History of creation

The large armored boat intended for the Amur was supposed to be armed with two 76-mm cannons in two turrets from the tanks, and the small armored boat with one 76-mm cannon in the tank turret. At the same time, they planned to install two small turrets with rifle-caliber machine guns on the armored boats. The maximum draft of a large armored boat was planned to be up to 0.7 m, and for a small one - up to 0.45 m. The boats had to fit into the railway dimensions of the USSR to allow transportation by rail.

Design

The armored boat of Project 1125 had a single-shaft power plant with a GAM-34 engine, therefore - worse maneuverability and survivability compared to Project 1124. But, to some extent, this was compensated by a lower draft. As of October 17, 1937, the characteristics of the armored boat Project 1125: total displacement 26 tons; maximum length 22.5 m; maximum width 3.4 m; maximum draft 0.5 m. 1 GAM-34BP engine provided 20 knots with a range of 250 km. Armament: 1 76-mm KT-28 cannon and 1 DT machine gun in the turret of a T-28 tank. In addition, 3 Maxima in 3 PB-3 towers. The boat's armor is bulletproof: sides 7 mm; deck 4 mm; sides and roof of the cabin 8 and 4 mm. The sides are armored from 16 to 45 frames. The lower edge of the side armor dropped below the waterline by 150 mm. The installation of the PB-3 turret on the bow of the Project 1125 boats required increasing the barbette of the gun turret by 100 mm (to be able to rotate above the bow machine-gun turret). In March 1938, instead of PB-3 machine-gun turrets with a Maxim machine gun, the Zelenodolsk plant began installing PBK-5 turrets with a DT machine gun. By June 27, 1938, the plant had in stock 25 turrets from T-28 tanks for installation on boats of projects 1124 and 1125. At this time, the installation of modified turrets on armored boats with an elevation angle increased to 70° and armor thickness reduced from 20 to 10 mm was discussed . T-28 turrets of the first modification with a common rectangular entrance hatch were installed only on 24 armored boats of Project 1125. On subsequent armored boats, the same T-28 turrets were installed, but with 2 round hatches. The displacement of boats pr. 1125 with PBK-5 turrets with DT machine guns is 25.5 tons; maximum length 22.65 m; waterline length 22.26 m; maximum width with fender 3.54 m; boat side height 1.5 m; armored boat draft 0.56 m. 1 GAM-34VS engine with AK-60 aircraft compressor, D-3 auxiliary engine. The armored boat developed 18 knots (33 km/h). Crew 10 people. 2.2 tons of gasoline for 16-20 hours of full speed. The design armament consisted of a 76-mm KT-28 gun with a firing angle of 290°, later replaced by an F-34 cannon and 4 machine guns - 1 in the tank turret and 3 in the turrets - one in front of the gun turret (which was raised on the barbette), one on the combat wheelhouse and one in the stern. To differentiate the hull, the cannon turret and wheelhouse are shifted to the stern (23rd frame). As during the construction of armored boats Project 1124, the design of the turrets and the installation of machine guns (open and closed at the top, two and single barrel) were also changed on the boats. Turrets with a 76-mm PS-3 cannon and 45-mm 20-K cannons with the same elevation angle (60°) were developed for armored boats, but they were not accepted for production. An experimental boat, Project 1125, built without armor, after testing was handed over by order of Deputy People's Commissar of the Navy I.S. Isakov for use as a training boat. Production boats had already been booked, and the first production armored boat of Project 1125 entered service in 1938. It was planned that in 1939 the Zelenodolsk plant would hand over 38 BKA pr. 1125 to the fleet associations, but only 25 of them were provided with T-28 tank turrets. The Kirov Plant undertook to supply the remaining 13 tank turrets according to a new, naval - modified project, which made it possible to fire at air targets. And in 1939, the project of the second series of boats was approved - modified, which were supposed to be equipped with economical ZIS-5 engines. The installation of modified 76-mm turrets with an elevation angle of 70° and four coaxial universal 12.7-mm machine guns in two DShKM-2B turrets on Project 1125U armored boats under construction was planned to begin in 1940.

Power point

The first series of armored boats of projects 1125 and 1124 had GAM-34BP or GAM-34BS gasoline engines. The large armored boat has two engines, and the small one has one. Maximum engine power - GAM-34BP - 800 hp. With. and GAM-34BS - 850 l. With. - at 1850 rpm. At these speeds, the armored boats could accelerate to full speed; their movement at the highest speed corresponded to a regime transitioning from displacement sailing to planing.

Armament

Gun - originally the armored boat and Project 1125 had a 76-mm tank gun mod. 1927/32 with a barrel length of 16.5 calibers in the turrets of the T-28 tank. But at the beginning of 1938, the production of these guns at the Kirov plant was stopped. Since 1938, the same plant has mass-produced 76-mm L-10 tank guns with a barrel length of 26 calibers. These guns were installed on some armored boats in the same turrets of the T-28 tank.

L-10 cannons are installed on BKA pr. 1125 from 4 to 18.

Machine gun, anti-aircraft and light weapons - three or four 7.62 mm DT machine guns - one coaxial in the tank turret, up to three in three turrets - on the wheelhouse, on the engine room hood and sometimes on the nose, or one or three 7.62 mm DT machine gun - 1 coaxial in a tank turret, up to 2 in 2 turrets - sometimes on the hood of the engine room and sometimes on the nose; and from one to four (2 coaxial) 12.7 mm DShK machine guns; and the crew's personal weapons.

Means of communication

The armored boats were equipped with an Ersh radio station with a power of 50 W, operating in the wave range 25-200 m (0.5-12 MHz) when transmitting and 25-600 m (0.5-12 MHz) when receiving, with a range of 80 miles.

Modernizations during the war

During the fighting, it became necessary to extend the navigation time of armored boats on freezing bodies of water; but it was difficult to do this - the light hull of the armored boat was not able to ensure safe navigation even in broken ice. Plates young ice stripped paint from the body, which led to its corrosion. On armored boats, thin propeller blades were often damaged. The commander of the armored boat - as well as its chief designer - Yu. Yu. Benoit found an acceptable way out of this situation - the boat was “dressed” in a wooden “fur coat”. Boards with a thickness of 40 to 50 mm protected the bottom and sides (100-150 mm above the waterline) of the ship. This so-called “fur coat” almost did not change the sediment at all due to the buoyancy of the tree. But the “fur coat” also had disadvantages - the armored boat in it had a lower speed. In this regard, engineer Pammel created a design for a propeller with blade edges that are thicker than the previous ones; maximum speed armored boat with reinforced propellers decreased by only 0.5 knots. So Soviet armored boats became mini-icebreakers; it was important on

At the end of 1962, a large anti-submarine ship joined the USSR Navy project 61“Komsomolets of Ukraine”, the development of which was carried out at TsKB-53 since 1956. It was the first fairly large serial BNK, equipped with a gas turbine unit, and as a result became a milestone not only in domestic, but also in world military shipbuilding. Despite the fact that the construction of this project, according to the program, was planned since 1959, even then it was clear that having only one torpedo tube and four RBUs ​​among anti-submarine weapons, such a ship could not effectively fight modern enemy nuclear submarines. Therefore, already in 1958, B.I. Kupensky’s group was issued TTZ for the design of a more armed BOD according to project 1125. Its main difference was that it was supposed to carry on board a six-barreled RBU-24000 launcher for Vikhr anti-submarine missiles with a nuclear warhead and have one or two permanently deployed anti-submarine helicopters.

According to the results of the preliminary design work, the ship's displacement was: standard 5,900 tons, normal 6,650 tons, full 7,400 tons. To speed up the work, the project was carried out in the hull of a destroyer pr.58 with dimensions of 160 x 16 x 6 meters and with its own boiler-turbine unit with a capacity of 2 x 45,000 hp. The full speed of the ship was assumed to be 40 knots, which would make it possible to quickly overtake submarines with the highest 30-knot underwater speed.

BOD armament Project 1125 in addition to the RBU-24000, it consisted of two M-1 Volna air defense systems with two-boom launchers, two twin universal 76.2 mm AK-726 artillery mounts, two RBU-6000 rocket launchers and two five-tube 533 mm torpedo tubes. In the aft section there was a runway and an under-deck hangar for a helicopter (or two), as well as aviation fuel reserves and an aviation ammunition cellar.

In the end from project 1125 abandoned in favor of a serial BOD pr.61, and the Whirlwind anti-submarine missile system (but in the form of a rechargeable double-boom launcher) was adopted only by aircraft-carrying anti-submarine cruisers Project 1123 And 1143 . First of all, the decision to refuse was made to please industry, as a result of which our fleet missed the chance to deploy a more powerful anti-submarine system than was later created. After all, many such ships could be built, based on their serial cost. Besides, project 1125 could subsequently be modernized with the advent of new weapons, which absolutely could not be done with pr.61 due to its overly compact layout.

Interesting, I never expected that during my visit to the museum I would be able to write about ships. The museum is not in St. Petersburg or Sevastopol, but in the Urals. But the fact is, it worked.

The story will be about river armored boats of Project 1125, one of which is in the museum, and I was kindly allowed to go around it.

This project is interesting. The boat itself is also interesting. At first glance, it looks like a tin, made according to the principle “I made it out of what I had.” Almost, almost like that. But only almost.

The history of the project began on November 12, 1931, when the command of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet (RKKF) approved the terms of reference for the creation of two types of armored boats.

The large armored boat (Project 1124), intended for the Amur River, was supposed to be armed with two 76-mm guns located in two tank turrets.

The small armored boat was armed with one 76-mm gun in the turret.

It was also planned to install two light turrets on the armored boats (similar in design to the turrets of the English Vickers tank, the progenitor of the T-26) with 7.62 mm machine guns.

The draft of a large armored boat should be no more than 70 cm, and a small one - no more than 45 cm. The ships had to meet the railway dimensions of the USSR when transported by rail on a platform.

As a result, turrets from the T-28 tank and GAM-34 gasoline engines were chosen.

GAM-34 is the Mikulin AM-34 aircraft engine, the same one on which the crews of Chkalov and Gromov flew to the USA through the North Pole.

GAM-34, unlike its winged brother, was equipped with a reverse gearbox, a freewheel, a modified cooling system (sea water is used) and an exhaust system.

A total of 203 Project 1125 armored boats were built.

The chief designer of the “Project 1125” was Julius Yulievich Benois.

Design of the boat and start of production - 1936. And it began...

Time has shown that the main features of Project 1125, a flat bottom with a propeller tunnel, shallow draft and modest weight and size characteristics, provided armored boats with good performance characteristics, high mobility and the possibility of emergency transportation by rail.

Boats were actively used in all water theaters of the Great Patriotic War and World War II. Far East to Germany and Austria. The boats fought on the Volga, on Lakes Ladoga and Onega, on the Black Sea coast, the Dnieper, Danube, Tisza, Vistula and Oder.

In general, Project 1125 turned out to be so successful that the military merits of some members of the family could actually be the envy of our battleships and cruisers.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the weapons.

Initially, as I mentioned above, the armored boats of Project 1125 had a 76-mm tank gun of the 1927/32 model with a barrel length of 16.5 calibers in the turrets of the T-28 tank. But at the beginning of 1938, the production of such guns at the Kirov plant was stopped.

From 1937-1938, the same plant mass-produced 76-mm L-10 tank guns with a barrel length of 26 calibers. These guns are installed on some armored boats in the same turrets.

The training use of these guns showed that the small elevation angle (only 25°) was very inconvenient. Tanks were intended mainly for destroying targets with direct fire, and a river armored boat had a large unhittable space when firing with direct fire. Banks, forest, bushes, buildings, all this made it difficult for the gunners of the low armored boat to fire.

To make life easier for our own and more difficult for our enemies, in 1939 an MU turret was created for armored boats, with a calculated elevation angle of 70°. However, the tests of the tower were considered unsatisfactory.

At the end of 1938, the Kirov Plant began serial production of 76-mm L-11 guns. Structurally, this is the same L-10 cannon, but the barrel has been lengthened from 26 to 30 calibers. L-11 began to be installed in the MU turret. The elevation angle of 70° has not changed, but the turret had to be strengthened, since the recoil of the L-11 is slightly greater compared to the L-10.

In 1942, river armored boats of projects 1124 and 1125 began to be equipped with F-34 cannons in the turrets of T-34 tanks with an elevation angle of 25°. And these guns became the main armament of boats throughout the war.

In addition, some boats were equipped with 76-mm Lander anti-aircraft guns. These guns were installed openly as an air defense weapon.

Machine gun anti-aircraft weapons were installed depending on what was available. From three to four 7.62 mm DT machine guns (1 coaxial in the tank turret, 1 on the wheelhouse, 1 on the engine room hood and sometimes 1 on the bow) to four (2 coaxial) 12.7 mm DShK machine guns.

It was not planned to equip the armored boat with mines. However, in the first days of the war, sailors of the Danube Military Flotilla on Project 1125 boats were able to install minefields using improvised means. Since the spring of 1942, rails and butts were installed on the aft decks of newly built armored boats to secure mines. Project 1125 armored boats could carry up to six Rybka-type mines.

Naturally, during the Great Patriotic War armored boats were equipped with 24-M-8 missile launchers with 24 82-mm or 16-M-13 missiles with 16 132-mm M-8 and M-13 missiles, generally similar to 82-mm and 132-mm missiles RS-82 and RS-132 shells.

Armor. The armored boat was “armored” very conventionally. The “river tank” was inferior (and significantly) to land tanks. The armor was conditionally bulletproof: side 7 mm, deck 4 mm, wheelhouse 8 mm, wheelhouse roof 4 mm. The side reservation was carried out from frames 16 to 45. The lower edge of the “armored belt” dropped 150 mm below the waterline.

Despite the fact that river boats were ships of the coastal zone, some (intended for the Onega and Ladoga flotillas) were equipped with boat compasses. This could be considered a navigational weapon.

For radio communication, the “Ruff” radio station was installed on the boats, for telegraph and radiotelephone communication between ships. It was a Soviet radio station of that period, that is, there was conditionally communication on ships.

What can you say about the combat path of Project 1125 boats? And a lot, and nothing. The main battle in which boats were really very useful was the Battle of Stalingrad.

Marshal Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov, the man who directly led the defense of Stalingrad, a man who understands military affairs well, said this in his memoirs:

“I’ll say briefly about the role of the sailors of the flotilla, about their exploits: if they had not been there, the 62nd Army would have died without ammunition and food.”

During daylight hours, armored boats hid in numerous backwaters and tributaries of the Volga, hiding from enemy air raids and artillery fire. At night, work began - under the cover of darkness, boats delivered reinforcements to the besieged city, while simultaneously carrying out daring reconnaissance raids along the sections of the coast occupied by the Germans, providing fire support to Soviet troops, landing troops behind enemy lines and conducting shelling of German positions.

The numbers talking about the combat service of the boats, to be honest, are shocking. Especially when you understand what we are talking about. About a small flat-bottomed boat, the armor of which is very, very conditional.

But reports and reports persistently indicate that the boats of the 2nd division transported 53 thousand soldiers and commanders of the Red Army, 2000 tons of equipment and food to the right bank of the Volga, to Stalingrad. During the same time, 23,727 wounded soldiers and 917 civilians were evacuated from Stalingrad on the decks of armored boats.

The 2nd division is six ships...

The “river tanks” of the Volga Military Flotilla accounted for 20 units of German armored vehicles, destroyed more than a hundred dugouts and bunkers, and were credited with suppressing 26 artillery batteries.

And, of course, 150 thousand soldiers and commanders of the Red Army, wounded, civilians and 13,000 tons of cargo transported from one bank to the other.

Losses amounted to 3 armored boats.

By the way, our hero is one of them. The boat with serial number 221 was laid down in Zelenodolsk, at plant No. 240 and put into operation in August 1942. He wore tail numbers 76, 74, 34.

On October 30, 1942, she was sunk during a German air raid while unloading the wounded at the Northern pier. Raised on March 2, 1944, restored and is an exhibit of the museum in Verkhnyaya Pyshma.

By the way, the Germans were so fed up with the boats that they littered the river area with sea mines. Guess who had to play the role of minesweepers afterwards?

But some of the boats left the Volga already in the summer of 1943. The boats traveled further by rail to the West. Ukraine, Belarus, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Poland, Austria and Germany - where there were rivers, Project 1125 boats were also noted there.

Performance characteristics of the Project 1125 armored boat:

Displacement: 26.6 tons.
Length: 23 m.
Draft: 0.6 m.
Engine: GAM-34 power 800 hp.
Maximum speed: 19 knots.
Cruising range: 200 miles.
Crew 10 people.

This is exactly the case when the spool is small but expensive.

Armored boats of the Great Patriotic War. In fact, suicide bombers who entered the line of direct torpedo attack under heavy fire from the best warships in the world.
It’s not for nothing that dozens of armored boats stand on pedestals around the country - a reminder of our reckless heroic ancestors who went on suicidal attacks and won. Even death.

“At dawn on June 25, armored boats No. 725, 461 and 462, firing intensely from cannons and machine guns, came close to the Romanian coast in the Satu Nou area, where they landed a company of paratroopers. After a short battle, the enemy soldiers fled and took refuge in the floodplains. Captured seven prisoners, two field guns and 10 machine guns.
At 6 a.m. on June 26, the 4th armored boat detachment of the Danube Flotilla transferred the 23rd Infantry Regiment to Romanian territory. After 2.5 hours he captured the city of Old Kiliya. Up to 200 enemy soldiers and officers were killed, and 720 were captured. The trophies of Soviet soldiers were 8 cannons and 30 machine guns. By the end of the day, the regiment's units captured several surrounding villages..."
This is not yet the liberation of Romania in 1944. This is the third and fourth day of the war. 1941 A dozen of our armored boats ensured the capture of a bridgehead along a front of 76 km and a depth of up to 15 km on the Romanian bank of the Danube. We left "with little blood, with a mighty blow." But we didn’t have time. There are many photos from those years under the cut.

It is curious that the enemy’s large river flotilla never attempted to engage in battle with the armored boats of the Danube flotilla. The Romanians had seven powerful monitors with a displacement of 600-700 tons, and the Danube flotilla had five ships of the same class with a displacement of 230-250 tons. The Romanian monitors had eight 152 mm and twenty-six 120 mm guns, while ours had two 130 mm and eight 102 mm guns. However, the main striking force of the Soviet flotilla were 22 armored boats of Project 1125. They can safely be called river tanks. It was purely Russian know-how.

PROJECTS 1124 and 1125

On November 12, 1931, the command of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet (RKKF) approved the terms of reference for two types of armored boats. The large armored boat for the Amur River was supposed to be armed with two 76-mm guns in turrets, and the small one with one of the same guns. In addition, it was planned to install two light turrets with 7.62 mm machine guns on the boats. The draft of a large boat is at least 70 cm, and a small one - 45 cm. The armored boats had to fit into the railway dimensions of the USSR when transported by rail on an open platform. On June 22, 1932, this technical assignment was issued to Lenrechsudoproekt. At the same time, the types of turrets, guns (from the T-28 tank) and engines (GAM-34) were selected.

In October 1932, Lenrechsudoproekt completed its work. The large armored boat was called “Project 1124”, and the small one was called “Project 1125”. They were very close in design.

The first series of boats of both projects were equipped with GAM-34BP engines. The large armored boat had two engines, the small one - one. Maximum engine power (800 hp for GAM-34BP and 850 hp for GAM-34BS) was achieved at 1850 rpm. It was then that the boats could gain full speed. Moreover, movement at maximum speed corresponded to a regime transitioning from displacement sailing to planing.

Since 1942, most armored boats of projects 1124 and 1125 were equipped with imported four-stroke Hall-Scott engines with a power of 900 hp. With. and Packard with a capacity of 1200 hp. With. They were much more reliable than GAM-34, but required more highly qualified service personnel and better gasoline (grades B-87 and B-100).

Initially, the armored boats were armed with 76-mm tank guns of the 1927/32 model, 16.5 calibers long, in turrets from the T-28 tank. However, at the beginning of 1938, the production of these guns at the Kirov plant was discontinued. But in 1937-1938, the same plant mass-produced 76-mm L-10 tank guns with a length of 24 calibers. They were installed on several boats in the same towers.

It should be noted that the maximum elevation angle of the mentioned tank guns did not exceed 250. Accordingly, the turrets from the T-28 were designed for it. After all, tanks were intended primarily to hit targets with direct fire. The river armored boat had a very low height of the line of fire above the water, and therefore, when firing direct fire, a very large unhittable space appeared, closed by the shore, forest, bushes, buildings, etc. That is why in 1938-1939, especially for armored boats of projects 1124 and 1125 created the MU turret, which allowed an elevation angle of 700 for a 76 mm gun. (By the way, the development was carried out by the “sharaga” of the OTB, located in the Leningrad prison “Kresty”.)

In 1939, the L-10 cannon was installed at the Kirov plant at MU. The turret with this gun passed field tests at the Artillery Research Experimental Test Site (ANIOP). The results were unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, by the end of 1939, Plant No. 340 completed the construction of an armored boat armed with the L-10. At the beginning of 1940 it was supposed to be tested in Sevastopol.

At the end of 1938, the Kirov Plant curtailed the production of L-10 guns, but mastered the serial production of 76-mm L-11 guns. In fact, it was the same L-10, only with a barrel lengthened to 30 calibers, and now the L-11 began to be installed in the MU turret. The elevation angle (700) did not change, but additional reinforcement had to be made in the turret, since the recoil of the L-11 was slightly greater compared to the L-10. However, only a few armored boats received L-10 and L-11 guns.

MODERNIZATION DURING THE WAR

In 1942, armored boats of projects 1124 and 1125 began to be armed with F-34 cannons, located in the turrets of T-34 tanks. They, however, had a maximum elevation angle of 250. Periodically, projects arose to create turrets with large elevation angles for guns, but all of them remained on paper. By the way, in memoir literature there are sometimes stories that our armored boats shot down enemy bombers with fire from 76-mm cannons. So, in such cases we are talking about Lander anti-aircraft guns of the 1914/15 model, which were not in towers, but openly installed on several boats.

It was not planned to equip armored boats of projects 1124 and 1125 with mine weapons. But already in the first days of the war, sailors of the Danube Flotilla on Project 1125 armored boats managed to lay minefields using various improvised means. Since the spring of 1942, rails and butts for attaching mines were mounted on the aft decks of boats delivered by industry. Project 1124 armored boats took 8 mines, and Project 1125 - 4 mines. Again, already during the Great Patriotic War they received new powerful weapons - 82 mm and 132 mm rockets.

During combat operations on freezing rivers and lakes, it was necessary to lengthen the navigation time of armored boats. This was not easy to do - the light hull of the armored boat could not ensure safe navigation even in broken ice. Plates of young ice stripped off the color, causing corrosion. The thin blades of the propellers were often damaged.

The commander of the boat, Yu. Yu. Benoit, found an original way out of the situation. The armored boat was dressed in a wooden “fur coat”. Boards 40-50 mm thick protected its bottom and sides (100-150 mm above the waterline). “Shuba” hardly changed its draft due to the buoyancy of the wood. Another question is that the armored boat in the “fur coat” had a lower speed. In turn, engineer E.E. Pummel designed a propeller with thicker blade edges, and the maximum speed of a boat with strengthened propellers decreased by only 0.5 knots.

So our armored boats turned into mini-icebreakers. This was especially important on Lakes Ladoga and Onega, where river tanks were able to conduct fighting two to four weeks longer than the ships of the Finnish flotillas.

In our Navy There have been cases when different (at least by era...) ships had the same project numbering... There are quite a few examples of this, and in particular the Project 1124 armored boat, while the same project number was and is worn by the well-known IPCs.. .. Baltic Fleet. A ship with standard armament: two 76-mm turrets of the T-34 tank variant. There were ships of this project armed with 76-mm anti-aircraft guns of the "Lendera" system, mixed variants with the same anti-aircraft guns + rocket-propelled mortars, as well as various mixed variants with artillery turrets from the "T-35" + launchers "8-M-8" and " M-13-M-1".

FROM COMBAT CHRONICLES

14 armored boats of the Volga Military Flotilla (VVF) took part in the Battle of Stalingrad, of which two were Project 1124, and the rest were single-gun - Project 1125. Several armored boats had launchers of 82-mm M-8 missiles, and armored boat No. 51 was armed with a 132 launcher -mm M-13 missiles.

The mobility and ability of the armored boats of the WWF to hide in the numerous channels of the Volga and Akhtuba made them highly vulnerable to German aviation and artillery.

Here is a chronicle of just one day of the defense of Stalingrad - September 14, 1942. At 10:40 a.m., according to the army intelligence department, the Germans, with a force of up to two infantry regiments and 60 tanks, were advancing on the Barricades plant. At 10:50 a.m. An order was transmitted over the radio to the Northern group of ships to immediately open fire in the area of ​​the Barricades plant. Ammunition consumption was 200 shells and RS.

From 12:30 p.m. until 12 hours 40 minutes Armored boat No. 13 fired at the village of Kuporosnoye and scattered a group of enemy infantry, expending 15 shells. Three hits were recorded in the dugouts.

At 13:10 armored boat No. 14 fired 18 high-explosive shells at German trenches and bunkers.

At 21:35 armored boat No. 41 reached the Volga south of the village of Rynok and fired two salvos of rockets at the cluster German tanks and infantry in the Sukhaya Mechetka area, southeast of Hill 101.3.

The winter of 1942-1943 turned out to be very cold; by November 10, freeze-up began on the Volga from Yelets to Saratov. Therefore, on November 1, the People's Commissar of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov gave the order to transfer most of the ships and vessels of the Volga Flotilla to Guryev.

However, the Usyskin and Chapaev gunboats and 12 armored boats remained in the Stalingrad area. They were frozen into the ice, but continued to fire at the enemy. The last salvo was fired by the WWF sailors on January 31, 1943 at 15:27.

Our armored boats were also active on Lake Onega. Here is one of the typical combat episodes. At 7 o’clock in the morning on September 14, 1943, a detachment consisting of armored boat No. 12 and torpedo boats No. 83 and No. 93 near Lesnoy Island discovered a Finnish tugboat standing off the shore. At 7:26 a.m. was fired from a distance of 4400 m from rocket launchers. The shells landed at the target location. At the same time, Finnish coastal batteries opened fire on the boats. Nevertheless, our sailors, having reloaded the launchers, at 8:08 a.m. They fired a second salvo - this time at the enemy batteries. According to the report of the detachment commander, out of the six guns that were fired, five were disabled, and a fire broke out on the ship.

In June 1944, in connection with the start of the offensive Soviet troops In Petrozavodsk, the commander of the Karelian Front ordered a landing party to be prepared and landed in Uyskaya Bay, 21 km south of the capital of Karelia. If events developed favorably, the paratroopers were to leave separate detachments (barriers) on the road and move towards the city.

3 gunboats (mobilized tugs), 7 armored boats, 7 torpedo boats, as well as 10 small patrol boats and 3 wheeled tugs were assigned to participate in the operation.

June 27 at 19:00 a detachment of ships, forming in two wake columns, left the Ozernoye mouth into Lake Onega. At 16:00 On June 28, the paratroopers were landed directly at the Petrozavodsk port. The Finns fled, setting the city on fire in many places. Units of the Red Army entered the capital of Karelia only late in the evening.

Sailors of the Danube Military Flotilla (DVF) performed a feat of arms unprecedented in history. In 1941 they left the Danube and at the end of 1942 they ended up in Tuapse and Poti. But in 1944 they returned and fought through four capitals - Belgrade, Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna.

On a trip up the Danube in 1944, the Far Eastern Fleet included five captured Romanian monitors and our Zheleznyakov monitor. However, at first the flotilla command took care of them, considering them too valuable ships, and the main striking force of the Far Eastern Fleet were armored boats.

By the way, it’s a pity that it’s impossible to quote without abbreviations how our boat crews commemorated the Western allies of the USSR. The British and Americans began to lay magnetic and acoustic mines on the Danube not in 1941 or at least in 1943, but at the end of 1944 - beginning of 1945, and precisely in those areas where the armored boats of the Danube flotilla were sent.

During the Belgrade operation, units of the Red Army failed to capture the right bank of the Danube from Sotin to Batin. On this 115-kilometer coastal stretch, the Germans created a powerful defense line and mined the river. Thus, the possibility of a breakthrough by Far Eastern Fleet ships upstream was completely excluded.

However, our sailors found a way out. To break through the armored boats to the Apatin bridgehead, they decided to use the old canals of King Peter I and King Alexander I, which bypassed the ill-fated German bridgehead of Sotin - Batin.

The 123 km long King Peter I Canal connects the Danube with the Tisza River. The depth of the channel is about 2 meters. At that time it had seven locks 56 meters long and 4.8 meters wide.

The King Alexander I Canal ran between the cities of Novi Sad and Sambo (Sombor). Its length is 69 km, and its average depth is 2 meters. It had four locks with a length of 42.6 and a width of 9.3 meters. Dozens of ships, fragments of bridges, pontoon bridges of our troops, etc. were flooded in the canal.

A participant in the crossing, A. Ya. Pyshkin, recalled: “Navigation along a narrow artificial channel was a new, unusual thing for armored boats... In many places, the boats had to be propelled by personnel at the ends, footing rods and support hooks. The passage under the destroyed bridges was the most dangerous - fragments of reinforced concrete and trusses blocked the already shallow fairway of the canal...

The sunken ships encountered in the canals were turned around by the crews and pushed closer to the shore to clear the passage. The passage of armored boats through the canals continued during the dark and daylight hours. Without resting for a single hour, the personnel sought to take a roundabout route to the scheduled date. It was especially difficult for motorists who worked one shift, since everyone else was busy clearing the fairway. The helmsmen stood constant watch.”

Gone! We went behind enemy lines and forward - up the Danube! The armored boats stopped only in the area of ​​the Austrian city of Linz...

The operational zone of the Red Banner Amur Flotilla covered the following rivers: Amur - from the source (the village of Pokrovka) to the village of Novo-Troitskoye (in the lower reaches), 2712 km; Ussuri - from Lesozavodsk to the mouth, 480 km; Sungach - from source to mouth, 250 km and Lake Hanko; Shilka - from Sretensk to Pokrovka, 400 km; Zeya - from Surazhevka to Blagoveshchensk, 190 km; Bureya - from Malinovka to the mouth, 77 km. The total length of the flotilla's operational zone was 4119 km.

By the beginning of hostilities with Japan, the flotilla had five Lenin-type monitors and one Active monitor; specially built gunboats “Mongol”, “Proletary” and “Red Star”; 8 gunboats converted from mobilized river steamers; 52 armored boats; 12 minesweepers, 36 minesweepers.

The armored boats of the Amur Flotilla attacked the Japanese at a front of 4000 km, from the Sretensk area to Lake Hanko. A detailed account of this would not fit into even the thickest volume. I’ll only tell you about the raid on Harbin.

At 20:00 on August 18, the commander of the Amur Flotilla ordered a detachment of eight armored boats to go to the capital of Manchuria. The departure was scheduled for 3 a.m. on August 19.

The detachment arrived at the Harbin roadstead at 8 a.m. on August 20. The enemy did not offer resistance; the boats moored to the pier not far from the headquarters building of the Japanese Sungari flotilla. After some time, the paratroopers brought the commander of the Japanese flotilla aboard the BK-13 boat. It was an elderly Chinese man with the rank of lieutenant general...

The author is unaware of any facts indicating that war correspondents “with a watering can and a notepad, or even with a machine gun, were the first to break into cities.” But our armored boats were actually the first to break into a dozen capitals. And this is confirmed by numerous documents from domestic archives.

V.M. Molotov in the 41st BTK of the Black Sea Fleet....

"Vospers" in Constanta...

TKA division captain 3rd rank Dyachenko in Yalta...

Boats of the 41st BTK....


Soviet armored boat of the "D" type and the monitor of the SB-12 "Udarny" project.
“Udarny” was the flagship of the Danube River Flotilla and took part in battles from the first days of the Great Patriotic War. Defended the Danube, Odessa, Nikolaev, Kherson. It was sunk by German aircraft in September 1941. American-built "D" (patron) armored boats were delivered to Russia in 1916.

Project 1125 armored boat

Greetings to all lovers military equipment and the history of our native land! Vyacheslav is with you.

My next story will be dedicated to an unusual piece of military equipment. Its unusual feature is that it is not a model of ground weapons, or even air weapons, but of sea weapons. To be more precise - river! It's about about the Project 1125 armored boat.

An object. Project 1125 armored boat.

Location: Perm city, st. Tugirnaya, 4, at the entrance of the Kama shipyard

Coordinates: N 58°02’02.34 E 56°02’17.19.

Availability: satisfactory. You can drive very close to the monument, there is also a parking space, but climbing it is very problematic. The boat is mounted on a three-meter high concrete pedestal with sloping side walls. You can't climb without special tools. Maybe it's for the better?

Type history

The history of the creation of Soviet river armored boats dates back to November 1931, when the command of the Red Army approved the technical specifications for their development. In June 1932, the Lenrechsudoproekt organization began designing boats. The chief designer was Benoit Yuliy Yulievich.

It was proposed to use artillery pieces mounted in standard tank turrets as the main armament. Special requirements were also imposed on the dimensions of the boat. They had to meet USSR railway standards when transported by rail on a platform.

By the end of 1932, two boat projects were ready. Small (project 1125) - with the installation of one tank turret, and large (project 1124) with two tank turrets.

Since 1934, serial construction of new ships began at the Zelenodolsk plant named after A. M. Gorky in Tatarstan.

During production, the design of the boats was changed several times, and, unfortunately, it was difficult to find two absolutely identical copies. For example, the gun turret was originally used from the T-28 tank with a short-barreled KT-28 cannon, then the gun was replaced with a more powerful L-10, and after the completion of the production of the T-28 tank, turrets from the “thirty-four” began to be installed on armored boats, as welded ones from rolled armor plates and cast hexagonal “nuts”.

Anti-aircraft weapons were also different. DT machine guns on turrets, DShK heavy machine guns in various combinations, and even Lander guns were placed on the decks of boats. During the war, some armored boats were equipped with systems volley fire, turning into river Katyushas.

In just 10 years of production, 154 units of Project 1125 armored boats were produced. In November 1942, in accordance with the order State Committee Defense Perm Shipyard No. 344 also switched from manufacturing river tugs to producing armored boats. Therefore, the monument to the armored boat in front of the factory entrance has the most compelling reasons for its existence. From 1942 to 1948, the Perm enterprise produced boats with serial numbers from No. 136 to No. 248.

Small armored boats, nicknamed “river tanks,” took an active part in the Battle of Stalingrad, and then the liberation of not a single large city standing on the river bank could be done without them.

A flotilla of boats on Lake Ladoga was also noted in history, which guarded transportation along the “Road of Life”, driving away German, Finnish and Italian ships. To extend the navigation period of boats during the freeze-up period, savvy Soviet sailors “dressed” the ship’s hull in a wooden “fur coat.” Boards 40-50 mm thick protected the bottom and sides (100-150 mm above the waterline) of the ship. This so-called “fur coat” almost did not change the ship’s draft due to the buoyancy of the wood, but reliably protected its hull from floating ice, turning the boats into mini-icebreakers.

Another significant example of the actions of armored boats is associated with the landing and capture of the Imperial Bridge over the Danube in Vienna. On April 11, 1945, a detachment of boats broke through to the only surviving bridge of the Austrian capital, landed assault groups on both banks, and then supported them with direct fire. The decisive actions of Soviet soldiers and boatmen made it possible to prevent the explosion of the bridge, and then to hold it and break the interaction of German units on different banks of the Danube, which became one of the decisive reasons for their quick surrender and liberation of the city.

Surprisingly, Project 1125 boats can often be found today on pedestals in cities in Russia and Ukraine. I know of 12 such monuments. Considering their total number produced, we can say that every twelfth boat became a monument.

Performance characteristics (TTX)

Total displacement, t – 32.2.

Length, m – 22.87.

Width, m – 3.54.

Draft, m – 0.56.

Power plant - Packard gasoline engine 1x900 hp.

Travel speed, knots – 20 (37 km/h).

Armament: 1x1 - 76.2mm F-34 cannon in the turret, 2x2 - 12.7mm turrets.

Crew, people - 12.

Instance history

And now, perhaps, about the most interesting thing.

To date, it has not been possible to reliably determine which boat is installed on the pedestal in Perm. On Wikipedia it is called AK-454 (artillery boat). The reclassification from BC (armored boat) to AK actually took place in the 1950s. But BK-454 boats as part of fleets and river flotillas Soviet Union didn't appear. There was an AK-454 boat, but of a completely different design (Project 191M built by the Izhora plant).

The number “181” printed on board also does not add clarity. Perhaps this is the construction number of the boat, which corresponds to the tactical BK-140. Then we can say that it was laid down on 04/09/1944, and entered service on 03/13/1945. Included in the Dnieper flotilla and delivered to the river. Spee 06/12/1945, i.e. after the end of hostilities. In the 1950s it was transferred to the Amur Flotilla.

Unfortunately, these are just assumptions. Before the start of the reconstruction of the boat and its installation on the pedestal, a defect inspection of the vessel was carried out, but no embedded boards or nameplates indicating what kind of boat it was, where and when it was built were found. The only thing we were able to find were the marks on the boat’s main caliber gun, but they didn’t make the task any easier. The thoroughness of the search is evidenced by the fact that the documents recorded an electrical switch found on board the ship, manufactured in 1943.

History of the monument

With the history of the monument itself, the situation is somewhat clearer.

All sources agree that the monument was created on the initiative of the director of the Kama shipyard, Ivan Pavlovich Timofeev, who managed to bring a surviving copy from the Far East from the Amur Flotilla. And on May 9, 1974, the boat took its place in front of the factory entrance.

The boat, oriented to the west, is installed on a concrete base lined with gray marble. On the northern side of the pedestal there are 16 marble slabs on which are carved the names of 192 workers and employees of the plant who died in the Great Patriotic War, and in the center there is a metal plate with the inscription: “Here was laid on May 9, 1975 a capsule with an Appeal from veterans of the Great Patriotic War, labor veterans and shock workers of the IX Five-Year Plan to Komsomol members and youth of the year 2000. Open May 9, 2000."

In 2014, the monument underwent a major reconstruction. So thorough that even the concrete pedestal was completely dismantled, and a new one was erected in its place. The boat itself also passed major renovation, as a result of which the following work was performed.

1. Replacing the bottom (where it meets the pedestal). If this work had not been carried out, the ship would have sunk onto the pedestal.
2. The internal frames were replaced with new ones (welded into a channel box), which will enable the vessel to stand for a long time.
3. The previous paint was removed. In places where corrosion had eaten away the metal, there was a spot replacement with a new material.
4. Anti-corrosion treatment of the entire vessel was carried out, after which painting work was carried out.
5. Work was also carried out to replace handrails, bump stops, etc.
6. The vessel has been equipped: bell, lifebuoys, etc.

The Perm public was seriously excited by the scale of the work being carried out, fearing, not without reason, that the boat might “disappear” from the lists of monuments and “surface” in one of the private collections. Fortunately, everything ended well, and by the 70th anniversary of the Victory the boat returned to its rightful place.

This is interesting. Where did that very letter go, placed in a capsule for “Komsomol members and youth of the year 2000”? There is information that during the restoration period the capsule was kept in a safe municipal institution culture "City Center for the Protection of Monuments". Where is she now?