Anastas Mikoyan (icebreaker)

The icebreaker of project 51 ("Joseph Stalin") was laid in Nikolaev at the Andre Marty plant (now the Black Sea Shipbuilding Plant ) in November 1935 under the name "Otto Yulievich Schmidt". Project 51 included four icebreakers: I. Stalin (the lead ship in the series), V. Molotov , and L. Kaganovich "and" A. Mikoyan ” ^[1] .

When creating the icebreakers of this series, Soviet designers made the most of the existing experience of Arctic navigation: the egg-shaped hulls (to protect against damage during compression in the ice) were made of stainless steel; the frames were set twice as large as usual; the sides were made of 13 parallel belts, and the bottom 9 consisted of double skin with a total thickness of up to 42 mm (in the bow). Over the entire length there was a double bottom and 12 watertight bulkheads . Separate compartments were interconnected by doors controlled from the wheelhouse . Three steam engines with a capacity of 3300 liters were installed on each ship . with. working on 3 stern 4-blade propellers with removable blades. Icebreakers had 9 steam - fired coal-fired boilers and several power plants. The coal reserve (2900 tons) provided a cruising range of up to 6000 miles . Each compartment additionally housed batteries. Water was pumped into the side and trim tanks by powerful pumps through pipelines with a diameter of 500 mm.

When designing and building ships, special attention was paid to the working conditions of the crew, which totaled 138 people (according to the state of peacetime): 2- and 4-seater cabins, wardrooms , canteens, libraries, showers, a bathhouse, an infirmary , a mechanized kitchen - all this did new icebreakers are the most comfortable in the fleet. For conducting scientific work, hydrological , hydrochemical , biological and other laboratories were equipped on them. Rescue equipment included eight boats and powerboats. Ship workshops were equipped with milling , turning , drilling and other machines, workbenches and tools that allowed for complex repair work. Three powerful radio stations (longwave, shortwave and emergency) had a huge range. Thus, the lead ship of project 51 Joseph Stalin during tests in the Gulf of Finland maintained contact with the Ermak , who worked in the Arctic, and with the icebreaker Lazar Kaganovich, located on the Black Sea .

During the construction of the icebreaker, significant changes were made to the initial project: for example, they refused three seaplanes , which were supposed to be placed in the stern of the ship. By the beginning of World War II, the icebreaker was being completed afloat ^[2] .

On August 26, 1941 "Anastas Mikoyan" moved away from the construction wall (by this time German aviation had already attacked Nikolaev shipbuilding plants). An experienced naval officer appointed by the captain of the icebreaker, 2nd-rank civil war veteran in Spain S.M. Sergeev put the ship into the sea without acceptance tests. In Sevastopol, the icebreaker was converted into an auxiliary cruiser : armed with three 130 mm caliber guns , six 76 mm anti - aircraft guns and four 7.62 mm machine guns. Volunteer workers from the delivery teams from the Andre Marty factory joined the crew, which later helped the ship a lot: by increasing the loopholes in the gun’s shields, they managed to increase the elevation angle of the guns and use (the first in the Soviet Navy) the main caliber to repel enemy aircraft. Since the autogen did not take armored steel, the embrasures were cut through using an electric welding unit ^[4] .

In early September 1941, "Anastas Mikoyan," by order of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, was included in the squad of ships of the North-Western region of the Black Sea, which was intended to provide fire support to the defenders of Odessa . Repeatedly fired at enemy positions (crushed two long-range batteries ) ^[5] , helped to repel enemy infantry and tank attacks ^[6] , provided artillery cover for the marine corps in the landing near Grigoryevka . I received thanks from the command of the Odessa defensive area. Constantly subjected to aviation attacks (including torpedo bombers ), the crew of the ship worked out the skills of anti-aircraft fire (shot down several aircraft), quick maneuvering, and dodging torpedoes . Despite the low speed compared to cruisers , leaders and destroyers , the ship, operating near Odessa, did not receive a single direct hit by an air bomb , torpedo or shell and did not lose a single person. Former shipwreckers eliminated damage to the mechanisms from a concussion due to close breaks, frequent forcing, and changes in moves without leaving their combat positions; part of the work was carried out in Sevastopol.

After the order to evacuate the troops of the Odessa defensive area, Anastas Mikoyan took part in the defense of Sevastopol , supporting the Soviet troops with fire and making regular flights between the besieged city and Novorossiysk . From Sevastopol, the wounded, the civilian population and the material part were taken out, military supplies and replenishment followed ^[5] .

In November 1941, in accordance with the decision of the State Defense Committee, an order was received: to disarm the ship and prepare for transition to the Far East through the Bosphorus Strait: the country urgently needed icebreakers in the Arctic to deliver military cargo ^[7] . The displacement of Anastas Mikoyan was such that he couldn’t get through the internal river routes from the Black Sea to the Arctic, there was only one route - through neutral Turkey ^[8] . But the status of a neutral power stipulated that only civilian (unarmed) vessels could pass through the straits . In five days, the guns were dismantled, and the naval flag was replaced with the state one. Part of the command staff and the commandants departed for other ships and the land front. Just before going on a flight, S. M. Sergeev received additional instructions: in no case should the ship be surrendered to the enemy, and if necessary, flooded.

The icebreaker arrived in Batumi. Following him, three tankers came here: Sakhalin , Tuapse, and Varlaam Avanesov , who were ordered to deliver a cargo of oil to Turkey. In the early morning hours of November 25, vessels began to enter an external raid , where they were already awaited by the leader of Tashkent and the destroyers Capable and Sober . Soon the caravan went into the open sea, first, as a precaution, imitating the movement towards Sevastopol, and then heading for the Bosphorus. On November 30, having survived a fierce storm, they approached the Turkish coast. Here, warships turned back, wishing the icebreaker and tankers a happy voyage.

Entering the Bosphorus, the ships anchored. By agreement between the Soviet government and the British government, British ships were to accompany the icebreaker from the Dardanelles to the Famagusta naval base on the British island of Cyprus . But at the British embassy in Istanbul, the assistant military attache told Sergeev that the British fleet in the Mediterranean could not give him an escort, and the icebreaker had to go on its own ^[9] . The captain of the 1st rank K.K. Rodionov arrived on the ship in Turkey and announced a new order: not only an icebreaker, but also tankers should break into the Far East ^[10] .

By this time, the Aegean Sea after the occupation of Greece was completely controlled by Italian and German ships based on numerous islands. Mitilini naval base was located on Lesbos , destroyers, torpedo boats and torpedo bombers were based on the islands of Chios , Samos , Kos , Rhodes .

The arrival of Soviet ships did not go unnoticed in the city where enemy agents were actively working, and the Sakhalin tanker docked just opposite the building of the German consulate. S. M. Sergeev decided to leave the raid as soon as possible and quietly, without the permission of the authorities ^[7] . On the night of November 30 to December 1, 1941 at 01:40, without the announcement of an emergency, the sailors took places to survey from the anchor. In the smallest move, Anastas Mikoyan stepped out onto the fairway , and then gave full speed; the ship was completely darkened , and the main unmasking sign - pillars of smoke - was not noticeable in the dark.

Passing the Dardanelles, the icebreaker went only at night, bypassing the usual routes, without running lights, and in the daytime hid in the small bays of the islands, where it stood, putting out the boilers so as not to give out smoke. Already after the passage of Italian Rhodes, while approaching the island of Kastelorizon , Anastas Mikoyan was discovered by Italian torpedo boats. The Italians in a megaphone requested the ownership and route of the vessel, to which they answered from the icebreaker that the vessel was Turkish and headed to Iskenderun . The Italians demanded to follow them to Rhodes, without, however, attempting to board the ship.

On the approach to Rhodes, S. M. Sergeev ordered a sharp change in course and squeezed out of the cars maximum. The boats lagged for a while, but quickly caught up with the icebreaker and opened fire on the bridge and upper deck, injuring several crew members, including the helmsman . Machine guns and small-caliber guns could not cause significant damage to the huge icebreaker. Then the boats carried out a torpedo attack, and later they were replaced by the CANT torpedo bomber ^[11] . With complex maneuvering, Anastas Mikoyan managed to avoid torpedo strikes, although fires broke out on the ship from shelling from the air, which were quickly eliminated by emergency teams. One of the shells hit a rescue boat loaded with barrels of fuel, and it caught fire, there was a danger of an explosion. But the team managed to quickly chop off the mounts and throw the boat overboard, after which burning fuel spread over the surface of the sea ^[11] . Having exhausted the supply of torpedoes, the boats went to Rhodes, and the icebreaker, taking advantage of the condensing twilight, went towards Cyprus .

As soon as Famagusta appeared , English destroyers with guided guns rushed towards the ship. It turned out that the Italians, having picked up several wooden things and a lifebuoy with the inscription “Anastas Mikoyan”, announced on the radio that the Soviet ship was destroyed, and the British initially mistook the icebreaker for the enemy patrol ship.

From Cyprus, the icebreaker went to Haifa for repair in British Palestine , where he happened to take part in putting out the fire: a tanker entering the port broke out, an oil spill occurred, and a real threat to the life of the British soldiers guarding the harbor was created. The fire was extinguished using jets of fire hydromonitors , and the soldiers were taken aboard, where they received medical assistance. The next day, in the newspapers published in Haifa and Port Said , the British authorities expressed gratitude to the Soviet sailors ^[12] . In Haifa, the captain decided to radically change the route: Japan entered the war with the USA and Great Britain, which made it extremely dangerous to sail to the Far East through the Indian Ocean with coal loading in the ports of the British colonies, which could soon be attacked by the Japanese. Therefore, it was decided to go west - bypassing Africa and then across the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean ^[13] .

December 4, 1941 "Anastas Mikoyan" successfully completed the next stage of the transition and arrived at the port of Suez , where, by prior arrangement with the British, several guns and machine guns were supposed to be put on the icebreaker. However, only one small-caliber cannon of 1905 was delivered to the icebreaker ^[14] , which in no way could be considered a serious weapon. Then, given the likelihood of meeting with enemy raiders , the crew had the idea to equip an icebreaker with at least weapon models to create a psychological effect, and several models of full-size guns and machine guns were built from logs and tarps ^[14] .

With such “weapons”, “Anastas Mikoyan” reached Cape Town . When the icebreaker, having accepted the reserves and loaded with coal in excess of the prescribed norms, was ready to continue sailing, mines, probably put by an enemy submarine , were found at the exit from the port. For several days, the minesweepers cleared the fairway, after about twenty minutes. Fearing that near the port the outgoing vessels might lie in wait for the enemy’s submarines, S.M. Sergeev decided this time to leave unnoticed. On the night of March 26, silently lifting the anchor, Anastas Mikoyan left Cape Town. A few days earlier, a convoy came out to the shores of South America under the protection of British warships. The convoy commander refused to include the Soviet icebreaker, citing the fact that he was smoking too much when the vehicles were in full swing, which could unmask the convoy ^[14] .

Staying closer to areas of floating ice, where the danger of meeting not only the military, but also with merchant ships was much less, enveloping individual ice fields, Anastas Mikoyan crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Arriving on Montevideo raid on April 12, 1942, the icebreaker requested permission to enter the port, but in response he was informed that the authorities did not allow armed ships and warships to visit the port (besides, there were no diplomatic relations between the USSR and Uruguay ) ^[15] . I had to call on board a special representative to convince the port authorities that the armament of the ship was not real ^[14] . Having crossed the Drake Strait into the Pacific Ocean, the icebreaker moved along the American coast to San Francisco . Nine months after leaving Batumi, on August 9, 1942, Anastas Mikoyan entered the Soviet territorial waters - Anadyr Bay ^[16] .

Until 1958, the history of the unprecedented transition in the USSR was classified. The participants were only given tokens “For a long trip” and ordered to give a non-disclosure subscription ^[17] . Soviet tankers that entered the Bosphorus together with Anastas Mikoyan broke through separately and at different times. A different fate awaited them. The Varlaam Avanesov, which left Istanbul on December 16, 1941, was sunk by a German submarine three days later, but the Tuapse and Sakhalin (left on January 4 and 7, 1942, respectively) were able to break into Famagusta, and then en route to the USSR indirectly participated in the Madagascar operation , delivering to the Allies more than 15,000 tons of oil products. The Tuapse on July 4, 1942 was torpedoed by the German submarine U-129 at Cape San Antonio ( Cuba ), and the Sakhalin on December 9, 1942 successfully reached Vladivostok ^[11] .

At the beginning of August 1942, 19 cargo transports and three warships arrived at Providence Bay: the leader of Baku and the destroyers Razumny and Enraged. The destroyer Zealous was to become the fourth, but it collided with vehicles in the Tatar Strait and was out of order for a long time. From these ships with the icebreakers attached to them an expedition of special purpose EON-18 was formed, which was given the difficult task of navigating the Northern Sea Route in one navigation and delivering the necessary cargo to the front, as well as replenishing the Northern Fleet .

The pilot was appointed an experienced sailor, Hero of the Soviet Union , captain of the 2nd rank M. P. Belousov , who arrived on the icebreaker "Lazar Kaganovich" of the same type with "Anastas Mikoyan". The former captain of the icebreaker joined the command of Anastas Mikoyan ^{[approx. 2]} “ Fyodor Litke ” 3rd-rank captain Yuri Konstantinovich Khlebnikov , and S. M. Sergeev left for Vladivostok, where he received a warship.

On August 14, 1942, EON-18 left Providence Bay, moving slowly due to severe ice conditions. In the Chukchi Sea, the flagship of the Arctic fleet Joseph Stalin, who came from the west, joined the expedition. September 11, the caravan broke into the East Siberian Sea , where in the bay Ambarchik replenished supplies of fuel, water and food. A month after leaving Providence Bay, breaking an 8- point storm in the Laptev Sea , ships arrived at Tiksi Bay, where another icebreaker, Krasin , was waiting for them.

In Tiksi, the expedition was ordered to delay due to the danger of meeting in the Kara Sea with the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer , who conducted an operation to intercept Soviet convoys in the Arctic. They left Tiksi only on September 19, having taken all combat readiness measures in the Vilkitsky Strait: Soviet sailors already knew about the bombing of Dixon and the death of the icebreaker Alexander Sibiryakov in an unequal battle.

After EON-18 was brought to clear water, Anastas Mikoyan again moved east after other vessels leaving the mouth of the Yenisei . Then the icebreaker made several more voyages to the Kara Sea, and only in the middle of December 1942, when navigation stopped, he headed to Molotovsk . On December 21, 1942, an icebreaker circled Cape Kanin Nos and ended up at approximately longitude in Batumi, which can be considered the conditional end to circumnavigation ^{[approx. 3]} .

In this area, Anastas Mikoyan was blown up by minefields exposed by German ships in September 1942, after the failure of the Admiral Scheer expedition. The explosion distorted the entire stern of the ship, severely damaging the engine room and the upper deck in the utah , disabled the steering machine. Repair by experienced shipbuilders took place directly at sea, among the ice, since there was not a single bay nearby. The icebreaker was saved, on the eve of 1943 he arrived in Molotovsk, but he needed more serious repairs, for which there was no suitable dock in the Soviet North. With the opening of navigation by agreement with the Allies, Anastas Mikoyan set off for repair in American Seattle . The icebreaker traveled the Northern Sea Route on its own, leading a caravan of ships to the east. In October 1943, K.K. Byzov became the captain of the ship.

После возвращения в СССР «Анастас Микоян» ещё неоднократно проводил суда по Северному Ледовитому океану, а в 1957 году был переведён во Владивосток в состав Дальневосточного морского пароходства ^[18] , проработав в общей сложности ещё около двух десятилетий. Из всех ледоколов проекта 51 он был единственным, который не был переименован после разоблачения культа личности .

В 1959 году участвовал в спасении возле бухты Угольной грузопассажирского теплохода «Двина» с 600 пассажирами на борту, на котором возник пожар ^{[19] [20]} .

• Сергеев, Сергей Михайлович ^[21] (1941—1942)
• Хлебников, Юрий Константинович ^{[22] [23]} (1942—не позднее октября 1943)
• Бызов, Константин Константинович ^[24] (октябрь 1943—начало 1945)

• В годы Великой Отечественной войны в советском торговом флоте было ещё одно судно с аналогичным названием — лесовоз «Микоян». Совершая переход из Калькутты в Карачи , 3 октября 1942 года он был торпедирован в Бенгальском заливе японской подлодкой I-162 , хотя СССР и Япония на тот момент не находились в состоянии войны ^[25] .
• Ю. К. Хлебников в 1934—1936 годах был капитаном ледокольного парохода «Александр Сибиряков», гибель которого 25 августа 1942 года в неравном бою с немецким тяжёлым крейсером «Адмирал Шеер» стала предупреждением об опасности для ЭОН-18 ^[23] .

Notes

1. ↑ С 1932 года О. Ю. Шмидт занимал должность начальника Главсевморпути . В 1938 году он был снят с должности, после чего последовало переименование ледокола.
2. ↑ Так в терминологии первой половины XX века назывались суда, которые не крушили лёд тяжестью корпуса, а ударами острого форштевня проделывали во льду трещину и затем вклинивались в неё, расширяя до нужных пределов.
3. ↑ Полноценным кругосветным считается путешествие, которое не только огибает земную ось, но и завершается в исходной точке.

Footnotes

Books

• Брилёв С. Б. Забытые союзники во Второй мировой войне. — М. : ОлмаМедиаГрупп, 2012. — 712 с. — ISBN 978-5-373-04750-0 .
• Руднев Г. А. Ледокол «Анастас Микоян» прорывает блокаду // Огненные рейсы. - Ed. 2nd, rev. and add. — Владивосток: Дальневосточное книжное издательство, 1990. — 216 с. - 10,000 copies. — ISBN 5-7440-0247-2 .
• Хорьков Г. И. Военная кругосветка // Морские были. — М. : ДОСААФ, 1988. — 126 с. — (Библиотека призывника). - 40,000 copies.
• Божаткин М. И. А. Микоян. — Одесса: Маяк, 1973. — 127 с. — (Героические корабли).

Articles

• Лукьянчикова А. Заговоренный крейсер «Микоян». Воспоминания главного боцмана вспомогательного крейсера «А. Микоян» А. Д. Гройсмана о переходе вокруг света // Город : журнал. — 2010. — Май ( № 2 (33) ). Архивировано 22 августа 2016 года.
• Сигай Д. Экспедиция ЭОН-18 // Левша : журнал. — 2005. — № 9 . — С. 1—4 . — ISSN 0869-0669 .
• Вербовой О. Огненная кругосветка // Моделист-конструктор : журнал. — 1990. — № 5 . — С. 12—16 . — ISSN 0131-2243 .
• Rassokhovatsky P. Ships went without lights // Around the World: Journal. - 1979. - February ( No. 2 (2461) ). - S. 1-4 .

•   The plot in the "Final Program" of NTV
• Fiery circle . Documentary film by Sergey Brilev . Vesti.ru (July 28, 2019) . Date of treatment August 15, 2019.(неопр.)