LARGE ANTI-SUB SHIP "COURAGEOUS" ( I-i part)

Large anti-submarine ship "Courageous"

Each ship, like a person, has its own name, its own destiny. The crew is the soul of the ship. From the first hoisting of the flag to the last descent, the crew and the ship are a single living organism that performs combat missions on long-distance voyages and at firing practice.

But there comes a moment when the crew is lined up for the last solemn lowering of the flag. Solemn and sad this day. For the last time the sailors will bypass their combat posts, cockpits, cabins and leave it forever, as if the soul leaves the body of a decrepit dying old man.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Fatal coincidences of circumstances and the human factor sometimes play an evil role in the fate of the ship and its crew.

The event, which will be discussed in this article, took place in the Black Sea Fleet on August 30, 1974, during the exercises, the large anti-submarine ship "Courageous" exploded and sank.

But first of all, let's start from the beginning.

THE BEGINNING OF THE WAY.

August 10, 1963 on the stocks of Nikolaevsky shipyard"named after 61 Communards" was laid down a large anti-submarine ship "Courageous" of project 61.

On October 17, 1964, the ship was launched, and on January 25, 1966, it was included in the USSR Black Sea Fleet. Port of registry city of Sevastopol.

The construction of ships of this type was caused by the appearance in the world submarines with nuclear power plants, increasing their autonomy, cruising range and speed, in addition, nuclear missiles were based on them, which turned submarines into powerful strategic weapons.

With the advent of jet supersonic aviation, ships also needed new anti-aircraft missile systems to protect the ship from enemy attacks from the air.

To detect underwater and surface targets, the ship was equipped with a Titan all-round sonar and a Vychegda fire control station. The detection range of submarines was up to 8 km. in echo direction finding mode and 18 km in noise direction finding mode. A helipad was equipped at the stern of the ship, which could accommodate the Ka-25 anti-submarine helicopter. The ship also had a five-pipe torpedo tube PTA-53-61 with a Buzzer fire control system, two RBU-6000 and RBU-1000 rocket launchers with a Burya control system.

To effectively protect the ship from air attacks, the ship was equipped with two M-1 Volna anti-aircraft missile systems, located in the stern and bow of the ship. Each complex consisted of two ZIF-101 twin-beam launchers, a Yatagan control system, and a store with two rotating drums for 8 V-600 missiles. Two turret artillery paired 76 mm. AK-726 installations in the bow and stern of the ship. The rate of fire of each gun mount was 90 rounds per minute, the firing range was 13 km, the reach in height was 9 km, and the ammunition load was 2,400 unitary rounds. Each gun mount had its own Turret fire control system.

Maximum speed 35 knots.

The maximum cruising range is 3500 miles.

Endurance of navigation 10 days (according to provisions)

The crew consisted of 266 people, including 22 officers.

Placement of weapons BOD project 61

On June 5, 1967, an armed conflict arose between Israel on the one hand and Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Algeria on the other, the so-called Six Day War. In order to exercise its military presence in this region and, if necessary, intervene in a military conflict on the side of the countries of the Arab world, the government of the USSR sent an operational squadron of the Navy from the Black Sea Fleet and ships and submarines of the Northern Fleet based in Port Said to the conflict area. The squadron included the BOD "Brave". Assisting the Egyptian armed forces, visits Port Said.

In 1968-69 passes Maintenance in the city of Nikolaev. During the repair, missile weapons were modernized.

Vladimir Skosyrsky. In the photo on the left

On March 16, 1969, the ship's crew suffered their first losses. In Nikolaev, in inclement weather, while winding an additional mooring line on a barrel, sailor Sait Shaipov fell into the water and began to drown. Seeing that his subordinate was in mortal danger, Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Ivanovich Skosyrsky jumped overboard and swam to the aid of a drowning man. Broken ice floes floated in the cold water. With difficulty, the officer reached the drowning sailor, gathering his last strength, he pushed him onto the ice floe, but he himself did not have enough strength to escape. A floating ice floe covered him. For courage and courage, Senior Lieutenant V.I. Skosyrsky was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Star.

In 1969, the "Brave" was declared an excellent ship of the Black Sea Fleet.

In September 1969, captain of the third rank Ivan Petrovich Vinnik was appointed to the post of commander of the ship.

From April 14 to May 5, 1970, large-scale maneuvers "Ocean" were carried out in the USSR, covering the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The ship as part of the ships of the Black Sea Fleet takes part in exercises and performs missile firing in the Atlantic Ocean. For the excellent performance of tasks, the commander of the ship was presented with a memorable gift from the commander of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Lobov, a model of a submarine in the ice.

In November 1970, in the Republic of Guinea, emigrants in opposition to the incumbent President Ahmed Sek Toure, with the support of Portugal, took part in an armed invasion of the republic in order to overthrow the government and defeat the bases of the partisans who fought for the independence of Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau). To maintain stability and order and organize the defense of the capital of Guinea, Conakry, the Courageous BOD was sent to this region.

The feat of the foreman of the 1st article Yu. S. Chuikin

In March 1973, 4 years after the death of senior lieutenant V. I. Skosyrsky, on vacation, saving people's property from a fire, the foreman of the 1st article Yu. S. Chuikin died. For courage and bravery shown in the fight against fire, foreman of the 1st article Chuikin was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Star.

On October 6, 1973, another military conflict arose between Israel and a coalition of Arab countries due to the desire of Egypt and Syria to return the lost territories. Already on October 7, the USSR began to supply weapons and equipment to Syria and Egypt by sea. To ensure the safety of Soviet ships, a detachment of Soviet warships and submarines was formed, which included the Courageous BOD. In addition to escort, the ships were engaged in electronic intelligence.

From 1970 to 1974 the ship's crew is doing course tasks and combat shooting only for good and excellent marks. For excellent rocket firing in 1970, the crew was awarded the challenge prize of the Civil Code of the Navy, and in 1971 they retained this prize.

During its short life, the ship also visited Cuba, Alexandria (Egypt), Split (Yugoslavia), Taranto and Messina (Italy), participated in the Yug-71 exercises.

LAST TRAVEL

On August 29, 1974, the large anti-submarine ship Courageous sailed last time in the sea. About that tragic event, twenty years later, the commander of the ship Ivan Petrovich Vinnik wrote in his essay "Notes of the Commander". The essay is written in the second person.

Ship commander I.P. Vinnik

Commander's Notes

“... On August 28, by order of the National Staff of the Black Sea Fleet, Rear Admiral V. A. Saakyan, Captain 2nd Rank I. P. Vinnik was summoned from Donuzlav to Sevastopol to enter the Otvazhny BOD at sea in order to ensure missile firing of RTOs 1 of the 41st brigade . The commander of the 70th brigade, captain 1st rank L.A. Makarov, apparently reported to the NSH Black Sea Fleet that earlier the organization of rocket firing was worked out with commander Vinnik, and he was assigned from an artillery cruiser, so he did not go out.

Before going to sea, 5 tons of fuel for helicopters were taken to maintain full combat readiness. The cellar contained aerial bombs for helicopters.

On August 29, at 13.00, the ship went to sea according to the BP 2 plan. They performed torpedo firing at a surface target, at night they participated in working out the task "PLZ-4" 3 and at 07.30 they approached booms 4, where they took Rear Admiral Sahakyan, Head of the Navy Air Defense Rear Admiral Putintsev, Deputy. the head of the 4th department, 5th captain 1st rank Shibkov and the commander of the 41st brigade, captain 1st rank Komar with his headquarters and as a control ship began to move to the BP area to participate in a special mission to carry out rocket firing by ships of the 41st OBRK.

Due to the fact that the state of the sea was 3 points, it was difficult for missile ships (RTOs) to carry out missile firing. After discussing the situation and weather conditions and forecasts, the NSh Black Sea Fleet decided to carry out firing.

At 09.25, the BOD entered the Combat Training Range.

The missile boats took up combat positions and began preparations for missile firing. Firing radar 6 and observation stations were turned on, missile systems began preliminary preparation for the RS. 10 minutes before the aircraft took off from the Belbek airfield at 09.55, a combat training alert was played on the ship to prepare for the RTU 7 materiel against air targets.

At 0959, the commander received a report from SPK 8 on the readiness of the ship for the exercise. The missile systems of the ship were not prepared for firing, and it was not even thought of supplying missiles to launchers, however, on alarm, power was supplied to switchboards missile systems and it was supplied to the cellars (as it should be on a combat or training alert).

At 10.02, the commander climbed from GKP 9 to the navigation bridge and saw white smoke and force of fire in the area of ​​​​stern pipes, an explosion suddenly thundered. The commander announced a combat alert and broadcast about a fire in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe stern vehicle, gave the command: "Bow and stern emergency parties to put out the fire."

After 15 - 20 seconds there was a second explosion. With the permission of the NSH Black Sea Fleet, the commander went down to the GKP to clarify the situation and control the struggle for the ship's survivability. On the navigation bridge he left the watch officer - the commander of the BCH-3 10 senior lieutenant S. A. Kachinsky to monitor the external situation. After 20 - 30 sec. the third and fourth explosions took place.

There was an assumption: either the launch cylinders in the aft engine room explode, or the rockets in the cellar.

Senior assistant captain-lieutenant V. V. Balashov played an emergency alarm. The commander ordered: "To the commanders of the BP (combat posts) and the command post (command post) report the presence of smoke, fire and water in their premises." I received a report that there was no communication with the stern vehicle, the stern missile cellar, the emergency party and the stern tower.

The commander sent the SPK to personally check the condition of the ship in the stern, passing along the upper deck. After inspection, the SPK reported that the stern missile cellar had been torn apart, and the launcher had been abandoned in the area of ​​the stern pipes. A strong fire in the cellar is moving into the stern vehicle and into the stern - to the gun mount area.

The commander made a report to the NSh Black Sea Fleet on the navigation bridge and, in accordance with the established form - at the command post of the fleet, division and through the air defense network, personally transmitted to the airfield about explosions and a large fire and asked to deliver a foam concentrate by helicopters or in cylinders of carbon dioxide in order to pour (drop) into the aft cellar .

The commander asked the RTO commanders to approach the stern of the ship to remove the personnel located on the quarterdeck and assist in extinguishing the fire spreading to the stern. One RTO approached from the stern of the BOD, removed several people from the side and lifted the personnel, which was thrown overboard by a shock wave, but no one dared to put out the fire and be at the side of the BOD, because both RTOs had ammunition, and missiles, and fuel, and the likelihood of another explosion was high.

The crew is fighting for the survivability of the ship

With the approach of the rescue ship PZhK-123, on which the captain of the 2nd rank A.V. Zhbanov was, to the port side, the personnel of the BOD, together with the PZhK, energetically launched an attack on fire thanks to the foam supplied through the fire hoses inside the premises and on the upper deck. The fire began to recede and clearly decreased. Water was supplied by fire nozzles with PZhK and ship fire fighting equipment. Until the last minutes, power was supplied to the BOD, and the means of drainage and fire pumps worked, which contributed to the successful struggle of personnel for the survivability of the ship. However, there were very small stocks of foam concentrate on the PZhK and on the ship, and everything was used up very quickly. The fire began to intensify again, and apart from water, there was nothing more from the fire system.

The commander of the BOD asked captain 2nd rank Zhbanov at the PZhK to give more foam, but received the answer: “There is nothing else”, the commander asked that water should not be poured into the interior without calculation, so that free surfaces would not form and water would not accumulate in the rooms above the waterline because the ship could capsize. More than three compartments were flooded on the ship.

Calculations showed that the ship was in critical condition.

EM 11 "Conscious" approached the board, onto which secret documents, equipment and documents of SPS 12 and the combat unit were reloaded, and part of the personnel, staff officers were transplanted. On board the EM was the brigade commander captain 1st rank L. A. Makarov.

Analyzing the activities of the officers, midshipmen according to the reports of the members of the state commission and the commission of the Ministry of Defense, we can say that the crew in this difficult and critical situation showed high moral, political and psychological qualities, high skills in the fight for the survivability of the ship, which actually made it possible to fight fires and water for 5 hours and 40 minutes, and when more than three compartments were flooded, and in the presence of strong fires, when the metal melted and flowed like wax from a candle!

The actions of the officers and personnel under BZZH 13 are most clearly characterized by the fact that the typical variants from the documentation on the unsinkability of the ship unequivocally interpret that the ship sinks when three compartments are flooded. In fact, the "Brave" remained afloat - there was a good sealing of the premises and reliable lines of defense to combat water.

During the intensifying fire and its constant advance into the bow from the stern pipes to the torpedo platform, when the fire threatened live torpedoes and an explosion could occur at any moment, Lieutenant Commander Kamalov, midshipman Medvedev, foreman 2 articles Selimsultanov, Slivkin, sailor Kabanov cooled the torpedoes water and by order of the commander (after the report of the NSh Black Sea Fleet on the threat of an explosion), they manually dropped two torpedoes lying on the platform overboard (freed up space for a practical torpedo 14 for firing at an underwater target), and three - with shots from a torpedo tube (after a personal check situation by the commander of the ship).

When the bulkhead in the personnel canteen from the side of the stern vehicle began to heat up and there was a threat of an explosion in the 6th and 7th cellars with depth charges, by order of the commander (after the report of the National Staff of the Black Sea Fleet and a personal check of the situation), warrant officer Medvedev and foreman 2 articles Kozleneev and others with the help of fire hoses in the smoky room of the canteen of personnel, the cellars were flooded, thereby preventing the explosion of about 5 tons of explosives and improving the stability of the ship, preventing flooding of the huge canteen of personnel.

Sergeant Major 2nd Article Garibyan and sailor Nikitenko, in the area of ​​​​a strong fire near the stern pipe, threw overboard cylinders with acetylene and oxygen, on which the paint was already starting to burn.

Once in the galley and unable to leave the room due to the jammed doors and hatch, sailor Prochakovsky shouted through the porthole: “Comrades, everything is clear with me! Save the ship! Trying to get out of the emergency room, sailor Petrukhin got stuck in the porthole. The commander ordered to cut out the porthole, but neither gas welding nor electric welding could do this. The sailor, injured and with large burns, was given painkillers, but the advancing fire did not allow him and other sailors blocked in the galley to be rescued ...» . (To be continued)

1 RTOs- small rocket ship.

2 BP- combat training.

3 PLZ- anti-submarine task

4 Bon- a barrier that protects the entrance to the harbor or fairway from enemy ships.

5 4th department- counterintelligence of the Navy

6 radar- radar station

7 RTU- radio engineering exercises

8 SPK- Senior Assistant Commander.

9 GKP- the main command post.

10 warhead-3- on the ship mine-torpedo part.

11 EM- squadron destroyer.

12 THX– special communications

13 BZZH- fight for survivability

14 Practical torpedo - a training torpedo, which differs from a full-fledged lack of a warhead.

Retired Captain 1st Rank A. Zhbanov tells about the tragedy that happened on August 30, 1974 with the “Brave” BOD built in Nikolaev. Head of the ASS-PSS Black Sea Fleet in 1973-1986.

There is a wise proverb: "Victory has many parents, but defeat is always an orphan."

I repeat it quite often, especially when I remember the events of 1974 related to the emergency at the BOD “Brave”. I confess right away: for the death of the large anti-submarine ship "Valiant", I, along with other officers of the Black Sea Fleet, received a severe reprimand from the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of the USSR, Admiral of the Fleet Soviet Union Sergei Georgievich Gorshkov. The wording was as follows: "For insufficient initiative." Not entirely offensive, but this severe reprimand gives me the right to consider myself one of the "parents" of a serious defeat at sea - after all, the ineffective actions of the fleet's rescue forces failed in the end to save a modern, first-class warship.
I took the penalty from the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, which he subsequently withdrew from me personally, as quite fair, and was morally prepared for more serious sanctions. Many of us - the participants in this tragedy - were in a very depressed state for a long time. The feeling of guilt did not leave even after all the materials of the investigation were analyzed, and the Commander-in-Chief himself answered the question he personally posed: “Was it possible to save“ Courageous ”? It is difficult to answer this question - the ship's keel was broken, but the Black Sea Fleet did not do everything to save it.
However, let's go back, up the stairs of time.
On August 30, 1974, twenty miles from the main base of the fleet, in the afternoon, in relatively good weather (sea state did not exceed 4 points), with a sufficient number of rescue forces and means, in peacetime a modern ship intended to fight, even having received serious damage, sank . People died during the accident. Who is to blame?
Constructors? Shipbuilders? Fleet? Crew? Forces involved in salvation? I have no right to judge anyone and give any assessment. I will try to describe only what I saw and what I personally participated in. Perhaps this will be useful for modern rescuers who, in difficult current conditions, provide search and rescue support for the once mighty fleet.
As for the analysis of the death of the ship and the performance of subsequent work on it, they were described in detail and objectively by the late colonel-engineer E. E. Leibovich in the story “The Fate of the BOD “Brave”. The article was written by a very experienced and authoritative specialist, from whom I accepted the position of head of the ASS Black Sea Fleet in 1973, it covers all aspects of this disaster.
According to official subordination - in case of occurrence emergencies in the navy, my place was determined at the command post of the fleet, as deputy chief of the search and rescue post, which was made up of the leading specialists of the fleet.

On that day, I was at the headquarters of the fleet and arrived at the post 3 minutes after the announcement of the alarm. The information received from the emergency ship did not allow a sufficiently objective assessment of its condition. The fire, as you know, started in missile cellar No. 8 from the spontaneous launch of the sustainer engine of the B-601 rocket, and the fleet command post received information about the explosion of an air cylinder in the second engine room. In general, the situation was incomprehensible from the very beginning, and I asked for permission from the Acting Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral V.A. Samoilov, to leave for the accident area.
I got permission instantly. There were other reasons why I wanted to take a direct part in saving the ship. And one of them worried me a lot, because the commander of the Black Sea Fleet rescue team was a former submariner. A good officer, but he did not have sufficient experience in leading the rescue forces in such a serious accident, moreover, on a surface ship. In addition, shortly before this accident, the ACC of the fleet conducted an exercise to assist the emergency ship of exactly 61 projects, and I wanted to put into practice the experience gained in this exercise.
By the way, like many naval officers, I did not like staff work, I never held staff positions. I had experience in command of three rescue ships, in three fleets, a division of rescue ships in the Baltic, and I was sure that, in the event of a ship's accident, my place was at sea, and not at the fleet command post.
Overtaking on a high-speed missile boat the ships of the rescue squad, going at full speed to the area of ​​the accident, I received the reports of their commanders on their readiness for rescue work, gave the necessary orders, and here is the first lesson that I remembered for a lifetime. In the air, on ultrashort waves, unimaginable chaos was happening. With excited voices, interrupting each other, many officials- commanders of ships, fleet staff officers, radio operators serving them, transmitted conflicting information and orders: “The commander of the fleet ordered! ...”, “The commander-in-chief ordered! ...”, “The Minister of Defense ordered! ...”. There were so many orders and they were so obscure that it was impossible to carry them out.
In the course of combat training, the command of the fleet demanded from us a strict implementation of communication discipline, but in a real emergency, everyone forgot about it. A unified, strict, consistent and continuous command and control of the forces at the very beginning of the rescue work on the "Brave" was not organized. Command post The fleet clearly understood that on board the emergency ship there was an experienced and authoritative chief of staff of the fleet - Rear Admiral V.X. Sahakyan, who was able to take charge of the forces himself, which is why he showed understandable delicacy. It was extremely difficult to manage the forces from the board of the emergency ship, whose crew did not know the root cause of the explosion and the complete situation on their own ship, was fighting for survivability, losing people, it was extremely difficult.
I must self-critically admit that I was not able to realize my potential in this important matter and to give the Chief of Staff of the Fleet needed help in power management. On board the duty missile boat, controlled by Lieutenant Commander V. Isakov, on which I arrived in the area of ​​the accident, there were combat missiles and he, on behalf of V.Kh. Sahakyan, it was forbidden to approach the emergency ship, on which ammunition continued to explode in the flames of fires. I was forced to jump into the sea and swim to the fire-fighting ship moored to the side of the “Courageous”, the crew of which, under the leadership of the commander, senior lieutenant I.Kh. Nagervadze kept the fire from spreading to the bow of the emergency ship.
By combined efforts, the crew of the emergency ship, the 167th rescue party and PZhS-123 managed to keep the spread of fire on the 164th frame - the bow bulkhead of the aft engine room. I considered this some success and did not imagine that the death of the ship could come so quickly from another explosion - this time in cellar No. 10 and aviation fuel storage. This last explosion led to the flooding of the fifth compartment (the first four compartments were flooded earlier) and the ensuing loss of longitudinal stability of the ship.

The explosion that predetermined the death of the ship occurred 1.5 hours after my arrival in the area. Could it have been prevented? This is how it is written in the final act of the commission investigating the causes of the death of the “Brave”: “The decision made to establish a line of defense in the stern of the ship practically could not be implemented, since after the explosion of cellar No. 8, the fire spread to the tiller compartment and cellar No. 10 The landing of personnel on the stern of the Otvazhny BOD in order to unload aerial bombs and remove kerosene overboard was impossible.
And yet this question still haunts me. I personally could not believe that the “Brave” could die with such a large margin of buoyancy and stability that ships of the 61st project possessed. The sailors, foremen, midshipmen and officers who participated in the struggle for the ship's survivability and its rescue did not succumb to panic and remained fully capable of performing any, the most risky actions to the end. It was possible to send volunteers to flood cellar No. 10 and drain kerosene overboard with compressed air. Would volunteers be able to solve this problem, or would they only increase the number of victims? I did not set such a task for my subordinates. Today I analyze and ask myself - unfortunately or fortunately?
It was possible to flood cellar No. 10 only by supplying water to it with hoses. Only later, a few months after the disaster, the emergency service officers and I technical management fleets discussed this issue and came to the conclusion that by filling cellar No. 10, we would forcibly reduce the longitudinal stability of the ship, which would also lead to its capsizing.
I can’t forget the energetic commands that were given from the “Brave”, it seems that Senior Lieutenant V. Fedorchenko shouted the most to the rescue ships: “Come on foam ...!”. These commands testified that the crew of the emergency ship sought to prevent a decrease in its stability and unsinkability due to the influx of seepage water, the amount of which was difficult to account for. But the ship, as it turned out, capsized not at all from the seepage water.
When, after the last explosion, the “Brave” began to noticeably list and settle aft, I, after consulting with the head of the technical department of the fleet, captain 1st rank - engineer Igor Vladimirovich Nikitin, persistently suggested that the chief of staff of the fleet begin the evacuation of personnel. This was the only case in my practice. Command "Abandon ship!" was carried out in a very organized manner, without fuss and panic. More than 50 people immediately switched to PZhS-123, the rest of the crew, on command, switched to the forecastle and jumped overboard from there. The commander of the ship, Captain 2nd Rank Ivan Petrovich Vinnik, was the last to leave the ship, when the tank towered 15 meters above the sea surface. His front jacket with orders and medals received for impeccable ship service remained in the commander's cabin. One of the last to leave the ship was the assistant chief of the electromechanical service of the 70th brigade anti-submarine ships senior lieutenant engineer Vasily Moiseevich Fedorchenko (now captain 1st rank engineer (reserve), one of the few surviving mechanical engineers who fought for the survivability of the Brave). Once in the water, he helped save several sailors who could not swim.
On the eve of the next anniversary of the death of the ship, I met with Vasily Alekseevich and captain 1st rank of the reserve Vitaly Fedorovich Yurganov. The latter that day was the duty commander of the rescue squad of the fleet. When assisting the “Brave”, he replaced the commander of the SB-15, landed and worked with the ASG SB-15 on the starboard side of the “Brave”, in memory of this, he keeps his boots with soles burned to holes.

For 25 years, the passions around the “Brave” subsided, the mothers of the dead sailors and cadets grew old, we had no need to mask the bitter truth, and we agreed with the assessment of the catastrophe that Admiral Sergey Georgievich Gorshkov, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, gave her.
Do not forget how the graceful hull of the ship vertically towered 50 meters above the surface of the calm sea, sinking like a candle to the bottom ... No one could believe in the reality of what was happening.
A few hours later, another job began for the rescuers - it was necessary to find and recover secret literature and equipment from the “Brave”, and in the future try to raise the ship as well.
These were unique works carried out at a depth of 127 meters. Here is how E.E. Leibovich: “The tasks assigned to the special ship-lifting detachment of the Black Sea Fleet for work on the Otvazhny BOD were completed in full.”
Being, nominally, the chief of staff of a special ship-lifting detachment, in fact, I supervised the entire marine part of the work carried out on the Courageous. The fact is that the commander of the detachment, Captain 1st Rank Lev Potekhin, is my immediate superior, and I dare to believe that my friend, being an excellent sailor and a talented organizer, had no real opportunity to be distracted from the daily management of the forces of the Office of Auxiliary Vessels and the rescue service of the Black Sea Fleet . The control forces of those “stagnant” times worked very hard in all the seas of the oceans. At a meeting at the fleet headquarters, Admiral L. Mizin, head of logistics of the Navy, under whose leadership I happened to serve in the Baltic, very strictly demanded that the order of the Commander-in-Chief be raised to raise the ship. I politely but persistently defended the position of the Chernomorians, declaring the insufficiency of forces and the necessary equipment for such a unique ascent. Of all the officers present at the meeting, only Captain 1st Rank V. Molchanov, a representative of the Scientific Research Institute of the ACC of the Navy, dared to defend this position. We were both heavily criticized and hurt by it. I am still grateful to Vladimir Alexandrovich, with whom we served on the Kamchatka military flotilla, for his clear, well-founded position, backed up by engineering knowledge and calculations.
Later it was confirmed that the ship could not be raised because of the danger of a spontaneous explosion, the ammunition on it, some of which was in the final equipped form, in particular, these were depth charges. Total weight of this ammunition was about 15 tons, but for its undermining and reliable detonation, it was necessary to put 113.6 tons of TNT on the ship. I think that no one in the world has done such work at a depth of 127 meters either before the “Brave” or after it.
On December 23, 1977, Senior Lieutenant Lupashin, at my command, turned on the switch on the rescue ship "SS-26" (now the SS "Epron"), applied current to the electric detonators. A flame shot up over the sea to a height of more than 30 meters, and a wall of water grew along the length of the ship, the “Brave” died a second time and forever.
I went down to the ship three times in the observation chamber and submersible. The first time was on the second day after his death, when the body of a galley worker, who could not be saved, protruded from the porthole in the galley. The flaps of his white jacket were fluttering with the current, and we surveyed the ship for details of its rise. The second time I had to go down to clarify some issues when laying explosive ammunition. The porthole in the galley was already empty. For the third time, I visually recorded the results of a powerful underwater explosion. In place of the handsome ship, there were only heaps of twisted metal that did not resemble a ship in any way. All problems with the explosiveness of the ship and its secrets were solved radically.
Diver Roman Todorovich Gavyuk died during the diving operations on the “Brave”. We mastered the new diving equipment SVG-200 and a faulty breathing mixture inlet valve, at a depth of 127 meters, caused the death of a strong and courageous man.
The work on the Otvazhny continued for more than three years, most of which was carried out by the crew of the Karpaty salvage vessel. Many rescue and complex work fell on the crews of the rescue vessels "Kazbek", SS-21, SS-26, SS-50, midget submarines, diving ships, rescue tugs, sea tugs and killers. I do not know of a single case when at least one of the crews of these ships would show cowardice, or an attempt to evade a difficult and dangerous task. Special courage, of course, was shown by deep-sea divers, low bow to them for their skill and courage.
A few words about the fabrications that appeared at one time, about the nuclear ammunition allegedly located on the "Brave". There was no nuclear ammunition on the ship at all, and it was not towed into the open sea, this is pure fiction. I do not agree with many of the provisions of the late writer B. Karzhavin, who described the death of the ship in the book “The Death of the Courageous”. There is a good Finnish proverb: “When there is trouble at sea, there are always a lot of smart people on the shore.” Do not be smart about the "Brave". Walked cold war, the fleet with great tension carried out military service in all the oceans of the planet and achieved a respectful attitude towards itself from a potential enemy. It was armed with ships that were created by our domestic industry, and they were equipped with people who were called up from our cities and villages. These men deserve respect for their heroic service. This fully applies to the crew of the “Brave” and all those who selflessly sought to save it.

The death of the “Brave”, as well as the death of the battleship “Novorossiysk”, forced us to take a fresh look at many provisions regarding constructive and organizational measures to ensure the survivability and unsinkability of ships. The large ship fires that occurred in the subsequent years of my tenure as head of the ASS of the Black Sea Fleet on the Moskva anti-submarine cruiser stuffed with ammunition, the Sovrovshenny destroyer and the Berezina integrated supply ship confirmed the correctness of the conclusions about the Brave, and I again went to sea to personally lead the rescue effort. On the Berezina, for the second time, I assisted Ivan Petrovich Vinnik, now a brigade commander and captain of the 1st rank. He had to endure many trials, bright memory to him and to all who died on the “COURAGEOUS”.

09/11/2013 6 487 0 Jadaha

Death of the "Brave"

catastrophes

A modern warship is a combination of the incompatible. Fuel and oxygen, explosives and electricity are crammed into an enclosed space. the slightest mistake can lead to tragedy. There were many such tragedies in the history of the fleet, but it was not customary to talk about them ..

On the morning of August 30, 1974, the large anti-submarine ship Brave left Sevastopol to participate in rocket firing. On board were 258 crew members, 16 cadets and officers of the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in total 287 people. The captain of the 2nd rank I.P. Vinnik commanded the ship.

By 10 o'clock in the morning, the "Brave" arrived at the designated square opposite Cape Khersones, where the destroyer "Conscious" and missile boats were already located.

At the signal "Training alarm" the crew fled to command and combat posts. A minute later, there was a bang in the cellar with ammunition. He poured smoke, seeping into the missile control post. Midshipman Shuportyak, who was sitting at his post, realized that things were bad, and rushed to run, forgetting the emergency fire extinguishing button ...

As it turned out later, the engine of one of the rockets went off in the cellar. After 20 seconds, the fire was already raging with might and main. A fiery plume, escaping from the nozzle of the rocket, burned through everything around. Two people who were nearby died instantly.

A fire on a ship is dangerous, and on a warship stuffed with ammunition to the eyeballs, it is doubly dangerous. And the worst was not long in coming..

“I ran after those who were ahead,” sailor Alexander Kolyshev recalled. - From the corridor through the washbasin I ran into the latrine, where the first explosion caught me. Everyone fell ... Insulation from the bulkheads rained down on us.

A few seconds later there was a second explosion. Apparently, the engines of another or even several rockets fired. The third explosion blew out the deck of the superstructure. A powerful column of flame escaped from there. The rocket launcher shot up, swayed from side to side, and was thrown into the chimney. The heat twisted the metal like birch bark and melted. The stern, pierced by the explosion, began to settle. The fire crept up to the cellars where the depth charges were stored. Boilers of boiling water fell on the sailors in the galley. Scalded people rushed about in the corridors, choking on smoke and gases. One of the sailors tried to get out through the porthole and got stuck. Captain 1st rank Balashov saw the skin peeling off the body of the doomed sailor...

The crew tried to stop the flames. The fire was even extinguished, but the carbon dioxide foam ran out, and the fire broke out with new force. Ammunition exploded. The aft bulkhead was pierced with shrapnel. People rushed around the deck, trying to get away from the flames devouring everything in their path. The fire cut off 13 people at the stern. They did not hear the commands transmitted over the speakerphone, did not know what to do, and, fearing another explosion, rushed overboard. Only one sailor who could not swim grasped the flagpole in horror.

An order was given to flood the cellars located next to the raging fire. The roll of the ship, already flooded through the hole, increased to 12 degrees.

Rescue teams landed on the blazing ship from the destroyer Conscious and the large anti-submarine ship Bedovy. But they could not help the crew of the "Brave". Fuel escaping from punctured tanks caught fire. Hot torpedoes flew overboard. The list increased to 16 degrees Around the "Brave" many ships gathered, but attempts to extinguish the fire with carbon dioxide foam or tow the ship to the shore were unsuccessful.

Secret documents were quickly evacuated from the ship. At 11:24 torpedoes were dropped into the sea, the list of the ship was reduced to 14 degrees. At the same time, ammunition cellars No. 6 and 7 were flooded with water using fire hydrants. At 11:55 a.m. BPC Komsomolets Ukrainy arrived at the scene to provide assistance.

At 11.59 the fire on board the ship was localized, white smoke began to fall from the cellars. However, after 7 minutes, the towing cables from the destroyer "Conscious" broke, new cables began to start from the "Troublesome". All this time, the fire in the aft engine room of the ship continued. At 12.27 a command was given to stop the water supply to the compartment, it was decided to use only foam. A chemical fire extinguishing system was activated in the aft engine room. The towing of the ship in distress at a speed of 3 knots began again at 12:49, at which time the roll of the anti-submarine ship reached 17 degrees.

At 12:55, the rescue ship Beshtau arrived at the scene at 13:20 - SS-15 and SS-26, a few minutes later the fire and decontamination vessel Flame. From these ships, foam was supplied to the area of ​​​​the burning cellars on board the BOD "Courageous". At 14:30 an attempt was made to pump out water from the aft compartments, but after 17 minutes an explosion of aviation ammunition located in cellar No. 10 occurred. Apparently, at the same time, the tank, which stored 5 tons of aviation kerosene, also exploded. All this seriously complicated the situation, the list of the ship to starboard quickly reached 19 degrees, increasing to 25. At 14.47, five hours after the start of the fire, a powerful explosion was heard in the stern. Kerosene burned. The ship lurched sharply, straightened up, and lurched again, sinking deeper and deeper.At 15:07, it stabilized at around 27 degrees. After another 3 minutes, the power supply to the instruments was cut off on the ship and the lighting turned off. At 15:12 the personnel received an order: "Personnel to leave the ship" , the last BOD left his captain.

“After this command,” midshipman Karpenko recalled, “headquarters officers, a financier and others began to jump on the lifeguard. Around the ships lowered longboats. I persuaded the sailors to jump. I look, the boatswain in the vest comes out on the upper deck. Not far from him is the sailor Ernazarov, who cannot swim. I say to the boatswain: "Give him your vest, we will lower him along the towline." I'm going down the port side, Ernazarov is behind me. It was already the bottom, I felt the shells with my hands. I say: "Jump after me when I sail." Jumped, and he hangs. "Jump!" - it hangs. Around already the fuel starts to burn - it hangs. A motor boat approached, and they tried to remove the sailor from it with a hook. I sailed away, looked back, I looked - it was hanging, and only when they stopped filming it, fell between the ship and the longboat. The sea was 3-4 points, a strong wind carried the rafts thrown out by planes and helicopters.

“People were afraid to jump from the Courageous,” said mechanic Gleb Umerenkov. - The height at the left side was about 15 meters. They began to push people to enter. One sailor in a vest clung to the handrail and handrails like that. that they couldn't pull it off. I handed him the second vest, he stretched out his hands to him, and then we pushed him into the water. I jumped too; we swim with him, he holds on to my shoulder and yells. Some lieutenant in the water sang: "The enemy does not surrender ...". The “Brave” was still pulled, but when he went down astern, the tugboat was cut off. The ship became vertical, and its bow was visible for about 30 minutes. He probably stood at the bottom ... "

At 15.35, the Otvazhny BOD began to dive into the Black Sea astern without capsizing, a tug was given from the destroyer Bedovoy. After only 12 minutes, the ship completely disappeared under the water. The depth at the site of its flooding was about 125 meters. In total, 5 hours and 47 minutes passed from the moment the fire was discovered on the ship to its flooding. As a result of internal explosions and holes in the hull, the ship took on board almost 3600 tons of water, 6 impenetrable compartments were flooded. At the same time, after flooding 4 compartments located in the stern, the trim and roll were stabilized, and the BOD had positive stability. But when the water completely flooded 2 more compartments, the ship's buoyancy was exhausted. However, even when it sank, the Courageous BOD showed a very high survivability. According to the specification, the ships of this project could only stay afloat after the flooding of 3 adjacent compartments.

Much has been written about this tragic event in the history of the Black Sea Fleet, and in great detail, at the end of the story I would like to add my note. Today, August 30, marks 41 years since the explosion of Volna-M ZRU missiles, followed by flooding of the compartments for 5 hours, killed the Courageous BOD
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In Sevastopol, on the territory of the Communards cemetery, you can find a small, modest monument. It is located between the mass grave of the crew of the battleship Novorossiysk and the monument to Lieutenant P.P. Schmidt. The inscription carved on the marble monument says: "To the sailors of the Courageous, who died in the line of military duty in August 1974." It also contains a list of 24 names of the dead sailors.
In the USSR, they preferred not to talk about the death of this ship.

The large anti-submarine ship "Courageous" was included in the fleet on January 25, 1966 and for its enough short life managed to make 7 military campaigns. From June 5 to June 30, 1967, the ship carried out a combat mission to assist the Egyptian armed forces and visited Port Said. In 1968-69, the Otvazhny BOD underwent maintenance at the 61st plant in Nikolaev, during which its missile armament was modernized. Since 1969, the captain of the 3rd rank Ivan Petrovich Vinnik was appointed the captain of the ship.

BOD "Brave" in Messina, October 19-22, 1973

BOD "Very" belonged to the ships of the project 61 type "Komsomolets of Ukraine" (according to NATO codification - Kashin). It was a type of large anti-submarine ships that were in service with the Soviet Navy from 1964 to 1991, and were subsequently in service with the Russian Navy. In 2012, only 1 ship of this type remained in the Black Sea Fleet of Russia - the Smetlivy SKR. It remained the only ship of the 20 ships of the project that managed to enter the fleet of the USSR from 1962 to 1973. The remaining 18 ships were decommissioned and dismantled for metal, another one - BOD "Brave" - ​​sank.

Large anti-submarine "Courageous" on the Spassky roadstead of Nikolaev. Navy Day, July 1974

The standard displacement of ships of this type was 3500-3700 tons, the maximum displacement was 4500-4750 tons. Modernized ships have 3950/4900 tons, respectively. Hull dimensions: length - 144 m (modernized - 147 m), width - 15.8 m, draft - 4.8 m (up to 6 m). four gas turbines with a total capacity of 94,000 hp worked on 2 screws, providing the ship with a maximum speed of 36-38 knots. The cruising range at a speed of 20 knots was 4,000 nautical miles. The ship could accommodate the Ka-25 anti-submarine helicopter. The BOD provided for the storage of 5 tons of aviation kerosene, as well as ammunition for a helicopter (depth charges, anti-submarine torpedoes, sonar buoys). Due to the lack of a hangar on the ship, the helicopter could only be temporarily placed on it.

Helicopter Ka-25

The armament complex of the new ship could be called innovative. For the first time in the history of Soviet shipbuilding, the BOD received 2 M-1 Volna air defense systems. Each anti-aircraft missile system was a two-beam launcher ZIF-101, a store with 2 rotating drums for 8 V-600 missiles each and a Yatagan control system.

SAM M-1 "Wave"

All ships of this project had advanced radar weapons and hydroacoustics, as well as excellent seaworthiness and maneuverability. These ships were distinguished by their remarkable appearance and architecture.

Tragedy
From August 4 to August 7, 1974, the Otvazhny BOD took part in the next fleet exercises, and from August 27, the ship was to become the flagship command ship during the 2nd stage of the exercises. BOD "Brave" was supposed to ensure the firing of small missile ships, as well as take part in anti-submarine exercises with torpedo firing. On August 29, 1974, the ship under the control of Captain 2nd Rank I.P. Vinnik went to the open sea and successfully conducted torpedo firing. At dawn on August 30, the BOD embarked on a raid in Streletskaya Bay in order to take on board Rear Admiral V. Kh. Sahakyan, the chief of staff of the KChF, as well as a group of senior fleet officers. On this day, the ship was supposed to provide anti-aircraft fire from small missile ships at a training ground near Cape Khersones. At 9:55 in the morning, the ship arrived at the training ground, and a combat training alert was announced on it.

August 30, 1974 an unknown chain of events (which the commission will later write about) closed and an explosion thundered in cellar No. 8. At 09:58, a slight shaking of the ship was felt on the bridge, as if a small explosion had occurred in its stern. After that, the machines were immediately stopped, an emergency and combat alarm was announced on the ship. 10 seconds after the first, a stronger explosion shook the ship, a sheaf of flame and a clearly visible cap of white smoke appeared behind the stern pipe. After another 20 seconds, there was a third explosion, which occurred in the area of ​​​​missile cellar No. 8. Above the site of the explosion, a column of flame rose and poured thick black smoke. The explosion was so strong that it tore off the cellar lid and, together with the launchers of anti-aircraft missiles, threw it onto the aft chimney. After that, a strong fire began in this area of ​​​​the BOD, and the personnel of the ship began to fight for unsinkability and survivability.

From the combat log BOD Courageous» for 08/30/74:
10.17. The ship is located W 44°37, L 32°56.
10.19. Report of the BC-3 commander: it is necessary to flood 6, 7 cellars.
10.20. To the commander of the warhead-5: flood the 6th, 7th cellar.
At 10:20, according to the broadcast of the ship, a command was given to the personnel on the quarterdeck to jump into the water. True, they did not hear her, the sailors from the Utah rushed into the water on their own. A report was received from the navigation post to the GKP:
- 10.21. Seven people overboard! (There were 12 people overboard, probably not everyone was noticed approx.).
With GKP ordered:
- Take the ends and life buoys. Save people!
However, the rough sea, the roll of the ship and the wind that carried the sailors away from the side of the ship, apparently, did not allow them to be picked up on their own, and the signalmen were ordered to transfer the Zarnitsa to the nearest missile boat (MRK) to pick up people from the water.
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RTO "Zarnitsa" at the burning BOD "Brave", August 30, 1974

The crew's minute-by-minute actions are described

At 10:23, the personnel of the Brave, which was located in the aft compartments of the ship, were ordered to evacuate the ship. At this time, the fire on board was gaining momentum. At the same time, ammunition cellars No. 6 and No. 7 were constantly watered from hoses. At 10:40, the destroyer Conscious approached to help the BOD, and after another 12 minutes, the Trouble, from which a special rescue party was landed on the Courageous.

Disembarkation of an emergency party with EM "Trouble"

At 10:54, the destroyer "Conscious" took the BOD "Brave" in tow in order to take the ship aground in the Chersonese area, at that time the ship's roll had already reached 13 degrees. After 7 minutes on the "Courageous" they began the procedure for transferring fuel from starboard to port, but this did not help get rid of the list

Towing BOD "Brave"

Soon the stern of the BOD plunged into the sea along the upper deck, and the roll to starboard reached 16 degrees. Secret documents were quickly evacuated from the ship. At 11:24 torpedoes were dropped into the sea, the list of the ship was reduced to 14 degrees. At the same time, ammunition cellars No. 6 and 7 were flooded with water using fire hydrants. At 11:55 a.m. BPC Komsomolets Ukrainy arrived at the scene to provide assistance.

At 11.59 the fire on board the ship was localized, white smoke began to fall from the cellars. However, after 7 minutes, the towing cables from the destroyer "Conscious" broke, new cables began to start from the "Troublesome". All this time, the fire in the aft engine room of the ship continued. At 12.27 a command was given to stop the water supply to the compartment, it was decided to use only foam. A chemical fire extinguishing system was activated in the aft engine room. The towing of the ship in distress at a speed of 3 knots began again at 12:49, at which time the roll of the anti-submarine ship reached 17 degrees.

At 12:55, the rescue ship Beshtau arrived at the scene at 13:20 - SS-15 and SS-26, a few minutes later the fire and decontamination vessel Flame. From these ships, foam was supplied to the area of ​​​​the burning cellars on board the BOD "Courageous". At 14:30 an attempt was made to pump out water from the aft compartments, but after 17 minutes an explosion of aviation ammunition located in cellar No. 10 occurred. Apparently, at the same time, the tank, which stored 5 tons of aviation kerosene, also exploded. All this seriously complicated the situation, the roll of the ship to starboard quickly reached 19 degrees, increasing to 25. At 15:07 it stabilized at around 27 degrees. After another 3 minutes, the power supply to the instruments was cut off on the ship and the lighting turned off. At 15:12, the personnel received an order to evacuate the ship in distress, the last BOD to leave was its captain.

At 15.35, the Otvazhny BOD began to dive into the Black Sea astern without capsizing, a tug was given from the destroyer Bedovoy. After only 12 minutes, the ship completely disappeared under the water. The depth at the site of its flooding was about 125 meters. In total, 5 hours and 47 minutes passed from the moment the fire was discovered on the ship to its flooding. As a result of internal explosions and holes in the hull, the ship took on board almost 3600 tons of water, 6 impenetrable compartments were flooded. At the same time, after flooding 4 compartments located in the stern, the trim and roll were stabilized, and the BOD had positive stability. But when the water completely flooded 2 more compartments, the ship's buoyancy was exhausted. However, even when it sank, the Courageous BOD showed a very high survivability. According to the specification, the ships of this project could only stay afloat after the flooding of 3 adjacent compartments

The death of the BPK "Brave", photo taken from the DBK "Trouble", August 30, 1974

Of the 287 people who were on board the Otvazhny BOD, including cadets undergoing practice, 24 people died (19 sailors and 5 cadets). During the struggle for survivability and unsinkability, as well as in extinguishing the fire, the entire personnel of the vessel acted skillfully and showed courage. All measures were taken to save the ship, but the damage received as a result of the explosions made it impossible to save it.

The unfortunate ship after this tragedy was not left alone. It was decided to raise it from the bottom of the sea. To do this, from August 31 to September 10, 1974, a survey of the Otvazhny BOD lying on the ground was carried out using the NK-300 observation camera, the RK-680 working camera, divers of the rescue vessel and the AS-1 autonomous working projectile. As a result of the surveys, it was possible to find out the following:
- “The ship sank at the point W 44 ° 44", 1 and L 33 ° 01", 5 at a distance of 28 miles from Sevastopol, at a depth of 130 m, with a heading of 31 ° and a list of 43 ° to port.
- Aft end from 210 sp. as a result of the fracture, it is displaced and lies at an angle of 10-20° to the diametrical plane with a heel angle of 40-50° to the port side.
- The left side from the 70th frame to the cut of the stern entered the ground along the upper deck, in the bow, the side rises 3-4 meters above the ground ...

The commission's conclusions were as follows:
- V-601 missiles - 15 pcs. in the drums of the cellar No. 4, when exposed to a shock wave from the detonation of anti-submarine ammunition, they become dangerous for ship-lifting operations;
- RSL-60 depth charges in cellar No. 5 - 192 pieces, of which 24 pieces. have inserted fuses UDV-60, dangerous for ship-lifting operations;
- RSL-10 depth charges in cellars No. 6 and 7, 24 each. in each, of which 6 pcs. have inserted fuses UDV-60, are dangerous for ship lifting operations.
The danger of the UDV-60 fuses was confirmed by full-scale tests by laying them on the deck of the Brave for a period of 12.5 months to a depth of 120 m. Subsequent tests confirmed their performance, that is, the risk of an RSL-10 and RSL-60 explosion remained.
The results of a complete study and analysis of the state of the deep-seated ammunition made it necessary to abandon the project for lifting the main part of the ship, developed earlier by the Institute of the Navy for Rescue and Ship Recovery Works.

It would seem .. let him rest at the bottom of the sea .., but The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy made the following decisions:

a) To form, at the expense of the forces of the Black Sea Fleet, a special ship-lifting detachment (SSO) consisting of: SPS "Karpaty", SS-21 (SS-26), Project 733S SBS, Project 535 (532) VM, support vessels. Appoint captain 1st rank L. Potekhin as commander of the MTR, captain 1st rank A.V. Zhbanov, to form the Headquarters of the MTR from fleet specialists; to attract specialists from special institutes of the Navy to the work of the MTR at different stages of work.
b) BOD "Brave", due to the impossibility of its restoration, in general, do not raise; first of all, to carry out work on lifting, from the ship, special equipment available to the potential enemy at external posts, as well as secret documents and special equipment left during the ship's catastrophe.
c) In order to ensure the safety of the ship's flooding area, detonate anti-submarine and missile ammunition located in cellars No. 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the ship. Simultaneously with the explosion of ammunition in the cellars, separate the stern end of the ship with an explosion for its subsequent lifting.


Raising the top of the mast with antennas

Explosion was scheduled for 10 am December 26, 1977. All off duty gathered on the upper deck and bridges. Seven months at sea, seven months of difficult and hazardous work were crowned with success. In total, more than 80 tons of TNT were laid on the ship, and taking into account the ship's ammunition, more than 100 tons of TNT should have exploded. The weather was cloudy, it was raining lightly, visibility was poor. At the appointed time on the horizon we saw an irregularly shaped double-humped fountain over 100 m high; inside it was black with red flames. A few seconds later, they felt a hydraulic shock on the hull; there was no air shock wave.

As a result of the inspection, it was established that the hull of the ship, as it were, turned around from the explosion and turned into a shapeless heap of metal scattered on large area. There could be no talk of lifting any major part. The work of divers seemed very dangerous in the chaos of twisted metal with sharp edges. Therefore, in a tried and tested way, under the supervision of the NK-300 operator, they raised an artillery mount, pipe fences, part of the aft superstructure and other pieces of metal, which were difficult to classify, from the ground. At the end of June, the command of the Navy decided to stop work. BOD "Brave" ceased to exist not only as a combat unit of the fleet, but also as a physically integral object .

Sailors of the anti-submarine ship "Courageous". Cemetery "Communards", Sevastopol.

Remember the date of the tragedy and make this selection motivated by a gift. Here is this photograph, donated in a "solid" form and later scanned by me.

In the 60s, our fleet was replenished with a series of large anti-submarine ships (BOD) of project 61. With a standard displacement of 3500 tons, they became the world's first large warships equipped with gas turbine power plants. For the characteristic sound of the operation of these installations, the sailors nicknamed the BOD of this project “singing frigates”. Most of them became part of the Black Sea Fleet. Among these was the BOD “Brave”.

On the morning of August 30, 1974, the Courageous BOD left the Northern Bay of Sevastopol and headed for the sea for firing practice with anti-aircraft missiles. Already at the site of the exercises, in preparation for firing at 10:02 a.m., in the aft cellar of 16 anti-aircraft missiles, the sustainer engine of one of them spontaneously started, then the starting engine of another missile worked, after which the rest of the Volna anti-aircraft missiles stored there exploded. The shock wave tore off the roof of the aft superstructure along with the launcher for these missiles, destroyed the transverse bulkheads and tore the ship's hull in several places. Through the cracks formed, water began to flow, quickly filling 4 compartments. After 8 minutes, the roll of the ship to starboard reached 12 degrees. A fire broke out on the stern that settled into the water by 1.5 meters. By 11 o'clock large rocket ships(DBK) “Troubled” and “Conscious”, who landed rescue teams on the “Brave” and then unsuccessfully tried to take it in tow. After 12 hours, the same type of BOD Komsomolets Ukrainy came to their aid, and at 13 hours 25 minutes - two rescue ships. All of them tried to shoot down the fire with water jets in the area of ​​​​the aft storage of aviation fuel and the ship's helicopter ammunition, but soon they were forced to retreat due to heavy fire. Due to the threat of new explosions, a torpedo tube was deployed on the Courageous and all five torpedoes were fired overboard.

At 1445 hours, despite all efforts to fight the fire, the aft cellar with aviation depth charges and jet fuel exploded. 2 more compartments were flooded, the ship plunged into the water to the aft tower, and the list reached 28 degrees. At 15:03, an order was given to leave the ship, and its crew with rescue teams moved to other ships. Soon, the BOD almost vertically, stern down, began to go under water. The depth of the sea in this place was 125 m, so when the stern of the 144-meter ship touched the bottom, its sinking slowed down. The bow part rose above the surface of the sea for several minutes, then it abruptly went under the water. It happened at 15 hours 57 minutes, 40 km from the Chersonese lighthouse at a point with coordinates 44 ° 44 'N. and 32° 59’ E 24 people died (including 5 cadets). 26 sailors were injured and burned.

Later, from the "Brave" were raised to the surface technical documentation, as well as parts of equipment and weapons with a total weight of about 40 tons, and in December 1977, the BOD hull was blown up. The death of the ship made it necessary to speed up work to improve the fire safety of ammunition depots. The results were not slow to affect: when in 1984 a similar accident occurred in the bow cellar of the Volna-M air defense system of another BOD of the Black Sea Fleet, the ship did not receive significant damage.