Monument to the destroyer "Kerch. Monument to the destroyer “Kerch Modernization and re-equipment”
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.
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 Sevastopol occupied by the Germans. 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 heading 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.
Armament
Same type ships
Modernization and refurbishment
In April 1917, it was planned to replace the 40-mm anti-aircraft guns with 57-mm guns, but this work was not carried out.
Construction and testing
1915
On March 7, on slipway No. 3 of the indoor boathouse of the Naval plant, ONZiV began assembling the hull of the destroyer Kerch. At the same time, the Feodonisi was laid down on the same slipway.
By the beginning of September, they managed to put on the slipway and assemble part of the bottom structures weighing 114 tons.
On November 11, the “official” laying of six destroyers of the series took place. The ceremony was attended by Naval Minister I.K. Grigorovich.
1916
1917
On March 8, mooring tests began; in addition, on this and the next day, the flooding and irrigation system for the cellars was tested. They also checked the functionality of the drainage and drainage systems, as well as the salt, washing and drinking water pipelines.
On March 11, the steam heating system was pressure tested. Two days later, the torpedo tubes were checked for compliance with the design.
On March 28 and May 13, the electrical ventilation of living quarters and combat searchlights was checked. On May 4, we tested elevators for supplying artillery ammunition.
On May 21, the ship moved from Nikolaev to Sevastopol, where it was docked. Here, on June 4 and 7, the condition of the underwater part was inspected.
On June 13, sea trials were carried out at 18 knots. With a displacement of 1395 tons, the ship completed 10 runs at an average speed of 18.018 knots, fuel consumption was 3.32 t/h. which, with a full supply of fuel (330 tons), corresponded to a navigation area of 1800 miles.
On June 16, sea trials were carried out at full speed, the destroyer showed an average speed of 31.1 knots, with a fuel consumption of 15.73 t/h. corresponded to a navigation area of 650 miles. On the same day, firing tests were carried out for 102 mm guns.
Side and top view of the destroyer "Kerch" as of 1917.
On June 26, the acceptance certificate was signed and the ship became part of the 1st Mine Brigade Division. The ship did not have torpedo and artillery control devices ready and there were no anti-aircraft guns.
Service history
1917
July 5, together with the destroyers “Fedonisi”, “Pospeshny” and “Lieutenant Shestakov” as part of the security of the maneuver group of the Free Russia LC.
On December 16, the Bolshevik Military Revolutionary Committee was created in Sevastopol, which took power over the ships of the Black Sea Fleet into its own hands. "Kerch" together with other ships became part of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet.
1918
On January 8, together with the destroyer "Gadzhibey", they arrived in Yalta. To suppress the rebellion, they shelled city blocks.
"Kerch" in Yalta in January 1918.
On January 29, as part of repelling the Romanian offensive, he delivered mines to Vilkovo, on the Danube River. Mines are loaded onto a self-propelled barge.
From April 29 to May 1, together with the destroyers “Piercing”, “Ardent”, “Loud”, “Pospeshny”, “Restless”, “Gadzhibey”, “Kaliakria”, “Captain-Lieutenant Baranov”, “Lieutenant Shestakov”, destroyers “Hot”, “Alive”, “Sharp-witted”, “Rapid” transition from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk to avoid capture by German troops.
Death
1918
"Kerch" sinks the battleship "Free Russia". Drawing by A. Karelov
On June 17, when some of the ships were leaving Novorossiysk for Sevastopol to surrender to German troops, he sent a semaphore message: “To the ships going to Sevastopol: shame on the traitors to Russia!” During the day, the destroyer made preparations to scuttle the remaining ships in Novorossiysk.
On June 18, in the morning, subversive parties were sent to some of the ships on which most of the crews had deserted. At 4 16:00, the Kerch sank the destroyer Fidonisi with one torpedo, which served as a signal for the sinking of most of the ships. After this, the destroyer went to the parallel of the Doob lighthouse where the Free Russia LC is located. With four torpedo salvoes (6 torpedoes, 4 of which hit), the battleship was sunk. Fearing reprisals against the crew by the crowd gathered on the shore, the captain took the Kerch to Tuapse. During the transition to the airwaves, a radiogram was sent in clear text:
Ship lifting work
In October 1925 The destroyer was discovered by divers near the Kadosh lighthouse. The ship was overturned, plunging into the mud up to the fenders at a depth of 27 meters.
IN 1928 year, they decided to rise.
By November 11 1929 During the year, we managed to wash the tunnels under the ship and provide towels, and after installing the pillows, we sharpened the pontoons. On November 22, they began purging, but by November 26, due to gross miscalculations, the hull was cut in half in three places. After this, the ship lost its combat value and the work to raise it was stopped.
September 10 1932 year managed to raise the turbine compartment. The dismantled turbines were installed at the Tuapse power plant. The stern and bow of the destroyer still remain on the bottom.
Commanders
Memory
Image gallery
(spelling and punctuation of the original are preserved)
The main purpose of my notes is to highlight the events that took place in the Black Sea Fleet during the last period of its existence, that is, during the fall of Sevastopol and the Novorossiysk tragedy, which ended with the complete annulment of our naval forces in the Black Sea.
Due to the complete absence at that time of any accurate and credible information about the external situation, both military and diplomatic, that caused these events, and also because when these lines in historical coverage become the property of the general public, this situation will already be definitely covered, I, bypassing them, try to present only a number of those small facts, moods and psychology of the broad masses of the fleet personnel, which would never perhaps become the property of wide circles of the population, but are nevertheless the main factors of those exceptional conditions, under which the Black Sea Fleet ended its existence.
Due to the fact that these notes are written after some time, and the diary was not kept by me, some errors in the dates are likely.
Even six days before the fall of Sevastopol, apparently the high command had fundamentally decided on the issue of transferring the fleet to Novorossiysk in the near future, since transports were hastily loaded at the port and the fleet was all the time in position from I1 to I3 inclusive (1). These circumstances, due to the complete lack of accurate information about the external situation and about the decisions taken about the fate of the fleet, created the impression of a lack of firm decisions and confusion, and extremely unnerved the personnel, and also gave rise to all sorts of ridiculous rumors and unscrupulous provocation.
Finally, the fleet received precise and definite orders to be ready for the campaign on April 27 by 12 o’clock in the afternoon, the order of entering the raid, dislocation during the campaign was given, a detachment of destroyers was determined to escort transports, etc., operational orders were received, but it was ordered wait for the signal.
Unexpectedly for everyone, at about one o'clock in the afternoon on April 27, the signal “FLOOR. I3”, that is, it became clear that the campaign was cancelled. Finally, on the afternoon of April 29, it became known for sure that German troops were close to Sevastopol (about 10 versts) and intended to move further to Sevastopol. For most, this news was a surprise, since a few days later the local press reported that our troops had pushed the Germans back from Sevastopol, occupying it.
At the same time, that is, on the afternoon of April 29, an order was received to raise the Ukrainian flags in order to convince the Germans that the fleet had become Ukrainianized and that there was no longer any reason for the further advance of their troops to Sevastopol.
For some of the ships, and in particular for the destroyer "Kerch", the goal of the German command became clear - to capture the fleet in the harbors at all costs and that raising the Ukrainian flags would only simplify this task for them, and therefore in response to the order to raise the Ukrainian flags on “Kerch” raised the signal “SHAME AND SALE OF THE FLEET” and, at the same time, on “Kerch”, on his initiative, a private delegate meeting was convened.
“Kerch” decided to go to Novorossiysk at night at any cost - the destroyers “Kaliakria”, “Piercing”, “Ardent”, “Loud”, “Pospeshny”, “Lieutenant Shestakov”, “Captain” joined the “Kerch” decision Baranov" (2), "Alive" and before leaving "Gadzhibey", a division of patrol boats and diving (3).
The commanders of the destroyers Pospeshny and Gromky came to the fleet commander Mikhail Pavlovich Sablin and reported on the decision of some of the ships to go to Novorossiysk, to which the commander replied that he did not interfere, but advised leaving before 12 o’clock at night, since he believed that At this time the bonds will be closed.
At 10 o’clock in the evening, the commanders of the departing ships gathered on the destroyer “Piercing” to discuss the plan for going to sea and the voyage, since we knew that going to sea was guarded by (4) enemy submarines.
The meeting transferred command of the detachment to the commander of the destroyer "Kaliakria", as the eldest, and in case of "Kaliakria" failure, command was to pass to me.
On behalf of the battleships "Volya" (5) and "Free Russia" (6), the departing ships were threatened with execution from guns if they left, to which the destroyers responded with the threat of a mine attack, and in full combat readiness, according to the deployment developed at a meeting of commanders, At about 11:30 p.m. they began to leave the South Bay for the sea, ordering the transports standing in the roadstead and ready to go to follow them.
During the voyage, due to the likelihood of attacks by submarines, the transports were escorted by destroyers.
For an unknown reason, the submarine, although determined to join the departing ships, remained in Sevastopol; According to rumors, the boats were rendered unusable by the personnel, for which they were subjected to severe persecution by the German command.
On May 1, the detachment arrived in Novorossiysk, and on May 2, the battleships "Volya" (the flag of the fleet commander), "Free Russia", the destroyers "Daring" and "Restless", which left Sevastopol, when in reality they were convinced of the real intentions of the German command, having been fired upon upon exit by enemy field artillery brought to the North Bank, and the destroyer "Gnevny", going out to the roadstead, became entangled in booms and received damage that prevented it from proceeding further, threw itself ashore and was blown up by the destroyer's personnel.
So, the remnants of the Black Sea Fleet (the rest of the ships remained in Sevastopol, some due to repairs, others due to the lack of personnel), gathered in Novorossiysk, made up partly from ships that came from Sevastopol, partly from ships, which the Sevastopol events found in other ports of Crimea (Yalta and Feodosiya) and which the fleet commander ordered by radio to go to Novorossiysk were: battleships (dreadnoughts) “Volya” (flag of the fleet commander) and “Free Russia”; Novik-class destroyers (oil workers): 1st Division: “Daring”, “Restless”, “Piercing”; 2nd Division: "Ardent", "Loud" and "Hasty"; 3rd division: (division in memory of Admiral F.F. Ushakov): “Kerch”, “Gadzhibey”, “Fidonisi” and “Kaliakria”, 2nd rank coal destroyers: “Captain Baranov”, “Lieutenant Shestakov”; 3 ranks: “Alive”, “Hot”, “Sharp” and “Swift”.
Upon arrival in Novorossiysk, the crews of the ships were fully aware of the seriousness of the moment and the difficult situation in which the remnants of the Black Sea naval forces would have to arrive at the last and very dubious base; one could feel the thirst for order, the firm authority of command and the consciousness that the fleet, following the path it had followed until now, would come to quick and inevitable destruction.
This is the mood that corresponded to the first days after the fleet arrived in Novorossiysk and which was especially sharply felt at delegate meetings (always with the participation of ship commanders).
Then, under the influence of a very difficult situation in the form of: a catastrophic lack of fuel, the inability to replenish combat supplies, the shameless blocking of the port by enemy submarines, the impossibility of ships leaving the harbor and any response to the defiant behavior of the German command (Brest), the mood of the masses became fall and fall into an inert, indifferent state.
The first signs of it soon after arriving in Novorossiysk were revealed in the question of the duration of contracts, which showed a clear tendency of some of the teams to leave the ships.
The delegate meeting decided not to dismiss him from service until the situation in the fleet is fully clarified.
In particular, on the Kerch, a general meeting of the crew decided to consider anyone who left the destroyer a deserter and ask all the surrounding authorities to detain such persons, both at the station and on the way, and deliver them to the ship, where such elements will be dealt with “in their own way.” "; At the same time, a resolution was passed that mercilessly punished the drinking of alcoholic beverages on the ship, since this phenomenon began to take on large proportions on some ships.
As for the command staff, it was sad to observe among some (and, unfortunately, some of them enjoyed quite a lot of influence) the opinion that there could be no talk about either valor or honor, that nothing could be done, that part of the command composition has already been lost and that there is only one thing left - to go where you can find protection for yourself, since sooner or later trust in the command staff will be violated and events similar to those in December in Sevastopol will play out in Novorossiysk, while in the other part, even before the ultimatum, Germany came the idea that sooner or later the fleet will still have to end its existence - by sinking.
At the beginning of June, a very sad event took place for the fleet, and especially for the command staff - everyone’s beloved and respected Mikhail Pavlovich Sablin, whom they trusted and to whom the fleet was undoubtedly ready to obey, was summoned to Moscow.
An extremely sad and difficult impression was made by Mikhail Pavlovich’s farewell to the fleet at the delegate meeting, when he with tears in his eyes and voice, recalling that the fleet was at the height of its calling, leaving under exceptional conditions from Sevastopol to the very dubious base of Novorossiysk, literally without everything , just so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy, he called on everyone to fulfill their duty when the moment came that he hoped to have time to return to the fleet, but still events could unfold so quickly that the fate of the fleet could be decided without him, but that he, although he leaves with deep sadness, he is calm for the fleet, as he transfers it into the hands of Alexander Ivanovich Tikhmenev (commander battleship"Volya"), whom he has known for a long time and is convinced that Tikhmenev will bring the fleet to the end with honor.
Time passed, the uncertainty of the situation remained the same, the same hopelessness in the sense of obtaining technical means to bring the fleet into a state corresponding to the ability to carry out even the most insignificant combat operations, all this was recognized; in addition, the constant appearance of enemy submarines near the pier, almost daily German attacks at low altitude aerial reconnaissance and a certain offensive tendency of the German command on Novorossiysk on the part of Temryuk - and in this form the fleet finds the news of the German ultimatum presented for the return of the fleet to Sevastopol by June 14 - this was on June 11.
The delegate meeting, familiarized with the ultimatum, decided to flood the fleet and propose to the commander to develop a plan, but due to the extreme importance of the issue, it decided to approve this decision only after a referendum of all ship’s crews, so at 8 o’clock in the evening the delegates dispersed to the ships, where the teams were urgently assembled.
At 12 o'clock in the morning they gathered again and it turned out that the overwhelming majority of the team insisted on not going to Sevastopol, not sinking the fleet, and in the event of a German attack, fighting to the last opportunity and only sinking it if it was clearly impossible to defend the fleet.
When the results of the referendum became clear, Fleet Commissioner N.P. Glebov-Avilov, urging a decision to sink the fleet, said that the central government would issue a radiogram in a timely manner, for diplomatic reasons, with the order to go to Sevastopol, but the government, knowing from experience that Germany’s paper guarantees cannot be trusted, and being confident that at the end of the war the Russian fleet will not be returned, he orders the fleet to be sunk and this radio not to be counted.
The decision of the teams put both the command and the delegate meeting in a difficult situation and the meeting dispersed in the morning without coming to any definite decision or way out of the situation.
From June 12 to June 16, time passes in endless delegate meetings that do not lead to any definite decision.
On June 13 or 14 (I don’t remember), an open radiogram was received from the central government with approximately the following content: “Germany presented an ultimatum to the fleet to arrive in Sevastopol no later than June 19, and it guarantees that at the end of the war the fleet will be returned to Russia; in case of non-compliance, Germany threatens launch an offensive on all fronts. Not wanting to expose the country to new innumerable disasters, he orders the fleet to go to Sevastopol with the expectation of arriving there no later than June 19. All madmen who oppose the government elected by the many millions of working people will be considered outside the law. No. 141."
At the same time, an encrypted radiogram was received (approximately) with the following content: “Experience has shown that all German paper guarantees have no value and trust, and therefore the fleet will not be returned to Russia. I order the fleet to be sunk before the ultimatum deadline. Radio No. 141 is not listed. No. 142."
Finally, on June 14, a delegate meeting takes place in the presence of the Chairman of the Kuban-Black Sea Republic A.I. Rubin (7) and representatives from front-line units.
The chairman, in a lengthy and very talented speech, convinces not to take any measures with the fleet, since the military situation of the region is brilliant, weapons and reserves are arriving, that the capture of Rostov on the Don is a matter of several days, that this ultimatum also applies to the Rostov front, which is also ordered to stop military operations against the Germans, but they will not be stopped, but if the fleet is destroyed it will have a disastrous effect on the morale of the front.
A representative from the front-line units described the state of the combat units and the strategic situation in the most optimistic colors, at the end of the speech he warmly and firmly stated that he was warning the sailors that in the event of the sinking of ships, the entire front in the amount of 47,000 people would turn their bayonets on Novorossiysk and raise their sailors, since the front is calm while the fleet can protect, at least morally, their rear, but as soon as the fleet is gone, the front will fall into despair.
In response to the question asked of Chairman Rubin whether the statement of official representatives of the Kuban-Black Sea Republic should be understood as a call for the fleet to break away from the central government of the RSFSR, Rubin said that by not complying with the center’s order in this case, the Kuban-Black Sea Republic does not at all intend to break away from center, fully recognizes it, but believes that the center is misled regarding the actual situation in the region due to poor information and technical difficulties in communications and believes that when the center finds out the real reasons that prompted the Kuban-Black Sea Republic to do this, it will fully approve of its actions.
When asked whether the Kuban-Black Sea Republic takes responsibility for the failure of the fleet to fulfill the plans of the center, and also whether the republic, if this happened, would take upon itself to fully supply the fleet with everything necessary for its existence, Rubin said that he did not consider himself sufficiently authorized to give this is the answer that will be given by the resolution of the general meeting of the Central Executive Committee and proposes to elect delegates in order to immediately go to Yekaterinograd (2 hours drive by railway from Novorossiysk) to the CEC meeting.
The delegate assembly selects three delegates and decides to wait for a response.
It is quite understandable what a stunning impression these statements, and especially the representative of the front, made on the broad masses who were already demoralized, confused and incapable of making big and definite decisions, and who were even more at the point of not sinking the fleet and protecting “to the last drop of blood”, then there are closed shields for the cowardly.
Time passed, the atmosphere thickened, the delegates did not return and individuals began deserting ships.
Finally, on the morning of June 16, the temporary commander of the fleet, Captain 1st Rank A.I. Tikhmenev, convened a delegate meeting: the meeting began with an extraordinary statement by the chairmen of the ship committees of the battleships Volya and Free Russia that over 200 people had escaped from the ship over the past night and that the ships are iron boxes, devoid of any combat capability. Guided by the conviction that the moral state of the delegate assembly is very difficult and such that a definite decision requires a firm, unilaterally expressed decision of the commander (who enjoyed absolutely sufficient authority) and in order to hint to him in what direction he should lead the meeting, I made a speech, indicating that after the statement of the chairmen of the ship committees of Volya and Free Russia, it is absolutely clear that our main forces are incapable of even the most insignificant resistance to the enemy, if only because there is even no one to fire the cannons, and therefore there can be no talk of any There was no resistance from the fleet and there was only one way out - to immediately develop a plan for sinking and begin it.
Unfortunately, the commander did not use the fact of desertion and these statements, and after a detailed presentation of the well-known material state of the fleet (without touching on the personnel at all) and the strategic situation, he stated that he saw only two ways out of the current situation, namely: either sink the fleet before the deadline of the ultimatum, that is, at the latest on the night from 17 to 18 (counting the day for the passage to Sevastopol) or go to Sevastopol at the same time that an appeal to the team will be immediately sent out to them, invites the delegates to disperse to their ships and urgently assemble teams , put these two provisions as a referendum of teams, and declares that he will make a decision only on the merits of these two provisions, considering that there cannot be third ones, etc., and invites the delegates to arrive again at 2 o’clock in the afternoon to count the votes.
The commander’s appeal spoke of the need to come to one of two decisions, again about the sad state of the material unit and the lack of combat effectiveness due to this (without mentioning, as at the delegate meeting, personnel and desertion) and about the hopeless strategic situation. The appeal was dry and stated only the above facts, not a word about what decision he considered correct and what decision was consistent with duty, honor and valor.
As one would expect, the referendum again did not provide a way out of the situation - the counting of votes showed, with a total number of voters of over 3,500 people: about 250 for sinking, about 550 for leaving for Sevastopol - the rest - nothing to be done until the delegation returned from Ekaterinodar (8).
Then the commander stated that since they had already been told that he did not make third, etc. decisions, he believed that the majority was in favor of leaving for Sevastopol, and therefore orders preparations for the campaign, that the campaign is expected on the 17th, about which they will appropriate signals.
The 16th passes with a depressed state of mind among the personnel, and desertion from ships begins to take on greater and greater proportions.
On the evening of the 16th, I arrived at the commander and convinced him of the possibility of sinking the ships, that this would not be necessary. large quantity team, that if the team is placed in such conditions that the threat to the Kuban-Black Sea Republic is excluded, which I see as the main reason for refusing to sink ships, for example, after sinking, deliver the team to Tuapse, then the success of the enterprise is ensured, but on the other hand, I think that the team so demoralized by everything and in particular by the lack of firm and unilateral orders from above and that desertion has become so spontaneous that she will not be able to prevent the sinking of ships by force and that I vouch for my destroyer that by setting the crew exactly such conditions I will not only sink it but also I will be able to help other courts with this. The commander said that all this was true, but that now it was too late to do anything, and on the other hand, he believed that instead of sinking my destroyer, the crew would throw me overboard, and in general they had already decided to go to Sevastopol and nothing else I have to say, in response to the doubt I expressed that this order would be carried out by all ships, the commander answered me that I can only vouch for my destroyer, but also not completely, but that he, as a commander, knows the mood of the entire fleet quite well.
On the morning of the 17th the signal “Pol. 2" and then "Paul. 1". Only the following ships responded to these signals and began distributing steam: “Svobodnaya Rossiya”, “Volya”, the destroyers “Daring”, “Restless”, “Ardent”, “Loud”, “Zharkiy” and “Zhivoy”. The destroyers “Piercing”, “Kerch”, “Gadzhibey”, “Kaliakria”, “Fidonisi”, “Captain Baranov”, “Lieutenant Shestakov”, “Sharp-witted” and “Swift” did not carry out the orders.
At about 11 o'clock in the morning, the ships that responded to the signal began to leave the harbor for the roadstead where they anchored, except for the "Free Russia", which, although it decided to go to Sevastopol, due to the absence of most of the stokers, could not raise steam in sufficient quantities and continued to stand in harbor along the pier. The departure of ships to the roadstead presented a very chaotic picture: due to the desertion of the crew, most of the ships were not able to raise sufficient steam and left in tow of others. When the ships entered the raid on the destroyer "Kerch", the following signal was raised: "To the ships going to Sevastopol: Shame on the traitors to Russia!" This signal was rehearsed by the ships remaining in the harbor (it is interesting to note that both from the flag of the commander “Volya” and on other ships to which this signal belonged it was raised to the place “Clearly - I see”).
The departure of some of the ships to the roadstead with the clear intention of going to Sevastopol had a depressing effect on the crews of the remaining ships - many cried, there were cases of hysteria and hysterical cries were heard: “they left us,” “they are arbitrarily betraying themselves into the hands of enemies,” “they disgraced us.” , “it’s better to die with the ship than to surrender,” etc.
The day of June 17 passes in a nightmare state of mind: general flight from ships and theft of ship property. For example, by 5 o’clock in the afternoon there were only 11 people left on the “Piercing”; some dark personalities burst into the ship standing at the pier, with whom all the piers were dotted, robbing everything that came to hand - midshipman N. Deppish from the “Piercing” told me about this. (the ship's commander was a delegate in Yekaterinodar). I invited N. Deppish from the “Piercing” to approach and moor to the “Kerch” so that we could guard it. It should be noted the valor of midshipman N. Deppish and 11 team members of different specialties, who separated the pairs and prepared the mechanisms in a very short time. The “Piercing” was brought and moored to the “Kerch” by the commander of the “Gadzhibey”, Lieutenant Alekseev.
On the afternoon of the 17th, the respected Major General Vladimir Ferdinandovich Berg, the flagship mechanical engineer of the commander’s headquarters, who was among that part of the ranks of the commander’s headquarters who did not want to go with the commander to Sevastopol and who was among those people who believed that “Kerch” in in the sinking of ships, he will play the main role as the ship is completely preserved and with tears in his eyes he urged to sink the ships properly and advised to render them more unusable by placing demolition cartridges under the turbines and main engines of coal-fired destroyers.
It should be noted that at about 12 noon there was a meeting of the teams of the remaining ships who sent a delegation to the commander with a request not to go to Sevastopol, but the commander did not accept the delegation (this delegation was joined by a delegation from the local population with the same intention).
At about 7 o'clock in the evening on June 17, a delegation arrived from Yekaterinodar and reported that during their stay there the Central Election Commission for some reason could not meet and, finally, on the morning of the 17th, having met, it passed a resolution that it was not breaking away from the center, fully supported it and was ready to carry out all of it orders, but gives the fleet complete freedom of action and does not intend to exert any pressure on its decisions.
At about 8 o'clock in the evening, the chairman of the Volya ship committee and engine foreman Groza came and reported that in a face-to-face conversation with the commander, he convinced him not to go to Sevastopol, but to help sink the ships, to which the commander said that he could not do anything like that how he is under pressure from the team from “Vola”, but that he, Groza, assures that this is a lie since he, as the chairman of the ship’s committee, knows very well that the commander had enough authority to convince the team and that the commander had previously conducted intensive campaigning for a campaign in Sevastopol ( It should be noted that Groza was a man of a very moderate direction; at all delegate meetings, with his speeches he supported the commander and his power and always countered demagoguery).
On June 17, late in the evening, it became clear that “Kerch” would be in charge of the sinking, and therefore, due to the large number of demolition batches, I transferred 10 pounds of demolition cartridges and fuse cords to some destroyers. In view of the complete chaos that was happening on the ships and the presence of ships in the roadstead that decided to go to Sevastopol, from which everything could be expected, there could be no talk of taking the ships out into deep water before the morning.
As for “Free Russia”, its position was not clarified since it tried all the time to raise steam, but unsuccessfully, in order to join the departing detachment and continued to stand in the harbor along the pier.
At about 11:30 a.m. the ships in the roadstead went out to sea.
At about 12 o'clock at night, the commander of the destroyer "Lieutenant Shestakov", midshipman Annensky ("Lieutenant Shestakov" stood at the pier moored to the destroyer "Captain Baranov") came to me and told me that almost the entire crew had escaped from the "Captain Baranov", and that he too desertion begins and asks for instructions on what to do. I suggested that he immediately gather whoever he could from the “Captain Baranov” onto the “Lieutenant Shestakov”, raise steam immediately (he already had mines), take the “Lieutenant Baranov” in tow and move to the middle of the harbor, where to anchor, stopping communications with the shore. At about 1 o'clock in the morning, "Lieutenant Shestakov", with "Captain Baranov" in tow, moved away from the pier and anchored in the harbor, having 35 crew members.
At about 1 o’clock, the commander of “Free Russia”, Captain 1st Rank Vasily Mikhailovich Terentyev, sent a midshipman (I don’t remember his last name) to tell me that there were only 120 crew members left on the ship, that the ship was not capable of independent movement and was asking for help in sinking. I asked him to tell him that I would provide all possible assistance, that I propose to begin active action at dawn and that in the morning it will become clear what and how can be done, that there is hope for success since “Kerch” is in full combat readiness.
The day of June 17 passed on the Kerch like this: at 8 o’clock in the morning I gathered the team and declared that I would not take the destroyer to Sevastopol, no matter what reprisals they threatened me with, that I considered it necessary to sink the ship and help sink others who clearly would not be able to to do this ourselves, that I know among a team of people who, like me, decided it was better to die with the ship or at the hands of those who would interfere with us in this, than to hand over the ship to the Germans, who can be expected here any day, on the other hand I urge the team to fulfill their duty - to help sink ships that do not want to go to Sevastopol, after sinking the ships I propose to go to Tuapse, where to land on the shore (explaining how and where you can go from there by rail), that I and several people will sink the destroyer who have expressed a desire to do this and that I ask who will remain with those who are determined to fulfill their duty to the end.
During the big rise, the team unanimously decided not to leave the ship and do everything in our power, deciding to unquestioningly carry out all my individual orders.
During the day, preparations for the campaign were underway, mine operators prepared mines (9) for live firing (out of 12 mines, only 8 were prepared in the devices, since 4 Aubrey devices were left in Sevastopol, handed over to the workshop for correction). At night, Aubrey's instruments and mine strikers were moved to my cabin, just in case.
With dawn at about 5 o'clock in the morning, the whole picture became clear - there were about 100 crew members on the Free Russia, from 3 to 10 people on the destroyers, about 35 on the Lieutenant Shestakov, and a full complement on the Kerch.
At the same time, I sent midshipman N. Deppish to find port facilities for towing ships to the sinking site. Upon returning, midshipman Deppish reported that not only from all port facilities, but also from commercial ships and transports, the crew had fled and that there was no one who could help the matter - so great was the fear of taking any part in the sinking of the ships.
The situation was almost critical since only “Kerch” and “Lieutenant Shestakov” remained capable of movement, and only “Lieutenant Shestakov” remained capable of towing, due to the fact that due to the difficult exit from the harbor to the roadstead thanks to the side barrier, I did not consider it possible to risk damage during towing its destroyer because if the Kerch were to fail, it was clear that the ships would not be sunk, especially the Free Russia, which was the main concern, and on the other hand, since the arrival of the Hamidiye could be expected every minute and enemy destroyers (which were always detected near Novorossiysk), submarines and air attacks, time was running out.
At this time, a motor boat was passing through the harbor which, despite my reluctance, under threat of execution I forced to take part in towing.
Taking into account that towing to great depths (over 15 fathoms, that is, to the Doobsky lighthouse) with the available funds would take too much time, while depths of 11–15 fathoms begin already a few cables from the pier, that “Free Russia” will need towed to a depth of at least 25-30 fathoms (about 8 miles) and that on the eve of the ships that left for Sevastopol went to the roadstead in a chaotic state and, having anchored, remained in the roadstead until night and gave enemy intelligence the assumption that, after all, perhaps the ships would go to Sevastopol, I decided to act like this: with the help of “Lieutenant Shestakov” and a motor boat, take the destroyers to the roadstead, then myself with “Lieutenant Shestakov” take “Free Russia” to Doob and after that, on my orders, start sinking ships at the same time, while I myself go to “Free Russia” and flood with mines.
At about 5:30 a.m., “Lieutenant Shestakov” weighed anchor and, having towed “Captain Baranov” to the supposed sinking site, returned to the harbor and began, together with the motor boat, to tow the destroyers to the roadstead.
A sad and difficult picture - the harbor is extinct, empty and only slowly towing destroyers, helpless, without signs of life on them with individual gloomy figures of 5-6 people on the deck, like plague-stricken and doomed to death, from which all living things have fled and which everyone shuns.
The destroyer “Gadzhibey” makes a strong impression, which, when taken in tow, raises the signal: “I’m dying, but I’m not giving up” and holds it all the time.
At about 9 o’clock in the morning, on the pier near which the “Kerch” stood, a crowd of people began to gather among which various dark personalities were snooping around, and wine and vodka appeared invisible on the pier, and therefore I moved away from the pier and anchored near the “Free Russia”.
Having anchored, I went to the “Free Russia” in order to come to an agreement with Terentyev about towing his ship into deep water by “Kerch” and “Lieutenant Shestakov” and how it would be more rational to blow up the ship in the harbor if, beyond hope, it could not be towed.
Terentyev told me that they had managed to get a small commercial steamer that would take the Free Russia out of the harbor, as well as a motor-sailing schooner that would take off the crew, which by that time was left with about 100 people.
At about 1 o'clock in the afternoon, "Free Russia" was taken out to a roadstead at a distance of about 5 cables from the harbor and the crew began to move to the motor-sailing schooner.
Returning, the schooner passed along the side of the "Kerch" and to my surprise I saw that the commander of the "Free Russia" Terentyev was on it, and not on the towing steamer, in order to show him the place of the sinking and monitor the correctness of the courses since, as is known, there are a small bank just near the fairway, as well as a minefield.
Passing by the Kerch, Terentyev shouted to me: “Here is an empty ship for you, take it wherever you want, the tug is standing with the engine stopped, no further orders have been given to it.”
I immediately weighed anchor, walked up to the tug, gave it a course and said that the Free Russia should be towed to the parallel of the Doob lighthouse, 5 cables from it (the minefield began seaward).
The fact that on the one hand he would not throw the ship into the bank, and on the other hand into a minefield, due to which the ship could be blown up at insufficient depth (I was still guided by the desire not to repeat Port Arthur) completely tied me up as I had to (towing it was going very slowly - knots 1–2) to repeatedly approach the tug to correct courses and check them, which also put me once again in the possibility of being attacked by a submarine, the presence of which near Novorossiysk was undoubtedly.
At about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, “Lieutenant Shestakov” approached me and the commander said that he could not continue towing because the crew, due to the lack of a sufficient number of full-time stokers (the day was exceptionally hot), was so tired that they were unable to maintain a sufficient number of steam and asked permission to go to his place for drowning.
I gave permission. At the same time, a motor boat approached me and reported that due to damage to the bearing, it was also unable to continue towing.
I sent a driver and mechanic to find out the reality of the damage. The inspection confirmed that the bot was completely unfit for further work. Fortunately, by this time only the destroyer Fidonisi remained at the pier.
Entering the harbor to take it in tow, I saw that on the pier near the destroyer Fidonisi there was a huge crowd of people, apparently some speakers were speaking. The purpose of this meeting became clear when I found a motor-sailing schooner in the harbor and ordered it to take the Fidonisi in tow - the crowd prevented the tug from starting.
Then I, having sounded the combat alarm and aimed the guns at the pier, conveyed there that if the Fidonisi was not immediately taken into tow, I would open fire on the pier. This threat had a magical effect and the Fidonisi was taken into tow. Unfortunately, not only was there no one on board the destroyer Fidonisi, but not even a commander. Therefore, since time was pressing, I decided to blow up the Fidonisi with a mine.
Coming out of the harbor, I walked around all the destroyers, ordering the sinking to begin; By this time, Free Russia was already approaching Doob.
When the Fidonisi was taken out of the harbor and towed to its place, I approached it and fired one mine shot from a distance of 4 cables, with an installation of 1.5 meters. The hit was apparently on the right car. The effect of the explosion was very great, the topmasts of both masts were broken, the front and rear bridges were distorted and the destroyer was literally torn in half, as the stern and bow rose, but despite such serious damage, it sank, turning over to starboard only in the 12th minute.
After the mine shot, he went full speed towards “Free Russia”. Explosions occurred on the remaining ships, and their effect was quite large since it was visible how engine hatches and parts of the deck were torn out (except for the placement of explosive cartridges, the opening of kingstons and clinkers, the ships were also given a preliminary roll and all the windows were cleaned off).
A heavy and majestic picture was presented by the Novorossiysk roadstead, where at the same time the ships were slowly plunging one after another and capsized. The ships sank in 25 to 45 minutes.
At about 4 hours 30 minutes I approached “Free Russia” and from a distance of 5 cables fired a salvo of two mines with an installation of 3.5 meters. The mines were aimed under the bow 12-inch turret in order to cause detonation of the magazines. One of the mines passed under the ship, while the other exploded in the indicated place. The effect of the explosion was insignificant; a column of exclusively black smoke rose no higher than the wheelhouse and was 3–4 fathoms wide.
At about 5 o'clock he fired a single shot aimed 1–1.5 fathoms towards the stern of the explosion site (we had to take care of the mines, since there were only 5 serviceable ones left, there was no confidence that several more mines would not be needed to sink the Free Russia, and on the other hand, waiting every moment for a meeting with the enemy, it was impossible to remain without combat weapons). The hit was in the intended place - the effect of the explosion was the same as the previous one. After these two hits, the ship did not change its position at all: there was no roll or trim.
I just fired a single shot under the rear 12-inch turret (the installation is the same) - the effect of the explosion and the consequences in terms of trim and roll are literally the same as with the previous ones. These circumstances caused great concern about the outcome of the sinking of “Free Russia” with the help of the available stock of mines.
Then I fired a single shot (4 meter setting) into the middle of the ship. The mine, having reached the ship, suddenly turned back and went straight towards the destroyer, heading towards the bow. Three times going towards the destroyer, the mine changed its direction and three times it was necessary to maneuver in order to avoid it, and finally, not reaching about 1 cable length from the destroyer, the mine turned back towards the Free Russia, emerged from the water, and at the same time the charging compartment broke off and the mine sank.
Now another shot was fired with the same installation and aiming. The hit was in the intended place. The effect of the explosion was amazing: a huge column of white and black smoke (mostly white) rose. The column of smoke was almost higher than the masts and covered almost the entire ship with its base, so that it was impossible to immediately judge the consequences of the explosion.
When the column of smoke dissipated somewhat (1 minute 17 seconds - I vouch for all the digital data, since they were recorded on a stopwatch by midshipman Podvysotsky), a depressing picture presented itself: the armor and side plating between the 2nd and 3rd towers as from the right (firing was carried out on the starboard side) and the left side fell off and this part of the ship was a continuous gap that was transparent through; it seemed that the ship seemed to be swaying slightly and 2 minutes 3 seconds after the explosion slowly began to roll to starboard, trimming to the bow.
Slowly turning, the “Free Russia” presented a depressing picture: clanging and ringing (in the dead silence of objects, boats, steam boats, etc. falling and rolling around on the deck and inside the ship).
Characteristically, during the rollover, no acceleration was noticed by eye and the rollover seemed smooth and uniform. The most impressive impression was made by the fact that the ship turned over so slowly that all the towers could be seen falling into the water with a terrible noise and clanging.
From the beginning of the roll to the complete flipping of the keel up, 3 minutes and 42 seconds passed. The ship held its keel up for 37 minutes, gradually sinking with its bow. From all the clinkets and kingstons, high fountains of water were constantly gushing out.
The picture of the death of the ship was so majestic and heavy that almost everyone had tears in their eyes, many took off their caps and everyone watched what happened gloomily and silently with sad, concentrated faces.
At about 6 o'clock in the evening it set off at full speed, heading for Tuapse.
So, the sinking of the Free Russia took 1 hour and 25 minutes.
At 9 o'clock in the evening, expecting to arrive in Tuapse no earlier than 12 o'clock at night due to the fact that the personnel, due to all the experiences, no longer had the necessary (especially the stokers) for large movements of energy and attention, and thanks to which the sinking of the "Kerch" was possible start no earlier than 4 a.m. on June 19, since bringing the team ashore with the available means (whaleboat and two motors) ... if there was a distance of at least 1.5 miles from the landing site (closer depths are shallow) would take about 4 hours of time and guided by considerations: 1) to show the German command that “Kerch” was destroyed before the ultimatum, that he acted ideologically and so that there would not be for a minute the assumption that “Kerch”, having left Novorossiysk, went to engage in privateering and hooliganism; 2) so that the ships that left for Sevastopol, having learned about the fate that befell the ships, those remaining in Novorossiysk would receive even more reproach for their shameful behavior and 3) so that, again, the population would generally know that the “Kerch” did not go to privateer, but accepted the same fate that the ships were lost in Novorossiysk, I sent a radio with the following content: “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". This radio probably achieved its goal, since in the entire modern press of the south it was printed in its entirety in editions of June 20 under the heading “The Great Tragedy.”
At 12:40 at night, he anchored from the Kadosh lighthouse at a depth of 22 fathoms. Now the transport of the team to shore has begun. At 4:15 a.m. on June 19, the last train left the ship. The following remained on the ship with me: midshipman Podvysotsky, mine operator Kulinich, engine foreman Bachinsky, motorman Basyuk and helmsman foreman Kovalenko.
All auxiliary mechanisms were put into action, all the kingstons and clinkers were opened, having first given the greatest possible list to the starboard side and removed all the portholes from this side. It was at 4:30 am. The ship began to slowly sink and finally, at 5:10 a.m., capsized over its starboard side and sank.
Characteristic is the fact that the kerosene dynamo worked without an electrician or mechanic for 1 hour 5 minutes, continuing its action until it completely turned over. It is gratifying to note the fact that not a single destroyer from the division in memory of the valiant Admiral Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov, who wrote some of the best pages in the history of the Black Sea Fleet with his victories at Kerch, Gadzhibey (Odessa), Cape Kaliakria and Fidonisi Island, fell into the hands of the enemy.
Command staff of the Novorossiysk squadron
Acting fleet commander and commander of the battleship Volya - Captain 1st Rank Alexander Ivanovich TikhmenevCommander of the battleship "Free Russia" - captain 1st rank Vasily Mikhailovich Terentyev
Brigade commander - captain 1st rank Viktor Ivanovich Lebedev
Commander of the destroyer "Daring" - Lieutenant Leonid Leonidovich Zhitkov
Commander of the destroyer "Bespokoiny" - Lieutenant Maxim Andreevich Lazarev
Commander of the destroyer "Piercing" - Lieutenant Boris Sergeevich Bessmertny
Commander of the destroyer "Gromky" - Nikolai Aleksandrovich Novakovsky
Commander of the destroyer Pylkiy
Commander of the destroyer "Pospeshny" - captain 2nd rank Nikolai Rudolfovich Gutan
Commander of the destroyer "Kerch" - senior lieutenant Vladimir Andreevich Kukel
Commander of the destroyer "Gadzhibey" - Lieutenant Vladimir Aleksandrovich Alekseev
Commander of the destroyer "Fidonisi" - senior lieutenant Alexander Konstantinovich Mitkevich
Commander of the destroyer "Kaliakria" - captain 2nd rank Evgeniy Sergeevich Gernet
Commander of the destroyer "Captain Baranov"
Commander of the destroyer "Lieutenant Shestakov" - midshipman Sergei Annensky
Commander of the destroyer "Zhivoy" - Lieutenant Georgy Mikhailovich Galafre
Commander of the destroyer "Zharky" - Lieutenant Khrushchev
Commander of the destroyer "Stremitely" - Lieutenant Dmitry Georgievich Brant
Commander of the destroyer "Smetlivy" - senior lieutenant Sergei Vladimirovich Panfilov
Signed: V. A. Kukel.
P.S. (written and signed by V.A. Kukel in his own hand) I am enclosing the “Yuzhnaya Gazeta” dated June 26, 1918, which in 1920 was accidentally given to me during a meeting in the Caspian Sea by the former engine non-commissioned officer of the destroyer “Gadzhibey” Vladimir Chitkolenko and which has in his article “The Death of the Black Sea Fleet” is also of historical interest as well as a document confirming the above. In addition, I would like to draw attention to the difficult situation in which the personnel of “Kerch” found themselves as persons who actually... (inaudible, supposedly “found themselves”) outlawed by all representatives of the Soviet Power and, on the other hand, also in relation to to Germany. According to the information I have, on June 20, the Goeben, Hamidiye and two destroyers arrived in Novorossiysk, and the German admiral demanded from the Novorossiysk Council to extradite the commander of the Kerch, to which they responded that the Kerch had gone to sea and was unknown where it was. General situation: Batum, Poti, Sukhum in German-Turkish hands, Krasnov’s German-oriented offensive on Tikhoretskaya. As a result, I personally was forced to maintain strict incognito from everyone with a number of corresponding adventures, including traveling on foot 50 miles through the sandy deserts of the Stavropol province.
Signed: V. A. Kukel.
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 | October 29 |
| Launched | May 18 |
| Put into operation | June 27 |
| Status | scuttled by crew on June 19 |
| Main Features | |
| Displacement | 1326 (normal), 1580 (full) |
| Length | 92,51 |
| Width | 9,05 |
| Draft | 3,2 |
| Engines | 2 Parsons steam turbines, 5 Thorneycroft 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 for a long time at the Tuapse power plant. The remaining wreckage of the ship's hull, the best preserved of which is the stern section, continues to remain unrecovered from the seabed.
Facts
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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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 entire 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 got what she demanded.
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