The first time - an accident, the second time - a coincidence, the third - sabotage. At the same place, near the hospital wall in Sevastopol, with an interval of 40 years, Novorossiysk and Empress Maria died.
Two explosions in the night. Hundreds of dead. The perpetrators have not been identified.
According to the historian writer N. Starikov, the causes of the tragedy in Sevastopol should be sought on the shores of Foggy Albion:
Russia is a land power. The Anglo-Saxon powers are maritime. And in order to fight the maritime powers, Russia needs a strong navy. That is why the first thing that happens during any turmoil and revolution is the destruction of the Russian fleet.
The explosion on the battleship Empress Maria (1916) was the fourth sabotage by British intelligence (after the uprisings on the battleship Potemkin, the training ship Prut and the cruiser Ochakov), committed to weaken the Black Sea Fleet.
The Anglo-Saxons cannot stand competition at sea, reacting painfully to the emergence of strong fleets from other states. In a similar way, they punished Japan - at the very end of the First World War, the battleship Kawachi was blown up in Tokuyama Bay (over 600 dead). The killers' handwriting matches. And shortly before to divert all suspicions from themselves, British spies blew up their own "Vanguard" in Scapa Flow (1917, irrecoverable losses of 804 people).
The only place that the dastardly hands of the scouts did not reach were the Kriegsmarine and the US Navy. There, not a single dreadnought died from the explosion of the cellars. An amazing result in an era when the stability of propellants left much to be desired, and the slightest fluctuation in humidity and temperature led to an explosion of cordite. The reason for the miraculous salvation is the iron discipline in the navy, multiplied by the general well-being of these countries.
The reasons for the death of “Empress Mary” do not need to go across three oceans. All of them are detailed in the report of the commission that oversaw the tests of the battleship (1915):
“The system of aero-refrigeration of the artillery cellars of the“Empress Maria”was tested for 24 hours, but the results were uncertain. The temperature of the cellars almost did not drop, despite the daily operation of refrigeration machines. Ventilation failure. In view of wartime, we had to limit ourselves only to daily tests of the cellars”.
With this approach to storing cordite, all that was left was to wait for the inevitable.
The second tragedy, connected with the death of the Novorossiysk LK, was overgrown with even more rumors and legends. The plot with the catastrophic explosion of the battleship was used as the basis for pseudo-documentary broadcasts, the authors of which replicate conjectures about the causes of the explosion, coming to the original conclusion: "Nobody knows how it happened."
The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet battleship "Novorossiysk" (formerly Giulio Cesare - Julius Caesar, launched in 1911)
In general, there are three main versions:
- German bottom mine during the Great Patriotic War;
- "bookmark" at the time of the transfer of the battleship to the USSR;
- Italian saboteurs.
Of course, the most popular is the latest version associated with the combat swimmers of Valerio Borghese's squad. Recently, it has become almost the main one. The layman is impressed by spy romance and conspiracy theories.
So, saboteurs again?
The Chronicle of the Tenth Flotilla MAS (Italian Mezzi d'Assalto - assault means) testifies in favor of the “Italian trace”. The most efficient naval special forces of the Second World War, whose fighters sank two British battleships and the cruiser York.
The "Decima MAS" emblem, designed by Prince Borghese himself
This means that there is experience. There are funds. The main thing is missing - the motive for committing a crime.
Despite the sensational revelations of the “yellow press”, in which unnamed Italian divers confess all their sins, interviews with real veterans of “Decima MAS” are kept in a more restrained style. During a trip to Genoa in 1996, members of the Russian Geographical Society managed to personally communicate with the “frogmen” of the Borghese detachment. All three are holders of the Great Medal for Military Valor, Italy's highest military award.
Luigi Ferraro (swimmer of the Gamma squadron), Emilio Legnani (driver of boats with explosives) and Evelino Marcolini (driver of human torpedoes) confirmed their innocence in the Novorossiysk explosion, giving the following as an alibi:
Former employees of the Tenth Flotilla were not hostile to the Soviet Union. Throughout the war, they fought with the British fleet, and all their victories and humiliating defeat owe exclusively to His Majesty's sailors. If suddenly they had the opportunity of revenge, their rage fell more on Scapa Flow than on Soviet Sevastopol.
While the pride of the Italian fleet "Cesare-Novorossiysk" was an outdated battleship from the First World War, even before the surrender was transferred to the category of training ships. By 1955, everyone in Italy had already forgotten about him.
With regards to the prince Borghese himself, he fled from Italy to Spain almost immediately, more precisely 15 years after the death of "Novorossiysk". For reasons more related to politics than a military background.
In general, quite well-known and obvious facts that supporters of the "Italian conspiracy" are afraid to notice.
Further, according to the participants themselves, “Dechima MAS” was strong only during the war years. After Italy's surrender, all special equipment for underwater work was confiscated by the Allies. The detachment was dispersed. Some of the fighters fled to Argentina. Those of the former members of the Borghese detachment who were lucky enough to avoid the tribunal, one way or another, were under the “cap” of the American special services. There could be no question of any "retaliation" in private (even under the protectorate of the Italian authorities).
Finally, the most important is the technical aspect. The estimated power of the first explosion under the keel of Novorossiysk was over one ton of TNT. After 30 seconds, a second explosion burst from the left side. To deliver charges of such power would require at least five Mayale human-guided torpedoes (and taking into account frequent failures, twice as many).
Another masterpiece of falsification. Pranksters-scuba divers drag two tons explosives from the Omega Bay to Sevastopol.
To transport such a quantity of underwater special equipment to the Soviet shores would require several submarines and a large supply of luck. The landing of saboteurs from a surface carrier disguised as a civilian steamer looks even more incredible, in view of the security measures taken on the approaches to the main base of the Black Sea Fleet. Taking into account the scanty range of the Mayale torpedoes themselves, they could crawl no more than 15 miles in seven hours. Simply put, the capabilities of underwater sabotage technology would not allow such an operation to be carried out.
Taking into account the inevitable maneuvering when searching for a target, torpedoes with saboteurs would have to be fired in Soviet tervods, right on the roadstead of Sevastopol. Plus the need for preliminary reconnaissance assets. Plus the weather factor.
The conclusion is too obvious. Even if suddenly the British themselves, with the involvement of experienced mercenaries-saboteurs Borghese, decided to sink the trophy “Novorossiysk”, they would be bald.
And most importantly, why so much work and risk? For the destruction of the latest nuclear-powered ship?
Despite intensive modernization (an increase in speed from 21 to 27-28 knots, an increase in the main caliber to 320 mm), “Novorossiysk” remained a dreadnought of the First World War. It was 100 meters shorter than Iowa. And half the displacement of any of the battleships of the Second World War. As of the mid-1950s, Cesare-Novorossiysk was not in the best shape and could not pose a threat to the fleets of Western states.
As a result, everyone who wanted to destroy the Soviet battleship had neither the desire, nor the technical capability, nor the practical sense in carrying out this dastardly operation.
The popular version of sabotage carried out by Italian swimmers is completely out of the question. It is a myth. “Urban Legend”, born in the minds of enterprising journalists.
In the same way, the possibility of undermining the battleship by means of the "bookmark" established at the time of the transfer of "Cesare" to the Soviet Union is excluded.
If so, why did it take seven whole years before the bomb was detonated? Rumors of a mysterious "blank bulkhead" in the bow of the battleship are just rumors.
Only in the period from 1950 to 1955. “Novorossiysk” was under factory repair seven times. We changed all the “stuffing” up to the turbines. We carried out thorough thermal insulation of all rooms, under the conditions of service in the Black Sea. The bomb could have been detected at any moment, and then major complications would have arisen in Soviet-Italian relations.
Finally, the version with a "bookmark" inside the battleship is contrary to common sense. The edges of the hole from the first explosion were BENDED inward. And on the left side, a dent with an area of 190 sq. meters. This clearly indicates that both explosions took place OUTSIDE.
The only noteworthy version is German mines. Simple and logical. With a minimum amount of assumptions. After the tragic death of “Novorossiysk”, 17 sea mines of the RMH-1 type were wiped out from the bottom silt of the Sevastopol Bay. Three of them are within a radius of 100 meters from the place where the battleship was destroyed.
Plank structure without external frills weighing ~ 1150 kg, equipped with cast hexonite. Equipped with a non-contact magnetic sensor type M-1. Ideal for blocking harbor and port entrances. Retreating, the Germans left us dozens of such "gifts"
It is this version that the official point of view adheres to, based on the conclusion of the chief engineer of the operation to raise the Novorossiysk (special expedition, EON-35). Its opponents refer to the fact that the power supplies of all the ground mines that were drilled out were discharged. Well, apparently, not all of them …
The ingenious explosive device had several algorithms to increase its effectiveness and extend the time spent in combat mode. For example, it could operate in an intermittent mode (PU type timer clock), turning on and off every half month. Moreover, the hull of the battleship itself (30 thousand tons of metal) caused extremely strong distortions in the Earth's magnetic field. This was enough to activate the “dying” M-1 sensor. After that, the most powerful hydrodynamic blow from the first explosion caused the detonation of another nearby mine.
This is such a tragic accident, turned into an endless soap opera by the efforts of the forgers.
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