibr cruise missiles from a submerged position at the shelters of IS militants during the operation of Russian troops in Syria.
Video from youtube.com
Submarine "Krasnodar" safely passed through the Black Sea straits and arrived in Sevastopol on August 9.
On August 28, two of the newest large diesel-electric submarines of the Black Sea Fleet "Kolpino" and "Veliky Novgorod", making an inter-fleet transition from Baltic Sea on the Black Sea Fleet, arrived in the Mediterranean Sea.
On September 14, Project 636.3 submarines Veliky Novgorod and Kolpino located in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea from a submerged position launched a strike with Caliber cruise missiles at important targets of the ISIS terrorist group in Syria. The targets for destruction were command posts, communication centers, as well as depots of weapons and ammunition of militants in areas controlled by ISIS southeast of the city of Deir ez-Zor. 7 sea-based cruise missiles were fired at terrorist targets from a submerged position.
On September 22 at 10:11 a.m., the Veliky Novgorod submarine of the Black Sea Fleet, operating as part of the operational formation of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean, launched Caliber cruise missiles from a submerged position at terrorist targets in Syria. Targets for defeat were identified for last days strongholds, accumulations of manpower and armored vehicles, as well as ammunition depots of Jabhat al-Nusra militants in the province of Idlib.
On October 5, the submarines launched another 10 Caliber missiles at ISIS positions in the Deir ez-Zor area. On October 31, the Veliky Novgorod diesel-electric submarine launched a salvo attack from the Mediterranean Sea with three Caliber cruise missiles, as a result of which a fortified area with a cluster of militants and armored vehicles was destroyed, as well as a large warehouse of weapons and ammunition of ISIS terrorists in the area. locality Abu Kemal in the province of Deir ez-Zor. On November 3, the diesel-electric submarine "Kolpino" repeated the attack on Abu-Kemal with 6 missiles.
In total, during the year, Black Sea Fleet ships fired 45 Caliber missiles at targets.
At the moment, the Veliky Novgorod and Kolpino submarines are serving in the Mediterranean Sea.
Also, the operational squadron included smaller ships. These are the minesweepers Ivan Golubets (from September 2016 to January 25 and from November 4), Kovrovets (from January 25 to March 27), Valentin Pikul (from March 27 to August 10).
From April 11 to September 8, the squadron included the newest anti-sabotage boat of the Black Sea Fleet "Yunarmeets Kryma". A boat of this class for the first time made a long voyage beyond the zone of the Black Sea straits, proving its high seaworthiness.
On October 18-22, the large landing ship of the Black Sea Fleet "Azov" stood in the Greek port of Pylos, where Russian sailors took part in events dedicated to the 190th anniversary of the Navarino naval battle.
Pacific Fleet
The operational zone of the Pacific Fleet is southeast Asia and the eastern part of the Indian Ocean.
On January 25, a detachment of warships of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and the large sea tanker Boris Butoma, returned from a long voyage to the main base of the Pacific Fleet - Vladivostok.
Warships of the Pacific Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov, Deputy Commander of the Primorsky Flotilla of Diverse Forces, have been carrying out long-range cruise missions in the waters of the World Ocean since October 15, 2016. During this time, the ships traveled over 17,000 nautical miles.
The Pacific sailors paid business visits to the Indonesian port of Tanjungpriok, where they took part in the international arms exhibition Indodefens-2016, and to the port of Sattahip in the Kingdom of Thailand.
In mid-December 2016, they called at the port of Visakhapatnam of the Republic of India and took part in the Russian-Indian naval exercise "Indra Navi-2016" in the Bay of Bengal.
In January 2017, we visited the port of Manila (Philippines), the port of Busan of the Republic of Korea and the port of Maizuru (Japan). Upon completion of the visit to the port of Maizuru, the crews of the ships took part in a joint Russian-Japanese naval exercise.
From April 01 to June 14, 2017, a detachment of warships of the Pacific Fleet was on a long voyage as part of the Varyag guards missile cruiser and the Pechenga tanker. During this time, the ships have covered over 11,000 nautical miles. During the long-range ocean voyage, the ships made calls at the ports of Busan (Republic of Korea), Manila (Philippines), Cam Ranh (Vietnam), Sattahip (Thailand), Changi (Singapore), Tajung-Priok (Indonesia) and Hong Kong (China). The Pacific sailors participated in the international maritime parade dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Navy of the Republic of Singapore and in the exhibition of weapons and military equipment "Imdeks Asia-2017" in the naval base of Changi. Conducted joint communications and maneuvering exercises with ships of the Singaporean and Indonesian navies. While anchored in the port of Manila, the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, the guards missile cruiser Varyag, was visited by President of the Republic of the Philippines Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Video from youtube.com
On October 2, a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of large anti-submarine ships "Admiral Vinogradov", "Admiral Panteleev" and a large sea tanker "Boris Butoma", under the command of Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov, Deputy Commander of the Primorsky Flotilla of Diverse Forces, left Vladivostok to carry out the tasks of a long-range ocean voyage .
On October 12-17, within the framework of the program for the development of military cooperation, a detachment of ships visited the port of Muara (Brunei). After the visit, a joint exercise "PASSEX" was held, during which the tasks of organizing communications, exchanging information and joint maneuvering were worked out.
On October 20-26, our ships visited Manila - the third time in a year. After that, the Admiral Vinogradov BOD returned to Vladivostok on November 9, completing a 40-day campaign, while the Admiral Panteleev and Boris Butoma continued their combat service and made an unofficial call at the Cambodian port of Kampongaon.
On November 17-21, a detachment of Pacific Fleet ships, in accordance with the program of an unofficial visit to the Kingdom of Thailand, was in the port of Chuk Samet (Sattahip base of the Thai Navy).
27 "Admiral Panteleev" made an unofficial visit to Indonesia, and on December 7-10 - the port of Tilawa (Republic of the Union of Myanmar)
On December 21-24, a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleev and the large sea tanker Boris Butoma, made an unofficial visit to the Republic of Singapore.