Today, my little friends, we will find out with you how shipbuilding has developed over thousands of years of human development. With what swimming facilities it began, and what ships are in our time. The very first vessel on which a person first sailed on water was a raft. Tired of people searching for ford to cross the wide rivers and they figured out how to sail through them without hindrance, but carry luggage.

Nowadays steamboats are no longer used. They were replaced by motor ships, electric ships and nuclear powered ships. Such a ship flies through the open sea with great speed. Instead of wheel blades, he has a propeller, which moves the ship much faster, screwing into the water. Not ships, but whole floating cities now float on.

Modern ships are built at shipyards and are also designed for different purposes. There are powerful military cruisers, sheathed with thick, strong armor, which go along the sea borders of our homeland, guarding the territory from smugglers, poachers and other violators.

Instruction manual

Timmerman soon spotted the Dutch shipbuilder Carsten Brant, who helped restore the bot. On this small ship, Peter went first along the Yauza, and later along Lake Pleshcheyev. By the way, the boat has survived to this day, it stands in the Central Naval Museum. By the winter of 1691, the Presburg fortress was built on the Yauza River, and under the leadership of Brant five ships were laid down at once - two small frigates and three yachts. Peter personally took part in the work and was so carried away that he often forgot even public affairs.

But on the other hand, already in August 1692, the ships built were launched. The young sovereign worked tirelessly, mastering the sea business and comprehending all the subtleties of sailing. In 1693 he went on his first trip along the White Sea and a month later reached Arkhangelsk. There Peter first saw hundreds of ships from Holland, Germany, England. Love for the maritime business coincided with the interests of the country. The king decided to stay in Arkhangelsk until the fall. Here, Peter spent hours in workshops, taking part in repairs.

Russia needed access to the Black and Azov Seas. Peter decided to storm the fortress of Azov. Two attempts, made in the spring of 1695, ended in failure. But already in September of that year, preparations began for a new assault. A 32-galley galley was purchased in Holland, which was unassembled and delivered to Russia. According to her model, in the village of Preobrazhenskoye, near Moscow, details were created for another 22 galleys. They were transported to Voronezh and there, at a distance of 1200 miles from the sea, the ships were assembled.

To build a flotilla, tens of thousands of peasants and artisans were driven up. Skilled carpenters were brought from all over Russia to the shipyards. Voronezh became the center of Russian shipbuilding. English shipbuilders were called to help. In one winter, two large ships, 23 galleys and about one and a half thousand small ships were built. A sea flotilla was held along the Don. Huge difficulties were encountered along the shallow areas and rifts.

The fleet played a decisive role in the new campaign against Azov. The Turks did not dare to start a battle with the Russian squadron, and on July 16, 1696 the fortress fell. Now Russia was faced with the task of consolidating its influence on the Black Sea. At the insistence of Peter, on October 20 of the same year, the Duma adopted the decision “To be Maritime Courts.” This date was the birthday of the Russian Navy. “Cumpanism” should have allocated money and people for the construction of ships — these were the names of groups of secular landowners, clergy, and merchants.

Peter quickly realized that Russia was lagging behind the leading sea powers in its development, and for the successful creation of a modern fleet there was not enough experience and knowledge. He issued a decree establishing a “great embassy” of 61 people. Russian young people were ordered to master shipbuilding and navigation, learn the art of navigating a ship. 39 people went to study in Venice, and another 22 went to Holland and England.

Peter himself became part of the "great embassy." Under the name of Peter Mikhailov, he got a job as a carpenter at one of the Dutch shipyards. Later, the king went to England and Germany, where he studied navigation, fortification and artillery. Several hundred foreign specialists were invited to work in Russia, and new equipment was purchased. Returning to Russia, Peter banned the construction of ships according to the old model and he himself began to develop drawings.

According to Peter's project, the 58-gun battleship Goto Predestination was built in Voronezh - the name translates as “God's omen”. The construction was carried out under the leadership of Fedosey Sklyaev. The ship was launched on April 27, 1700. Soon the Northern War began with Sweden, which lasted intermittently for more than 20 years. Russia needed to significantly increase the number of ships. At the cost of incredible efforts, Peter managed to reconstruct the old shipyards and lay new ones.

In 1703, the city of St. Peter Burch was founded at the mouth of the Neva River in the former Swedish territory. A year later, construction began on the Admiralty Shipyard, which later became known as the Main Admiralty. Already in 1706, military ships began to be released here. In 1709, a three-masted 54-gun ship, 40 meters long, was laid down at the Admiralty Shipyard. The ship was launched three years later and received the name "Poltava" in memory of the victory over the Swedes in the famous battle of the Northern War.

In the autumn of the same year, the construction of the two-decker ship Ingermanland, equipped with 64 guns, began in the Admiralty. It received its name in honor of the Russian land conquered from the Swedes, on which Petersburg was laid. The ship was completed in 1715. The crew of the ship consisted of 450 people. So the dream of the first emperor of Russia began to come true. Over time, domestic ships surpassed foreign ships in their characteristics, became more reliable and combat-ready. In total, during the reign of Peter I, 1,100 ships were built.

Remember the sensational retaliation last year, when on October 7, 2015, during the Russian military operation in Syria, three Project 21631 Small Rocket Ships (RTOs) (Uglich, Grad Sviyazhsk and Veliky Ustyug), as well as a missile ship Project 11661K Dagestan from the Caspian Sea fired at the positions of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia by sea-caliber Caliber-NK missiles. And also on October 20, the Caspian flotilla in the same composition secured success, all targets were hit, although before them there were about 1,500 kilometers. All these ships were built at JSC Zelenodolsk Plant named after A.M. Gorky. " In addition, it is this plant that is at the origins of the creation of Russia's first high-speed ships and hovercraft with dynamic principles of maintenance. Currently, he is one of the five leading shipbuilding enterprises in Russia. And in November last year, he celebrated his 120th anniversary. Over the years of its history, the plant has built more than 1,500 sea and river ships and vessels of various classes and purposes. So I want to show this legendary plant today.

The company is located in the city of Zelenodolsk, in the Republic of Tatarstan, right on the Volga, which allows the plant to easily send its constructed ships to almost anywhere in Russia, and further, they also have enough export contracts. JSC Zelenodolsk Plant named after A.M. Gorky ”is part of the largest diversified holding of the Republic of Tatarstan - JSC“ Holding company “Ak Bars”.

The history of the plant is associated with the development of shipping on the Volga River. At the end of the 19th century, the need for the construction of new factories and ship repair workshops increased in the country. In 1895, by the decision of the Ministry of Railways of the Kazan District, Paratsk ship repair workshops were founded. They had to repair the technical fleet, and the favorable location at the intersection of the Volga River with the Moscow-Kazan Railway only contributed to the prosperity of this enterprise. In 1907, a mechanical, boiler, blacksmith, foundry and carpentry workshop were built, in which 86 people worked. By 1913, ship repair workshops had become a well-organized ship repair company, capable of building ships, as well as overhauling towing ships, barges and dredgers, up to 100 units in winter.

In 1918, after evacuation to Paratsk (now Zelenodolsk), parts of the Baltic and Izhora factories were transformed into the Volga Autonomous Shipbuilding and Mechanical Plant of the Marine Commissariat. During the Civil War, the plant was the base for the repair of ships of the Volga Flotilla: converted ships and barges into warships and by May 1919 handed over more than 110 vessels.

In 1922, the plant received the name "Red Metalworker". In this period, in addition to ship repair, he produces agricultural equipment: winders, threshers, mill setters, plows, iron castings. In short, a jack of all trades. After a certain reconstruction in 1925-1930, an intensive course was taken on shipbuilding. Until 1941, the plant produced: dry cargo barges with a carrying capacity of 1100-2300 tons, river wheel tugs with a capacity of 120 to 600 hp. in the amount of 35-40 units per year, as well as steam engines, spiers, pumps and other mechanisms, and everything, from the design of ships to the release of finished products, was carried out on their own. In 1934, the plant received the first defense order for the construction of warships new for that time - river armored boats of projects 1124 and 1125; 154 units were built in 10 years.

In 1932, by a decree of the Central Executive Committee of the TASSR, the plant was named after Alexei Maximovich Gorky in honor of the 40th anniversary of the literary and social activities of the writer. And in the list of shipyards, it is often referred to as Shipbuilding Plant No. 340 (Shipyard No. 340). In May 2003, the state unitary enterprise Zelenodolsk Plant named after A. Gorky was transformed into the open joint-stock company Zelenodolsk Plant named after A. M. Gorky. " And in 2005, the plant became a part of Ak Bars Holding Company JSC, as a result of which new prospects appeared. November 21, 2015 the plant celebrated the 120th anniversary of the founding of the enterprise.

7. Only checkpoints have passed, and we are already met by the Small armored boat N75 Kalyuzhny, which participated in the offensive operations of World War II. It was built by the workers of the plant in August 1943 and went the battle route from Azov to Vienna. Brought here from the port of Izmail and was installed on the territory of the plant in 1973.

8. In recent years, the company has embarked on the path of correcting modernization; one after another, the workshops at the plant begin to play with brighter colors, productivity is growing, and life in general is becoming more interesting and more fun. So, a few days before my visit here, on September 20 of this year, a grand opening ceremony was held after the modernization of machine-building workshop No. 8. The first thing they showed me was him.

9. This workshop specializes in the manufacture of weld saturation for shipbuilding orders and components for mechanical engineering.

Here, repair and reconstruction of production and domestic premises on all sections of the workshop (locksmith, turning, electric welding, milling) was carried out, electricity, lighting, water supply, fire alarm system, supply and general ventilation systems, as well as heating systems were replaced.

In addition, the welding section was completely updated: welding tables with filter ventilation units and welding equipment were purchased.

15. For me, everything turned out very cool.

Production and technical base of JSC Zelenodolsk Plant named after A.M. Gorky ”consists of a complex of workshops covering all types of modern shipbuilding, allowing the construction of ships of various types and ships of small and middle class. The vessels are built using the progressive block method in closed slipways equipped with powerful crane equipment, a trigger loading dock with a system for defrosting the water area in winter. This allows you to carry out the construction, launching of vessels at a high degree of technical readiness at any time of the year, regardless of weather conditions, and to conduct mooring tests. The company introduced progressive organizational and technical principles for in-line and positional construction of ships, starting from the launch of metal in production and ending with the delivery of the constructed ship.

16. The next on our way was the hull processing workshop.

Along with shipbuilding, there are well-developed engineering and metallurgical industries equipped with modern equipment, which allows us to produce a wide range of marine engineering products (propellers, spiers, winches, shaft lines, anchors), as well as products for the oil and gas industry. And since 1997, the plant has mastered the production of large-sized metal structures for bridge crossings. At the same time, for the first time in Russia, the technology of manufacturing metal structures of bridge spans from large blocks weighing up to 120 tons with assembly and installation of blocks with subsequent disassembly and delivery was applied. For example, the plant manufactured metal structures for spans for the Millennium Bridge in Kazan, for bridge crossings over the Kama River, the Vyatka River, a railway overpass for the Aeroexpress terminal at Kazan International Airport, etc.

18. OmniMat L5000 plasma cutting machine (manufactured by MESSER Cutting Systems, Germany), which can cut low carbon steels, high alloy alloys, non-ferrous metals and titanium. And by the way, about titanium. Introduced in 1967, the titanium casting workshop is still one of the largest in the world. It is equipped with 12 vacuum ovens. The world's largest vacuum furnace for smelting and pouring titanium alloys “Neva-5” is operated in the workshop. The capacity of titanium production allows producing up to 600 tons of titanium casting per year. And so the large-scale metallurgical production of the Zelenodolsk plant allows producing castings of complex configuration weighing from 30 g to 2500 kg from non-ferrous alloys based on copper and aluminum, from carbon and alloy steel grades.

22. Because of the secrecy regime, as you know, they are now building a lot of things for the armed forces, I can’t show much, but the plant really delights and, of course, deserves my ZavodichLayka!

23. But I will show a lot of boats of the most diverse, nevertheless, anyway, we ask your mercies in their museum of military and labor glory.

24. In the lower left corner is a fragment of the first Romanovsky bridge, which is located next to the factory. It was opened on July 11, 1913 during the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. Incidentally, at that time it was the first in Europe and the second after America in terms of span power.

26. One of the first ships made at this factory.

33. In 1943, the plant was awarded the Transitional Red Banner of the State Defense Committee for its success in the production of military equipment and ammunition. And in 1966, the plant was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for its merits in the creation and production of new equipment.

34. In 1949, the plant (for the first time in the country) introduced the flow-position method of building ships, which made it possible to sharply increase production capacities and annually commission the fleet of 25 to 35 ships.

Over the years of its history, the plant has built over 1,500 sea and river ships and vessels, including about 600 military. Among them are small anti-submarine ships of projects 122b, 201, 201M, 204, communication ships and auxiliary fleets of the Sound type, Skat air-cushion assault boats, watercraft for tanks, a large series of Albatros anti-submarine ships, as well as patrol ships For the Navy of Germany, Cuba, Yugoslavia, Algeria, Libya. In the early 80s, the fleet delivered the world's first experimental anti-submarine ship, project 1141, on the Sokol hydrofoil, and in the 90s, two missile ships, project 1239, on the Bora and Samum hovercraft, which did not have that period of analogues in the world. Along with warships, the plant built a large number of civilian vessels, these are: Kolkhoznitsa cargo ships - 22 units, tugboats - 34 pushers, fishing vessels Project 1375 - 10, fishing vessels Project 1361 - 37, ocean transport refrigerators of the project 1351 - 4.

39. "Zelenodolsk plant them. A.M. Gorky ”also stands at the origins of the creation of the world's first and unique in its kind high-speed ships and ships with dynamic principles of maintaining, for example, Meteors. Since 1961, more than 300 units of such high-speed hydrofoil passenger ships commissioned on the rivers of Russia and abroad were commissioned.

40. I remember such people went to us in Perm, and you?

41. But there were other times, in the crazy 90s, the factory survived and even produced these models.

43. The layout of the plant. Yes, the dimensions are rather big.

Among the largest projects implemented by the plant in recent years are the construction of Project 11661 missile ships: the flagship of the Caspian flotilla of the Tatarstan ship and the advanced ship of this Dagestan project; two Cheetah 3.9 frigates exported for the Vietnamese Navy. Currently, a series of five units of multipurpose small missile ships of the river-sea class of project 21631, as well as a series of anti-sabotage boats of project 21980 Rook, are being built.

In addition to production and financial victories, any right venture applying for leadership is simply obliged to think about a person, creating favorable and comfortable conditions for both his work and leisure. In this "Zelenodolsk plant named after A.M. Gorky "definitely also succeeded. One of such interesting social projects, which is developing, thanks to the plant, is the Dolphin Yacht Club, in which children are engaged in sailing and modeling, and it’s absolutely free.

On July 4, 2016, the Yacht Club was already five years old. During this time, a well-maintained coastal base was built (5 buildings, a boathouse, a three-level pier with a special coating, a multifunctional sports field, a volleyball court for beach volleyball and other buildings).

At the moment, more than a hundred pupils aged 8 to 17 years are engaged in the club, of which only 20% are children of factory workers. Everyone is welcome here, there would be a desire. And those who are seriously engaged in, and have results. In just five years, the guys won at competitions of different levels: 107 gold medals, 122 silver and 94 bronze medals. 4 pupils were included in the national team of the Republic of Tatarstan, another 50 have various sports categories.

As for the working tool itself, these are: dinghies of various classes (31 pcs.), The Neva-2 yacht, the Favorit -450 coaching boat with a trailer (2 pcs.), A rubber boat with a motor for instructors (2 pcs.) , 2 kayaks, 1 double canoe and 1 catamaran two-floated. Moreover, this fleet is periodically replenished.

In the modern world, thanks to archaeological discoveries and accurate research, it becomes clear how the Ancient World was arranged, but increasingly, modern mankind is convinced that ancient technical achievements and engineering solutions, especially in the field of shipbuilding   admirable.

Sailing and shipbuilding   since ancient times have been advanced areas of knowledge. And this is natural, because the sea united nations. Trade and war determined the face of the Ancient World and were often the only means of exchanging not only goods, but also technical achievements. Since archaic times, naval dominion has determined the boundaries and well-being of the kingdom and peoples, and in the era of empires has become a major factor in power and political stability. It is not surprising that the strengths of this world have always given decisive importance to the construction of fleets.

The importance of control over maritime communications and trade was well recognized by mariners. Skillful maneuvering by the fleets, the landing of warriors on the coast, and simply the appearance of warships off the coast as a demonstration of force - became familiar elements of political struggle.

In the depths of centuries, hidden from the present is the moment when the first ship was launched, but some of humanity’s further steps in the field shipbuilding over time, they open the curtain to humanity, creating a complete picture of the process in its final form. Researchers can argue for a long time about which rowing vessels were considered the best: ancient triremes, titans of the Hellenistic fleets or galleys of Italian sea powers, but one thing is clear - the golden age is behind.

So how did they build it? How did shipbuilders manage to achieve such outstanding results without knowledge of hydrodynamics? To understand this, we need to realize that the technology of the ancient shipbuilding   improved for many millennia until it reached its peak in the ancient era, as well as the fact that shipbuilding was an art whose experience accumulated over the years and passed from generation to generation, deriving the basic laws of hydrodynamics and seaworthiness of the ship.

Shipbuilding technology   ancient ships are still the subject of heated debate. A stumbling block for researchers is the appearance of ship dialing: frames, vertical pillar racks, longitudinal ties - stringers, etc. The transverse elements of the hull set have existed in all ships since the boats stopped hammering or tying from bamboo. But according to what scheme were they built - first the skeleton or the building?

shipbuilding technology skeleton first

Shipbuilding technology   skeleton first is characterized by the fact that during the construction of the ship the skeleton of the ship (keel, frames, pivots) was originally built and only then it was sheathed with boards, creating a hull. This method is so natural that since the time of medieval galleys, he received the right to exist until now.

Recently, however, many researchers are inclined to believe that in the ancient period in the Mediterranean ships were built differently. This method of shipbuilding is characterized in the initial implementation of the lining, which, as it were, stretched belt after belt on pre-prepared templates-frames of frames and only then, as the hull was ready, the ribs were inserted into it, usually with three tiers not connected to each other. This technique allowed to establish a serial ship building. Most likely, there was a technological chain that made it possible to create ships in large series and in a fairly short time. There are known examples of the construction of a whole fleet in two months - the fleet of the Roman consul Duilius, which brought the Romans victory at Mila in 260 BC, was built in the period from 45 to 60 days. There is also evidence of the procurement and storage of ship parts in special hangars, in which then, if necessary, it was possible to assemble a large number of vessels very quickly. There are references that ships assembled in shipyards were again dismantled, transported over great distances, then assembled again, making up whole fleets.

In a word, there are two opposing opinions building   the ancients shipsbut the truth, as they say, is in the middle. The first method is skeleton first - more economical, less labor intensive and, in general, quite simple. The second shell first method is expensive and technically complicated, however, thanks to this shipbuilding technology, the process was standardized, which made it possible to quickly build the required number of vessels, and in addition it provided another important advantage - lightening the hull of the vessel by one and a half times. The hull of the vessel so fastened, namely its outer part, initially has greater rigidity and does not require large cross-sections. This, in turn, made it possible to place a larger number of rowers in the same space. This method was used in the construction of multi-tiered large ships. For them, the above advantages were vital, allowing to increase the speed by almost 30 percent, which helped to improve the combat quality of the ship. After all, speed in those days was crucial in naval battles, where the only weapon of the ship was ram. Built on this technology, the most powerful and high-speed fleet ensured Greece a half-century supremacy at sea and made it possible to win victories over superior enemy forces. Of course, this method of shipbuilding was kept in the strictest confidence and was carried away by ancient shipbuilders to the grave along with the death of the ancient world. Anyway, this shipbuilding technology   has been lost.

shipbuilding technology shell first

So how did shell-first technology come about? It is quite obvious that initially, small dugout boats were built without drawings - by sight. In the future, the natural desire of prehistoric shipbuilders to increase the buoyancy, capacity and indelibility of the boat empirically led them to create a hull as such. initially shipbuilders   tried to increase the volume of the cylindrical part of the barrel. To do this, they used different methods of steaming and the subsequent expansion of the grooved part using spacers. Gradually, such a design from a cylindrical shape was transformed into a shape close to our understanding of the boat. Over time, there was a collapse of the sides and a narrowing of the extremities. However, very soon this development of shipbuilding reached its limit. In addition, when the cylinder was bursting, a drop in the surface part of the side appeared on the midship, in contrast to which the central part of the sides of the grooves began to be built. Most likely, during the construction of such "shells" a ship arose in our remembrance of this design. All other elements appeared empirically. The keel may have arisen as a result of the desire to reduce the grooved part, thereby reducing the complexity and significantly simplifying the design. The pins were needed as elements connecting the planks of the grown bead at the extremities. And the rib cage, obviously, appeared when the size of the "shell" grew so much that it became necessary to fasten the outer elements from the inside.

The key point in understanding the emergence of shipbuilding technology shell first are the two existing methods since ancient times connecting joining sheathing: clinker and water.

a) lining; b) clinker compound;

Clinker, has some advantage for early shipbuilding methods, firstly, due to the greater water resistance provided structurally. Clinker is also preferable for the technology of erecting the hull without a preliminary skeleton and drawings. After all, in the absence of an internal frame, it is more convenient to join in between each other by overlapping laths. And most importantly, each subsequent board, lying on the previous one, repeats its curvature, using the hollowed part as a tongue-and-groove belt, i.e., a kind of pattern-template.

The hull, in this case, is formed as a natural extension of the hollowed trunk, which gradually evolves in the bottom and then into the keel. Probably later, at about the beginning of the third millennium BC, the method of joining poyevya - lining was smooth, was invented. Obviously, it became possible when the shipbuilders began to fasten the slats with the help of peculiar plate-pins made of harder wood species.

It was the sheathing in combination with the fastening method that was sung with nails, followed by fixing them with wooden pins in the upper and lower zones (mortise and tenon method), that became the basis of shell-first shipbuilding technology, which means - first the hull. This technique, most likely, appeared in a completely natural way, as they say, by trial and error and improved for several thousand years.

New construction methods required a high level of standardization of parts, competent personnel and an established shipyard structure. Therefore, it is not surprising that the appearance of the first seagoing vessels is directly related to the centralization of power and the formation of ancient states.

shipbuilding method mortise & tenon

In antiquity, the mortise & tenon method, which replaced the sewing technology, began to play a key role in shipbuilding technology.

in the photo - the restored part of the hull of a merchant ship found in the 80s of the XX century in the Italian city of Comacho. Here, the method of docking by singing the outer skin of the ship is clearly shown. At the end of the upper belt, grooves are visible, just below the holes for the pins

The essence of the method was that at the ends of the boards, after singing, with a step of 20-50 cm, mortises were performed, as before, in which then, when joining, plates of harder tree species were inserted. However, those, in turn, did not sew together, as before, but were buzzed by pins (tenon) in the upper and lower zones. Such a gelled casing was tightly coupled, and at the same time quite flexible. And most importantly, now the design was not afraid of longitudinal displacements, which inevitably led to a rupture of the stitched knots. Yes, and these displacements themselves decreased, because the soft ropes were replaced with pins made of solid wood. This provided transverse and longitudinal rigidity, quite sufficient to arrange the frames less often, to make them thinner and, most importantly, composite, using all the improvised material for this. Thus, the frames played the role of ribs providing only local rigidity. The total longitudinal and transverse strength of the vessel was created by the shell itself.

Large ships additionally installed beams and decking. It's hard to say when a similar shipbuilding technology. However, it was widely used by Phoenician sailors. At that time, metal fasteners were used extremely rarely and in relation to fastening the casing to the frames, the previous stitching method was preserved.

a) fastening the casing to the frames using stitching;

b) fastening of the sheathing of the casing to each other using the mortise & tenon method;

In the classical period, the construction of various types of ships, including the famous triremes, was put on the conveyor and honed to perfection, even in the smallest details. Sophisticated and costly shipbuilding technology, which initially only rich powers could afford, was such only during the construction of the first ship. A lot of time and money was spent on the creation of technological equipment, on the standardization and unification of parts, as well as on the training and maintenance of highly qualified specialists. But then the training, which today is called the “zero stage” in shipbuilding, fully justified itself and made it possible to build entire fleets in a short time.

Summing up, we can say that mainly in the ancient period ships were built using shell first shipbuilding technology - first the hull. Moreover, this method was based on the principle of attaching the sheathing sheathing smoothly, using the mortise & tenon method, that is, laying adjacent planks of harder wood, which in turn were fixed with pins in the upper and lower parts. Such a technique has been empirically developed from various methods for sewing the case, and has been used in the southeastern Mediterranean, at least from the beginning of the third millennium BC. In the second millennium, this shipbuilding technology   formed the basis for the construction of powerful fleets of peoples of the Aegean culture. At the beginning of the first millennium, such a practice was already widely used by the Phoenicians, and in the classical period acquired its final form in the construction of Greek triremes.

Shipbuilding technology   shell first allowed building ships in large batches in a very short time, and was used to create both military and transport ships. This was vital during wars or large colonization expeditions. At the same time, the construction of huge vessels, such as Caligula, was carried out by shipbuilding technology   skeleton first - at first the skeleton, because all the advantages of seriality in such special projects were lost, but the strength of the skeleton of these giants was given special importance.

From the book of V. Dygalo "The fleet of the Russian state. Where and what went on the fleet"

The names of other ancient ships are also known, for example, the famous three-masted “Alexandria”, built on the orders of King Hieron II by the Corinthian craftsman Archias, and the Alexandrian vessel for transporting wheat “Isis”.

The failure of the first Azov campaign in the summer of 1695 forced Peter I to force the construction of ships. On April 3, 1696, three galleys were launched at a shipyard based in Voronezh. The first of them was called “Principium”, that is, “basis”, “beginning”, which fully corresponded to the historical moment, the beginning of the creation of the Russian regular fleet. In the second Azov campaign, the Principium gallery was commanded by the tsar himself under the name of Peter Alekseev. The other two galleys were called “St. Mark ”and“ St. Matvey. ” Two sailing-rowing 36-gun ships were also given names in honor of Orthodox saints: “Apostle Peter” and “Apostle Paul”. During the construction of the Azov fleet, there were no significant victories, no glorified heroes, no military traditions, therefore, at first, the choice of names was usually limited to the names of the pillars of the Orthodox Church.

Appearing at the dawn of the creation of a regular navy, these ship names became traditional and were especially often used in the XVIII century. So, Rear Admiral F.F. Ushakova in the battle with the Turkish squadron at Cape Kaliakriya almost entirely consisted of ships called the names of Orthodox saints, and two ships were named after the most revered Christian holidays: “The Nativity of Christ” and “Transfiguration of the Lord”.

Since Peter the Great, the names of ships in Russia, as a rule, have been approved by the tsar and only in rare cases have the Admiralty Board (since 1827 the Admiralty Council). The crowned sailor understood well the meaning of the names of the ship as carriers of naval traditions and state prestige. An analysis of the names of the ships allows us to conclude that already at the beginning of the creation of the regular fleet, Peter the Great sought to bring them into a certain system. In particular, the courts began to be given names in accordance with their rank and purpose - the higher the rank, the higher and more prestigious the name.

Despite the amazing variety of names for the ships of the Azov fleet, one can still say that some of them were chosen in order to express the ideas of the high morale of the sailors, the strength and power of the Russian fleet. An example of this is the name of the ships: “Fearlessness”, “Color of War”, “Lion”, “Unicorn”, “Hercules”. The names of some of the scorers' ships were no less military: “Fortress”, “Scorpio”, “Flag”, etc. The names of the ships under construction for the Azov fleet were also influenced to a certain extent by Peter the Great's overseas trip to Holland and England, during which he was carried away emblems, symbols, allegories and mottos through which the essence of the names of the ships was revealed. Here are just some of the names borrowed by him, disclosed using the appropriate mottos: “Ball” - “I happen to be most biennial, I rise only more vigorously”, “Jet” - “Strength overwhelms the fortress”, “Stone” - “It has power over the waters”, “Elephant” - “It’s evil evil”   etc. Bombardier ships, which had powerful artillery to fight against coastal fortifications, were named: Thunder, Lightning, Thunderbolt   - motto “Jupiter and his lightnings”, “Bomb”   - motto “Woe to the one to whom I will get”. Perhaps the best names for such ships are difficult to find. But the names given to two of these ships sound discordant: Peacemaker   and "Lamb", that is, a lamb is a symbol of meekness and humility. What causes these names? There can only be one answer: Peter's penchant for humor, a playful juxtaposition of the peace-loving name of the ship and its firepower. There were other mischievous names: "Bell"   - motto “His ringing is not for him”, “Three glasses”   - motto “Keep measure in all matters”, “Hedgehog”   - motto “Flattery and hand”, and many others.

However, the galleys and firewalls built by the “kumpanism” did not have their own names. They were known by the names of their captains, or the chiefs holding the flag on them: galleys of Admiral Lefort, Vice Admiral Lim, Chautenbach de Losier; captains of Bruce, Trubetskoy, Ushakov, Repnin and others; the firemen of the captains-princes Cherkassky, Veliko-Gagin, Lobanov-Rostovsky ... This suggests that Peter I during the construction of the Azov fleet was difficult to find names for a large number of ships.

By the spring of 1700, the “kumpanism” had basically fulfilled the duty of ships, and Peter I ordered the further construction of the fleet to be carried out at the state’s expense. The names of the ships and the mottos were often borrowed from Western European emblematic collections, in particular from the book popular in the Netherlands “Symbols and emblem”published in Amsterdam in 1705

What names received state-owned ships in this period? Here is some of them: “Lighter Iron”   - motto “You have to work while you have time”, “Epee” - “Show me where the laurel crowns are”, “Sulitsa”   (Ancient melee weapon, a kind of spear or staghorn, as well as a throwing spear) - “Die or win”. Some of the names expressed power, nobility, patience, etc., which was revealed in the corresponding mottos: “Old Oak” - “Renews Hope”, “The old eagle” - “Not with a voice, but with my deeds”, “Sleeping lion” - “His heart watches”, “Turtle” - “With patience you will see the end of the case”. Among the names of the new ships, Saint George, revered in Russia as the Victorious, and the biblical hero Samson, who possessed extraordinary physical strength, were not forgotten. The two-deck 62-gun ship was called Voronezh in memory of the first Russian Admiralty and the main shipyard that built ships for the Azov fleet.

The firewalls intended for burning enemy ships were most consistent with their names: “Volcano”, “Phoenix”, “Sulemander”. To some extent, these names were associated with fire and its burning effect. Meanwhile, the names of the ships of the Azov "period have one peculiarity. Most of the shipbuilders and sailor officers invited from abroad did not know the Russian language, therefore, for greater understanding, many ships bore two or more names, most often Russian and its translation into Dutch, English , German, French (For example: “Drum” - “Trumel”, “Bell” - “Klok”, “Hedgehog” - “Igel”, “Strength” - “Start”, “Connection” - “Union”, “Fearlessness” ”-“ Suberban ”,“ Sonderfres ”and“ Onberfrest ”,“ Good Start ”-“ Gutanf Ngen ”,“ Gut Begin ”and“ Desegelbegin ”,“ Fortress ”-“ Castle ”,“ Castel ”,“ Stargate ”and“ Citadel ”). However, Peter did this for advertising purposes, to strengthen the prestige of the young fleet of Russia. April 27 (May 8), 1700 a significant event took place in the history of shipbuilding - the first ship was launched in Voronezh, built without the participation of foreigners, according to the design brought by Peter, most likely from England. “His Royal Majesty”, and in his absence, the supervision of the work was carried out by two young masters who studied with him abroad - F. Sklyaev and P. Vereshchagin. The two-deck 58-gun ship they built was named “Goto Predestination”that in Russian meant “God's foresight”. This sonorous and promising name, which also had a deep political meaning, indicated that the Most High himself foresaw Russia's access to the sea.

When the Baltic Fleet was created, ships appeared named after the royal family. So, the royal yacht “Frigate Royal” was named “Princess Anna”, the second yacht, “Gilded”, was named “Princess Elizabeth” (both in honor of the daughters of Peter I), and the third - “Natalya”   (in honor of his mother).

When the construction of a series of 52-gun battleships was completed in Arkhangelsk in June-July 1715, they were given the names Archangels - “Gabriel”, “Michael”, “Uriel”, “Salafail”, “Barahail” and “Yagudiiel”.

The name of the ships by the names of the representatives of the Romanov and Orthodox saints house contributed to the formation among the officers and lower ranks of the belief in the inviolability of religion and the foundations of imperial power.

One of the rules instituted under Peter I was continuity in the names of ships, especially those that deserved this right in battle. In the Baltic, the names of the Azov fleet period were repeated - “Lysette”, “Munker”, “Degas”, “Falk”, “Eliphant”, “Friedemaker”. The names of the ships that had completed their service were given to the new ones: “Narva”, “Vyborg”, “Shlisselburg”. The battles of the Northern War blew from them with powder smoke, and in preserving these names Peter I saw the birth of yet another tradition of the Russian fleet. Over time, the continuity of names became the rule. Many names did not go off the sides for a long time, forming entire dynasties of the ships of the same name. Over the history of the Russian fleet, the following names have been repeated more than others: “Standart” and “Gangut” - 5 times, “Ingermanland” - 6, “Do not touch me” and “Azov” - 7 each, “Poltava” and “Samson” - each 8, “Vyborg” - 10, “Mercury” - 11, “Narva” -14, “Moscow” - 18, “Hope” - 22. They are still alive, today they are carried by the ships of our Navy.

In the reign of Catherine II, when naming the ships, preference was still given to the names of Orthodox saints, biblical prophets, as well as emperors and empresses of Russia, members of the royal family, and the names of religious holidays.

No less popular were the names of Old Russian princes. These names were intended, as a rule, for ships of higher ranks, mainly battleships and frigates. Here, for example, are the names of the battleships and frigates of the Black Sea Fleet squadron in 1791: “John the Baptist”, “Mary Magdalene”, “St. Vladimir ”,“ St. Paul ”,“ Transfiguration of the Lord ”,“ St. Alexander Nevsky ”,“ St. George the Victorious ”,“ St. Andrew the First-Called ”,“ St. John the Evangelist ”frigates: “St. Nestor ”and“ St. Mark". Ships of lower ranks (brigs, sloops, corvettes) usually received the names of parts of the world, countries, cities located on coastal territories, as well as planets, constellations and stars.

A large group of ship names were also the names of predatory animals and birds.

During the reign of Paul I, there were almost no changes in the system of ship names. But with him, the first attempt was made to legalize the place of their writing. By his decree, the emperor obliged to write the names on the stern. It also reported when, where and by whom the ship was built.

The creation of new classes and types of ships in the era of the steam fleet caused the appearance of new groups of names, as a result of which the connection of times was partially interrupted, and historical continuity disappeared. This circumstance was obviously influenced by the tragic outcome of the Crimean War. For example, the Baltic Fleet’s steam gunboats got names associated with atmospheric and marine phenomena, weapons, fairy-tale characters, sea fish, birds and insects (Lightning, Thunder, Flurry, Snowstorm, “Blizzard” ... “Sword”, “Ax”, “Spear”, “Pishchal”, “Bow”, “Carapace”, “Shield”, “Mail”, “Armor” ... “Mermaid”, “Witch ”,“ Brownie ”...“ Ruff ”,“ Pike ”...“ Coccyx ”,“ Kite ”,“ Seagull ”...“ Mosquito ”,“ Bee ”,“ Wasp ”,“ Bumblebee ”).

Other classes of steam ships - steam frigates and sail-screw corvettes - began to be called the names of Russian warriors and princes: “Ilya Muromets”, “Oleg”, “Relight”, “Oslyabya”, “Dmitry Donskoy”, “Alexander Nevsky”.

The first prototype ship of the Russian fleet with armored protection, which entered service on June 22, 1861, was a gunboat. She got the name "Experience". In 1864, an armored battery built in England came into operation. This was the first ship of this class in the Russian fleet. Therefore it was named “Firstborn”. Following him, two more armored batteries, which had more powerful artillery weapons, were built at the St. Petersburg shipyards. As if emphasizing their inaccessibility, they received the names “Do not touch me” and “Kremlin”.

In 1870, the Baltic Fleet, in addition to three armored batteries, had 13 armored monitor boats built according to the so-called Monitor   1863 program. The head of them was. named “Battleship”and the rest - “Unicorn”, “Lava”, “Tornado”, “Sagittarius”, “Hurricane”, “Veschun”, “Perun”, “Mermaid”, “Enchantress”   etc.

The first attempt by Russia to create a defensive fleet on the Black Sea in connection with the abolition of the restrictive articles of the Paris Treaty of 1856 also dates back to the early 70s. To this end, Admiral A.A. Popov designed and built two coastal defense battleships, the so-called round armored ships. One of them was named “Novgorod”, and the second by the name of its creator - “Vice-Admiral Popov”. Unofficially, these battleships were called "priests."

With the beginning of the reign of Emperor Alexander III, the transition to the construction of armored ships of large displacement began. In accordance with the new programs for the Black Sea Fleet, eight armadillos and a significant number of other ships were to be built within 20 years. Once again, the tradition of giving the most prestigious names to ships of higher ranks was revived. The battleships that became part of the Black Sea Fleet were named: “Catherine II”, “Sinop”, “Chesma”, “Twelve Apostles”, “George the Victorious”, “Three Saints” and “Rostislav”. The latter was named in honor of the prince of the Great Moravian Empire, who in 846-870. led the fight against German aggression. In 862, he invited Cyril and Methodius from Byzantium. The squadron battleships built on these programs in the Baltic Sea also received names associated with the names of emperors, victories of the Russian fleet and armies: “Emperor Alexander II”, “Emperor Nicholas 1”, “Gangut”, “Navarin”, “Poltava”, “Sevastopol”, “Petropavlovsk”, “Great Sisoy”, - and the coastal defense battleships were named after the famous Russian admirals: “Admiral Spiridov”, “Admiral Greig”, “Admiral Lazarev”, “Admiral Chichagov”. Several mine cruisers were named after the heroes of sailors: “Lieutenant Ilyin”, “Captain Saken”, “Kazarsky”.

The first destroyer of the Russian fleet, which entered service in 1877, was named "Explosion", and subsequent destroyers and destroyers received the names of various geographical locations: “Kotlin”, “Lakhta”, “Meadows”, “Revel”, “Sveaborg”, “Nargen”, “Hogland”, “Biorke”, “Moonsund”, - which became one of the rules when naming other ships of this class. Due to the deterioration of relations with Japan, the Russian government was forced to develop and approve an additional program, called the program “For the needs of the Far East”. It consisted of five squadron battleships ( “Tsesarevich”, “Retvizan”, “Emperor Alexander III”, “Prince Suvorov”, “Glory”), four cruisers of the 1st rank ( “Bayan”, “Varyag”, “Askold”, “Athlete”), four cruisers of the 2nd rank ( “Novik”, “Boyar”, “Pearls”, “Emerald”), as well as 20 destroyers. There was no strict system in their names, but the rule to call large ships by the names of emperors and famous commanders remained. For the names of destroyers, adjectives were used ( “Troublesome”, “Brilliant”, “Ruthless”, “Fast”, “Combat”, “Fearless”, “Stormy”   etc.), expressing some of the qualities inherent in ships of this class. Similar names were widely used in the future.

During the Russo-Japanese War, the fleet suffered heavy losses, having lost most of its new warships. The heroism of the sailors, manifested during the defense of Port Arthur and in the battle of Tsushima, caused a wave of patriotism among the Russian people and the desire to revive a powerful fleet. In accordance with the shipbuilding programs of 1908 and 1912-1916. it was decided to build a fundamentally new battleships, battle cruisers, cruisers, destroyers and submarines. It was also demanded that all newly laid ships in order to establish historical continuity and preserve military traditions inherit the names from their predecessors. In accordance with these programs in St. Petersburg in 1909, four battleships were named at the shipyards of the Baltic and Admiralty factories, which were named “Gangut”, “Poltava”, “Sevastopol” and “Petropavlovsk”. For the Black Sea Fleet in Nikolaev, linear ships were laid, which were named in honor of the wife of Paul 1 - Maria Fedorovna - and the Russian emperors: “Empress Maria”, “Emperor Alexander III”, “Empress Catherine II”   (from June 27, 1915 - “Empress Catherine the Great”) and “Emperor Nicholas 1”   (was not completed). Line cruisers for the Baltic were built at the Baltic and Admiralty factories - “Borodino”, “Izmail”, “Kinburn”, “Navarin”   (not one of them was completed). All light cruisers, which were also built according to these programs, were named in honor of the admirals of the Russian Navy - “Admiral Butakov”, “Admiral Spiridov” and “Admiral Greig”   for the Baltic and “Admiral Nakhimov”, “Admiral Lazarev”, “Admiral Kornilov” and “Admiral Istomin”   for the Black Sea. The exception was the cruiser “Svetlana”, who inherited the name of the cruiser who died in the Russo-Japanese war. Noteworthy are the names of destroyers.

It was accepted that one division (nine ships each) bore the names of the heroes of sea battles and battles: “Lieutenant Ilyin”, “Lieutenant Dubasov”, “Captain Izylmetyev”   etc. The second division was named after the famous battles: “Grengam”, “Gogland”, “Chios”, “Tenedos”, “Ramnik”   and others. The third - bore the names of the ships of the sailing fleet, famous in various naval battles and battles: “Thunder”, “Orpheus”, “Zabiyaka”, “Winner”, “Samson”, “Azov”   and others. And finally, the fourth - had the names of the ships of the sailing fleet that participated in many battles: “Vladimir”, “Konstantin”, “Gabriel”, “Thunder-bearer”   and others. At the beginning of World War I, the Russian fleet began to be equipped with new submarines. They got the names of predatory animals: “Bars”, “Panther”, “Lioness”, “Tiger”, “Jaguar”, “Boar”, “Cougar”, “Wolf”, “Leopard”, “Cheetah”, “Lynx”, “Tour”   and etc.

Thus, by 1914, a new, perhaps not very coherent naming system for navy ships was developed and documented in Russia, which adopted many traditions that arose in the time of Peter the Great.

It cannot be said that the February Revolution and the October Revolution completely changed, as it seems at first glance, the current system in the Russian Empire: the names of the ships of the navy. Of course, the names of the holy apostles and the righteous immediately disappeared from the sides of warships and ships, and the names associated with the kings and grand dukes were replaced by the names of the Bolshevik leaders and a set of words or phrases borrowed from revolutionary phraseology, but the essence of the name system remained the same. only one idols were replaced by others. The principle of continuity has been preserved in the ship’s name system, but some difficulties arose due to the fact that the political life of the “proletarian leaders” was often short-lived, and when their names only appeared on board the ships, they were dropped from party pedestals . So the new names of destroyer-type destroyers disappeared. “Novik” - “Trotsky”   (“Lieutenant Ilyin”), “Zinoviev”   (“Azard”), “Rykov”   (“Captain Kern”), “Petrovsky”   (“Hajibey”). The names of the ships began to change almost on the second day after the February Revolution. The fallen Romanov dynasty was primarily erased from the sides of the largest ships. The ships of the former Russian Imperial Fleet underwent this procedure: “Dawn of Freedom”   (“Emperor Alexander 1”), "Citizen"   (“Tsesarevich”), "Republic" (“Emperor Paul 1”), "Will"   (“Emperor Alexander III”), “Free Russia”   (“Empress Catherine the Great”), "Democracy"   (“Emperor Nicholas 1”).

The lion's share of the new names were the names of the leaders of the revolution and the world proletariat, as well as new word formations that arose in the Soviet period. In all other names, the word was invariably added. "red", which was characteristic not only for ships. Recall the new signs on the buildings of factories, factories and collective farms: “Red Putilovets”, “Red Triangle”, “Red Thread”, “Red Plowman”   and etc.

The names of the surviving dreadnought battleships symbolized the three stages of the world revolutionary movement - the French revolution in the person of the initiator revolutionary terror   Marat, the Paris Commune and the October Revolution. They got the names: “Marat”   (“Petropavlovsk”), “Paris Commune”   (“Sevastopol") and "October Revolution"   (“Gangut”).

The Black Sea cruisers began to be called the names of the Soviet republics with the addition of the word "red": “Red Crimea”   (“Svetlana”, then “Profintern”), “Chervona Ukraine”   (“Admiral Nakhimov”) and “Red Caucasus”   (“Admiral Lazarev”).

The names of destroyers, the largest group of ships, have also changed. Almost all of them were named after the leaders of the world proletariat and revolution (“Karl Marx”, “Engels”, “Lenin”, “Stalin”, “Karl Liebknecht”, “Dzerzhinsky”, “Kalinin”, “Sverdlov”, “Frunze”, “Volodarsky”, “Kuibyshev”, “Shaumyan”, “Artem”).

Submarines such as “Bars” also received names that are consistent with the spirit of the time. So, distinguished in August 1919, “Panther” at the end of 1922 was named “Commissioner”and others “Red Navy”, “Comrade”, “Kommunar”, “Bolshevik”, “Red Army Man”   etc.

In addition to “Aurora,” there is another name that was used in both the Russian and Soviet navy - this is the name of the capital of our state - Moscow. For the first time it was assigned to the 64-gun battleship, laid down in 1712 in St. Petersburg and launched in three years. A few more ships of the same name, built in Arkhangelsk, served the fleet from 1750 to 1809. In July 1878, the auxiliary cruiser Moskva was converted into our military fleet, converted from a steamer bought for donations. Soon he was transferred to the Voluntary Fleet. And later it included two more ships with this name.

The first Soviet ship bearing the name “Moscow” since 1919 was the floating battery of the North Dvina Naval Flotilla, and then the leader of the destroyers of the Black Sea Fleet, built in 1937. At present, the name of the capital is the anti-submarine cruiser “Moscow”. This large surface ship is equipped with modern rocket and aviation equipment.

The first Soviet-built submarines were named “Decembrist”, “Narodovolets”, “Red Guard”, “Revolutionary”, “Spartak”, “Jacobin”. The following submarines of the “L” series were named “Leninist”, “Stalinist”, “Frunzevets”, “Garibaldiyets”, “Chartist” and “Carbonarius”. Submarines of the next series of the same type “L” appeared later with names invented by the same word-formation rule: “Voroshilovets”, “Dzerzhinets”, “Kirovets”, “Menzhinets”. Naturally, there was no question of any continuity of these artificial names. This is probably well understood themselves “Constructors of human souls”, since soon these submarines received letter-digital names: D-1, D-2 ... and L-1, L-2 ...

Submarines of the following types also sometimes got their own names, but they only took root for the series as a whole by the name of the head boat - “Pike”, “Baby”   and others. But in addition to the letter-digital name, some “Babies” still had their own names: “Yaroslavl Komsomolets”   (M-104), “Chelyabinsk Komsomolets”   (M-105), "Revenge"   (M-200), “Donbass Rybnik” (M-202), etc. However, these names were not on the hulls of boats. The fact is that during the Great Patriotic War, many boats were built with funds collected by the people, and the initiators of the fundraising themselves gave them the names. At the time of the ceremonial transfer of these ships to the representatives of the fleets, the appropriated name was written in white paint on the conning tower. But this name appeared only in ship documents and never appeared on board the ship. With the arrival of a military unit, the name was painted over and the corresponding letter-digital name was written in its place.

In the prewar years, new battleships with the names “Soviet Union”, “Soviet Russia”   and “Soviet Ukraine”. As you can see, the word "red"   here has given way to the word "Soviet", but these names remained only on paper. The war prevented the completion of these ships.

The new cruisers that entered service on the eve of the war were named: “Kirov”, “Voroshilov”, “Molotov” and “Maxim Gorky”. By tradition, which in principle existed before the revolution, the largest warships were named after the highest party-statesmen. Only “Maxim Gorky” stands out. In the Russian and Soviet Navy, the name of the writer was first used as the name of a warship. Such a precedent was only in Italy, when one of the battleships of the Italian Navy was named “Dante Alighieri”. It is known that M. Gorky, while on Capri, visited the battleship “Paris Commune” and the cruiser “Profintern” when they made the transition from the Baltic to the Black Sea, which may be why the name of the “great proletarian writer”, as he was called in 30 years, appeared on board the new cruiser.

In the post-war system of ship names, several directions can be traced. First, the revival of the tradition of calling ships the names of famous generals and naval commanders, as well as the names of large cities. Secondly, the appeal to the names of the ships of the pre-revolutionary fleet and their revival. Thirdly, the name of the ships in honor of the heroes of World War II. At the same time, they tried to adhere to the rule of giving series of ships of the same class related names, but this was far from always maintained.

Today, on board the ships of our fleet, one can read the revived names: “Varyag”, “Ochakov”, “Resistant”, “Glory”, “Admiral Lazarev”, “Alexander Suvorov”, “Alexander Nevsky”, “Dmitry Pozharsky”, “Admiral Makarov ”,“ Stereguschiy ”,“ Sevastopol ”,“ Petropavlovsk ”. But many of the names of the ships of the Russian fleet are undeservedly forgotten. Such famous names as “Novik”, “Russia”, “Stormbreaker”, “Rurik”, “Askold”, “Oleg”, “Bogatyr”, “Bayan”, “Diana”, “Pallas”, and also the names given in honor of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo - Alexander Peresvet and Rodion Oslyaby - and it is imperative to indicate them on sailor's ribbons, as was the practice before.

As you can see, the tradition of assigning city names to ships is preserved in the Navy: “Kiev”, “Minsk”, “Moscow”, “Novorossiysk”, “Leningrad”, “Kerch”, “Sevastopol”, “Murmansk”. These ships also sail today in our fleet. But among them there is no ship with the name "Stalingrad". Of course, the name of Stalin can cause many negative emotions, but you can’t throw a word out of history, just like from a song, and the ship will not be named after Stalin, but in honor of the greatest victory at Stalingrad during the Great Patriotic War.

Immeasurable losses were suffered by our people during the years of this war. Many of the names of the dead heroes can now be seen on board the warships and auxiliary vessels of the Navy: “Evgeny Nikonov”, “Fedor Vidyaev”. Sailor, foreman of the 1st article, officer - their names are equally dear to us. The tradition of giving warships the names of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War can be compared with the Eternal Flame that we light on earth.

To emphasize the individuality of each ship and its belonging to the Russian Navy, the commission on military symbols of the All-Russian Heraldry Society is currently developing coats of arms for each ship. The issue of approving emblems for each fleet - the Northern, Pacific, Baltic and Black Sea is also being considered. The basis of each coat of arms is a double-headed eagle. So, for example, on the eve of Navy Day in June 1992, the general meeting of officers and midshipmen of the Northern Fleet cruiser Admiral Nakhimov approved the design of the coat of arms of the ship: against the background of the historical Russian symbol, a whale is depicted - an animal that “patronizes” this cruiser. Another sign indicates that this ship is nuclear. These emblems will be depicted on official letterhead, in particular on the invitation cards of the commander and the wardroom of the ship.