561 maritime reconnaissance points. Naval special forces Tof "Kholuai"

Secret part"Holway" of the Pacific Fleet, also known as the 42nd MCI Special Forces (military unit 59190), was created in 1955 in Maly Ulysses Bay near Vladivostok, and was later relocated to Russky Island, where to this day reconnaissance saboteurs undergo combat training. There are many legends about these guys, their physical training admired, they are called the best of the best, the cream of the special forces. Each of them could become the protagonist of an action movie. Today RIA PrimaMedia publishes material military historian and journalist Alexei Sukonkin about the legendary part "Kholuai". In 1993-94 he served in the unit special purpose ground forces, but from time to time some of them were also in the naval special forces.

Preface

“Suddenly for the enemy, we landed at a Japanese airfield and entered into negotiations. After that, ten of us, the Japanese were taken to the headquarters of a colonel, the commander of an aviation unit, who wanted to make hostages out of us. I joined the conversation when I felt that the With us, a representative of the Soviet command, Captain 3rd Rank Kulebyakin, was, as they say, “pinned to the wall.” Looking into the eyes of the Japanese, I said that we fought the entire war in the west and have enough experience to assess the situation, that we will not be hostages. , or better yet, we will die, but we will die together with everyone who is at the headquarters. The difference is, I added, that you will die like rats, and we will try to get out of here. Hero of the Soviet Union Mitya Sokolov immediately stood behind the Japanese colonel. Union Andrei Pshenichnykh locked the door with a key, put the key in his pocket and sat down on a chair, and Volodya Olyashev (after the war - Honored Master of Sports) lifted Andrei along with the chair and placed him directly in front of the Japanese commander. Ivan Guzenkov went to the window and reported that we were not high, and Hero of the Soviet Union Semyon Agafonov, standing at the door, began tossing an anti-tank grenade in his hand. The Japanese, however, did not know that there was no fuse in it. The colonel, forgetting about the handkerchief, began to wipe the sweat from his forehead with his hand and after some time signed the act of surrender of the entire garrison."

This is how naval intelligence officer Viktor Leonov, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, described just one combat operation, in which a handful of daring and brave naval reconnaissance officers of the Pacific Fleet literally forced a large Japanese garrison to lay down their arms without a fight. Three and a half thousand Japanese samurai shamefully surrendered.

Viktor Leonov and comrades after the battle for Seisin. Photo: from the Red Star archive

This was the apotheosis of the combat power of the 140th Marine Reconnaissance Detachment, the harbinger of modern naval special forces, which today everyone knows under the incomprehensible and mysterious name “Holuai”.

Origins

And it all started during the Great Patriotic War. At that time, the 181st reconnaissance detachment was successfully operating in the Northern Fleet, performing various special operations behind enemy lines. The crowning achievement of this detachment was the capture of two coastal batteries on Cape Krestovy (which blocked the entrance to the bay and could easily defeat the landing convoy) in preparation for the landing in the port of Liinakhamari (Murmansk region - editor's note). This, in turn, ensured the success of the Petsamo-Kirkenes landing operation, which became the key to success in the liberation of the entire Soviet Arctic. It is difficult to even imagine that a detachment of several dozen people, having captured only a few guns of German coastal batteries, actually ensured victory in the entire strategic operation, but, nevertheless, this is so - for this purpose the reconnaissance detachment was created in order to sting the enemy with small forces in the most vulnerable place...

The commander of the 181st reconnaissance detachment, Senior Lieutenant Viktor Leonov, and two more of his subordinates (Semyon Agafonov and Andrei Pshenichnykh) became Heroes of the Soviet Union for this short but important battle.

Twice Hero of the USSR Viktor Leonov. Photo: wikipedia.org

In April 1945, part of the personnel of the 181st detachment, led by the commander, was transferred to the Pacific Fleet to form the 140th reconnaissance detachment of the Pacific Fleet, which was supposed to be used in the upcoming war with Japan. By May, the detachment was formed on Russky Island in the amount of 139 people and began combat training. In August 1945, the 140th Reconnaissance Squadron took part in the capture of the ports of Yuki and Racine, as well as the naval bases of Seishin and Genzan. As a result of these operations, chief petty officer Makar Babikov and midshipman Alexander Nikandrov of the 140th reconnaissance detachment of the Pacific Fleet became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and their commander Viktor Leonov received the second Hero star.

However, at the end of the war, all such reconnaissance formations in the USSR Navy were disbanded due to imaginary uselessness.

But soon history turned around...

From the history of the creation of special-purpose units: In 1950, in the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, separate special-purpose companies were formed in each army and military district. In the Primorsky Territory, in particular, three such companies were formed: the 91st (military unit No. 51423) as part of the 5th Combined Arms Army with a deployment in Ussuriysk, the 92nd (military unit No. 51447) as part of the 25th combined arms army with a deployment at the Boets Kuznetsov station and the 88th (military unit No. 51422) as part of the 37th Guards Airborne Corps with a deployment in Chernigovka. The special forces companies were tasked with searching for and destroying the most important military and civilian targets deep behind enemy lines, including enemy nuclear attack weapons. The personnel of these companies were trained in military reconnaissance, mine explosives, and made parachute jumps. For service in such units, people were selected who, for health reasons, were fit to serve in the airborne forces.

The experience of the Great Patriotic War showed the indispensability of such units for decisive actions on enemy communications, and in connection with the unleashing by the Americans " cold war", the need for such units became very clear. The new units showed their high efficiency already at the first exercises, and the Navy became interested in units of this kind.

The head of Navy intelligence, Rear Admiral Leonid Konstantinovich Bekrenev, wrote in his address to the Minister of the Navy:

"...considering the role of reconnaissance and sabotage units in common system fleet reconnaissance, I consider it necessary to carry out the following measures: ... create ... reconnaissance and sabotage units of military intelligence, giving them the name of separate naval reconnaissance divisions ... "

At the same time, captain of the first rank Boris Maksimovich Margolin theoretically justified this decision, arguing that “... the difficulties and duration of training of reconnaissance light divers necessitate their advance preparation and systematic training, for which special units should be created...”.

Descent underwater. Photo: from the archive of Igor Dulnev

And so, by the Directive of the Main Naval Staff of June 24, 1953, similar special intelligence formations are formed in all fleets. In total, five “special purpose reconnaissance points” were formed - in all fleets and the Caspian flotilla.

The Pacific Fleet has its own reconnaissance point created on the basis of the directive of the General Staff of the Navy No. OMU/1/53060ss dated March 18, 1955.

However, “Unit Day” is considered June 5, 1955 - the day when the unit completed its formation and became part of the fleet as a combat unit.

Kholuai Bay

The word “Kholuai” itself (as well as its variations “Khaluai” and “Khalulai”), according to one version, means “lost place”, and although disputes on this subject are still ongoing and sinologists do not confirm such a translation, the version is considered quite plausible - especially among those who served in this bay.

In the thirties, on Russky Island (at that time, by the way, its second name was widely practiced - Kazakevich Island, which disappeared from geographical maps only in the forties of the twentieth century) construction of anti-landing defense facilities for Vladivostok began. Defense facilities included long-term coastal firing points - bunkers. Some especially fortified bunkers even had their own names, for example, “Stream”, “Rock”, “Wave”, “Bonfire” and others. All this defensive splendor was served by separate machine-gun battalions, each of which occupied its own defense sector. In particular, the 69th separate machine gun battalion of the Vladivostok coastal defense sector of the Pacific Fleet, located in the area of ​​​​Cape Krasny in Kholuai Bay (New Dzhigit), served firing points located on Russky Island. For this battalion in 1935, a two-story barracks and headquarters, a canteen, a boiler room, warehouses and a stadium were built. The battalion was stationed here until the forties, after which it was disbanded. The barracks were not used for a long time and began to collapse.

First Deputy Chief of the GRU, Colonel General I. Ya. Sidorov, accepts the report of the commander of the special forces group. Photo: from the archive of V. M. Fedorov

And so, in March 1955, a new military unit with very specific tasks moved here, the secrecy of its existence was brought to the highest limit.

In open use among the “initiates,” the unit bore the name “Recreation Base “Irtek” of the Main Naval Base “Vladivostok.” The unit also received the code name military unit No. 59190 and the open name “42nd Special Purpose Naval Reconnaissance Point.” The people had a “folk” name for the part - “Kholuai” - after the name of the bay.

So what was this part? Why are so many different legends hovering around her, both then and today, sometimes bordering on fantasy?

Birth of a legend

The formation of the 42nd special-purpose maritime reconnaissance point of the Pacific Fleet began in March and ended in June 1955. During formation, the duties of commander were temporarily performed by captain of the second rank Nikolai Braginsky, but the first approved commander of the new unit was... no, not a reconnaissance officer, but the former commander of the destroyer, captain of the second rank Pyotr Kovalenko.

For several months the unit was based on Ulysses, and the personnel lived on board the old ship, and before leaving for the permanent deployment point on Russky Island, reconnaissance sailors at the training base submarines completed an accelerated diving training course.

Having arrived at the unit's location in Kholuai Bay, the reconnaissance sailors first of all took up... construction work, because they had to somehow equip their housing, and no one was going to help them in this matter.

On July 1, 1955, the unit began single combat training of future reconnaissance divers under the training program for special forces units. A little later, combat coordination between the groups began.

In September 1955, the newly formed naval special forces took part in his first exercises - having landed on boats in the Shkotovsky region, naval reconnaissance officers carried out reconnaissance of the Abrek naval base and elements of its anti-sabotage defense, as well as highways in the rear of the conditional “enemy”.

Special purpose group. Photo: from the archive of Igor Dulnev

Already at that time, the command of the unit came to the understanding that selection for naval special forces should be as tough as possible, if not cruel.

Candidates for service who were called up from military registration and enlistment offices or transferred from training units of the fleet faced severe tests - during the week they were subjected to extreme loads, which were reinforced by severe psychological pressure. Not everyone survived, and those who couldn’t stand it were immediately transferred to other parts of the fleet.

But those who survived were immediately enlisted in the elite unit and began combat training. This test week began to be called “hell”. Later, when the United States created its SEAL units, they adopted our practice of selecting future fighters as the most optimal, allowing them to quickly understand what a particular candidate is capable of and whether he is ready to serve in naval special forces units.

The meaning of this “personnel” rigidity came down to the fact that commanders initially had to clearly understand the abilities and capabilities of their fighters - after all, special forces operate in isolation from their troops, and a small group can rely only on itself, and, accordingly, the importance of any team member increases many times over. The commander must initially be confident in his subordinates, and subordinates must be confident in their commander. And that is the only reason why “entrance to service” in this part is so strict. It shouldn't be any other way.

***

Looking ahead, I will say that today nothing is lost: the candidate, as before, will have to go through serious tests, inaccessible for the most part even to physically well-prepared people.

Naval scouts with American weapons. Photo: from the archive of Igor Dulnev

In particular, the candidate must first of all run ten kilometers in a heavy body armor, meeting the running standard provided for jogging in sneakers and sportswear. If you fail, no one will talk to you anymore. If you ran on time, then you immediately need to perform 70 push-ups while lying down and 15 pull-ups on the horizontal bar. Moreover, it is advisable to perform these exercises in their “pure form”. Most people, already at the stage of jogging in a bulletproof vest, suffocating from physical overload, begin to wonder, “Do I need this happiness if this happens every day?” - it is at this moment that true motivation manifests itself.

If a person strives to serve in the naval special forces, if he firmly knows what he wants, he passes this test, but if he has doubts, then it is better not to continue this torment.

At the end of the test, the candidate is placed in the ring, where three hand-to-hand combat instructors fight with him, checking the person’s readiness for the fight - both physical and moral. Usually, if a candidate reaches the ring, he is already an “ideological” candidate, and the ring does not break him. Well, and then the commander, or the person replacing him, talks with the candidate. After this, the harsh service begins...

***

There are no discounts for officers either - everyone passes the test. Basically, the supplier of command personnel for Kholuy are three military schools - the Pacific Naval School (TOVVMU), the Far Eastern Combined Arms School (DVOKU) and the Ryazan Airborne School (RVVDKU), although if a person wants, then nothing prevents an officer from other schools I would like to join the naval special forces.

As he told me former officer special forces, having shown a desire to serve in this unit to the head of fleet intelligence, he immediately had to do 100 push-ups right in the admiral’s office - Rear Admiral Yuri Maksimenko (chief of intelligence of the Pacific Fleet in 1982-1991), despite the fact that the officer passed Afghanistan, and was awarded two military orders. This is how the Pacific Fleet intelligence chief decided to cut off the candidate if he did not complete such a basic exercise. The officer completed the exercise.

A special forces group performs a mission in Kamchatka, 1989. Photo: from the archive of Igor Dulnev

At different times the unit was commanded by:

Captain 1st Rank Kovalenko Petr Prokopyevich (1955-1959);

Captain 1st Rank Guryanov Viktor Nikolaevich (1959-1961);

Captain 1st rank Konnov Petr Ivanovich (1961-1966);

Captain 1st Rank Klimenko Vasily Nikiforovich (1966-1972);

Captain 1st Rank Minkin Yuri Alekseevich (1972-1976);

Captain 1st Rank Zharkov Anatoly Vasilievich (1976-1981);

Captain 1st Rank Yakovlev Yuri Mikhailovich (1981-1983);

Lieutenant Colonel Evsyukov Viktor Ivanovich (1983-1988);

Captain 1st rank Omsharuk Vladimir Vladimirovich (1988-1995) - died in February 2016;

Lieutenant Colonel Gritsai Vladimir Georgievich (1995-1997);

Captain 1st rank Kurochkin Sergey Veniaminovich (1997-2000);

Colonel Gubarev Oleg Mikhailovich (2000---2010);

Lieutenant Colonel Belyavsky Zaur Valerievich (2010-2013);

Let the names of today's commanders remain in the coastal fog for now military secrets…

Exercises and service

In 1956, naval reconnaissance officers began to master parachute jumps. Usually the training took place at naval aviation airfields - according to subordination. During the first training camp, all personnel performed two jumps from a height of 900 meters from Li-2 and An-2 aircraft, and also learned to land “assault-style” from Mi-4 helicopters - both on land and on water.

Another year later, naval reconnaissance officers had already mastered landing on the shore through the torpedo tubes of submarines lying on the ground, as well as returning to them after completing a mission at the coastal facilities of a mock enemy. Based on the results of combat training in 1958, the 42nd Naval Reconnaissance Point became the best special unit of the Pacific Fleet and was awarded the challenge pennant of the Commander of the Pacific Fleet.

In many exercises, intelligence officers developed the necessary skills, acquired specialized knowledge and expressed their wishes regarding the composition of the equipment. In particular, back in the late fifties, naval reconnaissance officers formulated requirements for weapons - they should be light and silent (as a result, samples of special weapons appeared - small-sized silent pistols SMEs, silent grenade launchers "Silence", underwater pistols SPP-1 and underwater assault rifles APS, as well as many other special weapons). The scouts also wanted to have waterproof outerwear and shoes, and their eyes needed to be protected from mechanical damage with special safety glasses (for example, today the equipment set includes four types of safety glasses).

In 1960, the unit's staff was increased to 146 people.

By this time, we had already decided on our specialization, which was divided into three areas:

— part of the personnel was represented reconnaissance divers, which were supposed to conduct reconnaissance of enemy naval bases from the sea, as well as mine ships and port facilities;

- some of the sailors were engaged conducting military reconnaissance- simply put, having landed from the sea, they acted on the shore as ordinary land reconnaissance officers;

— the third direction was presented radio and radio intelligence specialists- these people were engaged in instrumental reconnaissance, which made it possible to quickly detect the most important objects behind enemy lines, such as field radio stations, radar stations, technical observation posts - in general, everything that emitted any signals into the air and was subject to destruction first queue.

Naval special forces began to receive special underwater carriers - in other words, small underwater vehicles that could deliver saboteurs over long distances. Such a carrier was the two-seat "Triton", later - also the two-seat "Triton-1M", and even later the six-seat "Triton-2" appeared. These devices allowed saboteurs to quietly penetrate directly into enemy bases, mine ships and piers, and perform other reconnaissance tasks.

These were very secret devices, and the more “horrible” was the story when a naval special forces officer, secretly escorting containers with these devices (in civilian clothes under the guise of an ordinary cargo forwarder), suddenly heard with a trembling knees how a slinger was in charge of reloading a container from a railway platform on truck, shouted loudly to the crane operator: " Petrovich, pick it up carefully, there are NEWTs here"... and only when the officer pulled himself together, stopped trembling and calmed down a little, he realized that no leak of top-secret information had occurred, and the unlucky slinger only meant THREE TONS of container weight (that’s how much the Triton-1M weighed), and not the most secret "Tritons" that were inside...

For reference:

"Triton" is the first carrier for open-type divers. Immersion depth - up to 12 meters. Speed ​​- 4 knots (7.5 km/h). Range - 30 miles (55 km).

"Triton-1M" is the first closed-type carrier for divers. Weight - 3 tons. Immersion depth is 32 meters. Speed ​​- 4 knots. Range - 60 miles (110 km).

"Triton-2" is the first closed-type group carrier for divers. Weight - 15 tons. Immersion depth is 40 meters. Speed ​​- 5 knots. Range - 60 miles.

Currently, these types of equipment are already outdated and removed from use. combat personnel. All three samples are installed as monuments on the territory of the unit, and the decommissioned Triton-2 apparatus is also presented at the street exhibition of the Museum of Military Glory of the Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok.

Currently, such underwater carriers are not used for a number of reasons, the main one of which is the impossibility of using them covertly. Today, naval special forces are armed with more modern underwater carriers "Sirena" and "Proteus" of various modifications. Both of these carriers allow for the secret landing of a reconnaissance group through a submarine's torpedo tube. "Siren" "carries" two saboteurs, and "Proteus" is an individual carrier.

Insolence and sport

Some of the legends about “Kholuai” are associated with the steady desire of the military personnel of this unit to improve their reconnaissance and sabotage skills at the expense of their own comrades. At all times, the “Kholuai” caused many problems to daily duty personnel serving on ships and in coastal units of the Pacific Fleet. There were frequent cases of “training” abductions of orderlies, duty documentation, and theft of vehicles from careless military drivers. It cannot be said that the command of the unit specifically assigned such tasks to the scouts... but for successful actions of this kind, the reconnaissance sailors could even receive short-term leave.

There are many fairy tales about how special forces soldiers “are thrown out in the middle of Siberia with one knife, and he must survive and return to his unit.”

No, of course, no one is thrown out anywhere with just a knife, but during special tactical exercises, reconnaissance groups can be sent to other regions of the country, where they are given various training reconnaissance and sabotage tasks, after which they need to return to their unit - preferably undetected . At this time, the police, internal troops and state security agencies are intensively looking for them, and citizens are told that they are looking for conditional terrorists.

In the unit itself, sports have been cultivated at all times - and therefore one should not be surprised that even today, at almost all naval competitions in strength sports, martial arts, swimming and shooting, prize-winning places are usually taken by representatives of “Kholuy”. It should be noted that preference in sports is given not to strength, but to endurance - it is this physical skill that allows a naval reconnaissance to feel confident both on foot or ski trips, and in long-distance swimming.

Unpretentiousness and the ability to live without excesses even gave rise to a peculiar saying on “Kholuay”:

“Some things are not necessary, but some things you can limit yourself to.”

It contains a deep meaning, largely reflecting the essence of a naval reconnaissance officer of the Russian Navy - who, being content with little, is capable of accomplishing a lot.

Healthy special forces chauvinism also gave rise to the special audacity of the intelligence officers, which became a source of pride for the naval special forces soldiers. This quality was especially evident during exercises, which were and are being carried out almost constantly.

One of the admirals of the Pacific Fleet once said:

“The guys of the naval special forces were brought up in the spirit of love for the Motherland, hatred of enemies and the awareness that they are the elite of the fleet. Not for the feeling of their own superiority over others, but in the sense that huge public funds are spent on them, and their duty, in if something happens, justify these costs...”

I remember in my early childhood, in the mid-eighties, on the embankment near the S-56 I saw a lonely wandering sailor with a parachutist badge shining on his chest. At this time, a ferry was loading at the pier, heading to Russky Island (there were no bridges at that time). The sailor was stopped by a patrol, and he presented his documents, gesticulating desperately, pointing at the ferry, which was already raising the ramp. But the patrol, apparently, decided to detain the sailor for some offense.

And then I saw a whole performance: the sailor sharply pulled the cap of the patrol leader right over his eyes, snatched his documents from his hands, slapped one of the patrolmen in the face, and rushed headlong to the departing ferry!

And the ferry, I must say, had already moved one and a half to two meters away from the pier, and the sailor-paratrooper overcame this distance in a graceful jump, grabbed the ferry's railing, and there he was already pulled on board by the passengers. For some reason, I have no doubts in which unit that sailor served...

Return of a Legend

In 1965, twenty years after the end of World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Captain First Rank Viktor Leonov, came to the unit. Several photographs have survived in which the “legend of naval special forces” is captured with military personnel of the unit, both officers and sailors. Subsequently, Viktor Leonov would visit the 42nd reconnaissance point several more times, which he himself considered a worthy brainchild of his 140th reconnaissance detachment...

Leonov arrived in a naval special forces unit, 1965. Photo: from the archive of V. M. Fedorov

In 2015, Viktor Leonov returned to the unit forever. On the day of the 60th anniversary of the formation of the reconnaissance point on the territory of the military unit, a monument to the real legend of naval special forces, Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Nikolaevich Leonov, was unveiled in a solemn ceremony.

Monument to Leonov. Photo: Sergey Lanin, RIA PrimaMedia

Combat use

In 1982, the moment came when the Motherland demanded the professional skills of naval special forces. From February 24 to April 27, a regular special forces group performed combat service tasks for the first time, being on one of the Pacific Fleet ships.

In 1988 - 1989, a reconnaissance group equipped with Siren underwater carriers and all the necessary combat equipment was in combat service for 130 days. A small reconnaissance ship from the 38th brigade of reconnaissance ships of the Pacific Fleet delivered the Kholuaevites to the place of their combat mission. It is too early to say what these tasks were, because they are still hidden under a veil of secrecy. One thing is clear - some enemy has become very ill these days...

In 1995, a group of military personnel from the 42nd Special Purpose Naval Reconnaissance Point took part in a combat operation to establish a constitutional regime in the Chechen Republic.

The group was attached to the 165th Marine Regiment of the Pacific Fleet operating there and, according to the reviews of the senior commander of the Pacific Fleet Marine Corps group in Chechnya, Colonel Sergei Konstantinovich Kondratenko, acted brilliantly. The scouts remained calm and courageous in any critical situation. Five “Kholuaevites” laid down their lives in this war. Ensign Andrei Dneprovsky was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

From the award list:

"… organized the training of the battalion's freelance reconnaissance group and skillfully acted as part of it. On February 19, 1995, in a battle in the city of Grozny, he personally saved the lives of two sailors and carried out the body of the deceased sailor A.I. Pleshakov. On the night of March 20-21, 1995, while carrying out a combat mission to capture the Goitein Court heights, A.V. Dneprovsky’s reconnaissance group secretly approached the height, identified and neutralized the militants’ military outpost (one was killed, two were captured). Subsequently, during a short-lived battle, he personally destroyed two militants, ensuring the company’s unhindered approach to the heights and the completion of the combat mission without losses. …".

On the same day, he died heroically while performing a subsequent task... In 1996, a monument to the military personnel of the unit who died in the line of military duty was erected on the territory of the unit.

Names are engraved on the monument :

Hero of Russia, Ensign A. V. Dneprovsky

Lieutenant Colonel A. V. Ilyin

Midshipman V. N. Vargin

Midshipman P.V. Safonov

Chief ship's sergeant K. N. Zheleznov

Petty Officer 1st article S. N. Tarolo

Petty Officer 1st article A. S. Buzko

Foreman 2 articles V. L. Zaburdaev

Sailor V.K. Vyzhimov

Kholuy in our time

Today, “Kholuai”, already in a new look, with a slightly changed structure and strength, after a series of organizational events, continues to live its own life - according to its own special, “special forces” way of life. Many cases of this part will never be declassified, but books will be written about some others. The names of the people who serve here today are not publicly available, and rightly so.

Service in the Naval Special Forces is the work of real men!. Photo: Alexey Sukonkin

Even today, naval reconnaissance officers sacredly honor their combat traditions, and combat training does not stop for a second. Every day, “Kholuaevites” engage in a variety of activities: they train dives (both real ones in the sea and in a pressure chamber), achieving the proper level of physical fitness, practice hand-to-hand combat techniques and methods of covert movement, learn to shoot from a variety of types of small arms, study new technology, which is being supplied to the troops in abundance today (there are now even combat robots in service) - in general, they are preparing at any moment, on the orders of the Motherland, to carry out any assigned task.

All that remains is to wish our intelligence officers to realize their combat skills only at training grounds...

- these are units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation that have special training and are intended to conduct reconnaissance and sabotage operations in coastal areas in the interests of the Navy and the GRU General Staff.

Marine special forces units are available in the navies of many militarily strong countries: the USA, Great Britain, Israel, China, and Turkey. Russia is no exception, having inherited most of the naval power of the USSR. Currently, Navy special forces units are among the most combat-ready and trained for their tasks in the Russian Armed Forces.

Navy special forces soldiers are often called combat swimmers, but correct name their military specialty is “reconnaissance diver”. Being, like the GRU special forces, first of all, highly professional power intelligence, Russian naval special forces very different from army special forces. Both of them are subordinate to the GRU General Staff; their personnel undergo strict selection and rigorous training for actions behind enemy lines. But the structure, combat missions and areas of combat training for ground and naval special forces units are different. There are also nuances in the requirements for personnel selection.

IN open sources There is very little information on Navy special forces. For obvious reasons, the activities of naval special forces in the USSR and Russia have always been secret. However, something can be found in open access. It happens that special forces veterans themselves share information. For example, the magazine “Kommersant-Vlast” No. 14 for 2002 published an interesting interview with Rear Admiral Gennady Zakharov, who in 1967-1990. served in the USSR naval special forces. In 1967, G. Zakharov was appointed commander of the MCI in the Black Sea Fleet. The information he gave in the interview is trustworthy, since it was obtained, which is important, “first-hand”, and is consistent with data from other sources.

When talking about “combat swimmers” and “naval special forces”, you should immediately define the terms. After all, combat swimmers solve specific tasks not only as part of reconnaissance and sabotage units. Actually, the special forces of the Navy are reconnaissance and sabotage units that are operationally subordinate to the GRU. Sometimes the name “Dolphin Squad” appears in the literature, but according to the combat swimmers themselves on specialized forums on the Internet, this is nothing more than an invention of journalists.

OSNB PDSS (special forces for combating underwater sabotage forces and means; formerly called OB PDSS) should not be confused with the special forces of the Navy. These units also include combat swimmers trained in underwater combat and mining/clearance, but the tasks of the OSNB PDSS are directly opposite to the special forces of the Navy - protecting ships and objects of their fleet from enemy underwater special forces. The term “combat swimmers” is correct to use specifically in relation to the personnel of the OSNB PDSS.

BRIEF HISTORY OF NAVY SPECIAL FORCES

Naval reconnaissance and sabotage units began to be created before World War II by many major powers: Great Britain, Italy, and somewhat later Germany. The USSR was no exception. The first experiments on the creation of underwater reconnaissance units were carried out in the Pacific Fleet in 1938. Then a group of scouts in light diving equipment was fired from the torpedo tubes of a submarine at a depth of 15-20 m in order to cut the anti-submarine network to overcome submarine anti-submarine obstacles. Then the group had to go ashore and carry out sabotage against a coastal facility using real weapons and explosives. Similar exercises were conducted before the Great Patriotic War and in the Black Sea Fleet. Reports from these exercises have been preserved and served as the basis for the re-establishment of the USSR naval special forces in 1953.

However, by the beginning of the war, the USSR Navy still did not have specialized reconnaissance and sabotage underwater units. They had to be created in a hurry, since the difficult situation required naval intelligence to launch active operations on the coasts and territories captured by the enemy. On August 11, 1941, the first Soviet unit of combat swimmers, a special purpose company (RON), was formed in Leningrad. In July of the same year, reconnaissance detachments began to be formed in the fleets. However, these units are to a greater extent acted on the shore, landing from the sea or air. They monitored the movements of enemy convoys and carried out sabotage against coastal targets.

But RON fighters specialized in the use of diving equipment and were leaders in this direction. They themselves made much of the necessary equipment: diving suits, breathing apparatus, sealed containers for weapons.

The RON naval special forces have had many outstanding operations under their belt. They took part in the Shlisselburg landing, conducted additional exploration of the “Road of Life” on Lake Ladoga, search and neutralization bottom mines on our fairways. During one of the raids in the Strelna area, RON reconnaissance diver V. Borisov discovered the deployment of German V-2 missiles, with which the Germans were preparing to fire at Leningrad. The coordinates of the firing positions were transferred to the command, after which they were destroyed by naval artillery fire from the Baltic Fleet.

During Operation Burlaki, RON fighters secretly mined a pier with military equipment and working enemy sappers in the Peterhof area. After the mines were detonated, the group led by A. Korolkov successfully returned to base.

One more famous operation RON was a sabotage against their colleagues - Italian combat swimmers, carried out on the night of October 4-5, 1943. Having landed on the coast of the Strelninskaya dam, the reconnaissance saboteurs destroyed the ready-to-use radio-controlled mine boats of the Italians and the ground communication and observation post. Unfortunately, one of the subgroups, led by Senior Lieutenant Permitin, died in this operation.

In August 1944, reconnaissance divers carried out another complex operation - to raise the German submarine U-250, which had been sunk in the Vyborg Bay. This submarine was of interest to the Soviet command, since the surviving and captured commander of the submarine, V. Schmidt, gave contradictory testimony, and German aircraft bombed the area where the submarine was sunk several times, trying to destroy it. The difficulty was that the work had to be carried out at extreme depths, and the design of the boat itself, according to some sources, provided for its detonation in the event of an attempt to rise. However, Soviet scuba divers coped with this task. After the boat was raised, the latest German T-5 torpedoes, previously unknown to military specialists of the USSR and allies, were discovered in its torpedo tubes. Their combat characteristics were significantly superior to the torpedoes of that time, and by the time the T-5 was discovered they had already destroyed 24 British ships and several Soviet ones.

Despite the successful actions of the Soviet naval special forces, RON was disbanded at the end of 1945.

The re-creation of the Navy's special forces began in 1952, when it became clear that the fleets of a potential enemy had similar units in their composition and were actively developing them. The initiator of the formation of naval reconnaissance and sabotage units was Rear Admiral V.K. Bekrenev. On May 29, 1952, the issue of creating special-purpose units was considered by the Minister of the Navy, Vice Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov and approved in the “Action Plan to Strengthen Naval Intelligence,” presented by Rear Admiral Bekrenev on January 24, 1953. At a meeting with the heads of departments of the GRU MGSH, the minister confirmed the decision to create separate naval reconnaissance divisions in the fleets, primarily in the Black Sea and Baltic fleets.

In September 1953, in the area of ​​​​Kruglaya Bay, Sevastopol, the 6th naval reconnaissance point - MRP was located (in 1968 it was reorganized into the 17th Separate Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet with a deployment on Berezan Island, Ochakov). From that moment on, the formation of the Navy special forces in its modern form began. In 1954, the 457th MCI was created in the Baltic Fleet (Parusnoye village, Kaliningrad region), and in 1955 - the 42nd MCI in the Pacific Fleet (initially - Maly Ulysses Bay, final location - Russky Island, Vladivostok ). Methods for training reconnaissance divers are beginning to be recreated, and new equipment for them is being developed.

Since 1953, the Institute of the Navy has had a laboratory of six employees, which carries out developments exclusively in the interests of naval special forces. Until the end of the 1960s, the laboratory created a large number of breathing apparatus and stationary respiratory systems. Since 1957, active development of water propulsion vehicles (self-propelled underwater vehicles, sealed containers, navigation and communication devices, devices and devices for the use of diver carriers) began. As a result, the Soviet naval special forces received modern equipment.

The correctness of the decision to recreate naval special forces was confirmed already in 1955, when during the visit of the Soviet squadron to Portsmouth, England, in the immediate vicinity of the ship "Ordzhonikidze" with N.S. Khrushchev noticed a combat swimmer on board. A command was given to turn the ship's propellers, as a result of which the diver was torn to pieces. He allegedly turned out to be Lieutenant Commander of the British Navy Lionell Buster, nicknamed “Crabbe,” an experienced combat swimmer. At that time he was retired. According to one version, Crabb wanted to study the design of the Ordzhonikidze propellers; according to another, he even wanted to mine the ship. According to G. Zakharov, Buster was indeed engaged in espionage for England, but he did not die in Portsmouth, but was only noticed while on duty on the ship. Crabbe was later caught by the KGB and spent several years in prison in East Germany.

Creation of naval special forces in the 50s. it was difficult. First of all, there was a lack of material resources. The experience was also largely lost. However, in 1960, the structure of the MCI was basically formed. In 1969, the 431st MCI of the Caspian Flotilla of 50 reconnaissance divers was deployed, in 1983 - the 420th MCI in the Northern Fleet (Severomorsk). In 1967, a training detachment was formed in the Black Sea Fleet, which was engaged in the development and mastery of equipment for naval special forces.

Throughout its existence, the special forces of the USSR Navy were engaged in intensive combat training. New mine-explosive devices and means of delivering reconnaissance divers were constantly being tested.

Special forces soldiers took part in mine-explosive operations in the Suez Canal during the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1974-1975. participated in the development regulatory documents on the actions and combat training of reconnaissance divers, constantly conducted exercises on penetration and training mining of various objects in the Kaliningrad region, as well as in Liepaja, Tallinn, Baltiysk, ensured the security of the country's leadership during meetings and negotiations of the heads of the USA and the USSR in Reykjavik in 1986 g and Malta in 1989, held a huge number of other events.

Here it is impossible not to mention the 1988 exercise on infiltration and mining of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant in Sosnovy Bor. Then, despite the training opposition of the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the task of infiltrating and conditionally destroying the object was successfully completed with the simultaneous use of two groups landing from sea and land. Interestingly, during the exercise, one of the groups was accidentally discovered by an elderly mushroom picker. IN wartime the person who discovered the group would most likely be killed on the spot. But under the conditions of the exercises, it was necessary to include a mushroom picker in the group, which, however, led him to complete delight. He wore part of the special forces equipment, prepared food, prepared firewood, specified routes and carried out other assignments until the scouts successfully completed their mission. Based on the conclusions and analysis of this exercise, the security of the LNPP was fundamentally revised and strengthened.

The facts of the combat training biography of the 17th Special Forces Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet until 1992 are interesting. Black Sea Fleet special forces were the first in the USSR to conduct an exercise and practice the task of freeing a ship (hydrofoil) seized by terrorists in 1988, transferring the experience gained to the Alpha anti-terrorism unit. The Black Sea special forces were the first to conduct exercises and solve various problems using combat dolphins and other sea animals. One of the officers of the unit subsequently even became the commander of a newly formed military unit - a dolphinarium in the Cossack Bay of Sevastopol.

With the collapse of the USSR, the 17th naval special forces brigade, stationed on the island. Pervomaisky, suffered a difficult fate. During the confusion that began after the collapse of the Union, the brigade command, not interested in moving from the warm sea to somewhere closer to the Arctic Ocean, decided to take the personnel oath of allegiance to Ukraine. Many officers who did not agree with this decision were transferred to the Baltic, Pacific Ocean and some simply quit. Their place was taken by people who were not so professionally trained, often even very far from both the sea and special forces, but who were nationally conscious. After the brigade was transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the level of its combat training began to fall catastrophically. But that was not the worst thing. In the summer of 1995, during the aggravation of Russian-Ukrainian relations associated with the division of the Black Sea Fleet, the brigade was ordered to allocate and arm 15 sabotage groups, which began a “show of force” - practicing training tasks near the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. In case of withdrawal Russian ships at sea, these training tasks were to become combat missions. And the most well-prepared group of 10 officers and midshipmen was ordered to capture the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the event of the outbreak of hostilities. Thus, the naval special forces of Ukraine almost found themselves drawn into a fratricidal war. Fortunately, fighting haven't started.

Currently, Ukraine, having a dwarf navy, still has naval special forces units, including:

• 73rd Naval Special Operations Center of the Ukrainian Navy, Ochakov (formerly 17th Brigade, then, from the mid-90s - 7th Brigade), consisting of four detachments: underwater mining, underwater demining, reconnaissance and sabotage, special communications .
• 801st separate detachment for combating underwater sabotage forces and means, Sevastopol;
• units of combat swimmers as part of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine “Omega” and “Scat”.

True, according to the testimony of the Ukrainian naval special forces servicemen themselves, the level of their training is low. It is possible that the 73rd center maritime operations further reorganization and downsizing await.

The 431st separate maritime reconnaissance point for special purposes (OMRP SpN), which was stationed in Baku, was more fortunate. He was taken to Russia. From 1992 to 1998, he was stationed near the city of Priozersk, Leningrad region, and then transferred to the city of Tuapse, Krasnodar region.

As for the MCIs stationed on the territory of Russia, the collapse affected them to a much lesser extent than the 17th Special Forces Brigade, and in general, the special forces of the Russian Navy retained high combat effectiveness.

TASKS AND STRUCTURE OF SPECIAL FORCES OF THE RUSSIAN NAVY

The tasks of modern naval special forces include:

• support of amphibious operations;
• mining of enemy ships, their naval bases and bases, hydraulic structures;
• search and destruction of mobile operational-tactical means of nuclear attack, search and destruction of operational control objects, other important targets in coastal zone;
• identifying concentrations of enemy troops and other important targets in the coastal zone, directing and adjusting air and naval artillery strikes against these targets.

IN peacetime The tasks of naval special forces include the fight against terrorism and the exchange of experience with other special units and law enforcement agencies of Russia.

Currently, the special forces of the Russian Navy include four MCIs - one in each fleet:

• Military unit 59190 – 42nd OMRP Special Forces in the Pacific Fleet (Russky Island Vladivostok district);
• 561st OMRP Special Forces in the Baltic Fleet (Parusnoye village, Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region);
• 420th OMRP Special Forces in the Northern Fleet (Polyarny, Murmansk district);
• Military unit 51212 – 137th (formerly 431st) OMRP Special Forces in the Black Sea Fleet (Tuapse).

MRPs are territorially part of the fleets, but are operationally subordinate to the GRU of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces.

In peacetime, the MCI includes 124 people. Of these, 56 are fighters, the rest are technical personnel. The share of technical personnel in naval special forces units is significantly higher than in the GRU special forces. The fighters are divided into groups of 14 people, which are autonomous combat units. Those, in turn, include smaller groups of 6 people: 1 officer, 1 midshipman and 4 sailors.

The MCI has three detachments, each with its own specific actions:

The first detachment specializes in the destruction of coastal objects. As a rule, the detachment's reconnaissance divers reach the target underwater, and then act like ordinary GRU saboteurs.

The second detachment specializes in performing purely reconnaissance missions.

The third detachment is engaged in underwater mining. This involves a covert approach to the target underwater. Specialized diving training is most important for the third group.

A larger naval special forces unit than the MRP is the Special Forces brigade. One naval special forces brigade was deployed in the USSR - the 17th, its strength was 412 people. Currently, there are no deployed naval special forces brigades in the Russian Navy, but it is believed that in the event of the outbreak of war, the 42nd Separate Marine Marine Regiment in the Pacific Fleet will be deployed into a brigade.

As for the OSNB PDSS, they are based at large naval bases. Territorially they report to the commander of the naval base, and operationally to the head of the anti-submarine warfare department of the fleet combat training department.

The squad composition is as follows:

• 160th OOB PDSS (Vidyaevo, Northern Fleet): 60 people.
• 269th OOB PDSS (Gadzhievo, Northern Fleet): 60 people.
• 313 OOB PDSS (Sputnik village, Kola Peninsula, Northern Fleet): 60 people.
• 311th OOB PDSS (Petropavlovsk, Pacific Fleet): 60 people.
• 313th OOB PDSS (Baltiysk, BF): 60 people.
• 473rd OOB PDSS (Kronstadt, BF): 60 people.
• 102nd OOB PDSS (Sevastopol, Ukraine, Black Sea Fleet): 60 people.

OSNB PDSS includes a platoon of divers-miners, a platoon of combat swimmers and teams of radio technicians. OSNB PDSS fighters are armed with AK-74 assault rifles, special types of underwater and dual-medium weapons (APS, ADS assault rifles, SPP-1 pistols), silent weapons (Val assault rifle, APB, PSS pistols), DP-64 anti-sabotage grenade launcher systems, means of mining and demining, technical means of detecting and countering saboteurs.

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT OF THE RUSSIA MARINE SPECIAL FORCES

Marine special forces are designed to operate in three elements: at sea, on land and in the air. Transportation of a reconnaissance and sabotage group to the target can be carried out by any of these three ways, or a combination of them: by land, by air landing (using parachutes from airplanes and by assault from helicopters) and by sea (from submarines, surface ships and Navy boats) Russia). Marine special forces personnel are trained to land in the most difficult, deadly conditions: for example, with a parachute from an extremely low altitude directly into the sea, going ashore in the dark during a storm.

For this, Navy special forces use special equipment:

• individual and group underwater carriers for divers (“Proton”, “Sirena-UM”, etc.) with cargo containers (KT-2, MKT, etc.);
• conventional and diving parachutes (D-6, PO-9, SVP-1 with PV-3, etc.);
• closed-circuit and open-type breathing apparatus (IDA-71u, IDA-75p, AVM-5, etc.). At the same time, personnel performing combat missions work only with closed-cycle devices. Open type devices are used only for backup.

Despite the great successes of the USSR in creating equipment for underwater special forces, it never got rid of a number of shortcomings. According to G. Zakharov, Western combat swimmers use dry-type devices - “mini-submarines” for transportation to the target. Soviet industry took the path of developing “wet” type devices. With such a device, a combat swimmer can survive in warm water for four hours, in cold water - no more than one and a half hours. Soviet underwater mines, despite their high combat qualities, could not dock with the carrier, and they had to be transported using a regular tow rope, which broke, got tangled in the screws, etc.

It is known that from 1975 to the 1990s. The Navy was armed with two-seat midget submarines Triton-1 and Triton-2. 38 units were produced. But at present, these devices have been withdrawn from the fleet and scrapped.

After the collapse of the USSR, another domestic model of an ultra-small submarine was presented - Project 865 Piranha. However, only two submarines were built, and one of them was almost acquired through a figurehead famous drug lord Pablo Escobar. In 1999, both submarines were cut into scrap metal. Therefore, now the Russian naval special forces, apparently, continue to use “wet” type devices as an underwater vehicle.

In addition to the standard small arms of the Russian Armed Forces, the special forces of the Russian Navy are armed with:

• AKS-74M with GP-3 and NSPU-3;
• Silent weapon(PB, APB, AKMS with PBS);
• Special underwater weapons (SPP-1, SPP-1M pistols, special underwater assault rifle APS);
• Scout shooting knife NRS-2;
• A variety of engineering weapons (both various army mines and specialized underwater SPM, UPM, etc.).

The firepower of naval special forces groups can be enhanced by heavy weapons: MANPADS, grenade launchers, ATGMs and other weapons.

For underwater communications, underwater hydroacoustic sound-underwater communication stations (MGV-6v) are used. In addition, Navy special forces are equipped with reconnaissance, navigation, etc. devices.

LANDING MARINE SPECIAL FORCES ON THE WATER: ORDER AND TECHNIQUE

Water landing is perhaps one of the most difficult and dangerous elements of naval special forces training.

The special forces on board the aircraft are in full diving gear. When jumping with a parachute, they are dressed in a GK-5M2 diving suit. GK-5M-1 it does not have a volumetric helmet lock, instead there is a seal with a VM-5 mask. Personal weapons are in rubber covers, equipment is in IKD-5 containers.

During the flight, the parachutists are supplied with oxygen from the aircraft's on-board system. When approaching the landing area, the group commander inspects the personnel and orders to signal their readiness for landing. After this, the paratroopers disconnect the hoses of the on-board oxygen equipment and begin to breathe from their IDA-71P devices. On command, the landing force leaves the transport compartment; the group commander is the last to jump. Landing is carried out using PV-3 parachutes, specially designed for landing divers. It differs from a conventional landing parachute in its increased area, since the weight of a fully equipped diver can reach 180 kg. After the main parachute deploys, the IKD-5 container and reserve parachute are released and go down on fifteen-meter strands. When the container touches the water (this is immediately noticeable by the slowdown in the speed of fall), the parachutist opens the lock triggers, which release the risers of the main parachute.

After diving into the water, divers disconnect the reserve parachute and the main one, and pull the containers towards them by the strand. Then follows a short ascent, the scuba divers join together with strands and begin to move with the help of fins in the direction of the shore. Ahead of them awaits landing, camouflaging diving equipment, rapidly moving inland from the coastline and conducting reconnaissance deep behind enemy lines. As for the main parachutes, they will get wet and sink in 20-30 minutes, thus ceasing to unmask the group.

SELECTION INTO MARINE SPECIAL FORCES, SPECIFICS OF SERVICE AND COMBAT TRAINING

In the USSR, naval special forces units were recruited by conscription. Then it was completely justified. Young people joined the army already quite physically prepared; many had ranks in parachuting and scuba diving. Considering that the service life in the navy was three years, during this time it was possible to train a sufficiently qualified reconnaissance diver. Now the service life in both the Russian army and navy is one year, the quality of conscripts has dropped very much, so staffing naval special forces with conscripts does not look like a good idea. Although, according to the governing documents of the RF Armed Forces, reconnaissance military units of the Special Forces and Special Forces can be recruited from citizens serving both by conscription and by contract.

G. Zakharov describes the selection of conscripts as follows. Naval special forces officers: MCI commander, detachment commander, physiologist and physical training instructor began working with the naval admissions committee. The candidates they liked were selected. Naturally, it was required good health. We tried not to take particularly large ones. The optimal candidate was considered to be about 1.75 m tall and weighing 75-80 kg. Such people withstand the greatest relative loads. We studied the questionnaire and psychological qualities. Orphans and children from single-parent families were eliminated. Preference was given to people from large families: Service in naval special forces is very dangerous even in peacetime.

Also, suitable candidates were selected in Marine Corps “training” exercises. But we must understand that endurance, courage and excellent physical characteristics do not yet guarantee successful service in naval special forces. A kind of psychological stability is especially important here. It happens that a courageous and enterprising person on land becomes completely lost in the underwater environment.

The screening of candidates was carried out in several stages.

First: forced march “thirty” - running 30 km with a weight of 30 kg.

Combat training in the 561st OMRP

Then the elementary test for psychological stability “Night in the Cemetery”. The fighters must spend the night at the graves. Three or four candidates out of a hundred did not pass. Zakharov describes a case when three candidates dug up a grave and began to look for gold in it. Interestingly, they were left in the unit. Subsequently, these turned out to be the most psychologically stable people.

Pipe check. Tough test. Candidates must swim through a tube simulating a submarine's torpedo tube. Its length is 10-12 m, width – 533 mm. At first, the pipe is not completely filled with water. At the final stage, the fighter must swim in light diving equipment through a pipe filled with water. For some, this becomes the moment of truth in terms of suitability for service in underwater special forces. Andrei Zagortsev, in the story “Sailor of the Special Forces,” describes exactly such an incident that happened to him, when he, a physically strong and resourceful young man, scuba diving “in civilian life,” fell into a panic when he found himself in a pipe. The case ended with the candidate losing consciousness and being pulled out of the pipe using a safety rope. Typically, swimming in “clean” water did not cause him any inconvenience, but when swimming in a confined space it turned out that main character prone to claustrophobia. G. Zakharov talks about a fatal incident with a “pipe”, when a fighter, overpowering himself, nevertheless dived into it, but suffered a massive heart attack from fear. All this is important for understanding what naval special forces soldiers have to face.

Blowing the helmet. Go under the water, open the helmet so that it fills with water, close the helmet and blow out the water through the release valve. This is a typical situation. Some, as soon as the water reached their noses, jumped to the surface like a bullet. If a candidate could not pass the test the first time, he was not eliminated, but failure of several attempts meant that the person would not serve in the naval special forces.

Control swim. This is the most serious and at the same time revealing test. If an unsuitable person could somehow have missed the previous two tests, this one objectively showed everyone’s capabilities. After completing light diving training, candidates were given a one-mile underwater swim. Air under a pressure of 170 atmospheres was pumped into the oxygen apparatus cylinder. Under normal conditions calm breathing the oxygen had time to regenerate and the cylinder at the finish line showed a pressure of 165 atmospheres. If a person is psychologically broken, breathes through his mouth, he “eats” all the air and arrives at the finish line with a pressure of 30 atmospheres.

The last test was called the “weak link”. It is very important for naval special forces soldiers psychological compatibility. The fighters sit in the classroom, each is given a group list and a pencil. And the fighter must write a number next to each name: with whom he would like to go on reconnaissance in the first place, with whom - secondly, and with whom - last. Questionnaires are anonymous. After this, the scores were summed up and those with the highest scores were eliminated.

Those who failed the tests were no longer sent back to their units. Someone needed to do chores in the naval special forces.

As you can see, the qualities required for service in the Navy special forces are somewhat different from the stereotyped image of a special forces soldier. These are not necessarily supermen and masters of hand-to-hand combat, but above all, psychologically stable people, although ordinary combat training in naval special forces is at its best.

G. Zakharov leads interesting example roles psychological stability in the work of naval special forces:

“I had such a fighter Valya Zhukov - a laughing stock, only the lazy one in his unit did not egg him on. And then one day the submariners asked me for three divers to participate in testing a rescue submarine. If they had not then been cut into scrap, the Kursk crew would have been saved. Tests in the ocean. I gave three the best guys. We started working normally, according to the program, and suddenly someone asks: “How much is there under the keel?” And there are two and a half kilometers. As we heard, two of them immediately got sick - they didn’t go under water, that’s all. Although there is no difference - at least 100 m, at least 5 km. But Valya Zhukov would care. I completed all the tests for three people without getting out of the water. He was also my best combat medic; he dealt with wounds and fractures as if he had been a paramedic all his life. But there are only a few such super-resistant people. The rest needed to be trained hard.”

The process of combat training in the Navy special forces is ongoing. The training program is rich and includes diving, airborne, navigation and topographical, mountain special, maritime, physical training, fire training (including proficiency with weapons of the armies of a potential enemy), mine demolition, hand-to-hand combat, the ability to survive in various theaters of military operations, knowledge about the armed forces of a potential enemy, radio business and much more, which cannot be avoided in modern warfare. Considerable time is devoted to studying actions under water: underwater penetration into enemy territory and evacuation into the water, orientation, observation in conditions of poor visibility, pursuit of the enemy and separation from pursuit, camouflage on the ground.

The acquired skills are developed during practical training.

According to G. Zakharov, mortality during combat training was not a rare occurrence. If the MCI commander lost no more than two or three people a year, he was not punished, but simply verbally reprimanded. Although this does not mean that the Navy special forces did not care about human lives. On the contrary, instructions were developed in case of emergency situations, and the personnel memorized the procedure in such cases to the smallest detail.

The first and second squads trained at various coastal facilities until all actions were perfected to perfection. The third detachment first of all learned to operate in an aggressive water environment.

IN Soviet era underwater special forces were constantly involved in checking the state of security of strategic facilities, anti-sabotage protection of ships and ground-based fleet facilities. As a rule, the “defending” side was given maximum data on the groups that would work (composition, object and time of action), however, the special forces regularly managed to penetrate objects and carry out training tasks. Sometimes it was necessary to resort to a military trick - to “surrender” one of the comrades, and while the “caught saboteur” was solemnly led to the unit headquarters, the main part of the group worked. One of the former naval special forces soldiers recalls on an online forum how a group during a training exercise entered a destroyer under the guise of inspectors; another time, the special forces entered the harbor in a UAZ, the license plate number of which and the driver were well known at the checkpoint; the author of the post himself once escorted “a comrade dressed in the uniform... of a police captain straight to the military unit commander’s office.”

Even in conditions when the time and place of the attack were known, and several hundred people were waiting for the saboteurs in full combat readiness, the Special Forces groups managed to complete the task. If the group worked without warning, the result was even more predictable.

COMBAT USE OF NAVY SPECIAL FORCES

Almost all combat operations of Soviet and Russian naval special forces are secret; very little is known about them in the public domain. G. Zakharov, for example, claims that he did not have to fight

During the Cold War, Navy special forces performed missions in the same places as other Soviet "military advisers": in Angola, Vietnam, Egypt, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Ethiopia and other countries, often at the request of their governments. In Angola and Nicaragua, swimmers guarded Soviet ships and advised local armed forces.

When the war in Afghanistan began, many Navy special forces officers asked to be sent “for combat experience,” but the leadership did not respond to these requests. Instead, officers who had been in Afghanistan were sent to the Navy special forces units to impart combat experience. And really, what was the point of throwing people with diving training into the meat grinder, sending them on two-week raids in the mountains or desert, if the usual units of the GRU Airborne Forces and Special Forces were available?

After the collapse of the USSR, everything changed. During this time, a group of Russian troops had to be assembled “from around the world,” and apparently this explains the fact that naval special forces ended up in the “land” war. During the First Chechen Campaign, the personnel of the 431st Separate Marine Regiment acted as part of the 8th Company of the 879th Separate Division of the 336th Infantry Marine Corps of the Baltic Fleet, formed from sailors of the Leningrad naval base. The company was commanded by Captain 1st Rank V., a submariner by profession. The infantry officers of the Vyborg Antilanding Defense Regiment, who were supposed to go to war, refused to do so. The marine brigade of the Baltic Fleet at that time was in a state of collapse. The personnel of the 8th company were recruited from sailors of naval specialties, far from ground combat. Under these conditions, due to the lack of full-time reconnaissance officers, reconnaissance support for the actions of the 8th company was entrusted to the 431st OMRP, whose fighters operated as part of the 1st (reconnaissance) platoon. By the way, captain of the first rank V. does not directly mention that it was Navy special forces that acted as part of the 8th company, but other sources and the very logic of events indicate this. In conditions where the company was formed with great difficulty from sailors who did not have infantry training, there was simply nowhere else to get trained scouts.

The reconnaissance platoon was commanded by a Navy special forces officer, Guards. Art. Lieutenant Sergei Anatolyevich Stobetsky. The company was supposed to leave for Chechnya in January 1995, but due to organizational problems it was only transferred to Khankala on May 4. At this time, a truce was declared, during which the militants managed to regroup and “lick their wounds,” and on May 24, fighting resumed. Federal troops launched an attack on the mountainous part of Chechnya, where militant detachments were hiding. The 8th company began to advance in the direction of Shali–Agishta–Makhketa–Vedeno. The 1st reconnaissance platoon acted in the vanguard, occupying key points, and behind it came platoons of marines with heavy equipment. Serious clashes with gangs began in the mountains. The company was forced to take positions and dig in. On the night of May 29-30, the positions of the 8th company came under fire from the Vasilek automatic mortar. The company suffered heavy immediate losses: six dead, twenty wounded. Among the dead was the commander of the reconnaissance platoon of Guards. Art. Lieutenant Stobetsky.

It is often claimed that Navy special forces took part in the battles in Chechnya not in the first, but in the second campaign. However, if the participation of naval special forces in the first Chechen war is confirmed by facts, and an officer died during hostilities, then there is nothing concrete about participation in the second. Rather, on the contrary, by this time the combat capability of the Russian Armed Forces had increased compared to the deplorable state in which it was after the collapse of the Union, and there was no longer any point in sending naval special forces to the mountains.

Also, special forces of the Russian Navy are sometimes credited with blowing up and sinking part of the Georgian ships in the port of Poti during the war in South Ossetia, but that's not true. Georgian ships were scuttled by scouts of the 45th separate guards regiment of the Special Forces of the Airborne Forces. This mission would be perfect for naval special forces. And the “ground” special forces carried it out, although successfully, but not in the most optimal way. The Georgian ships should have been sunk on the open sea, but since the airborne reconnaissance officers were not qualified to control the ships, they sank them at the piers.

Our online store Voentorg Voenpro brings to your attention flags of various units of the Russian army, including from us you can order and buy the flag 420 OMRP special forces of the GRU Northern Fleet. The material used to make the flag 420 OMRP of the GRU Northern Fleet special forces is flag silk.

Characteristics

• 420 OMRP

Naval reconnaissance point 420 was formed in 1986. Place of deployment of 420 MCI - the city of Polyarny Murmansk region.

To form 420 MCI, officers and reconnaissance divers from the personnel of 561 maritime reconnaissance points based in the Baltic Fleet were sent to the Northern Fleet. But during the training, problems arose with acclimatization to the harsh northern conditions and low water temperatures, so it was decided to staff the unit with residents northern region. The structure included two combat detachments: a detachment of reconnaissance divers and a detachment that carried out radio and electronic reconnaissance.

Initially, the staff of 420 RSPPN was 185 people, later their number was increased to three hundred.

To provide diving, a group of reconnaissance divers was assigned a diving ship VM-71, equipped with special devices, including a pressure chamber. In addition, to carry out the assigned tasks, detachment 420 MCI was assigned a torpedo gun, the speed of which exceeded 30 knots (60 km/h).

Simultaneously with combat training, personnel began collecting intelligence information about the targets of the alleged enemy located in Iceland and Norway. There were more than forty such objects in total, four of them were hydroacoustic coastal stations. The first detachment of 420 MCI worked against the VGAS, the second was collecting information about NATO aviation based in Northern Norway, and the RRTR detachment was engaged in NATO radar warning points in Northern Norway.

To increase the combat effectiveness of groups of reconnaissance divers, separate combat posts were created, which contained the detachments’ equipment necessary to carry out combat missions, which significantly reduced the time required for the group to become combat ready.

To train personnel of 420 MCI in conditions close to real ones, the Northern Fleet selected facilities with a location and infrastructure similar to NATO ones.

The specifics of combat training in the North are primarily associated with harsh natural and weather conditions, and the goal of the initial stage of training was to study human capabilities, both physical and psychological, in these conditions. To do this, the group landed from a helicopter far from the base and made a march across the tundra over a distance of about two hundred kilometers.

Much attention was paid to survival during the exercises. low temperatures Oh. For example, an igloo was built from snow, in which it was necessary to live for some time.

During the exercises we practiced various ways the exit of detachments of 420 MCI to the rear of a possible enemy, the most acceptable of which was naval.

The tasks were complicated by the terrain: almost the entire coast of Norway is indented by rocky fjords, access to which is very difficult. To solve this problem, they began to use a collapsible sapper cat, which was thrown into stones. Also, in order to climb the rocks of the fjords, the personnel of military unit 40145 underwent mountain training.

In the course of solving combat missions, reconnaissance divers from the 420th naval reconnaissance point inspected the level of defense and security of the Northern Fleet naval bases. To do this, they entered the territory of protected objects and “mined” them. The sailors’ task was to detect and “clear mines” of the object.

The secret unit "Kholuai" of the Pacific Fleet, also known as 42 MCI Special Forces (military unit 59190), was created in 1955 in Maly Ulysses Bay near Vladivostok, and was later relocated to Russky Island, where to this day reconnaissance saboteurs undergo combat training. There are many legends about these guys, their physical fitness is admired, they are called the best of the best, the cream of the special forces. Each of them could become the protagonist of an action movie. Today RIA PrimaMedia is publishing material by military historian and journalist Alexei Sukonkin about the legendary part of “Kholuai”. In 1993-94, he served in a special forces unit of the ground forces, but from time to time they were also part of the naval special forces.
Preface
“Suddenly for the enemy, we landed at a Japanese airfield and entered into negotiations. After that, ten of us, the Japanese were taken to the headquarters of a colonel, the commander of an aviation unit, who wanted to make hostages out of us. I joined the conversation when I felt that the With us, a representative of the Soviet command, Captain 3rd Rank Kulebyakin, was, as they say, “pinned to the wall.” Looking into the eyes of the Japanese, I said that we fought the entire war in the west and have enough experience to assess the situation, that we will not be hostages. , or better yet, we will die, but we will die together with everyone who is at the headquarters. The difference is, I added, that you will die like rats, and we will try to get out of here. Hero of the Soviet Union Mitya Sokolov immediately stood behind the Japanese colonel. Union Andrei Pshenichnykh locked the door with a key, put the key in his pocket and sat down on a chair, and Volodya Olyashev (after the war - Honored Master of Sports) lifted Andrei along with the chair and placed him directly in front of the Japanese commander. Ivan Guzenkov went to the window and reported that we were not high, and Hero of the Soviet Union Semyon Agafonov, standing at the door, began tossing an anti-tank grenade in his hand. The Japanese, however, did not know that there was no fuse in it. The colonel, forgetting about the handkerchief, began to wipe the sweat from his forehead with his hand and after some time signed the act of surrender of the entire garrison."
This is how naval reconnaissance Viktor Leonov, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, described just one military operation in which a handful of daring and brave naval reconnaissance officers of the Pacific Fleet literally forced a large Japanese garrison to lay down their arms without a fight. Three and a half thousand Japanese samurai shamefully surrendered.

This was the apotheosis of the combat power of the 140th Marine Reconnaissance Detachment, the harbinger of modern naval special forces, which today everyone knows under the incomprehensible and mysterious name “Holuai”.
Origins
And it all started during the Great Patriotic War. At that time, the 181st reconnaissance detachment successfully operated in the Northern Fleet, carrying out various special operations behind enemy lines. The crowning achievement of this detachment’s activity was the capture of two coastal batteries at Cape Krestovoy (which blocked the entrance to the bay and could easily destroy an amphibious convoy) in preparation for the landing in the port of Liinakhamari (Murmansk region - editor's note). This, in turn, ensured the success of the Petsamo-Kirkenes landing operation, which became the key to success in the liberation of the entire Soviet Arctic. It is difficult to even imagine that a detachment of several dozen people, having captured only a few guns of German coastal batteries, actually ensured victory in the entire strategic operation, but, nevertheless, this is so - for this purpose the reconnaissance detachment was created in order to sting the enemy with small forces in the most vulnerable place...
The commander of the 181st reconnaissance detachment, Senior Lieutenant Viktor Leonov, and two more of his subordinates (Semyon Agafonov and Andrei Pshenichnykh) became Heroes of the Soviet Union for this short but important battle.

In April 1945, part of the personnel of the 181st detachment, led by the commander, was transferred to the Pacific Fleet to form the 140th reconnaissance detachment of the Pacific Fleet, which was supposed to be used in the upcoming war with Japan. By May, the detachment was formed on Russky Island in the amount of 139 people and began combat training. In August 1945, the 140th Reconnaissance Squadron took part in the capture of the ports of Yuki and Racine, as well as the naval bases of Seishin and Genzan. As a result of these operations, chief petty officer Makar Babikov and midshipman Alexander Nikandrov of the 140th reconnaissance detachment of the Pacific Fleet became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and their commander Viktor Leonov received the second Hero star.
However, at the end of the war, all such reconnaissance formations in the USSR Navy were disbanded due to imaginary uselessness.
But soon history turned around...

From the history of the creation of special-purpose units:
In 1950, in the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, separate special-purpose companies were formed in each army and military district. In the Primorsky Territory, in particular, three such companies were formed: the 91st (military unit No. 51423) as part of the 5th Combined Arms Army with a deployment in Ussuriysk, the 92nd (military unit No. 51447) as part of the 25th combined arms army with a deployment at the Boets Kuznetsov station and the 88th (military unit No. 51422) as part of the 37th Guards Airborne Corps with a deployment in Chernigovka. The special forces companies were tasked with searching for and destroying the most important military and civilian targets deep behind enemy lines, including enemy nuclear attack weapons. The personnel of these companies were trained in military reconnaissance, mine explosives, and made parachute jumps. For service in such units, people were selected who, for health reasons, were fit to serve in the airborne forces.

The experience of the Great Patriotic War showed the indispensability of such units for decisive actions on enemy communications, and in connection with the outbreak of the Cold War by the Americans, the need for such units became very clear. The new units showed their high efficiency already at the first exercises, and the Navy became interested in units of this kind.

The head of Navy intelligence, Rear Admiral Leonid Konstantinovich Bekrenev, wrote in his address to the Minister of the Navy:
“Taking into account the role of reconnaissance and sabotage units in the general reconnaissance system of fleets, I consider it necessary to carry out the following measures: ... create ... reconnaissance and sabotage units of military intelligence, giving them the name of separate naval reconnaissance divisions.”

At the same time, captain of the first rank Boris Maksimovich Margolin theoretically justified this decision, arguing that “... the difficulties and duration of training for reconnaissance light divers necessitate their advance preparation and systematic training, for which special units should be created...”.

And so, by the Directive of the Main Naval Staff of June 24, 1953, similar special intelligence formations are formed in all fleets. In total, five “special purpose reconnaissance points” were formed - in all fleets and the Caspian flotilla.
The Pacific Fleet is creating its own reconnaissance point on the basis of the directive of the General Staff of the Navy No. OMU/1/53060ss dated March 18, 1955.
However, “Unit Day” is considered June 5, 1955 - the day when the unit completed its formation and became part of the fleet as a combat unit.

Kholuai Bay
The word “Kholuai” itself (as well as its variations “Khaluai” and “Khalulai”), according to one version, means “lost place”, and although disputes on this subject are still ongoing and sinologists do not confirm such a translation, the version is considered quite plausible - especially among those who served in this bay.

In the thirties, on Russky Island (at that time, by the way, its second name, Kazakevich Island, which disappeared from geographical maps only in the forties of the twentieth century, was widely practiced) construction of anti-landing defense facilities for Vladivostok was underway. Defense facilities included long-term coastal firing points - bunkers. Some especially fortified bunkers even had their own names, for example, “Stream”, “Rock”, “Wave”, “Bonfire” and others. All this defensive splendor was served by separate machine-gun battalions, each of which occupied its own defense sector. In particular, the 69th separate machine gun battalion of the Vladivostok coastal defense sector of the Pacific Fleet, located in the area of ​​​​Cape Krasny in Kholuai Bay (New Dzhigit), served firing points located on Russky Island. For this battalion in 1935, a two-story barracks and headquarters, a canteen, a boiler room, warehouses and a stadium were built. The battalion was stationed here until the forties, after which it was disbanded. The barracks were not used for a long time and began to collapse.

And so, in March 1955, a new military unit with very specific tasks moved here, the secrecy of its existence was brought to the highest limit.

Birth of a legend
The formation of the 42nd special-purpose maritime reconnaissance point of the Pacific Fleet began in March and ended in June 1955. During formation, the duties of commander were temporarily performed by captain of the second rank Nikolai Braginsky, but the first approved commander of the new unit was... no, not a reconnaissance officer, but the former commander of the destroyer, captain of the second rank Pyotr Kovalenko.
For several months the unit was based on Ulysses, and the personnel lived on board the old ship, and before leaving for the permanent deployment point on Russky Island, the reconnaissance sailors at the submarine training base underwent an accelerated diving training course.
On July 1, 1955, the unit began single combat training of future reconnaissance divers under the training program for special forces units. A little later, combat coordination between the groups began.

In September 1955, the newly formed naval special forces took part in their first exercises - having landed on boats in the Shkotovsky region, naval reconnaissance officers carried out reconnaissance of the Abrek naval base and elements of its anti-sabotage defense, as well as highways behind the conditional “enemy”.
Already at that time, the command of the unit came to the understanding that selection for naval special forces should be as tough as possible, if not cruel.
But those who survived were immediately enlisted in the elite unit and began combat training. This test week began to be called “hell”. Later, when the United States created its SEAL units, they adopted our practice of selecting future fighters as the most optimal, allowing them to quickly understand what a particular candidate is capable of and whether he is ready to serve in naval special forces units.
The meaning of this “personnel” rigidity was that commanders initially had to clearly understand the abilities and capabilities of their fighters - after all, special forces operate in isolation from their troops, and a small group can rely only on itself, and, accordingly, the importance of any team member increases many times over. The commander must initially be confident in his subordinates, and subordinates must be confident in their commander. And that is the only reason why “entrance to service” in this part is so strict. It shouldn't be any other way.
Looking ahead, I will say that today nothing is lost: the candidate, as before, will have to go through serious tests, inaccessible for the most part even to physically well-prepared people.

In particular, the candidate must first of all run ten kilometers in a heavy body armor, meeting the running standard provided for jogging in sneakers and sportswear. If you fail, no one will talk to you anymore. If you ran on time, then you immediately need to perform 70 push-ups while lying down and 15 pull-ups on the horizontal bar. Moreover, it is advisable to perform these exercises in their “pure form”. Most people, already at the stage of jogging in a bulletproof vest, suffocating from physical overload, begin to wonder, “Do I need this happiness if this happens every day?” - it is at this moment that true motivation manifests itself.

At the end of the test, the candidate is placed in the ring, where three hand-to-hand combat instructors fight with him, checking the person’s readiness for the fight - both physical and moral. Usually, if a candidate reaches the ring, he is already an “ideological” candidate, and the ring does not break him. Well, and then the commander, or the person replacing him, talks with the candidate. After this, the harsh service begins...

There are no discounts for officers either - everyone passes the test. Basically, the supplier of command personnel for Kholuy are three military schools - the Pacific Naval School (TOVVMU), the Far Eastern Combined Arms School (DVOKU) and the Ryazan Airborne School (RVVDKU), although if a person wants, then nothing prevents an officer from other schools I would like to join the naval special forces.

As a former special forces officer told me, having expressed a desire to serve in this unit to the head of naval intelligence, he immediately had to do 100 push-ups right in the admiral’s office - Rear Admiral Yuri Maksimenko (chief of intelligence of the Pacific Fleet in 1982-1991), despite the fact that the officer went through Afghanistan and was awarded two military orders. This is how the Pacific Fleet intelligence chief decided to cut off the candidate if he did not complete such a basic exercise. The officer completed the exercise.

At different times the unit was commanded by:
Captain 1st Rank Kovalenko Petr Prokopyevich (1955–1959);
Captain 1st Rank Guryanov Viktor Nikolaevich (1959–1961);
Captain 1st Rank Petr Ivanovich Konnov (1961–1966);
Captain 1st Rank Klimenko Vasily Nikiforovich (1966–1972);
Captain 1st Rank Minkin Yuri Alekseevich (1972–1976);
Captain 1st Rank Zharkov Anatoly Vasilievich (1976–1981);
Captain 1st Rank Yakovlev Yuri Mikhailovich (1981–1983);
Lieutenant Colonel Evsyukov Viktor Ivanovich (1983–1988);
Captain 1st Rank Omsharuk Vladimir Vladimirovich (1988–1995) – died in February 2016;
Lieutenant Colonel Gritsai Vladimir Georgievich (1995–1997);
Captain 1st Rank Kurochkin Sergey Veniaminovich (1997–2000);
Colonel Gubarev Oleg Mikhailovich (2000-2010);
Lieutenant Colonel Belyavsky Zaur Valerievich (2010-2013);
Let the name of today's commander remain in the coastal fog of military secrecy for now...

Exercises and service
In 1956, naval reconnaissance officers began to master parachute jumps. Usually the training took place at naval aviation airfields - according to subordination. During the first training camp, all personnel performed two jumps from a height of 900 meters from Li-2 and An-2 aircraft, and also learned to land “assault-style” from Mi-4 helicopters - both on land and on water.
Another year later, naval reconnaissance officers had already mastered landing on the shore through the torpedo tubes of submarines lying on the ground, as well as returning to them after completing a mission at the coastal facilities of a mock enemy. Based on the results of combat training in 1958, the 42nd Naval Reconnaissance Point became the best special unit of the Pacific Fleet and was awarded the challenge pennant of the Commander of the Pacific Fleet.
In many exercises, intelligence officers developed the necessary skills, acquired special knowledge and expressed their wishes regarding the composition of the equipment. In particular, back in the late fifties, naval reconnaissance officers formulated requirements for weapons - they should be light and silent (as a result, samples of special weapons appeared - small-sized silent pistols SMEs, silent grenade launchers "Silence", underwater pistols SPP-1 and underwater assault rifles APS, as well as many other special weapons). The scouts also wanted to have waterproof outerwear and shoes, and their eyes needed to be protected from mechanical damage with special safety glasses (for example, today the equipment set includes four types of safety glasses).

By this time, we had already decided on our specialization, which was divided into three areas:
- part of the personnel was represented by reconnaissance divers, who were supposed to conduct reconnaissance of enemy naval bases from the sea, as well as mine ships and port facilities;
- some of the sailors were engaged in conducting military reconnaissance - in other words, having landed from the sea, they acted on the shore as ordinary land reconnaissance officers;
- the third direction was represented by radio and electronic intelligence specialists - these people were engaged in instrumental reconnaissance, which made it possible to quickly detect the most important objects behind enemy lines, such as field radio stations, radar stations, technical observation posts - in general, everything that emitted in broadcast any signals and had to be destroyed first.

Marine special forces began to receive special underwater carriers - in other words, small underwater vehicles that could deliver saboteurs over long distances. Such a carrier was the two-seat "Triton", later - also the two-seat "Triton-1M", and even later the six-seat "Triton-2" appeared. These devices allowed saboteurs to quietly penetrate directly into enemy bases, mine ships and piers, and perform other reconnaissance tasks.

For reference:
"Triton" is the first carrier for open-type divers. Immersion depth is up to 12 meters. Speed ​​– 4 knots (7.5 km/h). Range – 30 miles (55 km).
"Triton-1M" is the first closed-type carrier for divers. Weight – 3 tons. Immersion depth is 32 meters. Speed ​​– 4 knots. Range – 60 miles (110 km).
"Triton-2" is the first closed-type group carrier for divers. Weight – 15 tons. Immersion depth is 40 meters. Speed ​​– 5 knots. Range – 60 miles.
Currently, these types of equipment are already outdated and withdrawn from combat service. All three samples are installed as monuments on the territory of the unit, and the decommissioned Triton-2 apparatus is also presented at the street exhibition of the Museum of Military Glory of the Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok.
Currently, such underwater carriers are not used for a number of reasons, the main one of which is the impossibility of using them covertly. Today, naval special forces are armed with more modern underwater carriers "Sirena" and "Proteus" of various modifications. Both of these carriers allow for the secret landing of a reconnaissance group through a submarine's torpedo tube. "Siren" "carries" two saboteurs, and "Proteus" is an individual carrier.

Insolence and sport
Some of the legends about “Kholuai” are associated with the steady desire of the military personnel of this unit to improve their reconnaissance and sabotage skills at the expense of their own comrades. At all times, the “Kholuai” caused many problems to daily duty personnel serving on ships and in coastal units of the Pacific Fleet. There were frequent cases of “training” abductions of orderlies, duty documentation, and theft of vehicles from careless military drivers. It cannot be said that the command of the unit specifically assigned such tasks to the scouts... but for successful actions of this kind, the reconnaissance sailors could even receive short-term leave.
No, of course, no one is thrown out anywhere with just a knife, but during special tactical exercises, reconnaissance groups can be sent to other regions of the country, where they are given various training reconnaissance and sabotage tasks, after which they need to return to their unit - preferably undetected . At this time, the police, internal troops and state security agencies are intensively looking for them, and citizens are told that they are looking for conditional terrorists.
In the unit itself, sports have been cultivated at all times - and therefore one should not be surprised that even today, at almost all naval competitions in strength sports, martial arts, swimming and shooting, prize-winning places are usually taken by representatives of “Kholuy”. It should be noted that preference in sports is given not to strength, but to endurance - it is this physical skill that allows a naval reconnaissance to feel confident both on foot or ski trips, and in long-distance swimming.
Unpretentiousness and the ability to live without excesses even gave rise to a peculiar saying on “Kholuay”:
“Some things are not necessary, but some things you can limit yourself to.”

Return of a Legend
In 1965, twenty years after the end of World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Captain First Rank Viktor Leonov, came to the unit. Several photographs have survived in which the “legend of naval special forces” is captured with military personnel of the unit, both officers and sailors. Subsequently, Viktor Leonov would visit the 42nd reconnaissance point several more times, which he himself considered a worthy brainchild of his 140th reconnaissance detachment.

In 2015, Viktor Leonov returned to the unit forever. On the day of the 60th anniversary of the formation of the reconnaissance point, a monument to the real legend of naval special forces, Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Nikolaevich Leonov, was unveiled on the territory of the military unit in a solemn ceremony.

Kholuy in our time
Today, “Kholuai”, already in a new look, with a slightly changed structure and strength, after a series of organizational events, continues to live its own life - according to its own special, “special forces” way of life. Many cases of this part will never be declassified, but books will be written about some others. The names of the people who serve here today are not publicly available, and rightly so.

Even today, naval reconnaissance officers sacredly honor their combat traditions, and combat training does not stop for a second. Every day, “Kholuaevites” are engaged in a variety of activities: they train dives (both real ones in the sea and in a pressure chamber), achieving the proper level of physical fitness, practice hand-to-hand combat techniques and methods of covert movement, learn to shoot from a variety of types of small arms, study new equipment , which is being supplied to the troops in abundance today (there are now even combat robots in service) - in general, they are preparing at any moment, on the orders of the Motherland, to carry out any assigned task.
Thanks for the article.

In 1985, the Red Banner Northern Fleet began the formation of a maritime reconnaissance point, which was assigned extremely important tasks. The first commander of the 420th RPSpN, now a reserve rear admiral, Gennady Ivanovich Zakharov, talks about what led to the creation of this unique special-purpose military unit.

THE PERIOD of confrontation between the USA and the USSR, both superpowers sought to penetrate the enemy’s military plans and thus gain an advantage. In the Northern Fleet, 43 of the most modern submarines were in readiness to prevent the advance of US expeditionary forces to land in Europe. According to the calculations of military analysts, Soviet submariners could cope with this task at the cost of serious losses: up to 40 submarines had to remain at the bottom of the Norwegian Sea. But in the planned global war, this was an excessive price to pay for the sinking of American convoys with expeditionary forces.
At the end of the seventies, such possibilities of the Soviet submarine fleet began to raise doubts. It all started when submarines on combat duty began to report some extraneous croaking noises. Having carefully analyzed and systematized these noises, analysts came to the conclusion that the sounds were produced by the American SOSUS system, designed to track the movement of Soviet submarines in the world's oceans. The system was a network of electrical cables that covered the bottom of the Norwegian Sea and recorded the location of each submarine in one or another square of this gigantic network. The system provided the Americans with information about all movements of Soviet submarines in the area and made it possible to carry out preventive nuclear attack on them during the threatened period, even before the American convoy leaves.
To increase the survivability of submarines, science was tasked with increasing the working depths of Soviet nuclear submarines, and thus protect them from nuclear torpedoes. A division of submarines was specially created with the sole task of disrupting the operation of the SOSUS system. But all the measures turned out to be ineffective.
However, American system tracking had vulnerabilities. This Achilles heel turned out to be coastal hydroacoustic stations (CGAS). When they were disabled, the operation of the entire system was disrupted. However, the Northern Fleet did not have the means to reliably disable coastal stations. The only guaranteed means of destroying BGAS could be special-purpose reconnaissance aircraft. But due to difficult natural and weather conditions, the reconnaissance point in the Northern Fleet was disbanded back in the sixties, and subsequently, special studies carried out in 1981 showed the impossibility of using reconnaissance divers in the Barents Sea. One of the main reasons was the low water and air temperatures characteristic of the Arctic. To land divers behind enemy lines using a submarine and ensure their exit from the torpedo tube in an underwater position, the submarine had to lie on the ground. The shallow depths in the Baltic and Black Seas made it possible to solve this problem. The minimum depths in the North are about 200 meters. It is impossible for divers to exit a boat lying on the ground at such a depth. After all, their equipment is designed for depths of no more than 40 meters.
However, in the current situation it was necessary to look for a way out. In particular, it was proposed to create another detachment within the 561st MCI of the Baltic Fleet, which would train reconnaissance divers specifically for the Northern Fleet and, during a threatened period, would be transferred to the operational subordination of the North Sea headquarters.
ON AUGUST 19, 1983, officers from the 561st MCI were sent to the Northern Fleet, who were to receive groups trained in the Baltic, conduct their additional training and solve the problem of destroying the BGAS. I was appointed group leader, and a senior diving specialist, Captain 2nd Rank Zharinov, and a specialist in radio and electronic reconnaissance and special radio communications, Captain Lieutenant Koval, also went with me.
Our group got to work and conducted the exercise. During the course of it, it soon became clear that out of 18 reconnaissance divers who arrived from the Baltic, only six could go under water. Due to acclimatization problems, up to 70 percent of personnel arriving in the North had colds. Unusually low temperatures also had an impact negative influence on the health of personnel. In summer, the water temperature does not rise above +6 degrees, and in winter, due to increased salinity, it did not freeze even at -2.
It became clear that in war conditions this would jeopardize combat mission. In order to avoid problems with acclimatization, people were needed who would normally adapt to local natural and weather conditions.
We proposed creating a special purpose unit within the Northern Fleet. As a result, it was decided to form a special-purpose reconnaissance point, which would be staffed preferably by residents of the Murmansk region. It took a year and a half to develop and create the item. This idea was supported by the head of intelligence of the Northern Fleet, Yuri Petrovich Kvyatkovsky. Proposals for the formation of the point were put on the table of the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy, Admiral Chernavin.

In 1985, the staff of the newly created special-purpose reconnaissance post was approved - a total of 185 military personnel. I, Captain 1st Rank Zakharov, was appointed to the position of commander of the reconnaissance post. Academy graduate Captain 2nd Rank Konev, who previously served in the Caspian Sea, arrived to the post of chief of staff of the point. Officers to fill vacant positions came from all over the Northern Fleet, including marines and even naval aviation. The requirements for selecting candidates were strict. The main attention was paid to the health status of the candidates. An individual conversation was held with each new officer, and the degree of suitability of the candidate for the proposed position was determined.
In June 1986, despite the fact that there were still vacancies in the detachment, a review of the unit’s readiness to carry out training and combat missions was held.

The combat training that began showed the imperfection of the RP staff. The fact is that in the low temperatures of the Arctic, servicing diving equipment, batteries, underwater vehicles, radio and hydroacoustic stations, and other equipment required at least twice as many service personnel as was initially provided.
The RP included two combat detachments - reconnaissance divers and radio and electronic reconnaissance (RRTR). According to the state, each detachment had three groups, but in reality there was only one.
Subsequently, the staff of the point was changed and numbered about three hundred people.

ONE of the main problems of special forces is the withdrawal of groups behind enemy lines. The presence of its own or permanently assigned means of air or sea withdrawal of groups significantly increases the capabilities of this special reconnaissance unit.
However, at the initial stage, we were faced with the technical unpreparedness of nuclear submarines to deploy reconnaissance divers behind enemy lines. The great depths of the Barents and Norwegian seas did not allow divers to be removed from the ground. In order for this to be possible, the boat had to be anchored in a submerged position. However, three boats of the 671st project, designed to bring special forces groups behind enemy lines, like other boats, had welded anchors and emergency buoys. The reasons for this “improvement” are quite prosaic. Due to imperfections in the design, buoys are often torn off in stormy weather, and the boat commander is severely penalized for their loss; anchors create an increased background noise, which leads to a violation of the boat’s stealth. Therefore, in order to avoid problems, on all boats, contrary to safety requirements, both buoys and anchors do not release, since they are tightly welded to the hull.
Despite the opposition from the submariners, I managed to positively solve this problem, and the boats began to anchor underwater to extract the divers through torpedo tubes.
The brigade of reconnaissance ships of the Northern Fleet housed the ships and base of the 420th RPSpN. To ensure descents under water, a diving ship VM-71 was appointed, which had special equipment on board, including a pressure chamber. And to carry out combat training missions, we were given a torpedo gun with a speed of over 30 knots.

WITH THE BEGINNING of combat training, the collection of intelligence information concerning the targets of a potential enemy located in Norway and Iceland began. In total, we counted more than forty such objects, four of which were the same coastal hydroacoustic stations of the SOSUS system.
The 1st detachment worked against BGAS. The 2nd detachment operated against NATO aircraft, which were based at airfields in Northern Norway. The object of the RRTR detachment was also a long-range radar warning post, also located in Northern Norway.

Aerial photographs were collected for all objects, as well as photographs taken from space. In addition to the photographs, there was other information about the protection and defense of the BGAS, obtained from intelligence sources.
In order to increase the combat readiness of special-purpose reconnaissance groups, combat posts for preparing the RGSpN for the task were created in the unit, where all the necessary equipment of the group was located. The creation of such posts made it possible to significantly reduce the time it took to bring the group to full combat readiness.
In order for the groups to have the opportunity to train at real facilities, similar facilities were selected in the navy that had a similar location and infrastructure.
Combat training in the Arctic is associated primarily with severe weather and natural conditions. At the initial stage, the exercises were aimed at studying the physical capabilities of a person in these conditions. So, during the first exercises, the regular group had the task of disembarking from a helicopter from a hover and then skiing about two hundred kilometers across the tundra. When making jumps, the helicopter gradually becomes lighter and rises higher. The last thing to be dropped was a bale of skis. According to the law of meanness, when he fell, he hit a stone. I had to complete the task on broken skis. And the task was completed.
The groups learned to survive in low temperatures. For example, while carrying out a combat mission, they built an igloo out of snow and tried to live in it. Practice has shown that it is simply impossible to stay in such a shelter for more than two days. Despite the fact that the igloo was built according to all the rules and had ventilation vents, when a fire was lit inside it, the walls began to melt. After a few hours, everything inside became wet. In the Arctic, damp clothing and equipment mean certain death.

The condition of a person staying for a long time in low temperatures was also studied. After three or four days, the scout experienced complete apathy. One of the officers of the reconnaissance point, Igor Astakhov, recalled how his sergeant-major, always distinguished by sobriety of thought and calmness, after a long stay in the cold in a state of complete prostration, cut into a can of condensed milk from a dry ration in his palm, miraculously not hurting his hand. The jar, which had broken in half, contained a piece of frozen condensed milk.
The only thing that really helped to survive in these conditions was lard. It even protected exposed areas of the face from frostbite. It was enough to eat a few pieces. The high energy capacity of this wonderful product allowed the body to cope with low temperatures.
In order to increase the combat readiness of special forces groups, headquarters and service officers acted as group or detachment commanders during the exercises.

During the process of combat training, I avoided air landing in every possible way. The fact is that during the Great Patriotic War there were only two parachute drops of reconnaissance groups in the North. At the same time, due to strong winds, one of them was scattered across large area, and the commander died. The most probable method was considered to be the naval method of withdrawing groups behind enemy lines. Therefore, all the time of combat training was devoted to practicing this method of action.
Access to the rocky areas of the Norwegian fjords is very, very difficult. Even when you manage to approach the shore, due to the fact that the stones are very slippery, it is impossible to cling to the shore. To solve this problem, they came up with the idea of ​​using a collapsible sapper grapple, which was thrown into the stones of the shore. The shores of the fjords were overhanging steep cliffs, the height of which in some places reached 500 meters. To overcome them, solid mountain training skills are required. Basic course took place in the mountain training center in Kirovakan in Armenia. We also improved our skills on our rocks. Often during the exercises, without any mountain equipment, only using sapper blades to cut out steps, they overcame an icy, almost vertical climb more than a hundred meters high.

It is worth emphasizing that despite the extreme natural conditions and the extremely intense nature of the training, there was not a single fatal emergency at the 420th reconnaissance point. The fact is that before each task, I developed a planned table of actions of personnel in emergency and other sudden situations for the period of exercises or other events involving a risk to life. It simulated everything, even the most incredible situations that our intelligence officers could encounter. In addition, the table clearly indicated what a leader and a soldier who finds himself in an unpleasant situation should do in such a case. dangerous situation. I sought from my subordinates a thorough knowledge of “my maneuver” and the ability to act in the most difficult conditions, which more than once saved human lives.

Solving the tasks of combat training, the point's reconnaissance officers systematically worked to increase the level of security and defense of the naval bases of the Northern Fleet. They skillfully exposed shortcomings in the security and life support systems of the bases, penetrating the facilities and mining them. Naturally, by the next exercise, the sailors eliminated their shortcomings, but the scouts identified and used new ones.
There were also some special forces jokes. Once a group of 14 people during an exercise acted against a brigade of missile boats. The scouts infiltrated the facilities, which were guarded by sentries armed with machine guns with live ammunition, and “mined” them. After this, the intermediary went to report to the brigade commander that the military unit was out of action. Meanwhile, the group commander “mined” a pigsty and a sewer pump, thereby putting the unit out of action for real. Although this “disgrace” did not last long and the sewer was soon cleared of mines, the intelligence officer managed to receive reprimand from the unit commander.

(c) Bratishka.ru

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See also Spetsnaz.org.