The world's first icebreaker, Ermak, was launched. Icebreaker "Ermak" Modern icebreaker Ermak

Ordered for the Russian Ministry of Finance.
11/14/1897 - Count Witte informed Admiral S.O. Makarov that the project was approved and 3 million rubles were allocated for construction.
12/28/1897 - S.O. Makarov signed a contract.
02/04/1899 - ready for delivery. After testing and raising the flag on February 19, 1899, he left for Russia on February 21, 1899. Price 1,500,000 rub.
03/01/1899 - entered the ice of the Baltic.
03/04/1899 - came to Kronstadt.
03/09/1899 - went to Revel.
03/11-12/1899 - brought to the port from about. The stranded steamships and the icebreaker "STADT REVEL" remained there for another 2 weeks.
03/30/1899 - came to Kronstadt.
Beginning 04.1899 - went to St. Petersburg.
Beginning 05.1899 - left for England.
05/29/1899 - left Newcastle for the Arctic Ocean.
06/08/1899 - reached the southern part of the island. Spitsbergen and left for England on June 14, 1899. A month for repairs (the nose screw was removed, the hull was strengthened).
07/14-08/16/1899 - new flight to Spitsbergen - hole in the nose. Having repaired the hole, I came to the Baltic.
11/13/1899 - took off the armored cruiser "GROMOBOV", grounded in ice near Peterhof, and brought it to Kronstadt.
01-11.04.1900 - refloated near the island. Gogland brought the coastal defense battleship GENERAL ADMIRAL APRAXIN to Aspe.
Since 08.1900 - reconstruction at the shipyard-builder.
05/16/1901 - again goes from Kronstadt to the North. Near Novaya Zemlya it is covered with ice. Drifted from 14.07 to 06.08.1901 from there to Franz Josef Land. Came to the Baltic on September 1, 1901.
10/08/1901 - came under the jurisdiction of the Port Affairs Committee, subordinate to the Department of Trade and Navigation for work in the Baltic.
1903-1905 - came under the jurisdiction of the Main Directorate of Merchant Shipping and Ports.
10/02/1904 - with the 3rd echelon of the II Pacific Squadron (cap. 1st rank Egoriev) left Libau for Skagen for a trip to the Pacific Ocean. On October 5, 1904, by order of the commander, Skagen had trawling experience. The ERMAK and the towing steamer ROLLAND were driving - the trawl burst. Skagen has a feed machine breakdown. Commander R.K. Felman was walking on a whaleboat to the flagship for a report - the artillery piece was fired upon. fire from the squadron battleship "PRINCE SUVOROV".
10.20.1904 - left for Russia with the faulty destroyer "PROSRIVYY".
01/20/1905 - at a parking lot in Riga, order to go to help the Separate detachment of Rear Admiral Nebogatov.
01/24/1905 - left for Libau. Arriving on January 25, 1905, he broke the ice at the outport - he helped the BBO go to test vehicles and fire.
02/02/1905 - a separate detachment of Nebogatov was taken to the roadstead with the port barges.
Summer 1905 - escorting the caravan to the mouth of the river. Yenisei with cargo for the Trans-Siberian Railway. After the Russian-Japanese War, MTiP was commissioned.
1909 - the plan for a voyage from the Baltic to the Bering Strait for navigation was not fulfilled. 1899-1909 spent about 620 ships in the ice.
10/10/1908 - the armored cruiser "OLEG" was removed from the reef at Cape Steinort.
09/23/1909 - received a radio station.
At the end of 1910, the cruiser "OLEG" was driven through the ice through the Sea Canal for repairs to the Franco-Russian plant.
11/14/1914 - drafted into the Baltic Fleet.
Beginning 03.1915 - with the icebreakers “TSAR MIKHAIL FEDOROVICH” and “PETER THE GREAT”, the cruiser “RURIK” was escorted to Kronstadt from Revel after an accident near the island. Gotland.
End of 03.1915 - spent with the icebreaker "TSAR MIKHAIL FEDOROVICH" to the island. Era battleships "SLAVA" and "TSESAREVICH".
1915-1916 - major repairs. Later in the OVR of the Sea Fortress of Emperor Peter the Great (Revel).
06/22/1916 - in Revel.
09.1917 - in Kronstadt.
10/25/1917 - went over to the side of Soviet power.
By the middle of 02.1918 - he came to Revel.
02.22-27.1918 - took the ships of the Baltic Fleet to Helsingfors.
03/12/17/1918 - with the icebreaker “VOLYNETS” on the “Ice” voyage, he brought 4 battleships and 3 cruisers to Kronstadt.
03/29/1918 - reached Helsingfors, but from artillery shelling from the island. Lavensari went back.
03/30/1918 - again at sea. 04/01/1918 after shelling from the icebreaker "TARMO" returned.
04/05/1918 - from the monastery Rodsher led the second detachment to Kronstadt (2 LK 2 KR 3 PL and others). Arrived on 19.04. 1918 Then until 22.04. 1918 led the third detachment. For the campaign - the Honorary Red Banner of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
From 05.1918 - storage. 09/24/1918 - handed over to the Head of the NKPS.
Since 1919 - renamed “Stenka Razin” (the name did not stick).
11/11/1919 - 05/29/1920 - the Baltic Fleet has a slump in Petrograd.
Beginning 04.1921 - the first to come to Kronstadt after the defeat of the uprising.
In the fall of 1921 - repairs at the Baltic Shipyard.
From 12/15/1921 - postings to Petrograd.
By the fall of 1922 - in the Icebreaker Squadron of the NKVT. In winter - spring 1922 - 1923. 108 ships entered and left the port.
By the fall of 1924 - subordinated to the Leningrad Trade Port Administration. On 12.1924 we replaced the broken propeller without going into the dock.
02.22-04.07.1929 - worked on lease in the Kiel Canal (Germany). That year he led over 500 ships in the ice. By mobile According to the 1930 plan, the plan was to arm 2,102 mm. 4 37 mm. 4 pool.
01/30/1931 - subordinated to the People's Commissariat of Water.
03.1931 - inspection by the commission of the Leningrad military port for weapons.
12/19/1931 - order to begin work (2 102 mm. 4 76 mm. 2 37 mm. 2 pool) - must be carried out by 04/01/1932 - house named after A. Marti (Admiralteysky) - 12/23/1931 .cancel.
Since June 20, 1934 - leased by the State Emergency Service. 30.06. went to the Kara Sea and discovered islands named in honor of S.M. Kirov.
12.1934 - new lease agreement. At the end of the year I went on escort to the Baltic. Since spring in the Arctic.
Since 1935 - carried the Sh-2 aircraft. From ser. 02.1938 participated in the removal of polar explorers from the North Pole 1 station - lost its side propellers. 02/21/1938 - received the removed polar explorers from the TAIMYR GISU 02/28. bringing them to Murmansk.
08/28/1938 - reaching the point 83°06"N and 139°09"E. brought the icebreakers "SADKO" and "MALYGIN" out of the drift - "GEORGIY SEDOV" continued it.
1938 - traveled 13,000 miles (2,617 in ice).
Having left for the Baltic 02-05.1939, repairs in Kronstadt.
04/09/1939 - subordinated to the NKMF. In the fall of 1939 I was in the Kola Hall. Beginning of 12.1939 he left Murmansk for Liepaja and Leningrad. Arriving on December 22, 1939, he entered the Red Baltic Fleet.
In the afternoon of December 31, 1939, he took the battleship “OCTOBER REVOLUTION” out to sea from Kronstadt to shell Biorke. 01/02/1940 brought to Seskar Island and then led back.
End of 01.1940 - unsuccessfully fired at about. Sommers is a Finnish icebreaker "TARMO" and is armed (4 76 mm. 4 45 mm. 4 bullets).
Mid-04.1940 - led the TR caravan to Hanko - when he came back he was disarmed.
06/20/1940 - GUSMP was commissioned. To the beginning WWII repairs in Leningrad.
06/27/1941 - subordinated to the Red Banner Baltic Fleet and armed (2,102 mm. 2,76 mm).
From the end of 07.1941 - 2 102 mm, 4 76 mm, 2 45 mm, 4 bullets. Team of over 250 people. 09.09. During an air raid, the bridge and wheelhouse were damaged by shrapnel.
10/04/1941 - accepted into the special forces detachment of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet.
11-12.1941 - wiring in the Kronstadt – Leningrad Sea Canal. On 26.11, 01 and 05.12 shells hit - repairs were carried out by the crew. At 22.45 on December 8, 1941, a PDO landmine exploded near Peterhof (1 person died). The case was damaged, but it continued to work.
13-15.12 and 26-27.12.1941 led ships standing in ice from about. Lavensari (including submarine "K 51").
12/28/1941 - arrived in Kronstadt. Since January 1942, due to a lack of coal, things have been sagging in Leningrad.
06/10/1942 - the hull was damaged by a nearby bomb explosion. On August 1, 1942, almost the entire crew (except 15 people) went to the front.
By 02/24/1944 - carried 6 45 mm air defense guns.
06/17/1944 - disarmed.
06.11.1944 - excluded from the lists and handed over to the Leningrad commercial port.
From 12.1944 - postings near Leningrad.
After the Great Patriotic War, on March 23, 1946, it was subordinated to the Ministry of Marine and Fleet.
08.1946 - removed a Soviet floating dock that had landed on rocks near Gothenburg and took it to Bergen.
In the winter of 1947, he saved the tug "APPOLO" off Swinemunde and the steamer "VALDAI" off Denmark. That year I worked in the Arctic.
1948 - beginning of 07.1950 - repairs in Antwerp.
03/26/1949 - received the Order of Lenin for the Second World War and the development of the Northern Sea Route.
From 07/28/1950 - in Murmansk and entered the Arkhangelsk (since 1953 - Murmansk) Arctic Shipping Company.
Since 1953 - carried a radio direction finder.
15.03. 1953 - subordinated to the MMRF.
In the spring of 1954, an MI-1 helicopter was assigned for reconnaissance.
From August 25, 1954 - at MMF.
1954 - work in the Western Arctic.
07-09.1955 - escort through the NSR of the EON-66 convoy from the cruisers "ADMIRAL SENYAVIN" and "DMITRY POZHARSKY", 10 submarines and about 15 small warships and APU.
1958 - provision of hunting industry in the Barents Sea.
End of 1962 - last flight to the Arctic.
1963 - decision of the Council of Ministers and the Central Committee of the CPSU to permanently park it. Stood at the pier of the Murmansk shipyard.
In the spring of 1964, the decision was reversed.
05/23/1964 - by order No. 107, the MMF was scrapped. Attempts to preserve it as a museum are unsuccessful. Then it sucks.
Since 1966 - leisurely dismantling at berth No. 8 in Murmansk. Beginning 70s after removal of superstructures, machinery and boilers, removal to shipbreaking near Cape Verde in Murmansk. By 1975 it was completely dismantled.

On March 4, 1899, thousands of surprised people walked along the Kronstadt pier. Despite a meter-thick layer of ice, a huge ship called “Ermak” approached the town. For the inhabitants of Kotlin Island, the ice plowman was not a miracle - after all, the world's first icebreaker, the Pilot, was designed by their fellow countryman Mikhail Britnev. But that car began to sail in the Gulf of Finland only at the end of April, when the ice became thin. Therefore, the appearance of the icebreaker in Kronstadt in early March caused genuine surprise among the townspeople - it was Admiral Makarov’s finest hour. He achieved his goal.

Just two years ago, in a memo to the head of the Maritime Ministry, Stepan Makarov proposed creating a powerful icebreaker for navigation in Arctic waters. But his application was rejected. The admiral did not accept this. What he did today would be called a smart PR campaign. To familiarize the public with his project, the admiral prepared a series of lectures. One of them - “Towards the North Pole - all the way through” - was of great interest to journalists, and soon the whole of St. Petersburg had heard about his idea.

Among others, Dmitry Mendeleev became interested in the idea of ​​​​building an icebreaker: the outstanding chemist subsequently participated with the admiral in the development of the machine. The key figure in the project was Finance Minister Witte. Makarov and Mendeleev convinced him that the project would pay for itself. In November 1897, Witte introduced the tsar to the project and received his approval. Just a year later, construction of the icebreaker was completed at the Armstrong Whitworth shipyard in Newcastle.

An interesting detail: during the construction of the ship, Makarov was concerned that when sailing in ice, the icebreaker would get holes and sink. So he made a 1:48 scale zinc model of the ship with exactly the same waterproof compartments in the bottom. All compartments had holes closed with plugs. During experiments in the bathtub, filling 1-2 compartments with water, Makarov became convinced that his fears were in vain. Therefore, when the icebreaker received a serious hole during its first test voyage to the Arctic, the admiral was calm. He knew that the car was in no danger.

The icebreaker, which cost the empire 1.5 million rubles, paid for itself almost instantly. In the winter of 1899, during a snowstorm, the newest battleship Admiral General Apraksin ran aground off the island of Gogland. If not for the Ermak, the ship worth 4.5 million rubles would have received significant damage. Later, the icebreaker will repeatedly rescue a wide variety of ships.

Almost 100 people on board the Ermak worked as stokers. Technical details. The Ermak cut ice in the same way as modern icebreakers - it climbed onto the ice field and broke it with its weight. The trim system helped the ship overcome especially thick ice. The ship had two tanks - the bow and stern, connected by a pipe. When the icebreaker got stuck in the bow tank, water was pumped from the stern tank at high speed - this helped it cut the ice. The Ermak's propellers were driven by three steam engines with a total power of 9000 hp. The boilers that produced steam were powered by coal. Huge coal bunkers occupied half the length of the icebreaker: the navigation endurance was 4,400 nautical miles, and the cruising speed on the water was 12 knots. It is interesting that the icebreaker was initially equipped with a forward propeller - this solution was used on conventional foreign icebreakers. But in Arctic conditions, the propeller quickly became damaged. and it was replaced with a cone, with which it was possible to crush underwater ice.

Many famous people of that time were associated with the icebreaker Ermak. Among them is Alexander Popov. His first radiogram was sent specifically to the commander of the Ermak during the rescue of the battleship off the island of Gogland. Popov was sincerely happy: his invention helped save human lives.

But luck did not always accompany the Makarov icebreaker. The admiral hoped to reach the North Pole on the Ermak. This is what Dmitry Mendeleev wished for him. When the icebreaker first arrived in St. Petersburg, the chemist wrote to the sailor: “Ice, locking St. Petersburg, you have won, congratulations. I expect the same success in the polar ice.” It was not possible to repeat the success. No matter how hard Makarov tried, his ship was not powerful enough to overcome the ice of the high Arctic latitudes. The limit for the icebreaker was 81 degrees 28 minutes north latitude. The admiral's ill-wishers gloated.

But what is surprising: low-power compared to modern icebreakers, the Ermak went through three wars - the Japanese, the First and Second World Wars - and served in the Far North for more than 60 years! Only in 1963 it was written off. They were going to make a monument-museum on the basis of the world's first Arctic icebreaker, but enthusiasts were unable to defend the car. The famous icebreaker was sent for melting down.

Fortunately, artifacts from the Ermak have been preserved in the country’s museums. In Murmansk there is a monument to the icebreaker, built around its original three-ton anchor. In St. Petersburg, the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic houses the ship's steering wheel, and the Moscow Museum of the Maritime Fleet contains many items from the Ermak's wardroom. Things continue to preserve the spirit of one of the most grandiose cars of its time.

We thank the Museum of the Maritime Fleet (Moscow) and the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic (St. Petersburg) for their help in preparing the material.

Sometimes on weekends we publish answers to various quizzes for you in Question and Answer format. We have a variety of questions, both simple and quite complex. Quizzes are very interesting and quite popular, we just help you test your knowledge. And we have another question in the quiz - In which country was the icebreaker Ermak built?

A: Russia
B: Germany
C: Netherlands
D: United Kingdom

Correct answer: D: United Kingdom

The construction of the icebreaker was carried out in England at the Newcastle shipyard. To be sure of the reliability of his “brainchild” in the conditions of the Arctic, Makarov made a zinc model of the ship on a scale of 1:48 with exactly the same waterproof compartments in the bottom. Under experimental conditions, filling one or two compartments with water, Makarov became convinced that the calculations were correct. When the icebreaker Ermak received a serious hole during its first test voyage to the Arctic, the admiral was confident that the ship would not lose its buoyancy and performance.

The first-born of ships of its class, Ermak cut ice in the same way as modern icebreakers: it climbed onto the ice field and broke it with its weight. The trim system (designed to free the icebreaker from jamming and provide the necessary landing) helped the ship overcome particularly thick ice. Two tanks: bow and stern, were connected by a pipe. When the icebreaker got stuck, water was pumped into the bow tank from the stern tank at high speed - this helped cut the ice.

Ermak, low-powered compared to modern icebreakers, went through three wars - the Japanese, World War I and World War II. After the war he served in the Far North. On March 26, 1949, in connection with its half-century anniversary, the icebreaker Ermak was awarded the Order of Lenin for military services during the Great Patriotic War and the development of the Northern Sea Route. Only in 1963 it was written off. They were going to make a monument-museum on the basis of the world's first Arctic icebreaker, but they failed to defend the famous icebreaker. He was sent to be melted down.

In November 1897, the government allocated money for the construction of the icebreaker and a commission headed by Admiral Makarov began developing technical specifications. The commission included D. I. Mendeleev, engineers N. I. Yankovsky and R. I. Runeberg, F. F. Wrangel and others.

The icebreaker was laid down in Newcastle on the stocks of the English company Armstrong Whitworth in December 1897 by order of Russia. It was the first ship of its class in the world, capable of crossing heavy ice two meters thick. "Ermak" was launched a month later than the contract period and after factory tests was put into operation.

On February 19, 1899, a commercial flag was raised on the ship (“Ermak” was assigned to the Ministry of Finance and was not part of the navy). On February 21, the icebreaker returned to its homeland; solid ice awaited it in the Gulf of Finland (that winter the ice in the gulf was unusually heavy, up to a meter thick). On March 1 we reached the edge of the ice. For some time, the icebreaker moved very easily at a speed of 7 knots, but in the area of ​​Gogland Island the ship stopped: the ice field turned out to be too heavy, it had to be bypassed. On March 4, the ship arrived in Kronstadt. The ship was greeted with special celebration: a crowd of people, a military band, a high reception.

But already on March 9, the icebreaker left for its first mission - news arrived about 11 steamships jammed in the Revel area. The ships were successfully rescued and escorted to the port. On April 4, at two o'clock in the afternoon, "Ermak", easily breaking the Neva ice, stood near the Nikolaevsky Bridge in the capital of the empire.

On May 29, 1899, "Ermak" again left Newcastle to the north - on its first trip to the Arctic Ocean. Spitsbergen was reached, the machine's mechanisms were tested in the difficult conditions of the Arctic.

The identified deficiencies were eliminated in England within a month (the front propeller was removed, the hull was strengthened). On June 14 of the same year, “Ermak” again went on a polar voyage. The crew of the ship, led by S. O. Makarov, carried out a great deal of scientific work on the study of northern ice, oceanography, and ocean fauna. Once, having stumbled upon hummocks, the ship received a hole, which was repaired, but the ship could no longer continue intensive research and returned to England for repairs.

Icebreaker "Ermak". Replacing the bow. England 1900.

A commission was created to analyze the causes of the incident, the result of which was the decision to operate the icebreaker only in the waters of the Gulf of Finland. Here, in the winter of 1899-1900, Ermak managed to save the cruiser Gromoboy, which ran aground and was covered in ice between St. Petersburg and Kronstadt.

He took an active part in the rescue of the battleship Admiral General Apraksin, which ran aground near the island of Gogland. During this “Ermak” action, the invention of the Russian scientist Alexander Popov, the radiotelegraph, was used for the first time in the world. Thanks to the connection between the ship's radio station and the shore one (Kotka), a group of fishermen carried away on an ice floe was rescued.

During the Russo-Japanese War, the Ermak, having broken the ice in the port of Libau, led the squadron of Rear Admiral Nebogatov into the clear, opening its way to the Far East. During the first 12 years of operation, the icebreaker spent over a thousand days in ice.

On November 14, 1914, the icebreaker was enlisted in the Baltic Fleet and continued to escort ships and vessels in the Gulf of Finland. When German troops approached Revel in February 1918, the icebreaker removed all ships capable of moving from the port and brought them to Helsingfors.

Soon, on a voyage from Helsingfors to Kronstadt, Ermak, together with other icebreakers, guided 211 warships, auxiliary and merchant ships through the Gulf of Finland. The leader of the campaign and at the same time namorsi of the Baltic Fleet, caperang Shchastny, thereby saved the entire combat core of the Baltic Fleet. For participation in the “ice campaign” “Ermak” was awarded the honorary revolutionary Red Banner of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. Schastny was shot.
After this, the icebreaker returned to peaceful service and in 1920-1930 provided cargo transportation in the Baltic, Arctic and White Sea.

Icebreaker "Ermak"

The idea of ​​creating a powerful icebreaker suitable for conducting research in the Arctic and extending navigation in Russian ports was first thought about by the outstanding figure and innovator of the Russian Navy, Vice Admiral Stepan Osipovich Makarov. Makarov expressed the idea of ​​​​creating such a vessel in the winter of 1892 precisely in connection with the problem of reaching the North Pole. The admiral began the actual implementation of the project five years later. In October-November 1897, a commission was created to develop specifications for the future icebreaker, in which D.I. took part. Mendeleev, as well as a number of engineers and shipbuilders. Soon a competition took place between three companies - Burmeister and Wein (Denmark), Armstrong, Whitworth and Co. (Britain) and Pillau (Germany). The most favorable conditions were offered by Armstrong's company, so the choice fell on it.

Basic technical data of the Ermak: length - 97.5 m, width - 21.64 m, draft - 8.55 m; displacement - 8730 tons; steam engine power – 6950 hp; speed – 14 knots; ice penetration 0.8-1.6 m; crew (during different periods of service) 102-150 people.

The construction of the icebreaker proceeded at an accelerated pace and on February 4, 1899 the ship was presented for delivery, and a month later the Ermak entered the Kronstadt harbor. The icebreaker calmly overcame ice 0.6-0.9 m thick. In 1900, Ermak took part in the rescue of the coastal defense battleship Admiral General Apraksin, which on November 13, 1899, as a result of a navigation error, jumped onto a sandbank in the south -eastern coast of Gogland Island. In April 1900, Ermak managed to pull the battleship off a rock ridge and bring it safely to the port.

Soon the first scientific expeditions took place, organized by S.O. Makarov. The first voyage lasted from May 29 to June 14, 1900. Near the southern tip of Spitsbergen, a leak was discovered in the hull, and the icebreaker had to return back to Newcastle for repairs. But the damage to the hull was minor and overall the expedition turned out to be quite effective. The second voyage began on July 14 and ended on August 16 of the same year. His route also took place in the Spitsbergen area. Another campaign took place from May 16 to September 1, 1901. The ice in the northern part of Novaya Zemlya turned out to be impassable for the Ermak. Nevertheless, it was possible to achieve considerable success - to complete two voyages to Franz Josef Land, to compile a map of Novaya Zemlya from Sukhoy Nos to the Admiralty Peninsula, to collect a large amount of materials on glaciology, deep-sea and magnetic research.

But this voyage put an end to Ermak’s polar expeditions for 33 years. In October, the icebreaker was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Port Affairs Committee and was engaged in servicing the Baltic commercial ports. During the first ten years of operation in the Baltic, Ermak carried over 618 ships through the ice.

In February 1918, in connection with the approach of German troops to Revel, the evacuation of ships of the Baltic Fleet began. This operation was successful thanks to Ermak. During the “Ice Campaign” from Helsing Force to Kronstadt, which lasted from March 12 to April 22, 236 ships and vessels were withdrawn, including six battleships and five cruisers.

Until 1934, the icebreaker provided navigation in the Baltic ice, and that year, for the first time since 1901, it launched an assault on Arctic ice. For the next five years, the icebreaker’s work was structured according to the following scheme: during the year it worked in the Arctic, and at the end of navigation it returned to Leningrad and was engaged in escorting ships in the Baltic.

"Ermak"

In 1938, the icebreaker participated in the evacuation of polar explorers from the North Pole-1 station. The winterers rescued by the icebreaker Taimyr (I.D. Papanin, P.P. Shirshov, E.T. Krenkel and E.K. Fedorov) moved to Ermak and the station’s equipment was reloaded. In December 1939, having crossed the combat zone, the icebreaker moved from Murmansk to Liepaja, and then to Leningrad. He had to work and fight in the Baltic until 1947.

When the Soviet-Finnish War began on November 30, 1939, Ermak continued to free both merchant ships and warships from the ice. Anti-aircraft weapons were installed on the icebreaker, and not in vain: enemy air attacks had to be repelled more than once.

The Ermak met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War while being repaired in the Leningrad port. On June 27, 1941, the icebreaker was transferred to the Red Banner Baltic Fleet along with the crew and all its equipment. Artillery weapons were reinstalled on the icebreaker. In November, it was aimed at providing ice support for ships between Leningrad and Kronstadt. During November and December, the Ermak made 16 voyages, each of which was associated with considerable danger (for example, on December 8, in the Peterhof area, the icebreaker hit a mine, received significant damage, but remained in service). In total, during the first military navigation, “Ermak” piloted 89 ships. But starting in January 1942, due to the lack of coal, it stood idle for almost two and a half years. Operation of the icebreaker became possible only in 1944, after the siege of Leningrad was lifted. On November 6, 1944, Ermak was demobilized from the fleet. The crew returned to the icebreaker (most of whom had gone to fight on the land front) and its 46th ice navigation began in December.

In August 1946, thanks to the Ermak, it was possible to save a floating dock that was towed onto rocks eight miles from the Swedish port of Gothenburg. The dock was pulled off the rocks and towed to the destination port of Bergen. In 1947, the Ermak went to the Arctic for the first time after the war, where, together with the icebreaker North Pole, it escorted caravans in the Kara Sea. In 1948-1950 The icebreaker was undergoing repairs in the port of Antwerp.

On July 28, 1950, Ermak returned to Murmansk. Now it was assigned to the Murmansk commercial port and was under the jurisdiction of the Arkhangelsk (since 1953 - Murmansk) Arctic Shipping Company. In 1953-1954. The icebreaker was equipped with the latest radio equipment, radar, and direction finder. At the same time, one of the first samples of the Mi-1 helicopter was tested on it. In 1954-1955 "Ermak" was the flagship of the icebreaker fleet in the western sector of the Arctic, where it remained the only linear icebreaker at that time. During his time working in the Arctic, he had the opportunity to perform a variety of tasks: escorting and freeing ships in distress, trapped by ice, and helping geological parties cut off from the mainland.

By the beginning of the 1960s. It became clear that due to the significant age of the vessel, as well as the entry into operation of the nuclear icebreaker Lenin and new diesel-electric icebreakers, further operation of the Ermak became unprofitable. At the end of 1962, he made his last voyage to the Arctic, from which he returned to Murmansk, accompanied by the nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin. A ceremonial welcome was prepared for the Ermak: it walked along the line of warships, which greeted it with crossed beams of searchlights.

The government and the Ministry of the Navy received numerous letters from sailors and polar explorers with proposals to turn the Ermak into a monument ship. I.D. took an active part in this. Papanin. The discussion also took place on the pages of various newspapers, including Pravda. Finally, on December 12, 1963, an order was signed by the Minister of the Navy on the free transfer of Ermak to the Murmansk Higher Naval School. But this decision was opposed by officials from the Ministry of Marine Fleet, headed by Deputy Minister A.S. Kolesnichenko (it was he who spoke in one of the newspaper discussions with the words that “... the ship does not have any special merits”). Kolesnichenko reached the highest authorities, right up to N.S. Khrushchev and, unfortunately, achieved his goal: on May 23, 1964, the Minister of the Navy issued an order No. 107 to write off the Ermak and cancel the previous order. For cutting up the ship, Vtorchermet asked for approximately twice the amount required for repairs and permanent installation of the icebreaker...

This is how an Arctic veteran ended his life in an absurd way. The memory of him remained in the exhibition of museums in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Murmansk and Odessa, where some relics from the Ermak were transferred. And ten different geographical locations in the Arctic and Antarctic are named in honor of “Ermak”. In 1976, the Finnish-built diesel-electric icebreaker Ermak entered service.

This text is an introductory fragment. From the book Lost Victories of Soviet Aviation author Maslov Mikhail Alexandrovich

Participation of the A-7 gyroplane in the expedition on the icebreaker "ERMAK" At the beginning of 1938, the fate of four Soviet polar explorers, who were landed in 1937 on a drifting ice floe near the North Pole, led by Ivan Papanin, began to raise concerns. The ice floe was carried further and further towards warm currents,

From the book Great Generals and Their Battles author Venkov Andrey Vadimovich

Ermak Timofeevich (1540–1585) Ermak Timofeevich is a legendary personality. There is no exact information about its origin. Some researchers are looking for his birthplace in the Urals, others in the Don, others consider him a baptized Tatar prince, and still others, finally, see him as a miracle

From the book Richard Sorge - notes on the margins of a legend author Chunikhin Vladimir Mikhailovich

V. SUVOROV. "ICEBREAKER". Chapter 30. Why Stalin did not believe Richard Sorge."...Soviet military intelligence is not so stupid as to publish the most interesting messages from Sorge. But analysis of even a relatively small number of published messages from Sorge baffles us, not

From the book 100 Great Ships author Kuznetsov Nikita Anatolievich

Icebreaker "Krasin" Icebreaker "Svyatogor" was built at the shipyard "V.G. Armstrong, Mitchell and Co." in the English city of Newcastle on a Russian order, its prototype was the famous "Ermak". The new ship was intended to extend navigation on the White Sea and had the following

From the book Russian Icebreaker Fleet, 1860s - 1918. author Andrienko Vladimir Grigorievich

Nuclear icebreaker "Arktika" "Arktika" became the first in a series of six nuclear icebreakers of Project 10520, the construction of which began in 1972 and was completed in 2007 (with the commissioning of the icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy"). The main tasks of these nuclear-powered ships are to serve the Northern

From the book On the Battleship “Prince Suvorov” [Ten years in the life of a Russian sailor who died in the Battle of Tsushima] author Vyrubov Petr Alexandrovich

III. What is an icebreaker? A clear concept of what an icebreaker was did not emerge immediately, and even in the 20th century. different definitions were given. In the most famous Russian encyclopedia of the late 19th – early 20th centuries, published by Brockhaus and Efron, this definition is missing. In the help (article)

From the author's book

§ 2. “Icebreaker Experience” In 1865, military engineer Colonel N.L. Euler (at that time the head of the Naval Construction Unit of the Kronstadt port) tried to implement the initiative of the main commander of the port in a rather original way. He suggested using it to break ice

From the author's book

§ 1. “Icebreaker 1” By the beginning of the last decade of the 19th century. Russia had two relatively modern sea trading ports on the Black Sea - Odessa and Nikolaev. In both cases, navigation was interrupted in winter for several weeks a year due to the appearance of ice on

From the author's book

§ 2. “Icebreaker 2” In Libau (Liepaja), simultaneously with a significant expansion of the activities of the commercial port, which was considered ice-free and in winter is actually the outport of the St. Petersburg port, closed for almost 5 months by ice, construction was underway

From the author's book

§ 4. “Icebreaker” 3 The initiator of the construction of the icebreaker for the Odessa commercial port was the Odessa mayor, who every year, starting in 1891, “entered into relations” on this matter with the ministries of communications, finance and internal affairs. The agreement of the three mighty

From the author's book

§ 5. “Advance” and “Saratov Icebreaker” Despite the improvement in the designs of port icebreakers that appeared in Russian waters in the last decade of the 19th century, the Steinhaus form was used not only in the “Gaydamak”, but in 2 more port icebreakers of the “Hamburg type” -

From the author's book

V. The unique “Ermak” (1897–1901) At the very height of the “icebreaking boom” in Russia, the icebreaker “Ermak” appeared, which became an entire era in the history of world icebreaker building. Its design used everything that had been invented by that time for special “icebreaking” ships.

From the author's book

§ 8. The second icebreaker (“Ob”) and Mendeleev’s icebreaker To the report on the trip to Siberia (1897), S. O. Makarov attached calculations about the operation of 2 icebreakers proposed for construction, calling them conditionally depending on the purpose “Yenisei” and "Ob". The idea of ​​a large icebreaker turned into

From the author's book

§ 1. “Vladimir” and “Icebreaker IV” The last participants in the ending Russian “icebreaker boom” were 2 port icebreakers: “Vladimir” for the Libavsk port (1902) and “Icebreaker IV” for the Mariupol port under construction (1905–1907) . Due to many events in the history of Russia in those years

From the author's book

§ 5.1. "Ermak" Since 1921, when the revival of commercial shipping began in Soviet Russia, "Ermak" worked in the Petrograd (Leningrad port), annually guiding Soviet and foreign ships through the Gulf of Finland and on the approaches to the port. In the fall of 1928, at the request

From the author's book

XXI. Gulf of Finland. "Ermak". March 17, 1899 You were probably surprised to receive my telegram from Revel. However, I myself am still surprised how I got here. It began with the fact that on the 8th we listened to a lecture in the Naval Assembly in the most peaceful manner. Colonel Myshlaevsky read about