"Admiral Lazarev" (from 1926-14-12 - "Red Caucasus")
Laid down on October 19, 1913 at the Russud plant. March 18, 1914 enlisted in the lists of ships of the Black Sea Fleet. Launched on June 8, 1916, construction stopped in November 1917. Completion of the new project began in September 1927.
On March 9, 1930, the completed "Krasny Kavkaz" by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR No. 014 was included in the division (since 1932 - a brigade) of the MSChM cruisers. In addition to him, the brigade included the cruisers "Chervona Ukraine", "Profin-turn" and "Comintern". On January 25, 1932, the cruiser entered service and became part of the MSFM.
Upon arrival in Sevastopol, the brigade commander Yu. F. Rall raised his flag on the "Red Caucasus", the brigade headquarters went to the ship.
On the night of May 10, 1932, following the Chaud raid, while maneuvering, he collided with the cruiser Profintern, hitting it in the starboard casemate and seriously damaged its stem. For repairs I went to Nikolaev to the plant, the repair took 30 days. The commander of the ship K. G. Meyer was removed from office, and N. F. Zayats was appointed instead.
From August 26 to September 6, 1932 "Krasny Kavkaz" took part in the navigational cruise of the ships of the MSChM. Together with the battleship "Paris Commune" and the cruiser "Comintern", he made a cruise to the Kerch Strait, Novorossiysk and Anapa.
The cruiser Krasny Kavkaz shortly after commissioning. In two photos on the right of the damage to the bow of the cruiser after a collision with the "Profintern"
In 1932-1934. N. G. Kuznetsov, who became the People's Commissar of the Navy in 1939, served as the senior assistant to the commander of the "Red Caucasus". Under him, methods of crew combat training were developed. As a result of persistent daily study while summing up the results of combat training in the fall of 1933, the cruiser "Krasny Kavkaz" came out on top among the ships of the Black Sea Fleet.
On June 23, 1933, a cruiser under the flag of GV Vasilyev, the commander of the submarine brigade of the MSChM, arrived in Batum, where 2 Italian submarines came on a visit. From October 17 to November 7, 1933 "Krasny Kavkaz" (commander NF Zayats) under the flag of the brigade commander of cruisers Yu. F. Rall with the destroyers "Petrovsky" and "Shaumyan" took part in a foreign campaign. Writers I. Ilf and E. Petrov took part in this voyage on the cruiser. On October 17, the ships left Sevastopol and arrived in Istanbul the next day. On October 21, the detachment left the capital of Turkey and, having passed the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles, entered the Archipelago. On the morning of October 23, the ships stopped at Fallero roadstead, near the Greek port of Piraeus. Soviet sailors surveyed Piraeus and Athens. From October 30 to November 2, the detachment was on an official visit to Naples. A group of sailors on the Italian destroyer "Saetta" was taken to the island of Capri, where they met with A. M. Gorky. On the night of November 7, the detachment returned to Sevastopol, having covered 2,600 miles.
On November 12, 1933, the Krasny Kavkaz with the destroyers Petrovsky, Shaumyan and Frunze arrived in Odessa, where a Soviet government delegation arrived on the Izmir steamer accompanied by the Profintern and Chervona Ukraine cruisers. The cruiser examined the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs K. E. Voroshilov and praised the combat training of the crew.
The cruiser "Krasny Kavkaz" shortly after entering service
"Red Caucasus" during a visit to Istanbul, 1933
In 1934, the Krasny Kavkaz won the championship of the USSR Naval Forces in all types of combat training.
Since January 1935 "Krasny Kavkaz" is the flagman of the cruiser brigade and the only one of the brigade to carry a pennant, the rest are under repair.
In the fall of 1936In connection with the Spanish Civil War, it was planned to send the cruiser Krasny Kavkaz, several destroyers and submarines to the Bay of Biscay for patrol duty. The ships were in readiness, but the voyage was canceled. In early March 1937, "Krasny Kavkaz" and "Chervona Ukraine" under the command of the brigade commander I. S. Yumashev set out on a circular march along the Black Sea coast. The ships were caught in a violent storm. On March 4, at 4.30, the cruiser's signalmen found flares. The ship, changing course, headed for ships in distress. They turned out to be the fishing schooners "Petrovsky" and "Komsomolets". The cruiser managed to remove the fishermen from them, after which the schooners sank. In the evening, at the Vorontsov lighthouse, the fishermen were transferred to a tug called from Odessa. On March 5, at 17.20, the Soviet ships made a countercourse with the Turkish battle cruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim (formerly Geben), escorted by three destroyers.
In 1937-1939. the cruiser underwent major overhaul at Sevmorzavod.
The cruiser Krasny Kavkaz, mid-1930s. The top photo shows the battleship Paris Commune in the background.
"Krasny Kavkaz" and the destroyer "Frunze", 1938
"Red Caucasus" on a training campaign, 1940
On June 22, 1939, he became a member of the formed squadron of the Black Sea Fleet. In July 1939, the "Krasny Kavkaz" launched torpedo firing under the flag of the People's Commissar of the Navy, the flagship of the 2nd rank N. G. Kuznetsov.
On June 14-18, 1941, the cruiser took part in large general naval exercises in the northwestern region of the Black Sea, conducted jointly with the troops of the Odessa Military District. "Krasny Kavkaz" covered the landing at Yevpatoria with fire.
The "Red Caucasus" met the Great Patriotic War under the command of Captain 2nd Rank A. M. Gushchin, being in the combat core of the fleet. At 16.00 on June 22, 1941, an order was received on the ship: to prepare for laying minefields, the cruiser's firing team went to the mine depot. On June 23, at 11.20 am, a barge with 110 KB mines approached the side of the cruiser and began loading them with ship arrows. At 13.25, the loading of mines was completed, two minutes later the ship took off the barrel and with the cruiser "Chervona Ukraine", on which the commander of the brigade of cruisers, Captain 1st Rank S. G. Gorshkov, was holding the flag, left the Main Base. At 16.20 the ships approached the staging area. At 17.06 at a speed of 12 knots "Krasny Kavkaz" began laying, the first mine went off the left slope. Arming interval - 6 sec. At 17.17 "Krasny Kavkaz" completed setting 109 mines (one mine went off the rails and, upon returning to the base, was put into storage) and at 19:15 the cruisers returned to the base.
People's Commissar of the Navy N. G. Kuznetsov aboard the cruiser "Krasny Kavkaz", July 1939
"Red Caucasus" on the eve of the war
June 24 "Krasny Kavkaz" received 90 min. Arr. 1926 and at 8.40, together with the cruiser "Chervona Ukraine", went to the staging area. From 11.08 to 11.18 put out all the mines (speed 12 knots, interval 6 s), at 11.38 entered the wake of the "Chervona Ukrainy" and the cruiser headed to the base with an 18-knot course. At 12.52, being at the Inkerman alignment, we saw a strong explosion on the right along the bow in the area of booms at a distance of 15-20 kbt. The floating crane blew up and sank, the tugboat SP-2 was damaged. Two minutes later, the cruiser stalled its course, and then gave a full backward and began to turn to the left with cars, so as not to collide with the stalled "Chervona Ukraine". At 13.06 a semaphore was received from the OVR commander: "Follow the base, keeping to the north edge of the Inkerman alignment." At 13.37 the cruiser was on the barrels.
"Red Caucasus", 1940
The military council of the fleet decided to relocate the brigade of cruisers to Novorossiysk. On July 4, the ship took on board equipment, weapons and 1200 personnel of the torpedo weapons school and at 19.30 weighed anchor. At 20.11 I passed the booms and took two TKA in tow. Together with the Krasny Kavkaz, the cruiser Chervona Ukraina, the destroyers Savvy, Capable and Smyshleny were sailing. On July 5, when approaching Novorossiysk, the TKA gave up the tugs and entered the base on their own. The ship passed along the fairway in the minefields with the delivered paravans. At 09.20 a.m. the cruiser anchored in Novorossiysk, the personnel and property of the school were unloaded on barges.
On September 10, at 14.00, the commander of the "Red Caucasus" received an order from the chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet to go to Odessa at the disposal of the OOP commander, Rear Admiral G. V. Zhukov, to assist the defenders of the city. The order stated: “The total consumption of ammunition for firing along the shore has been established - 80 shells. Do not enter the Odessa harbor, be in the area: Bolshoi Fontan - Arcadia at low speed. " At 18.50 the cruiser withdrew from the barrels, the exit was provided by two SKA boats, I-153 and GST aircraft, the speed at the transition was 18 knots. On September 11 at 7.30 the cruiser arrived in the area of Bolshoi Fontan - Arcadia, the ship was covered by fighters from the air. At 10.00 a boat approached the side of the cruiser, on which a ship corps landed.
The maneuvering cruiser was attacked by enemy aircraft, four bombs fell 100 meters from the side. At 17.10 on request from the shore, the cruiser fired at the village. Ilyinka, firing eight shells. In response, an enemy battery opened fire on the ship, its shells exploded 20 m from the side, increasing the speed, the cruiser left the affected area. At 18.50, having received data from the corps, he moved to the calculated point and fired at the enemy's manpower and battery. Having finished shooting, at 20.00 he anchored. On the night of September 12, from 00.26 to 3.40, anchored from a distance of 145 kbt, led harassing fire at the village. Red settler firing 1 shell in 20 minutes (10 shells were used up in total). At 4.34 the cruiser weighed anchor and maneuvered in the area of Bolshoi Fontan - Arcadia. From 7.45 to 13.59, he opened fire three times at the target designations of the corps. Two times enemy aircraft attacked the ship, but its anti-aircraft artillery opened intense fire and the planes were turned away. At 17.32 the RDO was received: “We worked successfully, thank you for your help. Commander 42 (42nd separate artillery battalion of the BO Black Sea Fleet) . After 10 minutes, the boat delivered the corpus from the shore and the cruiser headed for Sevastopol. Already at sea, enemy aircraft attacked him, but anti-aircraft fire did not allow them to accurately drop bombs. During the operation, the cruiser used up 85 180-mm, 159 100-mm and 189 45-mm shells and 1350 rounds of 12, 7-mm and 7, 62-mm. At 11.30 on September 13, the cruiser entered the Sevastopol Bay and stood on the barrels.
On August 25, the front approached Odessa so much that the enemy began shelling the city and port with long-range guns. As early as September 9, the fleet commander ordered to prepare a landing for Odessa, with the help of which to capture the enemy batteries. In Sevastopol, the 3rd naval regiment was formed for this. However, its fighters and commanders had no experience of combat operations on land and disembarkation from ships to the shore. By the directive of the Black Sea Fleet on September 14, "Krasny Kavkaz" was included in the detachment intended for the landing at Grigorievka.
On September 14, the cruiser stood at the Coal Wall to receive the units of the 3rd Naval Regiment and its subsequent training landing. On September 15, the ship lifted 10 barges aboard; by 22.40, 1000 landing people were loaded. The delay was due to the fact that one of the units, instead of Coal, arrived at the trading dock. On September 16 at 00.49 "Krasny Kavkaz" under the flag of the squadron commander Rear Admiral L. A. Vladi-mirsky with the destroyers "Boyky", "Impeccable", "Frunze" and "Dzerzhinsky" went to sea. At 2.10, before reaching 8 kbt to the Chersonesos lighthouse, he anchored, dumped both ladders and, lowering the barges, began disembarkation, which lasted until 3.20. It was complicated by a strong roll, the right ladder was torn off from the impact of the barge, two people fell into the water, but were rescued. At 4.10, the loading of the previously landed troops began, which ended at 5.55. Having lifted the longboats on board, the cruiser moved to the Cossack Bay, where, anchored, with the help of floating craft, landed the troops ashore. At 19.48 the cruiser returned to the Sevastopol Bay and stood on a barrel.
On September 21, at 2.00 am, the order was received: to drop anchor, take the landing in the Cossack Bay, go to the Grigoryevka area and, after artillery preparation, make a landing. At 6.13 the ship took off the barrel and moved to the Cossack Bay. At 9.05 am, the landing began, and after half an hour the cruiser finished receiving the Marine Corps battalion - 696 fighters and commanders, 8 mortars, ammunition and food. At 13:28 the ship under the flag of the landing commander S. G. Gorshkov left the Cossack Bay and with the cruiser Krasny Krym, the destroyers Impeccable and Boyky headed for Odessa. From 18.57 to 19.30, two Non-111 made four attacks on the ships, they were repelled by anti-aircraft fire, the ammunition consumption was: 56 100-mm and 40 45-mm shells. On September 22 at 1.14 the ships arrived at the rendezvous point with a detachment of landing craft, but that did not arrive from Odessa.
The cruiser anchored and proceeded to lower the barges, and at 1.20 am he began to disembark the paratroopers along four ladders on seven barges. "Krasny Krym" and the destroyers opened fire on the coast, a fire broke out in the area of Grigorievka. During the landing, due to the fault of the airborne soldiers, a grenade exploded in the aft cockpit, 16 people were injured. At 2.37 "Krasny Kavkaz" opened fire with its main caliber at the villages. Sverdlovo. At 3.20, Rear Admiral L. A. Vladimirsky arrived on board. At 3.40 he finished disembarking, the longboats were sent to the gunboat "Krasnaya Gruziya" on them were 27 people of the cruiser personnel. Supporting the landing, the cruiser used up 8 180-mm, 42 100-mm, 10 45-mm shells. At 4.05 am the cruisers headed for Sevastopol, developing a speed of 24 knots. From the air, the ships were covered by fighters. At 4.33 pm on September 22, "Krasny Kavkaz" landed on barrels in the Northern Bay.
On September 29, the Supreme Command Headquarters decided to evacuate the OOP and, at the expense of its troops, strengthen the defense of the Crimea.
On October 3 at 17.38 "Krasny Kavkaz" took off the barrel, went to sea and headed for Odessa. From the air, the ship was covered by I-153 and Yak-1 fighters. At 5.55 on October 4, the cruiser anchored in the outer roadstead of Odessa. Taking over the pilot, he weighed anchor and headed for New Harbor. The cruiser entered the Odessa harbor for the first time, especially without tugs. At 09.27, he moored to the New Pier and at 15.55, the loading of the evacuated troops and equipment began (they were loaded with ship arrows). Having accepted 1750 people, 14 cars, 4 kitchens, the cruiser departed from the wall at 19.04, went to sea and headed for Sevastopol, where he arrived the next day at 10.30.
"Red Caucasus", 1941
On October 13, at 16.00, "Krasny Kavkaz" left the Main Base with the cruiser "Chervona Ukraine" (the flag of L. A. Vladimirsky) and three destroyers. On October 14, he arrived in the Odessa region and maneuvered 30 kbt from the Vorontsov lighthouse. The squadron commander forbade the cruisers to enter the harbor, as they were deprived of maneuver during attacks by enemy aircraft. A corpus was landed from the ship ashore. During her stay in Odessa, the cruiser was repeatedly attacked by enemy bomber and torpedo aircraft during daylight hours, but each time, with anti-aircraft artillery fire and maneuver, she forced the planes to abandon attacks or drop bombs into the sea. In the dark, the ship anchored in the outer roadstead. October 14, having received target designation from the corps, at 21.30 from a distance of 178 kbt opened fire on the village. Shlyakovo. After the first shot in the third tower, the blowing system failed, as a result of which it did not fire until the end of the operation. In addition, the firing scheme of the main caliber was repeatedly mismatched. At 22.25, the shooting ended, 25 shells were fired. Time and expense indicate the unusual nature of the firing - to have an impact on the enemy's morale, but not on the defeat of specific targets, which was a kind of military trick during the withdrawal of troops. On October 15, the cruiser weighed anchor at 6.10 and maneuvered until 20.00, repelling several attacks from torpedo bombers and bombers. At 20.06 he received target designation from the corps and at 20.30 opened fire on the coast at the enemy's manpower. Having fired 27 shells of the main caliber, at 21.20 he ceased fire. At 23.10 the cruiser anchored 10 kb from the Vorontsov lighthouse and lowered three longboats. On October 16, at 2.20 am, the landing of troops began, which were delivered from the coast by barges and tugs. At 5.35 am the order of the squadron commander was received "to immediately weaken the anchor."Having taken by this time 1,880 people instead of the supposed 2,000 "Krasny Kavkaz" at 6.00 with the cruiser "Chervona Ukraina" by the destroyers "Bodry", "Smyshleny", "Shaumyan" headed for Sevastopol. At 11.00, having received an order from the squadron commander, the cruiser turned on the opposite course and joined the escort of the transports "Ukraine" and "Georgia", "Chervona Ukraina" under the flag of the squadron commander, increasing speed went to Sevastopol. On the crossing, the Do-24 reconnaissance aircraft was spotted five times, keeping at a distance of 125 kbt. From 11.30 the detachment was covered by I-153 and LaGG-3 fighters. At 23.19 the cruiser entered the Sevastopol Bay and on the night of October 17 the troops brought from Odessa were unloaded.
On October 20, fascist German troops broke through to the Crimea, a threat arose to the main base of the fleet. Continuing to increase the number of troops in the Sevastopol region, the Military Council of the Fleet decided to hastily strengthen the air defense of a number of ports on the Caucasian coast, suitable for basing ships.
On October 23, the 73rd anti-aircraft regiment was loaded onto the "Krasny Kavkaz" - 12 anti-aircraft guns, 5 vehicles, 3 special vehicles, 5 quad machine guns, 2,000 shells, 2,000 people. At 21.45 the cruiser withdrew from the barrel and left the Sevastopol Bay, the next afternoon arrived in Tuapse and anchored. At 16.15 I moored to the wall and proceeded to unload.
On the morning of October 25, the cruiser arrived at Novorossiysk and anchored. At 13.40, barges with ammunition approached the side, which was being loaded by the forces of the ship's personnel. By 17.50 the ship received 15 wagons of ammunition, and at 19.56 she weighed anchor and set out to sea, heading for the Main Base. On October 26, on the way to Sevastopol, two torpedo boats entered the escort of the cruiser. At 11.17 he entered the Sevastopol Bay, stood on a barrel, gave a semaphore to the head of the fleet's artillery department - "send a barge." Only at 13.27 a barge approached the starboard side and the crew began unloading, which they finished at 16.24. For more than two hours, a ship with an explosive cargo stood in the roadstead, risking being attacked by enemy aircraft and flying up into the air from the slightest fragment of a bomb.
On October 27, at 12.00, an order was received: "To follow to the Tendrovskaya Spit, take troops and property, exit at 15.00."
The cruiser withdrew from the barrels and, accompanied by the MO boat and aviation, left the Main Base at 15.08. At 23.25 I anchored in the Tendra area, entering the interior of the bay. He lowered two longboats, which went to the shore. On October 28, at 1.30, they began accepting troops from the barges, and later a schooner with soldiers approached. In total, 141 people were accepted, instead of the expected 1000. The preparation of the troops for the evacuation was not carried out, the involvement of cruisers in such operations was inexpedient. At 3.17, "Krasny Kavkaz" weighed anchor and headed to Sevastopol in a 24-knot move. At 10.55, two I-153s appeared over the ship, and on the approach to the base, TKA entered security.
On October 28, the cruiser brigade was disbanded, the cruisers were directly subordinate to the squadron commander.
On October 29, an anti-aircraft battalion was loaded onto the "Krasny Kavkaz": 12 cannons, 12 vehicles, 7 quad machine guns, 1600 shells, 1800 personnel. At 18.30 he left Sevastopol, accompanied by three military units. On October 30, at 9.20 am, the cruiser entered Tuapse Bay, at the same time opened fire on two unidentified aircraft. The ship moored to the wall and began unloading, which it finished at 11.30. Then he moved to Novorossiysk.
On November 2, enemy aircraft carried out massive raids on the city, port and ships. While at anchor, "Krasny Kavkaz" opened fire more than 10 times during the day at enemy aircraft, which turned away and could not bomb the ship with precision. On that day, the cruiser Voroshilov received serious damage, which was hit by two bombs. At 17.00, Krasny Kavkaz received an order to tow the damaged Voroshilov, which two tugboats took from the bay to the Doobsky lighthouse area, where Krasny Kavkaz was to take it in tow. At 19.34 the ship began to de-anchor, but at this time the raid began, the He-111 aircraft dropped mines on the fairway by parachute. At 21.15 the cruiser entered the roadstead and approached the damaged ship. From the "Krasny Kavkaz" 200 m of a six-inch towing cable was etched, which was connected to the left anchor-chain of "Voroshilov". At 00.20 on November 3, the ships began to move at a speed of 3-4 knots. The rudder of the damaged cruiser was jammed in the 8 ° position to the port side. When towing, it rolled to the left and at 1.42 the tug burst. At 2.56 the tug was handed over for the second time, "Voroshilov" while moving was moonlighting by machines, trying to stay in the wake of "Krasny Kavkaz". At 6.00 we passed the minefields and lay down on the general course. At 6.37 am, the commander of the OLS, Rear Admiral T. A. Novikov, who was on the damaged ship, ordered an increase in speed to 12 knots, and 10 minutes later the destroyer Smyshleny joined the escort of the cruisers. At 7.38 the tug burst again, it took more than an hour to deliver the tug for the third time and the ships sailed at a speed of 6, 2 knots. At 8.51 a raid of enemy bombers began, the cruiser repelled it with anti-aircraft fire. On the morning of November 4, the Voroshilov managed to put the rudder in the DP, the tug was given up, and the damaged cruiser sailed on its own, reaching a speed of up to 18 knots. At 13.03 "Krasny Kavkaz" anchored in the Poti roadstead. Reflecting the air raids on November 2-4, the cruiser's anti-aircraft gunners fired 229 100-mm and 385 45-mm shells and about 5, 5 thousand cartridges.
On the same day, the cruiser moved to Tuapse. After refueling, the ship left for Sevastopol at 15.00 on November 5, where it arrived the next day at 10.15.
On November 7, the cruiser moored at the Coal Wall and began loading the anti-aircraft regiment. On November 8, at 13.25, he moved away from the wall, anchored and continued to receive the servicemen and those evacuated from the boats. In total, the ship received: 23 anti-aircraft guns, 5 vehicles, 4 quad machine guns, 1,550 military personnel, as well as 550 evacuees. At 17.53 the ship weighed anchor and headed to Novorossiysk at 20-knot speed, where it arrived at 8.00 on November 9. At 0820 the cruiser moored to the wall and unloading began with the help of two portal cranes. At 10.25 the unloading ended, and from 10.36 to 17.00 the cruiser was subjected to air raids five times. At 17.39, he departed from the wall to the roadstead, 500 people from the central institutions and employees of the fleet headquarters remained on the ship. At 18.04 "Krasny Kavkaz" weighed anchor to sail to Tuapse. At this time, a raid on the base began, a transport was blown up in the fairway by a magnetic mine. The Novorossiysk OVR banned the cruiser from going to sea. At 20.06, having received the go-ahead for the exit, "Krasny Kavkaz" weighed anchor and on November 10 at 3.36 anchored in Tuapse, and at 8:00 moored to the wall. Having finished unloading, he walked away from the wall, at 17.20 left Tuapse and headed for Sevastopol.
On November 11, at 3.00 am, the commander received a radiogram from the chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet: “To enter the main base only at night, because the enemy is at Cape Sarych. " All day, the cruiser maneuvered at sea until dark and only at 3.18 on November 12 entered Sevastopol, anchored, and then moored at the Coal pier. On this day, the ships and the city were attacked by enemy aircraft in large forces (on that day the cruiser "Chervona Ukraine" was sunk). On this day, "Krasny Kavkaz" 12 times attacked bombers in groups of 2-3 aircraft, at 11:46 the cruiser was attacked by 13 Ju-88s. Only the cruiser's intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire forced the planes to fold or drop bombs at random. At 12.26 the ship began loading troops of the 51st Army. At 16.21, during another attack by enemy aircraft, bombs fell 30-70 m from the ship. When repelling attacks, 258 100-mm, 684 45-mm shells and more than 7, 5 thousand cartridges of 12, 7 and 7, 62-mm were used up. At 17.52 the ship finished loading, taking in 1629 soldiers and commanders, 7 cannons, 17 vehicles, 5 quad machine guns, 400 shells, departed from the wall and anchored. The chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet, Rear Admiral I. D. Eliseev and the English representative Mr. Stades. At 20.49 the ship weighed anchor and left the main base. The headquarters of the 51st Army, aboard the cruiser, allocated a prize - 10 wristwatches for rewarding the personnel of the anti-aircraft battalion of the "Red Caucasus".
The tug helps the "Krasny Kavkaz" to leave the port, winter 1941/42.
On November 13 at 5.00 a radio was received from a minesweeper in distress in the Yalta region. By order of the NSh, the cruiser conducted a search, but since the TSC did not report its coordinates, it was not found and lay on the general course. At 17.40 a distress signal was received from the tanker, but it did not answer calls and at 19.22 the search for it was stopped. On November 14, at 5.19, Krasny Kavkaz anchored in the outer roadstead of Tuapse, it was impossible to enter the port because of the strong waves (wind 9 points, excitement - 8 points). Only in the morning of November 15, the cruiser entered the inner roadstead of Tuapse and anchored. Having stood at anchor for more than a day, it was only at 8.45 on November 16 that the ship was finally able to moor to the pier and begin unloading the troops delivered from Sevastopol, and two hours after the end of the unloading, the loading of troops for Novorossiysk began. Having received 900 people, at 19.50 left Tuapse. On November 17, at 2.06, he moored in Novorossiysk at the Import pier and unloaded the delivered troops.
On the evening of December 1, 1941, an order was received from the headquarters of the fleet - to accept the troops and proceed to Sevastopol. Having hosted 1000 people, 15 wagons of ammunition and 10 wagons of canned food. On December 2, at 3.25 am, the cruiser went to sea, having a speed of 20 knots. At 18.53 he was met by the minesweeper TShch-16, who escorted him along the fairway. At 20.20 the ship moored at the Trade pier of Sevastopol and an hour later completed unloading. Having received the task to fire at the enemy positions at 1.20 on December 3, without departing from the wall, he opened fire with the main caliber at Art. Suren, then along the intersection of roads north of st. Suren and S. Tiberti. At 2.20 he finished shooting. At 14.00, the loading of equipment and troops began. At the same time, the ship fired at the village. Tiberti and Bakhchisarai. At 18.30 he finished loading, taking in 17 guns, 14 special vehicles, 6 cars, 4 kitchens, 750 Red Army soldiers and 350 evacuees. At 19.30 the cruiser departed from the wall. Following along the coast, the cruiser at 21.30-21.35 fired at the concentration of enemy troops in the Cherkes-Kermen area,
On board the "Krasny Kavkaz" soldiers of the marching reinforcements for Sevastopol, December 1941
firing 20 shells. On December 3, Krasny Kavkaz fired 135 180-mm shells at enemy positions. On December 4, he moored at the wall in Novorossiysk. On December 5-6, the cruiser moved from Novorossiysk to Poti.
On December 7, having received 750 people and 12 cannons, at 16.55 "Krasny Kavkaz" departed from the wall, and went to sea guarded by the destroyer "Soobrazitelny". December 8 at 23.50 entered Sevastopol and anchored. At 2.15 on December 9, it moored at the Trade Wharf and finished unloading by 4.00. Having received the order to deliver the troops to Novorossiysk, the cruiser received 1200 men, 11 cannons, and 4 vehicles. At 15.45, the fleet commander, Vice Admiral F. S. Oktyabrsky, arrived on the ship (on orders from Moscow, he was sent to Novorossiysk to develop a plan for the landing operation). "Krasny Kavkaz" withdrew from the wall, at 16.11 the booms passed, and the destroyer "Savvy" entered the guard. The weather was unfavorable: fog, visibility 2-3 kbt, along fairway No. 2 in minefields we passed by dead reckoning. At 10.00 on December 10, he arrived in Novorossiysk and anchored, and at 13.20 he approached the pier, F. S. Oktyabrsky went ashore. The ship finished unloading by 15.30.
The cruiser, among other ships, was supposed to participate in the landing operation on the Kerch Peninsula, but on December 17, the enemy launched a second offensive against Sevastopol along the entire front. The headquarters ordered the immediate delivery of reinforcements to the defenders of the city.
On December 20, at 16.00, 1,500 soldiers and commanders of the 79th Special Rifle Brigade, 8 mortars, 15 vehicles were accepted on the ship, F. S. Oktyabrsky raised the flag of the fleet commander on the ship. "Krasny Kavkaz" withdrew from the wall and at 16.52 went to sea at the head of a detachment: the cruiser "Red Crimea", the leader "Kharkov", the destroyers "Bodry" and "Nezamozhnik". On the approaches to Sevastopol, the weather worsened, the ships entered a strip of fog. For this reason, and also due to the lack of radio stations, the squad was unable to enter the base at night. Having missed out for three hours behind the outer edge of the minefield, the detachment was forced to break through during daylight hours. At 9.12 on December 21, "Kharkov" came out to the head of the convoy, and at 10.45 the detachment entered channel number 2, 4 fighters were patrolling the ships. At 12.17 the detachment was attacked by German bombers, the ships opened anti-aircraft fire. At 13.05 "Krasny Kavkaz" moored to the warehouse pier of Sukharnaya Balka. The fleet commander went ashore. Within an hour, the ship was attacked by enemy aircraft; bombs fell around the cruiser and on the mountain of Sukharnaya Balka. Having disembarked the troops, the cruiser took 500 wounded, at 22.40 departed from the pier and at 00.05 on December 22 left the base, the ship this time went unsecured. From the area of Balaklava "Krasny Kavkaz" fired at Belov's dacha and with. Cermez-Carmen. Then, along fairway No. 3, I passed the minefields, and lay down on a course of 100 °. On December 23, at 20.46, he arrived in Tuapse and landed at the pier, where the wounded were unloaded onto an ambulance train. During the operation, he used up 39 180-mm, 45 100-mm, 78 45-mm shells and 2, 5 thousand cartridges.
Participated in the Kerch-Feodosiya operation. At the first stage of the operation, Rear Admiral NO Abramov was included in the ship support detachment of the landing detachment "B", which was supposed to land at the town of Opuk.
"Krasny Kavkaz" with the destroyer "Nezamozhnik" had their task from 5.00 on December 26 with the fire of their artillery to suppress the batteries, firing points of the enemy and to support the troops landing from gunboats and patrol boats in the area of the Duranda pier near the town of Opuk.
On December 25 at 20.35 the cruiser weighed anchor and went to sea. Wind 7 points, excitement - 5 points. The destroyer Nezamozhnik entered the wake of the cruiser. On December 26 at 4.30, approaching the landing site, the cruiser was identified by the fire of the Shch-201 submarine. The weather in the landing area had improved, and the operation could well be carried out. The cruiser walked at low speed in the area, waiting for the approach of gunboats and transports with a landing party. But neither at the set time, nor after dawn, not a single ship or boat arrived in the area of operation. The commander tried to communicate by radio with Rear Admiral N. O. Abramov or the Chief of Staff of the Black Sea Fleet about further actions, but no connection was established. At 7.50, the cruiser Krasny Krym and two destroyers that had returned after the shelling of Feodosia entered the wake of the Krasny Kavkaz. At 9.00 the ship headed seaward. The commander decided to go to Anapa with the expectation of meeting gunboats or contacting the landing squad by radio. At 11.45 in 20-25 miles from Anapa the transport "Kuban" was met, going without security. Assuming that the entire landing was at the landing site, the cruiser, before reaching Anapa, turned on a course of 315 °. At 14.05 they discovered the silhouettes of ships, they turned out to be minesweepers attached to the detachment of Rear Admiral A. S. Frolov, operating near Kerch and returning to Anapa. At 14.31 it was attacked by torpedo bombers, the ship opened fire, the torpedoes were dropped from a great height and passed at a great distance. Single aircraft raids continued for an hour.
At 17.30 "Krasny Kavkaz" approached the landing area, did not find anyone, and until nightfall maneuvered in the area to avoid collisions with other ships, turned on wake fire, and when turning - distinctive fire. At 19.10 I received an order from the chief of staff on the radio to fire at the enemy's coast in the area of Opuk. From a distance of 64 kbt, he fired 16 shells of the main caliber. At 22.58, 1.5 miles from the coast, I anchored and stayed until dawn. The weather was extremely favorable for the landing, but the landing ships did not appear. By 6.00 on December 27, it became known that the landing party did not leave Anapa, at 07.02 the cruiser weighed anchor and at 13.43 entered the Novorossiysk Bay.
At the second stage of Operation Krasny Kavkaz, he was included in the ship support detachment of the landing squad "A". On December 28, in Novorossiysk, he received 1,586 soldiers and commanders of the forward detachment of the landing, six 76-mm cannons, two mortars, 16 vehicles. The paratroopers were stationed in the cockpit and on the upper deck. At 18.32 the cruiser withdrew from the mooring lines, and at the head of the ship support detachment and the landing detachment (2 cruisers, 3 destroyers, 2 combat battalions, 1 transport and 12 MO boats) went to sea. On the ship were the landing commander, Captain 1st Rank N. E. Basisty, and the commander of the ship support detachment, Captain 1st Rank V. A. Andreev, officers of the landing headquarters. At sea, the weather began to deteriorate, the boats were flooded, and the detachment was forced to reduce the speed from 18 to 14 knots.
On December 29 at 2.30 the ships arrived in the Feodosia region. At 3.05 a detachment of naval support reorganized into a wake column and, having identified by the fires of the previously deployed submarines Shch-201 and M-51, at 3.45 lay down on the firing tack. At 3.48 the ships opened fire on the city and port. At 04.03 the fire was stopped, and the boats with the first assault force began to break into the port.
According to the disposition, the "Krasny Kavkaz" was supposed to moor to the outer wall of the Broad pier with its left side, on the move. Under certain conditions, this was a winning option: the mooring time and, consequently, the time spent under fire were reduced, and losses were reduced. Three sailors landed on the pier from the SKA-013 boat to receive the mooring lines. But the wind began to change, it blew out from the side of the coast. At 05.02, he approached the outer wall of the Broad pier, but the first attempt to bring the cruiser to the port side to the berth due to the excessive caution of the commander failed. Mooring was hampered by a strong push-off wind with a force of six points, the cruiser, which has a large windage, was blown to the right and it turned out to be impossible to move the mooring lines to the berth. The detachment of landing craft included the tug "Kabardinets", which was supposed to provide mooring of the cruiser. Following independently from Anapa, "Kabardinets" arrived at the approach point on time, but, seeing the firing of ships on the coast and return fire from the enemy, returned to Anapa.
Backing away from the breakwater, Captain 2nd Rank A. M. Gushchin again directed the ship to the same place, but at a higher speed. A ship's longboat was sent to the pier with a mooring cable etched out of the half-hatch. However, this attempt was also unsuccessful, the wind pushed the ship away from the pier, and again failed to move the mooring lines to the pier against the wind. Affected by the lack of experience of the commander in mooring to the berth at night in difficult conditions. The cruiser in the bases got up on a barrel or anchor, and moored to the pier with the help of tugs. The transports that arrived with the second echelon moored to the Broad pier without any problems.
The enemy opened artillery-mortar fire on the cruiser. At 5.08, the first two mines exploded in the movie booth and the casing of the turbofan. A fire broke out, paint, movie booth equipment and bed nets were on fire. The first chimney was riddled with shrapnel. The fire in the area of the nasal tube was extinguished in seven minutes by two emergency parties and the personnel of the BCh-2.
At 5.17 the round hit the right leg of the foremast. From its rupture in the area of the navigator's cabin, paint, body kits, bunks, which were lined with the bridge to protect against bullets and shrapnel, caught fire. The signalmen began to extinguish the fire, and then the 1st emergency party arrived. The fire was extinguished five minutes later.
Commander of the "Red Caucasus" Captain 2nd Rank A. M. Gushchin
At 5.21 a six-inch round penetrated the side armor of the 2nd turret of the main battery and exploded in the fighting compartment. Most of the command post were killed or wounded. A fire broke out in the tower - electrical wiring and paint caught fire. Cases with charges ignited in the elevator chute. There was a threat of fire spreading into the artillery cellar through the elevator loaded with ammunition. The 1st emergency combat post was sent to help the gunners. The commander of the survivability division was ordered to inspect cellar No. 2 and be ready to start irrigation and flooding. Smoke was coming from the tower, but the temperature in the artillery cellar remained normal. It was necessary to decide whether to flood the cellar or not. It was necessary at all costs to preserve the combat capability of the tower and exclude the possibility of an explosion in the cellar. Despite the injury, the gunner of the tower V. M. Pokutny pulled out the burning charge from the elevator tray and rushed to the door of the tower, but having received burns to his face and hands, he lost consciousness and fell onto the flaming charge. Artillery electrician P. I. Pilipko and combatant P. G. Pushkarev, who were mooring on the tank, saw that fire and smoke escaped from the tower. PI Pilipko entered the tower through the turret manhole, then P. G. Pushkarev, opening the door of the tower, together with PI Pilipko threw a burning charge onto the deck and carried the wounded V. M. Pokutnogo, and those who were on the deck the sailors threw the charge overboard. The commander of the tower, Lieutenant I. M. Goilov, supervised the fight against the fire. After 9 minutes, the fire was extinguished without resorting to flooding the cellar, and an hour later the tower was put into operation, the wounded soldiers were replaced.
At 5.35 am, two mines and a shell hit the signal bridge. The shell pierced the right rangefinder and exploded overboard, a fire broke out on the bridge, paint, body kits, and spare signal flares were on fire. The fire unmasked the ship, but there was no one to extinguish it, since almost the entire personnel of the signal bridge was out of order. On the bridge, the flagship communications officer of the landing headquarters, Lieutenant-Commander E. I. Vasyukov, and the commander of the warhead-4, Lieutenant N. I. Denisov, were killed. The military commissar of the cruiser GI Shcherbak and the head of the medical and sanitary department of the Navy, brigade doctor FF Andreev, were wounded. The first and second emergency posts were sent to liquidate the fire. Pouring water from two hoses and using pea jackets and mattresses, the sailors extinguished the fire in 2-3 minutes. At 5.45 am, the shell exploded in the ship's workshop, making a hole in the side of 350x300 mm, 1 m from the waterline. The shell broke a piece of 25-mm armor plate, damaged the bulkhead 81 sp., Pipelines and cables with shrapnel. The hole was repaired with improvised materials (boards, mattresses, blankets), and the resulting fire was quickly extinguished.
After the second unsuccessful attempt to moor the ship on the port side, Captain 1st Rank V. A. Andreev, in response to the commander's report about the impossibility of mooring on the port side, ordered to accelerate the approach to the wall of the pier in any way. After 6 hours, the commander began a new mooring maneuver, this time on the starboard side. The cruiser put the left anchor to the wind from the head of the Broad pier and, having launched the longboat, began to wind the mooring line from the stern to the berth. The crew of the longboat brought it to the northern part of the Broad Pier and secured it to the pier. Then they began to select the cable with the stern spire, pulling the stern to the dock. It was necessary to choose about 200 m of cable. In the meantime, the left ladder was thrown out, and the landing of paratroopers began by longboats, and then by small hunters, who transported 323 people. Simultaneously with the landing, the ship fired at enemy firing points. With the fire of 100-mm guns, the gunners silenced the battery at city heights.
At 7.07 a shell hit the left side in the area of the boilers' quarters for 50 shp. and formed a hole measuring 1x0.5 m above the lower deck. Then another hit followed, but the shell did not penetrate the 50-mm armor, but made a dent. After 10 minutes, the hole was sealed with a pre-made shield, cork mattresses, bunks and reinforced with stops. So that the paratroopers who were in the cockpit did not interfere with their work, the commander of the emergency department ordered them to “lie down”. The air waves from the gunpowder gases of the firing naval guns interfered with the sealing of the holes. Mattresses and bunks flew out of holes, and they had to be reinstalled several times.
At 7.15 the mooring was completed, the gangway was given, and the paratroopers rushed to the shore. But it was impossible to unload artillery and vehicles because of the cluttered berth. The enemy continued to fire at the cruiser. At 7.17 between the upper and lower decks for 50 shp. a shell hit from the port side. The blow struck the joint of the armor plates and made a dent. In boiler room No. 1, the control panel was blown off by a blow. At 7.30 am was followed by a hit in the area of 66 shp. between the forecastle deck and the upper deck. Two holes were formed with an area of 0.8x1.0 m and 1.0x1.5 m, in addition, a large number of shrapnel holes. Transit pipes and lines are damaged. The holes were repaired with scrap materials.7.31 - hitting the conning tower. The projectile did not penetrate the 125-mm armor, but shrapnel riddled the bridge, the wheelhouse, the instruments were broken, the 2nd bridge was destroyed, the cabins on the bridges. Interrupted the electrical wiring to the control devices of the ship, damaged the devices and the steering column. At 7.35, it hit the side in the area of the Lenin cabin (42 shp.), 0.5 m above the waterline, water began to flood the cabin, the hole was sealed with pea coats, greatcoats, mattresses, and supports.
At 7.39, three shells hit almost simultaneously on the side between the lower and upper decks in the area of 44-54 shp. The explosions of two shells formed holes 1x1.5 m and 0.5x0.5 m. The third shell pierced the side without exploding, flew over the communal deck, hit the armored 25-mm communications wheelhouse, made a dent and exploded in the communal deck. The explosion destroyed two fans, damaged the electrical wiring, shrapnel punctured the opposite side, smashed an anti-mine winding at a length of 2.0 m. A fire broke out, which was quickly extinguished. In addition to the indicated destruction, shrapnel broke through in many places the side sheathing, electrical cables, including the electrical cable for steering from the wheelhouse, transit lines, damaged davits, arrows, running rigging, etc.
At 08.08, the last paratrooper left the cruiser. In order to move away from the berth as soon as possible, the anchor-chain was ripped off, the mooring lines were chopped off, and at 8.15 am "Krasny Kavkaz" left the firing zone for the roadstead.
The remaining on board 16 vehicles, three 76-mm guns and ammunition in the period from 14.15 to 16.10 were reloaded onto the Azov transport.
From the Feodosiya raid, the ship continued to support the landing operations with artillery fire. From 09.25 to 18.00 on December 29, the ships were attacked by enemy aircraft. The cruiser Krasny Kavkaz was attacked 14 times, but the attacks were unsuccessful, as the ship interfered with targeted bombing by anti-aircraft artillery fire and maneuvering. One of the tubes burst from the shocks in boilers 1, 2, and 7. The tubes were plugged, the output of the boilers and the plugging took 2, 5 hours. At 23.05 the cruiser anchored.
On December 30, at 7.15 am, the "Krasny Kavkaz" weighed anchor and maneuvered in readiness to open fire. From 11.51 to 12.30, according to the corps data, the ship fired at the village. Near Baybugs. At 14.15 the transport "Azov", which arrived as part of the first detachment of transports, approached the board of the cruiser. The remaining 16 vehicles, three guns and ammunition were reloaded onto it. At the same time, the "Red Caucasus" was at the smallest pace. During air raids, the overload ceased, as the cruiser increased its speed to evade bombs. At 16.10, the reloading of equipment for transport ended. At 17.10 the ship again opened fire on the accumulation of enemy troops. At 20.00, two He-111 torpedo bombers attacked the cruiser, but to no avail, the torpedoes passed astern.
At 1.30, the commander of the landing, NE Basisty, with his headquarters went to the destroyer "Soobrazitelny", and the cruiser headed for Tuapse.
In total, 70 180-mm, 429 100-mm and 475 45-mm shells were consumed during the operation. The losses amounted to 27 killed and 66 wounded. The ship was hit by 12 shells, 5 minutes, there were 8 fires.
Upon arrival in Tuapse, the cruiser was instructed to "follow to Novorossiysk." On January 2, 1942, at 0.47 am "Krasny Kavkaz" anchored in the Novorossiysk roadstead, because of the onset of a storm it could not enter the port. Only in the morning of January 3, the cruiser approached the pier and immediately received an order from the chief of staff of the fleet, Rear Admiral I. D. Eliseev - to accept the 224th separate anti-aircraft battalion for delivery to Feodosia. By 19.00, 12 guns, 3 M-4 machine guns, 2 kitchens, 10 trucks and one passenger car, 2 tractors, 1700 boxes with shells and 1200 soldiers and commanders were loaded onto the ship. After loading the ship, the chief of staff of the 44th army arrived with the headquarters, which is why the exit was delayed for 40 minutes. At 20.25 the cruiser departed from the wall, at 23.44 it went beyond the minefields of the Novorossiysk naval base, and developed a speed of 24 knots.
The peculiarity of the operation on January 3-4, 1942 was that the cruiser already had damage from the previous one, December 29-31, 1941: 8 holes in the side, which were repaired with improvised means. In the conning tower, tachometers were out of order, in the wheelhouse - steering devices.
The ship had only one anchor, the second was left on the ground during an emergency survey on December 29.
The headquarters of the fleet assumed that the cruiser would have time to enter the Feodosiya port, unload and retreat to a safe distance in the dark. But the command of the Novorossiysk naval base did not ensure the timely exit of the ship, and it was delayed for 4 hours. It was also unacceptable that the cruiser went to the operation unprotected by anyone.
At sea, the ship met a wind of 8 points, a wave of 5 points, air temperature - 17 ° С, water temperature + 1 ° С, visibility - one mile. On January 4, at 6.15 am, the "Red Caucasus" approached the Feodosiya Bay. By this time, due to the low air temperature, all cargoes froze to the deck, cars and tractors froze. The thickness of the ice reached 13 cm. The personnel of the BCh-5 started heating the engines of the machines with blowtorches, boiling water, and steam. At 6.39 the cruiser gave up the starboard anchor, and half an hour later it moored on the starboard side to the Shirokiy mole. Unloading began on three gangways: from the tank, waist and poop, the equipment was unloaded with the right arrow. 80 Red Navy men worked on the shore. Hoists were used to move the frozen tractors, but even after unloading on the shore, they did not start. From 8.30 the port was covered by the I-153 flight. The unloading was coming to an end, there were only two guns and several boxes of ammunition, but at 09.23 the enemy air raids began, six Ju-87 attacked the cruiser from the coast from the starboard side. Anti-aircraft guns opened fire on them. The planes, diving from three directions, dropped up to 50 bombs. The bombs exploded at a distance of 20-30 m from the side.
At 9.28 a bomb, sliding 120 sp. and, having made a dent, it exploded on the ground (depth 6.5 m). The explosion threw the ship (stern) up and swung to the port side. The blast wave caused great destruction: holes formed in the skin below the armor belt, smashed smoke equipment No. 2, with its gases disabled the aft emergency batch, tore off two 100-mm installations from the foundations (from the skew of the deck at the time of the explosion). At the same time, a bomb that fell at a distance of two meters from the left side destroyed the skin in two places. As a result, the premises of the large and small rudder, the tiller compartment, the small artillery cellar, the aft spire, and storerooms were flooded. Water began to flow into the diesel dynamo room (the power plant was de-energized), cellars No. 2, 3 and 4. A trim appeared at the stern. A minute later, an explosion followed in the area of 34 shp. As a result, the clinket of the lag mine broke, disabled the gyrocompass and the echo sounder, and water began to flow into the central navigator post. A bomb explosion in the area of 69-75 shp. damaged the flooring of the second bottom and internal bulkheads, smashed the foundation of the Worthington pump. Fuel oil mixed with water began to flow through the parted seams into the 4th boiler room, fearing a fire, the boilers were taken out of action and the bilge pump was started. The joints of the seams of the sheathing on the midship frame diverged. The shocks knocked out all the automatic machines of the turbogenerators, the lights went out. The elevators of cellars No. 1, 5, 7, range finders of the fore-mars and the bow bridge were out of order, the antennas of the Uragan transmitter were cut off, the central radio room was damaged.
By this time, two anti-aircraft guns, a passenger car, a kitchen, and a small amount of ammunition remained on board. However, it was impossible to stay at the pier longer, at 9.32 they began to choose the anchor. Fearing that the ship would land on the ground with its stern and propellers (the depth of the place was 7 m), the commander ordered to cut the mooring lines, gave the command to the car “full speed ahead”, and at 9.35 the ship moved away from the wall, the anchor was already getting out on the move. When steam was supplied, the right aft turbine "suffered", which indicated damage to the propeller shaft or loss of the propeller, it was urgently stopped. The left aft turbine vibrated violently. The right bow, when steam was supplied, did not budge, and after it moved, it could not develop full speed (as it later turned out, a cable was wound around its screw). The stern turbines were taken out of action, the cruiser went under two turbines, driven by machines, as the steering device was out of order. Fortunately, the rudders were in the center plane.
An examination of the premises of the ship, including by light divers, showed that the main damage to the ship's hull was from the explosion of an aerial bomb in the area of 124 shp. starboard below the waterline. Divers found large damage to the hull plating in the area of the propellers. All rooms in the aft compartment under the lower deck were flooded up to the 104th shp. (storerooms, power stations No. 13 and No. 14, rooms for large and small rudders, executive motors, tiller, diesel, capstan, propeller shaft corridors, artillery cellar No. 4 and one third - cellar No. 3). On the lower deck, along the current waterline (1 m from the deck), the commander's saloon, officers' cabins, and the wardroom are flooded. On the way of the ship, the upper deck is up to 125 shp. immersed in water. Bulkheads 119 and 125 shp. deformed and water permeable.
The ship took about 1,700 tons of water into the aft rooms, having lost up to 30% of its buoyancy. Displacement increased to 10 600 t, draft 4, 29 m bow, stern -9, 68 m. Trim aft 5, 39 m, roll to starboard 2, 3 °, metacentric height 0.8 m at a rate of 1, 1 m …
There are 8 boilers, two bow main engines in good condition. Large and small rudders do not work, telephone communication does not work. There are 2 wounded on the ship, 6 people were bruised, 7 were slightly poisoned.
Leaving the harbor, "Krasny Kavkaz" headed for Novorossiysk. The ship vibrated heavily, so the turbines had to be slowed down to 210 rpm. The cruiser went under two turbines, without magnetic compass steering. After 1, 5 hours, the gyrocompass was put into operation. While retreating from Feodosia, the cruiser was attacked by aviation, but thanks to the maneuver and anti-aircraft fire, there were no hits. When repelling aviation attacks, 94 100-mm and 177 45-mm shells were used up. At 10.20 am, near the Ivan Baba metro station, the destroyer "Svobodny" entered the guard of the cruiser, through which the communication with the command was carried out. The two army anti-aircraft guns remaining on the deck were thrown overboard.
On the ship there was a struggle for its survivability, which lasted all day and night. The main task was to prevent
water penetration behind a waterproof bulkhead on 104 shp, behind which there were aft engine rooms. To straighten the ship, 120 tons of fuel oil and 80 tons of coastal water were pumped from the aft bottom tanks to the vacated bow tanks. To equalize the roll, we pumped fuel oil and removed some of the weights from the right waist. With these measures, it was possible to reduce the trim by 1, 7 m and equalize the roll to 2 °. Up to 20 wooden supports have been installed to reinforce decks, bulkheads, hatches and necks. It was possible to drain the fourth and partly the third cellars, repair cracks and riveted joints in the 4th boiler room and other rooms. The divers managed to seal many cracks in the tiller and diesel generator rooms with cement.
When approaching Novorossiysk, the cruiser commander asked the base to send tugs, because The cruiser could not pass independently on the difficult fairway. Instead of tugs at 14.05, the order of the chief of staff was received - to go to Tuapse. The weather worsened again, the wave was up to 4 points. The speed of the ship is 6-7 knots. On January 5, at 5.50, "Krasny Kavkaz" anchored in the Tuapse roadstead. After 10 minutes, two tugboats approached and took the ship to the harbor, while the stern touched the ground. The cruiser is docked at the Import Wharf. In the compartments of the ship, about 1400 tons of water remained, the displacement was about 10 100 tons, the metacentric height was 0.76 m, the trim to the stern was 4.29 m (draft bow 4, 35 m, stern - 8, 64 m) roll - 3 °.
Upon arrival in Tuapse, the ASO divers examined the cruiser and found: between 114-133 shp on the starboard side below the armor belt three large holes, on the left side between the same frames - two. They were covered with a soft plaster. For a better fit, factory # 201 made 2 wooden frames, which were tightly pressed against the plasters.
Two motor pumps with a capacity of 400 t / h each were installed on the deck of the ship, in addition, the SP-16 tugboat and the rescuer "Shakhtar", which had pumps with a total capacity of about 2000 t / h, stood at the side of the ship. Managed to drain the premises on the lower deck and the diesel generator. We began to drain the small tiller room. At the same time, the holes were repaired, and some places of water inflow were filled with cement. On the third day, this room was drained. Reinforced with supports waterproof bulkheads for 114 and 119 sp. After all the measures taken to seal the holes and drain the compartments, 600 tons of water remained unpumped. By January 20, the rescue work was completed.
Simultaneously with the struggle for unsinkability when parked in Tuapse, the second task was being solved - finding an opportunity to fully restore the ship's combat capability. It was necessary, as the diving inspection showed, to carry out complex repairs of the hull in the underwater part, in the area of 114-136 sp., Below the armor belt on both sides, and for this it was necessary to dock. Dry docks, in which cruisers were usually repaired, remained in Sevastopol. There were four floating docks, of which two in Novorossiysk were out of order, and two in Poti had a carrying capacity of 5000 tons. The simplest way to dock a cruiser with a displacement of 8000 tons was to pair two docks, which were lifting of the cruiser pr. 26. But for the pairing of the docks it was necessary to make and fit 4000 bolts and nuts, which took at least three months. At the same time, there was no certainty that the ends of the dock towers would coincide, since the docks were from different pairs. In addition, for the installation of twin docks, it was required to double the foundation pit. A more serious obstacle to the use of both floating docks in the repair of the cruiser was the fact that the fleet for a long time would be left without any docks for other ships at all. In addition, in the context of possible enemy air raids, it was unsafe to concentrate two docks and a cruiser in one place.
The flagship engineer-mechanic of the fleet B. Ya. Krasikov proposed an option: a floating dock with a carrying capacity of 5,000 tons should be used as an end caisson, which would allow repairing the damaged aft part of the cruiser. To do this, at the dock cut, at its opposite end on the slipway-deck between the dock towers and the sides of the ship, place a transverse airlock.
The ship was preparing to sail to Poti. On the forecastle, 17 machines were loaded, necessary for the repair of the ship, and the lead cable reels in total about 200 tons, and about 200 workers of the plant were hired. The divers once again examined the underwater part of the ship.
On January 28, the cruiser left behind the booms on her own, where she was taken in tow by the tanker "Moscow". The sea was stormy, the roll reached 20-22 °. The stability of the ship was reduced by the presence of cargo on the forecastle, while there was only 383 tons of fuel oil, the lower compartments were almost empty. The presence of 600 tons of water in the semi-flooded premises intensified the pitching. The ship's dewatering equipment, as well as four portable water turbines and two ejectors, operated continuously. At the crossing, the towing cables were torn, the bollard tore out. Then the cable was attached to the main caliber turret. On January 30, at 19.30, the cruiser was brought to Poti, two tugs were brought into the harbor.
Preparations began for the ship for docking with a carrying capacity of 5000 tons. It was necessary to unload it, reducing the displacement from 8300 to 7320 tons with a draft of 6, 1 m. For this: in the area of 95-117 shp. four pontoons with a total lifting force of 300 tons were installed, the tiller compartment was finally drained, 150 tons of filtration water were pumped out from the feed cellars, all liquid cargoes were removed: solar oil 30 tons, turbine oil 10 tons, boiler water - 50 tons, watered fuel oil pumped out - 150 tons, removed the barrel of the 4th tower -30 tons, unloaded spare parts storerooms, etc. To reduce the trim, the bow trim compartment was flooded by 0-8 shp.
At the same time, the dock was being prepared to receive the damaged cruiser. In order to reduce the specific pressure in the stern and bow parts, the keel track was built solid. Dock keel blocks were additionally strengthened. We put six pairs of curved bottom cages and prepared 18 pairs of side stops to be installed in two rows in the area of the cruiser's main transverse bulkheads. All this was done in order to ensure a stable position of the ship in case of possible roll, differential and pitching of the "dock-ship" system.
"Krasny Kavkaz" in a floating dock during repairs in Poti, 1942
All preparations were completed by March 24th. The dock was sunk and on March 26 at 7.00 the tugboat "Partizan" began to bring the cruiser into the dock aft forward. The bow of the ship was supported by the tugboat SP-10. By 10.00, we finished the ship's alignment by weight, began pumping water from the dock pontoons and lifting the dock on an even keel. After landing the cruiser on the cages and keelblocks, the dock suddenly began to roll to the starboard side. Inspection showed that the ship was displaced to the left by 80 cm due to the fault of the dock sailor, who had pulled the glass incorrectly. The dock was sunk again, the ship was centered. After the secondary lifting of the dock, they installed stops under the aft clearance and 13 pairs of side stops, brought two 80-ton pontoons under the bow of the ship in the area of 15-25 sh. By 18.40 finished trimming the "dock-ship" system, then the divers with the help of a floating crane and hoists proceeded to the installation of an airlock bulkhead at the stern section of the dock (on 48 splines of the ship's hull). By April 1, all work was completed, and on April 4, the damaged part of the hull was isolated from the undamaged part along the lower deck. The bow of the cruiser hung from the dock by 55 m - the length of the cruiser was 169.5 m, and the length of the dock was 113 m. The trim of the "dock-ship" system was 3.2 ° to the bow, the roll was 1/4 ° to the starboard side.
After the ship was docked, it was possible to find out the full extent of the damage. The ship received through the holes 1695 tons - 20, 4% of displacement with a loss of buoyancy - 31%. In the area of 119125 shp. keelbox and set are concave inside the ship. The outer skin sheets in this area are dented with a deflection arrow of up to 600 mm and are torn in two places. The achtersteven, helmport of the small rudder and the keel box of the stern valance, together with the heel, were broken into pieces and pressed into the ship by 50 mm. The cast box-shaped part of the sternpost in the area of the large rudder at a distance of 0.8 m from the heel was interrupted. The connection of the cast part with the riveted box got a break, and the cast part sagged. Damaged keel on 114 sp. Sheathing up to the 6th belt was corrugated on both sides. Watertight bulkheads 114, 119, 125, 127 and 131 are damaged.
Four plates of the armor belt of the starboard side were torn off and the lower edge, together with the hull skin, was pressed inward. Two plates of the left side armor belt are torn off from the skin by 15-20 mm. Sheets of external cladding and a set in the area of 119130 shp. on the left side from the keel box to the lower edge of the armor plates are deformed. On the upper deck for 109 and 118 shp. bulges were formed with an arrow of deflection up to 150 mm, riveted seams weakened. On the waist of the left side in the area of 63-75 sp., There was a tear, in the area of 46, 50 and 75 sp. cracks appeared, and in the region of 49-50 sh. crack in the outer skin of the starboard side from the deck of the tank to the upper deck. Many double bottom and side oil tanks passed water through the seams of the outer skin. The butt seams of the 25-mm armor belt on the 55, 62, 93, 104 and 122 frames of both sides parted.
The lower paw of the propeller shaft bracket of the bow of the right machine had a crack. The bracket, the propeller shaft and the propeller of the right stern machine were knocked off completely along the flange at the deadwood and were lost at the parking lot in Feodosia. The propeller shaft bracket on the left stern machine is cracked.
Of the auxiliary mechanisms, the steering gear received the greatest damage. The hand drive of the small rudder is torn off from the cast-iron brackets and bent. The drive gear is torn off along with the entire box, the shaft and the worm are bent. The stock of the stern spire was raised by an explosion by 200 mm, the foundation was broken.
On the electrical side, the main damage was associated with flooding of the compartments. Failed: two executive electric motors and converters of a large rudder with stations, executive motors of a small rudder and a spire, the main aft power plant, diesel generators No. 5 and No. 6 and other mechanisms.
"Krasny Kavkaz" in Poti, 1942. In the foreground, submarine L-5
To restore the ship's combat capability, complex work was performed. The axle post and bushings of propeller shaft brackets were manufactured at the Krasny Oktyabr plant in Stalingrad. Damaged cast keel box for 119-130 shp. was replaced by a new, welded structure. A new riveted-welded heel of the stern valance was made. On the corrugations of the outer skin and the keel box crack in the area of 114-115 shp. We put 10 mm thick overhead sheets from the keel to the 3rd chord on both sides. The deformed casing plating, double bottom set and flooring of the second bottom in the area of the 4th boiler room were reinforced with stiffeners.
Replaced the sheets of the outer side sheathing, decking and platforms with an area of up to 600 m2. For this, 4800 rivets were drilled and replaced, 7200 m welded seams were welded. Straightened 1200 m of frames and set. New and partly repaired watertight bulkheads were installed. The lower deck was repaired for 119-124 shp. on the starboard side and longitudinal bulkheads at 119132 shp. They removed, straightened and installed four armor plates on the starboard side and two on the left.
"Krasny Kavkaz" after the completion of the renovation. Behind the stern is the floating base "Neva"
From the stock of the fleet, a propeller shaft, propeller shaft brackets for feed machines were used. The crack in the paw of the propeller shaft bracket No. 1 was welded with electric welding. The stern tubes were riveted and centered. Replaced two damaged propellers, the propeller of the right bow turbine was replaced by one removed from the cruiser "Chervona Ukraine". The main and auxiliary mechanisms were revised and repaired.
To speed up the ship's exit from the dock, they decided to abandon the restoration of the small rudder. A detailed study showed that the maneuvering elements of the ship do not change significantly in the presence of two or one rudders, and during an explosion, both rudders located next to each other still fail. The small rudder was removed from the ship.
216 workers were involved in the repair, about 250 specialists were trained from the ship's crew and assigned to production teams.
The intense, round-the-clock work continued for 118 days in the unusual conditions of the cruiser at the dock. On July 22, dock work was completed and two tugs brought the ship out of the dock. The rest of the work was completed afloat. During the repair, the ship's anti-aircraft weapons were significantly strengthened: they additionally installed two 100-mm installations of the "Minizini" system, removed from the cruiser "Chervona Ukraina" that sank in Sevastopol, two 76, 2mm anti-aircraft guns 34-K were installed at the stern, two 45-mm anti-aircraft guns were removed M-4 cannons and machine guns, and mounted 8 37-mm 70-K assault rifles, 2 DShK and 2 Vickers quad machine guns.
Thus, the restoration of the combat capability of the cruiser in difficult conditions was completed in 7, 5 months, of which about 2, 5 months were spent on preparatory work and on repairs: 4 months at the dock and a month after dock.
By order of the People's Commissar of the Navy dated April 3, 1942, No. 72, the Krasny Kavkaz cruiser was transformed into a guards one. On July 26, the squadron commander, counter-admiral L. A. Vladimirsky, solemnly presented the crew with the guards flag, which was accepted by the ship's commander A. M. Gushchin.
On July 15, 1942, the Black Sea Fleet squadron was reorganized, "Krasny Kavkaz" became part of the newly formed cruiser brigade of the Black Sea Fleet squadron.
On August 17-18, the cruiser, accompanied by the destroyer Nezamozhnik and the SKR Storm, left Poti for sea trials, which showed good results.
"Red Caucasus" in Poti, 1942
In August 1942, fascist German troops began to concentrate on the Tuap-Sin direction. Tuapse was one of the three remaining bases of the Black Sea Fleet. For the defense of the city, the Tuapse defense region was created. The ships of the fleet provided the transport of troops to Tuapse from Poti and Batumi.
On September 11, Krasny Kavkaz, accompanied by the leader Kharkiv and the destroyer Savvy, crossed from Batumi to Poti, where it arrived at 8.45 am. The ships took over the 145th Marine Regiment and at 23.47 delivered it to Tuapse. On September 12, we returned from Tuapse to Poti with the destroyer "Soobrazitelny", then left for Batumi. On September 14, at 7.35, he arrived from Batumi to Poti with the "Soobrazitelny" and at 15.40, taking on board the 668th rifle regiment of the 408th rifle division with weapons, left Poti and at 22.45 arrived in Tuapse. On September 15 he returned to Poti. On September 16, units of the 408th SD were transported from Poti to Tuapse with the "Smart", and on September 17 they returned to Poti. On September 28, guarded by three SKA, the cruiser moved from Poti to Batumi.
On October 19-20, "Krasny Kavkaz" together with the leader "Kharkov" and the destroyer "Soobrazitelny" delivered 3,500 soldiers and commanders, 24 guns and 40 tons of ammunition of the 10th rifle brigade from Poti to Tuapse. Having unloaded, the ships left for Batumi.
October 22 at 15:40 with the leader "Kharkov" and the destroyer "Merciless" left Poti, having on board 3180 people, 11 guns, 18 mortars, 40 tons of ammunition and 20 tons of food supplies from the 9th Guards Rifle Brigade and 80 people and 5 guns 8 1st Guards Brigade. At 23.30 the detachment arrived in Tuapse. At 23.33, while mooring, the ships were attacked by four TKA, which fired eight torpedoes that exploded on the shore. The ships were not damaged. On October 23, the ships moved from Tuapse to Batumi.
On November 6, 1942, A. M. Gushchin was assigned to the Main Naval Headquarters, and Captain 2nd Rank V. N. Eroshenko, the former commander of the legendary leader "Tashkent", took command of the cruiser.
Loading troops on board the "Red Caucasus"
In preparation for the landing in South Ozereyka, the headquarters of the fleet planned to use the battleship "Paris Commune", but the directive of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet of December 31, 1942 ordered to use the "Red Caucasus" instead. On December 31, the cruiser with the leader "Kharkov" moved from Batumi to Poti, and on January 8, 1943, with the leader "Kharkov" and the destroyer "Soobrazitelny" returned to Batumi. In February 1943, the ship was included in a detachment of covering ships: Krasny Kavkaz, cruiser Krasny Krym, leader Kharkiv, destroyers Merciless and Savvy.
The cruiser "Krasny Kavkaz", on which the commander of the covering detachment, the squadron commander L. A. Vladimirsky, held the flag, at 4.00 on February 3 gave up the mooring lines and began to pull out of the base under tugboats. Going out at 5.21 for the booms, the cruiser immediately found a standing transport on the fairway, which was closing the exit. I had to turn to the left towards the bank and pass through the narrows. Approaching the edge of the minefield, "Krasny Kavkaz" stopped the cars, waiting for "Krasny Krym", which was greatly delayed in the exit. For 55 minutes he stood on the outer roadstead, guarded by the leader and the destroyers. At 6.10 am "Krasny Krym" passed the booms of the Batumi base and 20 minutes later entered the wake of "Krasny Kavkaz".
At 6.30 all the ships began to lay down on the ship's fairway No. 2 (FVK 2), the "Kharkov" came out at the head of the convoy. At this very moment, the upper leading light turned off. It was necessary to enter the minefields on the bearing only to the lower leading light, and only when the detachment exited the minefield did the upper fire turn on. At 6.47, the detachment lined up in a marching order and after 10 minutes lay down on a course of 295 °, with the expectation of moving to the west, disorient the enemy, and with the onset of darkness follow to the landing site.
From 8.40 to 17.00 the detachment was covered from the air, first by LaGG-3 fighters, then by Pe-2 dive bombers. At 12.30 on the left along the course of 140 ° the plane (flying boat) "Gam-burg-140" was discovered, which after 5 minutes concealed
Xia, in the future, enemy aviation was not detected, the voyage on February 3 proceeded in a calm atmosphere. At 14 o'clock the ships reduced their speed to small in order to approach the firing point at the set time. At 18.05 the detachment turned on a course of 24 ° - to the area of operation. Before nightfall at 18:16, the detachment rebuilt, the leader stood in the wake of the cruisers, and the destroyers - at the head of the column.
At 22.55, the cover detachment laid down on a course of 325 °, leading to a combat tack. At 00.12 i.e.48 minutes before the opening of fire, a cipher telegram was received from the landing commander of Rear Admiral NE Basisty from the destroyer Nezamozhnik with a request to postpone the firing of cruisers for 1.5 hours due to the delay of tugs with bolinders. Having received this encryption, L. A. Vladimirsky, without waiting for the decision of the fleet commander, decided to postpone the start of the artillery preparation to 2.30, which he informed the fleet commander about.
However, Vice-Admiral F. S. Oktyabrsky, who commanded the operation, having received reports from the detachment commanders, ordered to act according to the approved plan and at 0.30 signed a radiogram addressed to N. E. Basisty and L. A. Vladimirsky: “You can't move the time, it's too late, everything is in motion,”and then another telegram, also sent to the commander of the fleet aviation and the commander of the Novorossiysk naval base, confirmed the start of the operation at 1.00 am on 4 February.
"Red Caucasus" on the high seas, 1943
Thus, at the very beginning of the operation, a situation arose that caused inconsistency in the actions of the forces participating in it. The surprise effect was lost. After the air raid and shelling of coastal artillery, the enemy could not only wait for the landing, but also determine the possible places of its landing. The cover detachment was supposed to start processing the landing site 15 minutes after the airstrike, but in fact it happened after 1 hour and 45 minutes.
The cover detachment maneuvered with medium and full moves, expecting to open fire at 2.30. The forced change of courses and courses immediately before firing had a negative effect on the reliability of the gyrocompasses, as a result of which the ships had a less accurate position during the second approach.
The delay in opening fire led to the fact that both cruisers were forced to fire without adjusting fire. According to the operation plan, each cruiser was assigned one MBR-2 and was duplicated by DB-Zf.
However, both DB-Zf did not fly to the area, the MBR-2 of Captain Boychenko, attached to the "Krasny Kavkaz", also did not take off. "Krasny Krym" established a stable connection with its plane at 23.40, but even before the start of firing, at 2.09, it went to base, having consumed fuel.
At 2.10 a cover detachment again approached the landing area, in the same formation, and 15 minutes later lay down on a combat course of 290 °, having a course of 9 knots. At 2.31 on a signal from the flagship, the destroyer "Merciless" began firing illuminating shells from a distance of 50 kbt. From the very first volleys, he successfully illuminated the coastline in the landing area. The coastal lighting continued until the end of the cruisers' firing.
At 2.32 "Krasny Kavkaz" opened fire with the main caliber, and 2 minutes later - with 100-mm artillery. Then "Krasny Krym" and "Kharkiv" began processing the coast.
On the Krasny Kavkaz, carbon monoxide (CO) was emitted from the first used flame arrester in the fighting compartments of the main caliber turrets, despite the fact that the ventilation systems worked well. Carbon monoxide with spent cartridges was extracted from the bore and remained in the turret. The doors and hatches of the towers were opened, but after 18-19 volleys, the personnel began to faint. Despite the poisoning, the personnel worked at the mechanisms to their last strength, trying to release as many shells as possible. Initially, the retired gunners were replaced by sailors from the supply department, but they also fainted. The intensity of the main caliber fire began to fall, while the 100 mm
"Red Caucasus" at the end of the war
View of the forecastle from the foremast, the artillery continued to fire uninterruptedly.
At 2.50, the posts of medical aid received reports from the towers about poisoning. Medics and porters were sent to the towers, 34 infected people were delivered to the hospitals from the departments. After 5-6 hours, all the poisoned returned to duty.
The 100 mm mounts had only 3 misfires when firing. Ammunition of 100 mm guns received as flameless, in fact, all turned out to be ordinary - fiery and strongly unmasked the ship. In general, the materiel of the ship's guns worked without serious breakdowns and malfunctions.
The situation during the shooting was complicated by the fact that ships with an assault force were moving to intersect the course of the shooting ships, and one of the gunboats parted with the cruisers at a distance of several hundred meters. The approach of landing craft to ships during shelling of the coast could have unpredictable consequences: on the one hand, the possibility of a torpedo attack was simplified.
"Red Caucasus", 1945
"Red Caucasus" at the parade, 1947
on the enemy's pedal boats, which could be mistaken for their landing craft, on the other hand, there was a possibility of destruction by fire of the ships of their landing craft, which could be mistaken for enemy boats.
At 3.00 am "Krasny Kavkaz" finished firing, firing 75 (instead of 200) 180-mm and 299 100-mm shells. After completing the firing, the cruisers and the leader laid down on the course of withdrawal, moving away from the coast to the rendezvous point with the destroyers. At 7.30, the "Merciless" and "Savvy" joined and joined the escort of the cruisers. On February 5 at 10.50 the detachment returned to Batumi, later the cruiser moved to Poti. On March 12, guarded by the destroyers Boyky and Merciless, he crossed from Poti to Batumi.
"Red Caucasus", post-war photo
In an operational directive of 28.05, the commander of the North Caucasian Front, Lieutenant General I. E. Petrov ordered raiding operations in the Anapa and Blagoveshchenskoye areas in order to create the enemy's impression of the active preparation of the fleet for the landing of troops in the rear of his Taman grouping and to divert part of its forces from the Novorossiysk direction. In pursuance of the directive, the fleet commander ordered the squadron commander to make a demonstrative transition during daylight hours to Pitsunda and back. On June 4, at 12.04, the Krasny Kavkaz under the flag of the squadron commander Vice-Admiral N. E. Basisty with the leader of the Kharkiv, destroyers Svobodny, Soobrazitelny, Boykiy left Batumi to the Pitsunda-Sochi region for a demonstration landing of troops. At 16.30 and 17.58, the ships were spotted by an aerial reconnaissance, after which they turned sharply to the south-west, demonstrating a desire to hide the true direction of movement from reconnaissance, and then turned to the previous course to the northeast. At 20.05 the ships gave a radiogram in order to convince the enemy that the detachment was moving to the north, and with the onset of darkness they began to retreat to Batumi, where they arrived at 6.40 on June 5. The campaign did not reach its goal, the enemy did not attach much importance to it.
June 23, 1943 with the destroyers "Merciless", "Savvy", "Capable" went to Batumi - Poti, and on July 31 he returned to Batumi.
On July 15, 1944, while guarding the destroyers "Smart", "Bodry", "Nezamozhnik", "Zheleznyakov" moved from Batumi to Poti. In the fall I got up for repairs. May 23, 1945 arrived in Sevastopol. At the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945, the guards flag of the cruiser Krasny Kavkaz was carried in front of the combined battalion of Black Sea sailors.
In 1946 it was docked and urgent work. The ship was recognized as inferior, it was believed that it could be in service for some time without major overhaul, which was deemed inappropriate.
On May 12, 1947, the cruiser was decommissioned and reclassified as a training cruiser. In the fall of 1952, he was disarmed, turned into a target, on November 21, 1952, he was sunk in the Feodosia region by a Tu-4 aircraft while testing an anti-ship cruise missile KF and on January 3, 1953 he was excluded from the lists of the Navy.
On October 22, 1967, the guards flag of the cruiser was raised on the large anti-submarine ship, project 61 "Krasny Kavkaz", which became part of the KChF.
Commanders: K. G. Meyer (up to 6.1932) k1 r from 1935 N. F. Zayats (6.1932 - 8.1937), to 2 r F. I. Kravchenko (9.1937 -1939), to 2 r, to 1 r A. M. Gushchin (1939 - November 6, 1942), to 2 p, to 1 p V. N. Eroshenko (6 November 1942 - 9 May 1945).
"Krasny Kavkaz" and the tanker "Fiolent", 1950
