On May 27, 1942, a Soviet steamer performed a feat that became a symbol of the resilience of sailors from the Arctic convoys
In the history of the Great Patriotic War, Arctic convoys, which supplied the USSR with a considerable part of military equipment from the countries - allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, occupy a special place. They accounted for about a quarter of all transported Lend-Lease cargo, because this was the fastest way to transport equipment so necessary for our warring country. But also the most dangerous one: it took about 14 days, but not all ships reached the end of the route: from 1941 to 1945, 42 convoys passed it, that is, a total of 722 transports, and 58 transports failed to arrive at the ports of destination. How difficult this route was can be judged by the history of a single Soviet steamer, the Old Bolshevik. During one day alone, on May 27, 1942, this ship survived 47 attacks by German aircraft - and yet, even after a direct bomb hit, it managed to reach Murmansk.
The first deliveries to the USSR under the Allied Assistance Program, which is now collectively called Lend-Lease (although initially this word referred only to American military assistance), began in the second half of the summer of 1941. The Arctic route was chosen as the fastest and safest route at that time. The finishing point of the Arctic convoys was the non-freezing Soviet ports of the Arctic Ocean - Murmansk, as well as Arkhangelsk. It was this city that on August 31, 1941, received the first allied convoy, called "Dervish" and consisted of 7 cargo ships and 15 escort ships. The next convoy, which has already been assigned the soon famous PQ index - PQ-1, arrived in the USSR on October 11. And the first convoy that reached Murmansk - PQ-6 - arrived at its destination on December 20, 1941.
The most famous of the polar convoys were two in a row - PQ-16 and PQ-17. The first became famous for being the most successful in terms of the ratio of the cost of its wiring and the value of the delivered goods. The second, alas, is notorious for the fact that its preparation was carried out under the tight control of the German special services, and therefore on the way it was literally defeated by German aviation and the navy, primarily by submarines. Moreover, this defeat was a kind of revenge on Germany for the successful posting of the PQ-16. Although the fate of the "sixteenth" cannot be called simple, which is exemplified by the feat of the motor ship "Old Bolshevik".
This ship got into polar convoys from a purely peaceful work - the transportation of timber by the Northern Sea Route. "Old Bolshevik" was built in 1933 at Severnaya Verf in Leningrad and belonged to the category of large-tonnage timber carriers (length about 111 m, displacement - 8780 tons, carrying capacity - 5700 tons of general cargo or 5100 tons of timber). The project was so successful that within five years - from 1930 to 1935 - a very large series of 15 ships was built. Nine timber carriers were handed over by the Admiralty plant, six more - by the Severnaya Verf. These ships were distinguished by a deck of increased strength, since, according to the project, up to a third of the timber cargo was placed on it. Moreover, such a load could have a height of up to 4 m, and therefore timber carriers of the "Old Bolshevik" type, which were also called "large timber carriers", were famous for their excellent stability, that is, the ability to sail without losing balance. Finally, since the northern seas were designated as the main navigation area for large timber carriers, they received a reinforced hull and ice reinforcements. In short, for their time they were excellent vessels, highly maneuverable, with good seaworthiness.
All this was the reason why large timber carriers were called up for service with the beginning of the war. A considerable part of them worked in the Far East, delivering steam locomotives vital to our country from the United States to the Soviet Union - and they were very successful in this. And the "Old Bolshevik", who worked in the Murmansk Shipping Company, joined the polar convoys. To protect the ship from attacks by enemy aircraft, two anti-aircraft guns and several anti-aircraft machine guns were mounted on it - and the timber carrier turned into a transport.
At the end of March 1942, the "Old Bolshevik" arrived in New York, where over 4,000 tons of shells and explosives, as well as a dozen planes, were loaded on board. In early May, the ship set out on the open sea and headed for Reykjavik, where most of the polar convoys were forming at that time. And in the late evening of May 19, 1942, the formed PQ-16 caravan headed for Murmansk. It included 35 cargo ships under the cover of 17 escort ships, as well as 4 cruisers and 3 destroyers accompanying the caravan to Bear Island.
The first five days of the journey went smoothly: Hitler's planes or submarines did not reach the caravan. But on the morning of May 25, when the convoy reached Jan Mayen Island, it was attacked by two dozen bombers and torpedo bombers. And hell began. Attacks followed one after another, and the short May nights did not bring much relief to the ships and ships of the convoy. The most difficult day for the PQ-16 was May 27 - the same day that forever changed the fate of the "Old Bolshevik" and its crew.
By the will of fate, the Soviet transport was at the tail of the order, and therefore was subjected to especially fierce attacks by German aircraft. For the time being, he was saved from major troubles by the dense fire of his own anti-aircraft guns and machine guns, as well as very active and precise maneuvering. The vessel literally dodged the Junkers diving at it, and the main merit in this belonged to its captain - a sailor with 20 years of experience, an experienced northern sailor Ivan Afanasyev, and the helmsman - a former Baltic sailor Boris Akazenk. It was through the efforts of the helmsman that the "Old Bolshevik" managed three times to dodge close torpedoes dropped by enemy torpedo bombers.
Ivan Afanasyev. Photo: sea-man.org
However, no matter how the transport maneuvered, no matter how they set up a fire barrier in the path of the attacking aircraft, its anti-aircraft gunners, one of the 47 air attacks ended with the success of the Nazis. At the same time, the "Old Bolshevik" attacked nine enemy aircraft, and one of them managed to get directly into the forecastle of the ship, just before setting up. The explosion killed the crew of the front anti-aircraft gun, and it itself was smashed; The blast wave also touched the captain's bridge, concussion of Ivan Afanasyev. But the worst thing is that the same bomb caused a fire in the hold where the ammunition load was located. In order to prevent an immediate explosion, Boris Akazenok and the first assistant to the captain for political affairs, a real old Bolshevik (he participated in the October Revolution as a Baltic sailor) Konstantin Petrovsky built a human conveyor, along which the shells were manually transported from the burning compartment to a safe place.
Noticing that a fire was breaking out on the "Old Bolshevik", and having a good idea of what kind of cargo was on board, the command of the PQ-16 convoy invited the Soviet sailors to abandon the ship threatening to explode every minute. An English destroyer had already approached him to pick up the crew of the Russian transport, and then to sink the steamer: such was the usual practice of convoys. But the crew of the "Old Bolshevik" responded to this proposal with one phrase: "We are not going to bury the ship."And then the convoy, snapping at the continuing attacks of the planes, went on, and the burning transport was left alone with the cold sea and scorching flames.
For eight hours the crew of the "Old Bolshevik" fought to save their ship - and in the end they won! The fire was extinguished, a patch was put on the holes, and the transport moved in pursuit of the convoy. He caught up with him the next day, when no one expected his return. Seeing a wounded, with a hole in the side, actually demolished by a pipe and a charred deck, a timber carrier approaches the warrant and takes its place in it, the convoy commander ordered to raise the signal "Done well" on the rails of the flagship escort ship. In the sparing of emotions in the language of sea signals, this means admiration for the actions of the ship's crew to whom this phrase is addressed.
On the evening of May 30, when the main part of the PQ-16 convoy entered the Kola Bay, the Old Bolshevik smoking a mutilated pipe met an artillery salute from the ships in the roadstead. The senior escort officer conveyed the following telegram to the command of the fleet: “Permit me to convey to you my personal admiration, admiration of all our officers and all British sailors for the heroic actions of your motor ship“Old Bolshevik”. Only Russians could have done that.” And soon a new telegram came to the command of the Soviet Navy - from the British Admiralty: “On behalf of the Royal Navy, I would like to congratulate your ships on the excellent discipline, courage and determination shown during the battle for six days. The behavior of the "Old Bolshevik" team was excellent."
In the Soviet Union, the feat of the crew of the "Old Bolshevik" was appreciated no less highly. The captain of the timber carrier Ivan Afanasyev, the pompolite Konstantin Petrovsky and the helmsman Boris Akazenok were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on June 28, 1942, orders and medals were awarded to all other crew members, both alive and dead (after the battle at sea, four sailors were buried). The "Old Bolshevik" himself was also awarded the Order of Lenin: his image has since adorned the ship's flag. With this order flag "Old Bolshevik" in June 1942 as part of another convoy left for England, from where he crossed to the Pacific Ocean and until November 1945, operating as part of the Far Eastern Shipping Company, continued to deliver military cargo from the United States. The ship remained in working order until 1969, until finally the years took their toll …
The memory of the "Old Bolshevik" and his heroic crew is still alive today. In 2011, the Okskaya shipyard handed over to the Azov seamen the universal dry cargo vessel Kapitan Afanasyev (type RSD44 Heroes of Stalingrad, a series of ten ships). And since 1960 the rescue tugboat Captain Afanasyev has been operating in Murmansk, which has carried out more than one rescue operation in the Arctic.
