Azov (battleship, 1826)

Beginning in the time of Peter the Great , the Russian fleet had ten ships called “Azov” or “Memory of Azov” ^{[9] [10]} , the most famous and most famous of which was the battleship Azov built in 1826.

This 74-gun ship was laid down in Arkhangelsk on October 20 ( November 1 ), 1825, and launched on May 26 ( June 7 ), 1826 . The famous shipbuilder A. M. Kurochkin was considered the official builder of the ship. In 35 years of service, he built 87 vessels at the Arkhangelsk shipyards ^[8] . However, by the time the “Azov” was built, Kurochkin was already an elderly man (“Azov” became his last ship ^[11] ), and in fact the work was headed by his assistant, later a famous shipbuilder V. A. Ershov .

Even during the construction in February 1826, the commander of the Azov ship was appointed the famous navigator and discoverer of Antarctica , captain 1st rank Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev ^[12] . Having received this appointment, Lazarev took an active part in the construction of the ship. After examining the Azov under construction, Lazarev proposed making a number of changes to its design; 22 items from the Lazarev list were adopted, which allowed to significantly improve the ship ^[8] . He paid special attention to the combat power of the ship and the convenience of planning its interior ^[13] . "Azov", built by a famous master taking into account the wishes of the famous navigator, turned out to be so good in a constructive sense that according to this project, fifteen ships of the same type were built at the shipyards of Arkhangelsk and St. Petersburg from 1826 to 1836 ^[8] , and its original drawing was engraved on copper board, "to keep it unchanged" ^[14] .

In August-September 1826, the "Azov" as part of a squadron under the general command of MP Lazarev moved from Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt ^[12] . In Kronstadt, a specially established commission for the acceptance of the built ships checked the Azov and concluded that it "is decorated a lot really well with excellent usability and benefits for the fleet." The chairman of the selection committee, Vice Admiral S. A. Pustoshkin, in his report to the Admiralty Board, said: “All that useful device on the Azov ship was made by a prudent order of the commander of this captain, 1st rank Lazarev ... then I, as the first commission, take this all fully to his own honor and zeal for the good of his service, Lazarev ... "

In 1827, the underwater part of the Azov was sheathed with copper ^[15] . Missing artillery was also installed on the ship ^[16] .

Design

The design of the Azov ship was typical of the battleships of 1801-1847 ^[17] : it had three masts with direct sailing armament and a two-piece bowsprit with a martin-geek . There were ten direct sails in total: the foresail, forsaille , forbramsel and forbom-bramsel on the foremast ; mainsail, mainsail Marseille, mainsail-brahmsel and mainsail-bom-brahmsel on the mainmast ; kruisel, kruis-bramsel, kruis-bom-bramsel and hafelan mizzen on a mizzen mast .

Skew sails were represented by jib and staysail .

Decor

According to T. M. Matveeva, the author of the monograph on the decoration of Russian sailing ships of the XVIII - the first half of the XIX century , "Azov" was one of the most beautiful ships of the Russian fleet ^[11] . Its body was decorated with delicate carved ornament. In the center of gakaborta was a large two-headed eagle in the form adopted in 1825 . In the right paw the eagle held thunderbolts and a torch intertwined with ribbons, in the left - a laurel wreath . The edges of the hackabort were decorated with graceful palmettes , below which the twelve-pointed stars were located.

Two rows of nine windows went along the stern, separated by a frieze of military attributes: banners, drums, shields , cannon barrels and pyramids of cores. Between the windows were falling garlands decorated with bows on top.

The nasal figure of Azov, made by Nikolai Dolganov, specially sent from St. Petersburg, reached a height of about three and a half meters ^[6] and depicted a warrior in a gilt helmet, armor and a short cloak. The upper part of the figure was made disproportionately large to compensate for the prospective reduction when viewed from below ^[11] .

Crew

Simultaneously with the construction of the Azov, M. P. Lazarev was engaged in the selection of the crew for the ship ^[12] . The crew included the naval commanders glorified in the future, the heroes of the defense of Sevastopol : Lieutenant Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov , warrant officer Vladimir Alekseevich Kornilov , midshipman Vladimir Ivanovich Istomin .

Also served on the ship: Lieutenant I. P. Butenev , Midshipman A. A. Domashenko, Midshipman Evfimiy Vasilyevich Putyatin - subsequently Admiral and member of the State Council ^[18] .

During the battle of Navarino, on the "Azov" was the commander of the Russian squadron, Rear Admiral Count L. P. Geiden ^[19] and his rear admiral flag was hoisted on the ship.

The commanders of the “Azov” were M. P. Lazarev ( 1826 - 1828 ) and S. P. Khrushchov ( 1828 - 1830 ) ^[2] .

At the beginning of the transition from Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt, the “Azov” fell into a fierce northwestern storm, during which the lower ship riffles were lowered ^[20] . After that, with the sails raised, the mainsail-Mars-ray was broken in a bomber-wind, but the damage was quickly fixed. In the Skagerrak Strait, the ship was seized by a strong northwest wind. A headwind blew in Copenhagen , which caused the ship to stand there for three days. On September 19, the "Azov" approached the Russian squadron, which was on the roadstead near Kronstadt, and on October 4, together with the rest of the ships, entered the harbor.

On May 21 ( April 2 ), 1827, the Russian squadron, under the command of Admiral Senyavin, extended to the Kronstadt raid according to orders received ^[21] . Admiral raised his flag on the ship "Azov"; the youngest flagships were the ship Alexander Nevsky, under the command of Vice Admiral Lutokhin , and the ship Saint Andrew, under the command of Rear Admiral Count Heiden. The entire squadron consisted of nine ships, seven frigates and one corvette .

At midnight on June 10 (22), 1827, the Emperor Nicholas I boarded the Azov ship ^[22] . An overnight signal was ordered to anchor; with the rise of the "Azov" under the cannon fireworks from the serf and ship cannons, a standard was raised, indicating the presence of the emperor.

After the maneuvers at Krasnaya Gorka on the Azov ship, they raised the signal for worship. Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich was present at the commemoration service ^[22] . When saying goodbye to the Russian squadron on the Azov ship, Nicholas I said ^[23] : “I hope that in the event of any military operations, it will be delivered to the enemy in Russian.”

The emperor left the ship without waiting for the darkness. On the same day, "Azov" as part of a squadron went to England ^[12] . July 28 ( August 9 ), 1827, the squadron arrived in Portsmouth, the main base of the English fleet.

Azov in the Battle of Navarino

The battle of Navarino of 1827 , which, on the one hand, was part of the Greek national liberation movement , and on the other, a manifestation of the struggle of Russia and Turkey for influence in the Balkans , became one of the brightest sea battles of the 19th century. The battle participants were the combined squadrons of Russia, England and France, on the one hand, and the Turkish-Egyptian fleet, on the other.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the combined fleet approached the entrance to the Navarino harbor with two columns ^[24] . One of them consisted of English and French ships, and the other a Russian squadron. After the Allied convoy passed the fortress batteries and anchored, the Russian convoy with the Admiralty ship Azov in front approached the harbor entrance.

At that time, a strong gun fire occurred at one of the Turkish firewalls ^[24] , in which the English lieutenant Fitz Roy, who was sent as a parliamentarian, was killed. His tasks included forcing the commander of the firewall to move further from the allied ships. After some time, from one of the Egyptian corvettes the first shot rang out in the direction of the French frigate.

After Azov was approaching the harbor entrance, he found himself between the batteries of the Navarino fortress and the batteries of the island of Sfakterii, from which crossfire was immediately directed against the ship, and then against others as they approached ^[25] . Ignoring the gunshots, the Azov continued its movement without firing back, and anchored at the planned location. The ships Gangut , Ezekiel , Alexander Nevsky and four frigates following them took their places.

Having taken his place, the Azov entered the battle against five enemy ships, located at a distance of one and a half to two cable ships. 60- and 36-pound cores hit the Russian battleship . One of the Azov’s shots killed the main mast of a large Turkish ship, which tilted heavily, and its cores stopped falling into the Azov. Soon the Turkish ship had to retreat to the second line. Almost at the same time, a shell from the Azov hit the kruite camera of another Turkish ship, and it flew into the air. The Azov itself also suffered severe damage: the foremast was knocked out of the steppe, two guns jumped off their trousers, gunpowder started to explode from the lit wick, and a fire started. However, showing exceptional composure, the sailors quickly dealt with the flame.

During the battle, Azov assisted its neighbors: next to it was an artillery duel with the 84-gun battleship of the Turkish-Egyptian squadron, the English flagship Asia. At one point in the battle, the enemy ship turned stern towards the Azov. The ship's commander Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev immediately took advantage of this and ordered to hit him with 14 cannons on the port side. As a result, the aft end of the Turkish ship was completely destroyed, a strong fire started there, and since the “Azov” prevented the Turks from eliminating the fire with card fire, very soon the enemy ship exploded in flames.

As a result, the Russian flagship sank three frigates , one corvette , forced to run aground and burned the 80-gun Turkish flagship “Mukharem Bey.”

In the battle, Azov received 153 holes ^{[2] [26]} (of which seven are below the waterline ^{[26] [27]} ), all masts, rods and yards were broken, sails were shot through and rigging was broken. Among the crew, losses amounted to 24 people killed (all the dead are lower ranks) and 67 wounded (6 officers and 61 lower ranks) ^[28] Andrienko V. G. Before and after Navarin //. - SPb. : Terra Fantastica, 2002 .-- 510 p. ..

The battle lasted about four hours and ended with the destruction of the Turkish-Egyptian fleet. The Russian squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Login Petrovich Heyden defeated the entire center and the right flank of the enemy fleet. She took the brunt of the superior number and weapons of the enemy and destroyed most of his ships. The losses of the Turkish-Egyptian fleet amounted to more than 60 ships and more than four thousand people killed and wounded (the numbers of losses of 6-7 thousand are also indicated with a total number of 20 thousand ^[27] ). The Allies did not lose a single ship, and the casualties of the dead and wounded were 181 and 480 people, respectively.

Heroes of Azov

Each of the Azov officers showed courage and military skill.

The lieutenant I.P. Butenev showed himself heroically: with a fragmented hand, he courageously commanded the battery, ignoring Nakhimov’s requests to go to the dressing station and only by order of Lazarev did Butenev go to the dressing station.

P. S. Nakhimov wrote about this case:

It was necessary to admire how firmly he underwent the operation and did not allow himself to do it earlier than to do the Mars order, who had previously been wounded.

Moreover, directly from the operating table Butenev broke and ran onto the deck to share the common joy of the victory over the next Turkish ship, where he fell unconscious.

The commander of the "Azov" M. P. Lazarev himself earned the highest rating. In his report, L. P. Geiden wrote ^[8] :

The undaunted captain of the 1st rank Lazarev controlled the movements of Azov with composure, art and courage exemplary.

P. S. Nakhimov wrote about his commander ^[29] :

I still did not know the price of our captain. It was necessary to look at him during the battle, with what prudence, with what composure he disposed everywhere. But I don’t have enough words to describe all his laudable affairs, and I am boldly sure that the Russian fleet did not have such a captain.

In the historical journal of the squadron it was recorded ^[12] :

... The brave and experienced captain Lazarev, being alternately in different places of his ship, controlled it with composure, excellent art and exemplary courage, his personal presence encouraged his courageous crew, skillfully directing artillery actions, thereby accelerating the destruction of the Ottoman forces.

All heroes were awarded with awards for the battle of Navarino.

Hero Awards

• For feat in the battle of Navarino, MP Lazarev received the rank of rear admiral and was immediately awarded four orders ^[12] , including on behalf of the English king - the Order of the Bath , the French king - the Order of St. Louis ^[30] , and in 1835 - The Greek Order of the Holy Savior ^{[31] [32] [33]} .
• Lieutenants Nakhimov and Butenev were awarded the highest award for young officers - the Order of St. George 4th degree and promoted to the next rank of captain lieutenant ^[8] .
• The next rank was made by midshipman V.A. Kornilov. He also received the Order of St. Anne of the 4th degree.
• Gardemarin V.I. Istomin was promoted to the next rank and awarded for the courage and bravery of the St. George Cross .
• The "Azov" itself was awarded the highest award: by decree of Nicholas I of December 17 (29), 1827, for the first time in the history of the Russian fleet ^[34] he was granted the stern admiral George flag and a pennant "in honor of the commendable deeds of the chiefs, the courage and fearlessness of officers and courage of the lower ranks ” ^{[6] [35]} . It was also prescribed to always have the “Memory of Azov” ship in the fleet, on which to fly the St. George flag ^[36] . The original St. George flag from the Azov ship measuring 9.5 by 14 meters is currently in the Central Naval Museum .

After the Battle of Navarino

After the battle, “Azov” with the squadron left Navarinskaya Bay and arrived on October 27 in La Valletta , where he got up for repairs. December 17 (29), 1827 "Azov" was awarded the stern Admiral's flag of St. George . March 22, 1828, the St. George flag, specially delivered from Russia by courier, was hoisted on the Russian flagship. The entire squadron saluted the Azov with five hundred shots. April 1, 1828 at the "Azov", in the same place, in La Valletta, a trial was held of officers of the ship " Alexander Nevsky ", also being under repair. Officers were accused of inhumane treatment of sailors.

«Азов» участвовал в русско-турецкой войне 1828—1829 годов ^{[2] [37]} , крейсировал у берегов Греции , в Эгейском море , участвовал в блокаде пролива Дарданеллы , а в начале 1830 года вышел от острова Порос в Россию по маршруту Мальта — Гибралтар — Ла-Манш — Копенгаген и в мае прибыл в Кронштадт . Во время этого плавания «Азов» шёл во льдах по Финскому заливу .

С июля по октябрь того же года «Азов» находился в практическом плавании с эскадрой в Финском заливе ^[2] . В мае 1830 года корабль вернулся в Кронштадт ^[28] . В 1831 году корабль-герой был разобран, так как повреждения, полученные кораблём в боях и за время трёхлетнего похода вдали от баз, оказались достаточно серьёзными.

Командир «Азова» Лазарев учил своих офицеров уважению в матросе его человеческого достоинства. Капитану удалось создать на «Азове» атмосферу взаимоуважения между офицерами и нижними чинами, что тогда было редкостью. В этом плане известен эпизод, происшедший в районе Сицилии во время перехода «Азова» из Портсмута в Наваринскую бухту. Молодой матрос, работавший на реях, сорвался и упал в море. Увидев это, 19-летний мичман Александр Александрович Домашенко бросился в воду на помощь. Ему удалось добраться до матроса и помогать тому удерживаться на поверхности воды, однако, сильное волнение и налетевший шквал не позволил быстро спасти потерпевших — раньше, чем к ним сумела подойти спущенная шлюпка ^[38] , офицер и матрос утонули. Лейтенант Нахимов, бывший свидетелем этой сцены, в письме своему другу М.Ф. Рейнеке писал: «О, любезный друг, какой великодушный поступок! Какая готовность жертвовать собой для пользы ближнего! Жаль, очень жаль, ежели этот поступок не будет помещён в историю нашего флота…» ^[20] . Однако, в Морском ведомстве чиновники не нашли в этом поступке благородства и храбрости, и в награде мичману было отказано со ссылкой на то, что матрос не был спасён, да и сам Домашенко утонул. Но император Николай I приказал пожизненно выплачивать матери Домашенко двойной оклад сына, а также «ежели есть сёстры, то распространить право на пенсию и на них, до замужества» ^[39] (мичман участвовал в кругосветном путешествии на фрегате «Крейсер», за что и получал двойное жалованье) ^[40] . В настоящее время в Летнем саду Кронштадта стоит памятник ^[39] мичману А. А. Домашенко, воспитаннику школы М. П. Лазарева, прославляющий мужество и благородство молодого моряка. На памятнике сделана надпись ^[41] :

Офицеры корабля «Азов» любезному сослуживцу, бросившемуся с кормы корабля для спасения погибающего в волнах матроса и заплатившего жизнью за столь человеколюбивый поступок.

Этот памятник является старейшим сохранившимся памятником Кронштадта ^[39] .

После выведения «Азова» из состава флота его Георгиевский флаг, согласно предписанию, был передан на 86-пушечный корабль «Память Азова», названный так в честь героического предшественника. Этот корабль, так же, как и «Азов», был построен В. А. Ершовым, а его командиром был назначен последний командир «Азова» — С. П. Хрущов. «Память Азова» находился в практических плаваниях в Балтийском море и Финском заливе, а 3 (15) июля 1836 года принимал участие в церемонии встречи балтийским флотом Ботика Петра I ^[2] . В 1835 году кораблём командовал Андрей Петрович Лазарев , старший брат Михаила Петровича Лазарева ^[2] .

В 1848 году «Память Азова» был переоборудован в блокшив , а в 1854-м — разобран. Последний командир «Памяти Азова» П. С. Лутковский стал командиром нового 74-пушечного корабля того же имени, на котором также был поднят Георгиевский флаг «Азова». Новый корабль участвовал в Крымской войне , а после неё, в 1856—1857 годах перевозил грузы между Кронштадтом и Ревелем . С 1858 года «Память Азова» более не вооружался до самого своего списания 11 сентября 1863 года ^[2] . Когда второй корабль «Память Азова» был списан, его Георгиевский флаг был передан в музей.

В 1890 году появился третий корабль « Память Азова » — паровой полуброненосный крейсер. На нём в августе 1906 года произошло революционное восстание, что стало причиной его переименования и переквалификации — броненосный крейсер «Память Азова» стал учебным судном «Двина», и лишился своих отличий ( Георгиевского флага и креста ^{[42] [43]} ). Однако, после Февральской революции Морское министерство издало указ «О возвращении названий кораблям, отнятым у них за революционные выступления», в результате которого «Двина» снова стала «Памятью Азова», но знаки отличия кораблю не вернули — вместо Георгиевского был поднят красный флаг. В 1919 году корабль был потоплен в результате ночной атаки английских торпедных катеров ^[44] в Лесной гавани Кронштадта, бывшей в то время базой подводных лодок. «Память Азова» стоял у выхода из гавани, развёрнутый бортом в сторону атаки. Приняв удар двух торпед крейсер затонул. Это был первый и последний бой корабля за всё время его службы.

В 1990 году в состав Черноморского флота вошёл большой десантный корабль « БДК-54 », построенный в Гданьске по проекту 775М ^[45] . В 2000 году ему было присвоено название «Азов» ^[10] . По состоянию на 2014 год это последний корабль, которому было присвоено имя «Азов».

• Меркурий (бриг, 1820)
• Список парусных линейных кораблей Российского Императорского флота

Sources

Нахимов П. С. Документы и материалы. — М. : Военное издательство министерства обороны СССР, 1954.

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• The battleship Azov (рус.) . Site "Sailing ships of the world." Date of treatment January 16, 2010.
• "Azov" (рус.) . Date of treatment January 16, 2010.
• Navarino Sea of Battle of The (Eng.) . Date of treatment January 16, 2010. Archived February 2, 2012.