Don't touch me (floating battery). Dedicated to Victory Day

Gospel story describing the appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene. The plot was depicted on many icons.

Touch Me Not is an armored floating battery of the Russian Imperial Navy, built in the 1860s.

Touch me not is the common name for touch-sensitive plants, such as Mimosa pudica or Impatiens vulgare.

Touch Me Don't is a novel by Filipino and Malay writer and poet Jose Rizal.

Don't touch me - floating anti-aircraft battery No. 3. Made from the “citadel” - the unfinished central compartment of the battleship. She distinguished herself during the defense of Sevastopol. From November 1941 to June 19, 1942, the battery shot down 22 (according to unconfirmed reports 28) German aircraft.

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Synonyms:

Don't rush love
Don't touch me (floating battery)

See what “Don't touch me” is in other dictionaries:

Dont touch me- (inc.), a touchy person, a touchy person, touchy (a hint of the color: “don’t touch me,” whose leaves shrink when you touch them). Wed. Noli me tangere... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Dont touch me- (foreigner) a person who is touchy, unattractive, touchy (a hint of color: don’t touch me, whose leaves shrink when you touch them) Wed. Noli me tangere... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary

Dont touch me- noun, number of synonyms: 2 impatiens (14) plant (4422) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

Dont touch me- noun, number of synonyms: 2 mimosa (13) plant (4422) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

Dont touch me- (plant) … Spelling dictionary-reference book

Dont touch me- several Wed Herbaceous plant of the balsam family; touchy. Ephraim's explanatory dictionary. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

Dont touch me- don’t touch me/ (plant) ... Together. Apart. Hyphenated.

Dont touch me- (Impatiens noli me tangere) see Impatiens... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Dont touch me- don’t touch me, unasked, cf. (plant) … Russian spelling dictionary

Dont touch me- uncl., p. (plant) … Spelling dictionary of the Russian language

Books

Anti-aircraft citadel. "Dont touch me!" , Shurygin V.I.. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” - under this formidable nickname, the Sevastopol floating anti-aircraft battery No. 3 became a legend. This “strange ship of the Soviet fleet” set an absolute air defense record...

TO THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF SEVASTOPOL FROM THE GERMAN-FASCIST INVADERS

Defense of Sevastopol 1941-1942 forever inscribed many bright heroic pages in the history of the Great Patriotic War. On October 30, 1941, Sevastopol residents heard distant thunderclaps. This artillery of the First Defensive Belt, at the tip of which was the 54th coastal battery, in the area of the village of Nikolaevka entered into battle with the advancing mobile Nazi troops.

Having broken through the Ishun defensive line of our military formations, the Nazis decided to immediately take Sevastopol. But, having encountered fierce resistance from Soviet soldiers, the enemy was forced to get involved in positional battles on the distant approaches to the city. Having regrouped the main strike forces and brought up reserves, the enemy began the first assault on Sevastopol on November 11, which lasted until November 24. Two weeks of continuous fighting did not bring success to the Nazis, and they stopped large-scale hostilities

The ensuing pause was used by the troops of the Sevastopol garrison to restore and improve defensive structures and accumulate forces. Meanwhile, the enemy was feverishly preparing for a second assault on the city, fulfilling Hitler’s directive, which stated: “It is necessary to fight with increased energy for the capture of Sevastopol in order to free up reserves and transfer them from the Crimea to Army Group South.”

The second assault on the city began on December 17, 1942. Having double superiority in aviation, tanks, manpower and multiple superiority in artillery, the enemy brought down the full power of its weapons on the defenders of Sevastopol. In the chronicle of the events of the first day of the assault, it was reported that 98 aircraft took part in the air raids of that day, making about 400 sorties. Only five raids were made on battery No. 3 and 45 air bombs were dropped. At the same time, the crew of the floating battery continued to fire and shot down the enemy bomber.

The unique floating battery not only carried out air defense patrol for the city, but also terrified Luftwaffe pilots. The idea of creating a battery was brought to life by Captain 1st Rank G.A. Butakov, who was entrusted with checking the organization of the water district security service.

“During this work,” said Grigory Aleksandrovich Butakov, “I came up with the idea of the need for a warning post - an anti-aircraft battery on the distant approaches to the base of the Black Sea Fleet from the sea. First the project was born, and then the floating battery No. 3.

G.A. Butakov belonged to the famous dynasty of naval officers Butakov, dating back to the time of Peter the Great, and was the grandson of Admiral Grigory Ivanovich Butakov, the hero of the First Defense of Sevastopol in 1854-1855, the founder of the tactics of combat operations of the armored fleet.

On August 3, 1941, the created battery became operational for protecting the water borders of the Black Sea Fleet and anchored northwest of the Kherson lighthouse. It was a floating rectangular platform measuring 47x25.5 m. and 15 m high, on which weapons were placed, consisting of 4 anti-aircraft guns of 76 mm caliber, 3 guns - 37 mm, 2 DShK machine guns and 2 130 mm. guns, which were subsequently removed and installed on the shore. The platform served as an experimental block of the unfinished battleship “Project 23 “Soviet Union”, inside of which there were living quarters for a garrison of 130 people. The floating island was painted with camouflage to match the color of the raging sea. White and blue wavy stripes changed the contours of the body. At first the battery was called “Columbine”, and then, during the defense of the city, the navy nicknamed it “Don’t touch me”. This is exactly what one of the Sevastopol batteries of the Crimean War of 1854-1855 was called. And the song, composed in defending Sevastopol, reflected the irreconcilable “character” of the floating battery:

“Don’t touch me, damned fascist!

And if you disturb the silence of the sky,

From my fiery embrace

You won’t fly back alive.”

The Nazis called the battery “God Bless!”, “Black Square”, “Death Square”. In a letter from one of the fascist “aces” addressed to his homeland, it was reported: “The day before yesterday Hans died in the “Death Square”... Today Ulrich did not return from there.” In just 9 months of fighting, the battery destroyed 26 enemy aircraft. Air pirates that were shot down and did not fall into the sea were not taken into account. The battery was commanded by Lieutenant Commander S.Ya. Moshensky, who during the entire defense only once went ashore to receive the Order of the Red Banner. Despite the fact that the floating battery was seriously damaged by a direct hit from an aerial bomb on June 19, 1942, it remained in service, being a formidable weapon for German pilots. The surviving 47 crew members fired barrages from the surviving two 76 mm. guns, two 37 mm. machine guns and a DShK machine gun. Ammunition was running out and it was no longer possible to replenish it. June 27, 1942 The SOR command decided to disband floating battery No. 3. At this time, its permanent commander, Lieutenant Commander Sergei Moshensky, also died. During the defense of the city, more than 450 air attacks were made on the battery (on average 1-2 attacks daily). This “square” is the most amazing combat vessel of the Navy. There is no mention of it in any naval reference book, although this ship holds a combat record. On June 28, the battery was put on a sandbank and sunk in Cossack Bay. The personnel went ashore and joined the marine corps, which defended the last frontiers of Sevastopol land. Thus ended the heroic epic of the “floating fortress” with the formidable title “Don’t touch me!”

During the Great Patriotic War, the USSR Navy included thousands of a wide variety of ships - battleships, cruisers, destroyers, boats, submarines, and numerous auxiliary vessels. However, today we decided to talk about perhaps the most unusual warships that were part of the Soviet fleet - the floating batteries “Don’t touch me!” and "Marat".

"Kings of the Seas" for the Soviet Navy

During the first half of the 20th century. "Dreadnoughts" were a symbol of the power of the world's leading fleets. Each major maritime power built the most powerful ships with the strongest weapons and the most advanced protection for its navy. It was not for nothing that such ships were called “kings of the seas,” because they could protect the interests of the country only by their existence. In the mid-30s. A new naval arms race began in the world and the USSR did not stand aside. In our country in the late 30s. began large-scale construction of a huge navy, called the "great sea and ocean", but its construction stopped in June 1941.

The basis of the power of the Soviet fleet was supposed to be huge super-battleships, which were superior in their combat capabilities to ships of foreign fleets. In the USSR, two projects were created in parallel - type “A” (project 23, with a displacement of 35,000 tons with 406 mm artillery) and “B” (project 25, with a displacement of 26,000 tons with 305 mm artillery). It was planned to build 20 battleships: four large and four small for the Pacific Fleet, two large for the Northern Fleet, four small battleships for the Black Sea Fleet, and six more small battleships were to join the Baltic Fleet. The process of creating large ships was personally supervised by I.V. Stalin. During the development, advanced foreign experience was taken into account, primarily Italian, German and American. In 1937, Project “B” was recognized as “sabotage” and the Soviet shipbuilding industry was concentrated on preparing for the serial construction of Project 23 battleships. It was supposed to be a modern warship - the total displacement exceeded 67,000 tons, its maximum length was 269.4 m, maximum beam 38.9 m, draft 10.5 m, power plant more than 231,000 hp, speed about 29 knots, cruising range 7,000 miles (at 14.5 knots). In terms of armament (9x406 mm, 12x152 mm, 12x100 mm guns and 32x37 mm anti-aircraft guns), it was superior to all its “colleagues”, with the exception of the American Montana and the Japanese Yamato. The battleship had powerful armor and a mine protection system. Its crew consisted of 1,784 sailors. Before the start of the war, four battleships were laid down: "Soviet Union" in Leningrad (plant No. 189), "Soviet Ukraine" in Nikolaev (plant No. 189), in Molotovsk (plant No. 402) construction began on "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Belarus" " But none of them came into operation...

Creation of floating battery No. 3

In the exposition of the Black Sea Fleet Museum in Sevastopol, an entire hall is dedicated to the heroic 250-day defense of the city from German troops in 1941-1942. The sailors of the Black Sea Fleet and residents of the city accomplished many feats defending the Sevastopol borders. Numerous exhibits, photographs and wartime relics tell museum visitors about them. There is a small photograph among them, which means little to ordinary visitors. It is signed as follows: Lieutenant Commander S.A. Moshensky, commander of floating battery No. 3. What he became famous for, what kind of floating battery No. 3 was, what feats its crew performed is not specified. Unfortunately, there is no more information about this ship in the museum’s exhibition.

As already noted, at the end of the 30s. At the shipyards of the USSR, large-scale construction of battleships of the "Soviet Union" type was launched. This was preceded by colossal research and design work carried out by Soviet designers and engineers. They paid special attention to the development of weapons and ship protection systems. Many experiments were carried out on the Black Sea to determine the optimal PMZ system (mine protection - in the terminology of that time). At the first stage, 24 large-scale compartments (on a scale of 1:5) with PMZ of seven different types were detonated. Based on the results of the experiments, it was concluded that the Italian and American defense systems are most effective. In 1938, the second stage of experiments took place in Sevastopol. As before, they were carried out on large-scale sections; 27 explosions were carried out. But this time, for the experiments, a huge full-scale compartment was built, on which the design of the PMZ system of the Project 23 battleship was completely reproduced. It had the shape of a rectangle, its dimensions were impressive - length 50 m, width 30 m, side height 15 m. Based on the results of these experiments, the commission determined that the maximum explosive power for the PMZ was 750 kg. After the tests were completed, the experimental compartment was used as a target for firing practice, and then it was laid up in one of the Sevastopol bays.

This is what the battleship "Soviet Union" should have looked like. Drawing by A. Zaikin

After the start of the war, Captain 2nd Rank G.A. became interested in the compartment. Butakov. He proposed to the command of the Black Sea Fleet to use it to create a floating artillery battery. According to his plan, the “square” was planned to be armed and anchored in the Belbek Valley area a few miles from Sevastopol. He was supposed to strengthen the air defense of the Main Fleet Base and secure the approaches to it from the sea. According to intelligence data, a German landing was expected in the Crimea, and the floating battery was supposed to prevent this. Black Sea Fleet Commander F.S. Oktyabrsky supported the report of G.A. Butakova, People's Commissar of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov approved this idea. In July 1941, work began on the installation of general ship systems and the installation of weapons on the “square” (as the compartment was called in documents). Work on the project was led by engineer L.I. Ivitsky. Living quarters, a galley, a radio room, warehouses and cellars were equipped inside. A conning tower, rangefinders and two searchlights were installed on the deck of the former compartment. 2x130-mm guns were delivered from the arsenal, which were equipped with “diving” shells designed to combat submarines. They were supplemented by 4x76.2 mm anti-aircraft guns, 3x37 mm anti-aircraft machine guns, and 3x12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine guns. The crew of the floating battery consisted of 130 people, 50 of them were called up from the reserves, the rest were recruited from all the ships of the Black Sea Fleet. The workers attached a davit to the side of the “square,” but the boat was not found. But the workers found a huge Admiralty anchor in the warehouses of the plant and transferred it to the battery. Old-timers claimed that he was from the battleship Empress Maria. On August 3, 1941, the naval flag was raised on a separate floating battery No. 3. By order of the Black Sea Fleet commander dated August 4, she was included in the Guard of the Water District of the Main Base. The crew of the floating battery, led by Senior Lieutenant S.Ya. Moshensky began his service.

Battle path "Don't touch me!"

On August 9, tugs moved the floating battery to Belbeks Bay. It was fenced off from the threat of attacks from the sea by several rows of anti-submarine nets, and from the shore it was covered by coastal batteries. The Empress Maria's anchor held the square firmly in place. Numerous firing exercises, crew survivability training, and various exercises immediately began on the ship. In the summer of 1941, Luftwaffe raids on Sevastopol were an infrequent occurrence. Basically, German planes were engaged in reconnaissance of military targets and laying magnetic mines. Only occasionally were ships in the port bombed. Several times the floating battery was attacked by German planes, but their attacks were successfully repelled. The batteries covered with fire the ships that were entering Sevastopol. The situation changed radically at the end of October 1941 after the Wehrmacht broke through into Crimea. German units began the assault on Sevastopol. The 250-day defense of the city began. The Germans captured all Crimean airfields and now the flight time of their bombers to Sevastopol was only 10-15 minutes. Raids on the city and port became daily. The main forces of the fleet went to the Caucasus. At the end of October, two 130-mm guns, which were urgently needed for the land front, were dismantled from the “square.” They also removed all the ammunition of the “one hundred and thirty”, except for the “diving” shells, and the gun crews. As a result, the ship's crew was reduced to 111 people.

"Dont touch me!" fights with German planes. Rice. A. Lubyanova

At the beginning of November there were strong storms in the Black Sea. Their strength was such that the huge anchor could not hold the floating battery in place. The waves began to bring her closer to the shore, which was now occupied by German troops. It was decided to change the parking place of the “square”. On November 11, tugs moved the floating battery to Cossack Bay and sank it on the shallows, now it was not afraid of storms. The new combat mission that the command set for the crew was the defense of the military airfield at Cape Khersones. It remained the last Soviet airfield in Crimea. All aviation of the Sevastopol defensive region was based on its field. Raids on the Khersones airfield became more frequent. On the afternoon of November 29, 1941, the anti-aircraft gunners of the floating battery managed to win their first victory. They shot down a Bf-109. On December 17, the Germans launched a new assault on Sevastopol. Throughout the day, the batteries had to repel raids on the airfield. At the same time, a Ju-88 was shot down. From that day on, the combat score of the anti-aircraft gunners began to grow - while defending the airfield, they shot down 22 German aircraft. The winter assault was successfully repelled, but raids on the city continued. The Germans did not forget about the airfield. They tried to interfere with the actions of Soviet aviation, and in the stories of our pilots the help of the floating battery was constantly mentioned: “The floating battery put up a curtain... “Don’t touch me!” cut off the German..." On January 14, 1942, anti-aircraft gunners shot down another Ju-88, on March 3, a Non-111. On March 19, writer Leonid Sobolev visited the batteries. He spent the whole day on the “square”, talked with the commander and crew. He wrote about this in the essay “Don’t touch me!” In March, the battery commander, Senior Lieutenant S.Ya. Moshensky, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, he became a lieutenant commander, and other crew members also received awards for downed aircraft.

In May 1942, the raids on the city intensified, the Germans began preparing for a new assault and sought to neutralize the Soviet pilots. In this they were greatly hindered by the accurate fire of the anti-aircraft gunners of floating battery No. 3, which the Black Sea sailors began to call “Don’t touch me!” On May 27, anti-aircraft gunners managed to shoot down two Me-109s at once.

Floating battery No. 3 “Don’t touch me!” in Cossack Bay, spring 1942. The photo was taken from a Soviet plane

Commander of floating battery No. 3, Lieutenant Commander S.Ya. Moshensky

The Germans launched a new assault on the city and concentrated a large number of aircraft on the Crimean airfields. They had multiple superiority in aviation, but Soviet aviators managed to strike at the enemy, and this was largely due to the crew of the floating battery. On June 9, his combat tally was replenished with three Ju-88s, on June 12 by Bf-109, and on June 13 by Ju-88. The battery interfered with the actions of enemy aircraft and the German command decided to put an end to it. On June 14, the “square” was attacked by 23 Ju-87s, 76 bombs were dropped, but they failed to achieve direct hits. Due to close explosions of aerial bombs, the searchlight was damaged, shrapnel cut off the davit, and three sailors were wounded. While repelling this raid, the sailors shot down two Ju-87s. In the afternoon, the attacks continued; a German battery opened fire on the “square”. New raids followed. By this time, the defenders of Sevastopol were experiencing great difficulties due to a lack of ammunition. During the period between the assaults, the SOR command failed to create sufficient stocks of ammunition in warehouses and now shells had to be saved. Ammunition was now delivered from the mainland by ship, but there was still a catastrophic shortage of it. The Germans created huge reserves of ammunition, shells and cartridges they did not spare. Their aircraft dominated the Sevastopol skies. June 19 on “Don’t touch me!” Another raid was carried out. This was the 450th German air attack on the battery, whose crew was now at the guns day and night. Its fate was decided due to a lack of ammunition for the guns. The German pilots managed to break through to the battery. At 20.20 one of the bombs hit the left side of the “square”, the second exploded right at the side. The force of the explosion scattered every living thing on the deck. The crews of anti-aircraft guns and machine guns were killed and wounded, a fire started in the aft cellar, the fire approached the “diving” shells, but it was extinguished. The battery commander and 28 other crew members were killed. 27 sailors were wounded, and boats immediately brought them to shore. By evening, the crew managed to commission a 37-mm machine gun and two DShK machine guns, but there was no ammunition for them on the ship. On June 27, 1942, the crew of the floating battery was disbanded. The sailors were sent to fight on land positions; the wounded were taken to the mainland by ships of the Black Sea Fleet, which were breaking through to Sevastopol. After the fall of the city, German soldiers examined with interest the huge building “Don’t touch me!”, standing on the sandbank off the shore of Cossack Bay.

The floating battery hull on the shallows in Cossack Bay, July 1942.

The battleship "Marat" from the Leningrad sea canal fires at German troops, September 16, 1941. Fig. I. Dementieva

A few words must be said about the commander of the floating battery “Don’t touch me!” Captain-Lieutenant Sergei Yakovlevich Moshensky. He was born in Zaporozhye. He worked at a factory as an electrician and graduated from the workers' school. In 1936 he was called to serve in the navy. A Komsomol member with completed secondary education was sent to a two-year command staff course. Upon completion, he received the rank of lieutenant and was sent to serve as commander of the first main battery tower on the battleship Paris Commune. Before the start of the war, S.Ya. Moshensky completed a one-year advanced training course for Navy command personnel in Leningrad, specializing in air defense battery commander. He was married, the family was expecting their first child. After the start of the war, the pregnant wife was evacuated from Sevastopol. S.Ya. was in command for ten months. Moshensky floating battery, every day he risked his life for the freedom of his homeland. He died there without ever seeing his daughter, who was born in the evacuation. He is buried in Kamyshovaya Bay, but the exact burial place, unfortunately, is unknown.

Battleship "Marat" After Tsushima, the revival of the navy began in our country. The most powerful ships of the Russian Imperial Navy were the four Sevastopol-class battleships - Gangut, Poltava, Sevastopol and Petropavlovsk. The Bolsheviks managed to preserve three of them; they formed the basis of the power of the revived workers' and peasants' fleet. By the beginning of the war, the USSR Navy included the Marat and the October Revolution in the Baltic, and the Paris Commune in the Black Sea. Another battleship, the Frunze (formerly Poltava), was never restored after a small fire that occurred in 1919. The Navy leadership repeatedly proposed restoring it as a battleship, battle cruiser, monitor, floating battery, and even an aircraft carrier. In the 20s Dozens of similar projects were developed, but, unfortunately, none of them were ever implemented. The mechanisms from the Frunze were used as spare parts for the repair of other battleships. “Petropavlovsk” was renamed “Marat” in March 1921. In 1928-1931 it has undergone modernization. The battleship was the flagship of the MSBM. His biography was not without an emergency - on August 7, 1933, due to a prolonged shot, a fire occurred in the Ns2 tower, killing 68 sailors. On July 25, 1935, the Marat rammed the B-3 submarine during an exercise. The most notable event in his peaceful life was a visit to England in May 1937. The battleship took part in the naval parade on the Spithead roadstead in honor of the coronation of King George V. Soviet sailors proved themselves to be the best at this show. Both battleships were part of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet squadron. The ship took part in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, it fired at Finnish coastal batteries. In May 1941, the LFTI winding was installed on the battleship - Marat became the first Soviet ship to receive protection from magnetic mines. It was commanded by Captain 2nd Rank P.K. Ivanov.

The Marat explosion in Kronstadt on September 23, 1941. A column of smoke rose to a height of about a kilometer. The photo was taken from a German plane

"Marat" standing at the pier of Ust-Rogatka at the end of September 1941. A frame from a German aerial photograph. The arrow shows the location of the explosion. There is a rescue ship at the side, fuel oil is still leaking from the damaged tanks

The ship met the beginning of the war in Kronstadt. That day, anti-aircraft gunners opened fire on a reconnaissance aircraft. Over the summer and autumn, 653 sailors from the Marat went to fight in the Marine Corps. In the summer of 1941, the German offensive developed rapidly, and already on September 9, the battleship located in the Leningrad sea canal began to fire at German units that were on the immediate approaches to Leningrad. Every day, the Marat sailors helped the soldiers of the 8th and 42nd armies defend their positions. With their fire they held back the enemy and prevented Wehrmacht units from launching an assault on the “cradle of the revolution.” During these days, the battleship fired 953 305-mm shells. It was the fire of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet ships that prevented the enemy from successfully completing the offensive and capturing the city. The German command gave the order to destroy the battleship, which was disrupting the offensive plans with its shelling. Aviation and artillery were used against him. On September 16, 1941, Marat received ten 150-mm shells and four direct hits from 250-kg bombs. 24 sailors were killed and 54 were wounded. A number of auxiliary mechanisms on the battleship failed, the fourth main battery turret was damaged, the aft group of 76-mm anti-aircraft guns and the bow battery of 37-mm anti-aircraft guns ceased to operate. These hits significantly weakened the ship's air defense capabilities and played a fatal role in the history of the Marat.

The battleship was sent to Kronstadt for repairs, and on September 18 it arrived at the Ust-Rogatka pier. He did not stop firing at the enemy; 89 305 mm shells were fired. German aviation continued to monitor the ship, and a new plan for the destruction of the battleship was developed. 1000 kg RS-1000 armor-piercing bombs were delivered to the airfield in Tirkovo from Germany. The Soviet command did not have reserves to strengthen the air defense of the base, because everything was thrown into the defense of Leningrad. This is how one of the sailors described the situation: “The enemy flies impudently, but we only have anti-aircraft guns, and they don’t shoot well. And there are only six fighters. No more. All naval aviation works in the interests of the front near Leningrad.” Now the main target of Luftwaffe attacks were ships in Kronstadt. On September 21, 22 and 23, a series of massive raids were carried out on Kronstadt. The anti-aircraft gunners of the battleship Marat and the few air defense forces of Kronstadt were unable to repel the simultaneous attack of several groups of Ju-87s. At 11.44 on September 23, the battleship was attacked by Stukas. The first 1000 kg bomb fell next to the left side of the battleship. The huge ship tilted to starboard. At that moment, a 1000-kg armor-piercing bomb hit the Marat’s bow. It pierced the armor, exploded inside the ship and caused the detonation of the ammunition of the first main battery turret. There was a huge explosion. The flames consumed the battleship's superstructure, it was torn away from the hull and thrown towards the pier. The fragments from the explosion scattered throughout the Middle Harbor of Kronstadt. A column of smoke enveloped the Ust-Rogatka pier; it rose to a height of about a kilometer. 326 sailors died, incl. commander and commissar of the ship. The Marat's hull landed on the harbor's soil. It was badly destroyed and ceased to exist as a warship. This is how one of the eyewitnesses described this disaster: “I clearly see how a huge foremast with gangways, deckhouses, bridges and platforms, completely dotted with figures in white sailor’s robes, slowly separates from the ship, does not fall very quickly to the side, and then separates into pieces and crashes into the water... Just below the mast, the gun turret also slowly rose, its three 12-inch guns break off and also fly into the water. The bay seems to be boiling from the mass of red-hot steel thrown into it...”

This is what the bow of the Marat looked like from the top of the second smoke chamber after the explosion. pipes. In the foreground is the roof of the second tower. The gun barrels of the first main caliber turret are clearly visible, lying on the remains of the bow

Floating battery "Petropavlovsk" in Kronstadt, 1943. Its hull is painted to resemble a breakwater for camouflage. Additional 37-mm anti-aircraft guns mounted on the stern and lined with bales of cotton are clearly visible

Concrete slabs removed from the Kronstadt embankments were laid on the deck of the Petropavlovsk as additional protection from the fire of German large-caliber batteries

The combat path of the floating battery "Marat"

Immediately after the explosion on the Marat, the crew began to fight for survivability; the Marat crew managed to prevent the flooding of the remaining compartments of the ship. Sailors from other ships came to their aid. The explosion broke the battleship's hull in the area of frames 45-57, about 10,000 tons of water entered the hull, the surface part of the hull in the area of the bow superstructure was destroyed, the bow main gun tower, the foremast with the conning tower, the superstructure and the first chimney ceased to exist. Many of the ship's life support systems have failed. The hull of the battleship lay on the ground, but due to the shallow depths in the harbor it did not sink; the side continued to protrude 3 m out of the water. The Marat sailors managed to land the ship on an even keel and soon work began to restore its combat effectiveness. They were assisted by the rescue ships “Signal” and “Meteorite” and EPRON divers. This is how one of the sailors described the situation on the ship: “When I boarded the battleship, the deck was already tidy, everything was lying and standing in its place. And only when I approached the second tower, I found myself on the edge of the abyss - here the deck broke off... There was simply no further ship. I was standing over a vertical wall. It seemed like you were seeing a cross-section of the ship. And ahead is the sea...”

The third and fourth main battery towers were not damaged in the explosion; the second main battery tower needed repairs. It was decided to use the ship as a non-self-propelled floating battery. To do this, it was necessary to raise the hull from the bottom of the harbor and restore the combat effectiveness of the artillery. The new commander of the ship was Captain 3rd Rank V.P. Vasiliev, the crew consisted of 357 people. The 120-mm guns were removed from it, three batteries were formed and sent to the ground front. On October 31, the third and fourth towers opened fire on German positions. The Germans fired at the revived ship with large-caliber artillery. They fired aimed fire at a stationary target. To protect against hits, granite slabs 32-45 cm thick were laid on the deck of the floating battery, and armor plates were placed in the area of the boiler room. On December 12, the first firefight with the enemy took place. A German battery from the village of Bezobotny fired 30 280-mm shells at the ship. Three shells hit the floating battery, after which the German battery was suppressed by the fire of the Marat. On December 28, 1941, the floating battery again fought an artillery duel with a 280-mm railway artillery battery located at the New Peterhof station. 52 shells were fired at the Marat, four of which hit the ship. He received significant damage, but did not stop firing and suppressed the battery. A German shell sunk the auxiliary vessel "Aquarius" standing alongside, which provided heating for the floating battery. By January 1, 1942, the size of the Marat crew increased to 507 people. In January 1942, the floating battery was fired at eight times, 85 shells of 150-203 mm caliber were fired at it, but there were no hits. At the stern were installed 3x37-mm anti-aircraft guns on land installations. To protect them from fragments, they were fenced with cotton bags. Later, several more anti-aircraft guns were installed on the ship. On October 25, the floating battery held another artillery duel with a German battery. 78 280-mm shells were fired at the Marat, four of them hit the deck of the ship, but did not cause significant damage. The additional “booking” helped. Throughout the winter, spring and summer of 1942, work continued to restore the combat effectiveness of the second tower. On October 30, its tests were successfully completed and it entered service. On this day, she fired 17 shells at German positions. On November 6, 29 280-mm shells were fired at the ship, only one hit the ship. The boiler was disabled, a number of mechanisms were damaged, two sailors were killed and six were wounded. Another artillery duel took place on December 30, 1942.

Part of the battleship's foremast, thrown several tens of meters away from the ship by the force of the explosion. It was raised and placed on the wall of the Kronstadt harbor

Floating battery "Petropavlovsk" at the Ust-Rogatka pier, 1943. Frame from German aerial photography

On May 31, 1943, “Marat” was returned to its original name “Petropavlovsk”. On December 2, 1943, an artillery duel with a German battery took place. She became the last one, because... our troops were preparing to lift the blockade of Leningrad. The Petropavlovsk guns were used by the command to shell German positions in January 1944 during the Krasnoselsko-Ropshinsk operation to completely lift the blockade of Leningrad. The last shots fired at the enemy by the guns of the Petropavlovsk floating battery were fired in June 1944 during the Vyborg offensive operation, which ended the battle for Leningrad. During the Second World War, the ship conducted 264 live firings and fired 1,971 305-mm shells at the enemy.

Memory

After the liberation of Sevastopol, the hull of floating battery No. 3 continued to stand on the shallows in Cossack Bay. At the end of the 40s. it was picked up and towed to Inkerman for dismantling. About the feat of the crew “Don’t touch me!” gradually began to be forgotten. Only in the meager lines of the official chronicle of the war was the unprecedented feat of its crew recorded: “During the defense of Sevastopol, units and ships guarding the water area shot down 54 enemy aircraft. Of these, 22 aircraft were shot down by floating battery No. 3.” Only from the essay by the writer Leonid Sobolev “Don’t touch me!”, the story “The Mysterious Island” by the children’s writer Oleg Orlov, and several articles in newspapers and magazines could Soviet readers learn about this unique ship. Moscow journalist Vladislav Shurygin played a major role in preserving the memory of floating battery No. 3. For many years he collected materials about the military path of “Don’t touch me!”, met with veterans, and worked in archives. In 1977, with his help, a meeting of veterans of the floating battery was organized in Sevastopol. In 1979, he wrote the book “Iron Island,” which told about the feat of the crew of the floating battery and its commander S.Ya. Moshensky. Thanks to these people, the feat of the sailors of floating battery No. 3 was not forgotten. Unfortunately, neither a monument nor a memorial sign has been erected in Sevastopol dedicated to the heroic deeds of the crew of the floating battery “Don’t touch me!”

The floating battery "Petropavlovsk" fires at German positions during the Krasnoselsko-Ropshin operation, January 1944.

Marat was luckier. After the war, several projects were developed to restore the ship as a battleship (using the fate of the Frunze hull), but they were never implemented. "Petropavlovsk" was used as a training and artillery ship. In 1947-1948 At the dock, work was carried out to completely separate the remains of the bow from the hull. On November 28, 1950, the former Marat was reclassified as a non-propelled training ship and renamed Volkhov. On September 4, 1953, he was removed from the lists of the fleet. The hull of the former battleship was cut into needles only in the early 60s. Veterans of the Marat decided to perpetuate the memory of the ship. In 1991, they unveiled a memorial sign on the Ust-Rogatka pier. In the same year, they decided to create a museum dedicated to the battleship’s combat path. We managed to find a small room for him at the Nevsky Polytechnic Lyceum. The museum contains a diorama “Reflection of the September 1941 assault on Leningrad by ships of the Red Ban Baltic Fleet squadron,” various photographs and exhibits. In 1997 they managed to publish the collection “Valleys from the Neva”. It includes memories of veterans of the Baltic Fleet squadron, including the Marat sailors. The museum continues its activities to this day.

"Petropavlovsk" in Kronstadt, Navy Day, July 1944. The minesweeper "TSCH-69" stands at the side of the ship.

Non-self-propelled training ship "Volkhov" in Kronstadt, early 50s.

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February 16th, 2017

During the Great Patriotic War, the USSR Navy included thousands of a wide variety of ships - battleships, cruisers, destroyers, boats, submarines, and numerous auxiliary vessels. However, today you will learn about perhaps the most unusual warships that were part of the Soviet fleet - the floating batteries “Don’t touch me!” and the battleship "Marat"

During the development, advanced foreign experience was taken into account, primarily Italian, German and American. In 1937, Project “B” was recognized as “sabotage” and the Soviet shipbuilding industry was concentrated on preparing for the serial construction of Project 23 battleships. It was supposed to be a modern warship - the total displacement exceeded 67,000 tons, its maximum length was 269.4 m, maximum beam 38.9 m, draft 10.5 m, power plant more than 231,000 hp, speed about 29 knots, cruising range 7,000 miles (at 14.5 knots). In terms of armament (9x406 mm, 12x152 mm, 12x100 mm guns and 32x37 mm anti-aircraft guns), it was superior to all its “colleagues”, with the exception of the American Montana and the Japanese Yamato. The battleship had powerful armor and a mine protection system. Its crew consisted of 1,784 sailors. Before the start of the war, four battleships were laid down: "Soviet Union" in Leningrad (plant No. 189), "Soviet Ukraine" in Nikolaev (plant No. 189), in Molotovsk (plant No. 402) construction began on "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Belarus" " But none of them came into operation...

This is what the battleship "Soviet Union" should have looked like. Drawing by A. Zaikin

Creation of floating battery No. 3

Floating battery No. 3 “Don’t touch me!” in Cossack Bay, spring 1942. The photo was taken from a Soviet plane

In July 1941, work began on the installation of general ship systems and the installation of weapons on the “square” (as the compartment was called in documents). Work on the project was led by engineer L.I. Ivitsky. Living quarters, a galley, a radio room, warehouses and cellars were equipped inside. A conning tower, rangefinders and two searchlights were installed on the deck of the former compartment. 2x130-mm guns were delivered from the arsenal, which were equipped with “diving” shells designed to combat submarines. They were supplemented by 4x76.2-mm anti-aircraft guns, 3x37-mm anti-aircraft machine guns, and 3x12.7-mm anti-aircraft machine guns. The crew of the floating battery consisted of 130 people, 50 of them were called up from the reserves, the rest were recruited from all the ships of the Black Sea Fleet. The workers attached a davit to the side of the “square,” but the boat was not found. But the workers found a huge Admiralty anchor in the warehouses of the plant and transferred it to the battery. Old-timers claimed that he was from the battleship Empress Maria. On August 3, 1941, the naval flag was raised on a separate floating battery No. 3. By order of the Black Sea Fleet commander dated August 4, she was included in the Guard of the Water District of the Main Base. The crew of the floating battery, led by Senior Lieutenant S.Ya. Moshensky began his service.

Battle path "Don't touch me!"

German units began the assault on Sevastopol. The 250-day defense of the city began. The Germans captured all Crimean airfields and now the flight time of their bombers to Sevastopol was only 10-15 minutes. Raids on the city and port became daily. The main forces of the fleet went to the Caucasus. At the end of October, two 130-mm guns, which were urgently needed for the land front, were dismantled from the “square.” They also removed all the ammunition of the “one hundred and thirty”, except for the “diving” shells, and the gun crews. As a result, the ship's crew was reduced to 111 people.

"Dont touch me!" fights with German planes. Rice. A. Lubyanova

Throughout the day, the batteries had to repel raids on the airfield. At the same time, a Ju-88 was shot down. From that day on, the combat score of the anti-aircraft gunners began to grow - while defending the airfield, they shot down 22 German aircraft. The winter assault was successfully repelled, but raids on the city continued. The Germans did not forget about the airfield. They tried to interfere with the actions of Soviet aviation, and in the stories of our pilots the help of the floating battery was constantly mentioned: “The floating battery put up a curtain... “Don’t touch me!” cut off the German..."

On January 14, 1942, anti-aircraft gunners shot down another Ju-88, on March 3, a Non-111. On March 19, writer Leonid Sobolev visited the batteries. He spent the whole day on the “square”, talked with the commander and crew. He wrote about this in the essay “Don’t touch me!” In March, the battery commander, Senior Lieutenant S.Ya. Moshensky, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, he became a lieutenant commander, and other crew members also received awards for downed aircraft.

Commander of floating battery No. 3, Lieutenant Commander S.Ya. Moshensky

After the start of the war, the pregnant wife was evacuated from Sevastopol. S.Ya. was in command for ten months. Moshensky floating battery, every day he risked his life for the freedom of his homeland. He died there without ever seeing his daughter, who was born in the evacuation. He is buried in Kamyshovaya Bay, but the exact burial place, unfortunately, is unknown.

Moshensky's letters remain:
“I’m sending you money, a letter for a trip to Tashkent and a certificate. You need to be there until the end of your war days. Before it’s too late, while the front is still far away, leave. Verochka, just don’t worry, react calmly to everything, remember that it’s up to you to stay You can’t live here, think about your life and our future person. You will be calmer in Central Asia, don’t think about me. If you are far away, it will be easier for me to fight, but I will still have to fight hard. After the war, I will try to find you as soon as possible, I don’t know what will happen before the end of the war.”

“Verochka, what’s wrong with you? I sent you many letters in different ways, telegrams, I wrote with and without stamps, through military field mail, to the Krasnodar Territory and to Chirchik, but I received nothing from you. If you are still in Tikhoretsk, "Go away and do your best to save the child. If I die, know that I was not a coward in the face of the enemy, I did not bend my head during the bombings."

The floating battery stood three hundred meters from the shore, but during the nine months of his stay on it, Lieutenant Commander Moshensky only left the ship once to receive the Order of the Red Banner at headquarters.

From Moshensky’s letter: “I live like a fighter. I hasten to share my joy with you: I have been awarded the Order of the Red Banner. I never thought that I would have such an honor, but yesterday I found out about it, they say that I beat the Germans well, and for this they were awarded ... "

“The tenth month of the war is already coming to an end. How much has been experienced! I may not be destined to see anything else, but that’s because my comrades and I are taking the fire upon ourselves. I really want to live, but I can’t stay alive, hiding from the enemy, not crushing him, not destroying him, you know. Inaction, cowardice for myself is a shame, it’s a shame to live as such a person, I’d rather die than think about another life. I remember every minute that the more fascist planes shot down, the closer our victory... So we sent another fascist vulture to the bottom of the sea.”

The commander of the floating battery died on June 19, 1942, when the battery almost ran out of shells. All that remained were cartridges for machine guns and several clips for anti-aircraft machine guns.

At 20.20 one of the bombs hit the left side of the “square”, the second exploded right at the side. The force of the explosion scattered every living thing on the deck. The crews of anti-aircraft guns and machine guns were killed and wounded, a fire started in the aft cellar, the fire approached the “diving” shells, but it was extinguished. The battery commander and 28 other crew members were killed. 27 sailors were wounded, and boats immediately brought them to shore. By evening, the crew managed to commission a 37-mm machine gun and two DShK machine guns, but there was no ammunition for them on the ship. On June 27, 1942, the crew of the floating battery was disbanded. The sailors were sent to fight on land positions; the wounded were taken to the mainland by ships of the Black Sea Fleet, which were breaking through to Sevastopol.

After the fall of the city, German soldiers examined with interest the huge building “Don’t touch me!”, standing on the sandbank off the shore of Cossack Bay.

The floating battery hull on the shallows in Cossack Bay, July 1942.

For ten months of heroic watch, the sailors of Lieutenant Commander S.Ya. Moshensky repelled 450 air attacks (on average 1-2 attacks every day). This "square" is the strangest warship in the Navy. There is no mention of it in any naval reference book, although this particular ship holds a unique combat record. They shot down the most fascist planes - 22 in ten months (an average of 2-3 planes every month).

For 16 downed planes, the pilots were given the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Not a single ship of ours has achieved more than the floating battery “Don’t touch me.”

Displacement 3494 t; length 69.4 m, beam 16.1 m, draft 4.9 m; steam engine power 1632 hp. With.; travel speed 8 knots. Armament: 12 203 mm, 2 152 mm and 2 63 mm landing guns. Crew 394 people.

By the way, “Don’t touch me” is the name of the armored coastal defense battery of the Black Sea Fleet at the end of the 19th century in 1891 - 1892, commanded by Captain 1st Rank V.F. Dubasov, hero of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. At that time, he was a naval lieutenant, awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree, the golden saber “For Bravery” and granted the title of adjutant of the emperor. Since 1897, Vice Admiral Dubasov commanded the Pacific Ocean squadron, and in 1905, by appointment of the emperor, he became Moscow Governor-General with the rank of Adjutant General.

Moscow and the fate of the Russian fleet, Archival documents and historical essays. M., 1996, 415 p.

Only from the essay by the writer Leonid Sobolev “Don’t touch me!”, the story “The Mysterious Island” by the children’s writer Oleg Orlov, and several articles in newspapers and magazines could Soviet readers learn about this unique ship. Moscow journalist Vladislav Shurygin played a major role in preserving the memory of floating battery No. 3. For many years he collected materials about the military path of “Don’t touch me!”, met with veterans, and worked in archives. In 1977, with his help, a meeting of veterans of the floating battery was organized in Sevastopol. In 1979, he wrote the book “Iron Island,” which told about the feat of the crew of the floating battery and its commander S.Ya. Moshensky. Thanks to these people, the feat of the sailors of floating battery No. 3 was not forgotten.

Unfortunately, in Sevastopol there is neither a monument nor a memorial sign dedicated to the heroic deeds of the crew of the floating battery “Don’t touch me!”

Or has the situation already changed in this regard? Who can tell?

Armament

Non-self-propelled floating anti-aircraft battery No. 3 Black Sea Fleet "Don't touch me." It was converted at the Sevastopol Marine Plant from the experimental compartment of the Project 23 battleship, built at plant No. 198 in Nikolaev. It existed from August 3, 1941 to June 27, 1942, the battery was commanded by Senior Lieutenant (since March 1942 - Lieutenant Commander) S.A. Moshensky. Over ten months, the battery repelled 449 attacks by enemy aircraft, while shooting down, according to various estimates, from 18 to 28 enemy aircraft.

History of creation

In the second half of the 1930s, at shipbuilding plant No. 198 in Nikolaev, to conduct full-scale tests according to the drawings of the Project 23 battleship, a compartment was built in which the design of the ship's PMZ system was reproduced. It had the shape of a rectangle with dimensions of length 50 m, width 30 m, side height 15 m. In 1938, the second stage of full-scale experiments took place in Sevastopol, during which 27 explosions of the compartment were carried out. Based on the results of these experiments, the commission determined that the limit for the PMZ of the Project 23 battleship was the explosion power of the charge of 750 kg. After the tests were completed, the experimental compartment was used as a target for firing practice, and then it was laid up in one of the Sevastopol bays.

Grigory Alexandrovich Butakov

After the start of the war, Captain 2nd Rank G.A. showed interest in the compartment. Butakov (grandson of the famous Russian admiral G.I.Butakov). During an inspection of the organization of the water area security service of the Main Fleet Base, he proposed to the Black Sea Fleet command to use it to create a warning post - an anti-aircraft battery on the distant approaches to the base from the sea. According to his plan, the “square” (as the compartment was called in documents of that time) was planned to be armed and installed at anchor in the Belbek Valley area a few miles from Sevastopol. He was supposed to strengthen the air defense of the Main Fleet Base and secure the approaches to it from the sea. According to intelligence data, a German landing was expected in the Crimea, and the floating battery was supposed to prevent this. Black Sea Fleet Commander F.S. Oktyabrsky supported the report of G.A. Butakova, People's Commissar of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov approved this idea.

Refurbishment

In July 1941, work began on the “square” on the installation of general ship systems and the installation of weapons. Work on the project was headed by chief designer engineer L.I. Ivitsky. The construction of the battery was carried out by workers of the Sevastopol Marine Plant named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze (director - Surguchev, chief engineer - Felix Ivanovich Krivchik), led by senior builder engineer V.A. Lozenko, with the involvement of the personnel of the future battery. Brigadiers Anatoly Raslundovsky and Savely Koiga with their teams, in order not to waste time traveling home and back, took a short night's rest right in the compartment. Inside the compartment there were living quarters, a galley, a radio room, warehouses and cellars. A conning tower, rangefinders and two searchlights were installed on the deck. A davit was installed to lower and lift the boat. The anchor they used was ready-made; according to the factory workers, it was an Admiralty anchor from the battleship Empress Maria. The total conversion time was 17 days (according to other sources, 18 days).

The floating battery received a distorting camouflage coloring to match the color of the stormy Black Sea - white and blue wavy stripes. The crew of the floating battery consisted of 130 people (according to other sources, 150), 50 of them were called up from the reserves, the rest were recruited from the ships of the Black Sea Fleet.

On August 3, 1941, the naval flag was raised on a separate floating battery No. 3. By order of the Black Sea Fleet commander dated August 4, it was included in the Security of the Water Area of the Main Base. Senior Lieutenant Sergei Yakovlevich Moshensky was appointed commander of floating battery No. 3, and senior political instructor Nestor Stepanovich Sereda (called up from the reserves) was appointed military commissar.

Armament

The artillery of floating battery No. 3 was consolidated into three gun batteries:

two 130-mm B-13 gun mounts (delivered from the arsenal), half-battery commander - Lieutenant Mikhail Z. Lopatko; the guns' ammunition included "diving" shells to combat submarines;
four 76.2-mm anti-aircraft gun mounts 34-K, battery commander - Lieutenant Semyon Abramovich Khiger (graduated from the Black Sea School)
three 37-mm 70-K anti-aircraft guns, battery commander - Lieutenant Nikolai Danshin
three 12.7 mm DShK anti-aircraft machine guns.

There is information that later a quadruple installation of Maxim machine guns was additionally installed.

At the end of October 1941, both 130-mm guns were dismantled and, together with the crews, were sent to the land front. All ammunition for them, except for “diving” ones, was also brought ashore. As a result, the ship's crew was reduced to 111 people.

Origin of the name

In the documents, the new unit of the water area protection forces was called “non-self-propelled floating anti-aircraft battery No. 3.” In everyday life she was jokingly called "Columbine".

There are two versions of the origin of the name. According to the first, soon after the floating battery was commissioned, a song was born:

Don't touch me, damned fascist!

And if you disturb the silence of the sky,

From my fiery embrace

You won't fly back alive!

According to the first words of this song, the battery began to be called: “Don’t touch me!”

According to the second, more academic version, the battery is named after the armored floating battery “Don’t Touch Me,” which was part of the Russian fleet in the second half of the 19th century.

The Germans called floating battery No. 3 - “Bring it, Lord” and “Death Square”

Service

The floating battery solved problems in close cooperation with the second division of the 61st artillery regiment. Communication between the command post and the battery was carried out via radio.

First months of service

On August 9, tugs moved the floating battery to Belbek Bay. The battery's parking area was fenced off with several rows of anti-submarine nets, and from the shore it was covered by coastal batteries. The battery crew began daily survivability training, firing practice and other training.

On August 16, 1941, two tugboats brought the battery to the outer roadstead, where it was installed on a dead anchor 4 miles northwest of the entrance to the main base, seaward of the Chersonesos lighthouse. 36 anti-torpedo nets with a sinking depth of 10–12 meters were installed in the sea in front of the floating battery. The total sector of the fence was 156 degrees.

The command assigned three tasks to the crew of the floating battery:

prevent enemy aircraft from approaching the main fleet base, disrupt aircraft combat formations with anti-aircraft fire, thereby disrupting targeted bombing of the base and ships;
be prepared to repel attacks by submarines and torpedo boats;
conduct constant surveillance of the air and sea, promptly notify the naval air defense command of the appearance of enemy sea and air forces, as well as of mines dropped from its aircraft.

On August 18, 1941, the battery opened fire on enemy aircraft for the first time. A raid by 9 Ju-88 bombers was repelled, during which 36 bombs were dropped on the battery.

On August 31, 1941, at 10:25 a.m., a submarine periscope was spotted by battery signalmen at a distance of 21 kb. The battery opened fire with 130-mm guns, firing 15 rounds of diving shells. At 16.27, at a bearing of 300° at a distance of 50 kb, a large explosion was observed from the battery.

Transfer to Cossack Bay

At the beginning of November 1941, strong storms began on the Black Sea. The force of the main anchor was not enough to hold the floating battery in place and the waves began to wash it to the shore, which was already occupied by German troops. In addition, the accuracy of the battery's anti-aircraft gunners' fire in conditions of heavy seas decreased significantly. At the suggestion of N.A. Ostryakov, the recently appointed commander of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force, it was decided to change the location of the “square”.

On the night of November 10-11, 1941, sea tugs SP-13 and SP-14 moved the battery to Cossack Bay and ran it aground to make it more stable. The command assigned the crew a new task - to cover the Khersones airfield with anti-aircraft fire.

On the afternoon of November 29, 1941, the anti-aircraft gunners of floating battery No. 3 won their first victory - a Bf-109 fighter was shot down and fell on the shore.

On January 14, 1942, the anti-aircraft gunners of the battery chalked up another Ju-88, the plane crashed into the sea. In total, during this day, repelling attacks by enemy aircraft, according to the commander’s report, 76.2 mm ammunition was consumed - 193 rounds, 37 mm - 606 rounds, DShK machine gun cartridges - 456 rounds.

On March 19, 1942, writer Leonid Sobolev visited the battery. He spent the whole day on the “square”, talked with the commander and crew, after which the essay “Don’t touch me!” was published.

In March 1942, battery commander S.Ya. Moshensky was awarded the next military rank of captain-lieutenant, and for military services he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Other crew members also received awards for downed aircraft.

On June 9, 1942 at 14.13, floating battery No. 3 was dive-bombed by three enemy Ju-88 aircraft in three attacks. During the third approach, a direct hit from a 76.2 mm shell hit one plane, which dropped sharply, lost speed and fell into the sea at a distance of 110 kb. From 14.45 to 15.00, while repelling a raid on the airfield by a large group of enemy Ju-88 aircraft (up to 40 aircraft), coming from the direction of Balaklava at an altitude of 4200 meters and diving during bombing to an altitude of 1800–2500 meters, good explosions and straight lines were observed from the battery hits from 76.2 mm caliber shells and 37 mm machine guns. One plane, which received a direct hit in the fuselage near the wings, turned sharply before the dive began and fell into the sea. The second plane, which received two bursts of direct hits from 37-mm machine guns, fell into the sea. During the shooting, 76.2 mm shrapnel was consumed - 95 pieces, 76.2 mm remote grenades - 235 pieces, 37 mm fragmentation tracer grenades - 371 pieces, cartridges for DShK machine guns - 291 pieces. The battery had no losses or damage. There are only 602 rounds left for 76.2mm guns.

On June 12, 1942, at 19:30, a Bf-109 attempting to attack an Il-2 landing was shot down by battery artillery fire. The damaged enemy fighter, accompanied by two Bf-109s, headed for Belbek and later fell in the Uchkuevka area.

On June 14, 1942, from 11.42 to 11.50, the battery was attacked by 23 Ju-87s, 76 bombs were dropped, no direct hits. Due to close explosions of aerial bombs, the searchlight was damaged, the davit was cut off by shrapnel, and three sailors were wounded. While repelling the raid, two Ju-87s were shot down. In the afternoon the attacks continued. At 14.12 the battery repelled a raid by three Ju-88s. At 17.07, the floating battery was attacked by two Bf-109s, which dropped 4 bombs into the water 150–200 meters away. From 18.20 to 18.50, the enemy’s coastal battery fired at floating battery No. 3, 13 shells exploded near the side, and there were holes from shrapnel.

June 19, 1942 on "Don't touch me!" The next, 450th German air raid was carried out. Due to a lack of ammunition for the guns, the German pilots managed to break through to the battery. At 20.20 one of the bombs hit the left side of the "square", the second exploded right at the side. The crews of anti-aircraft guns and machine guns were killed or wounded, and a fire started in the aft artillery magazine, which, however, was extinguished. The battery commander and 28 other crew members were killed. 27 sailors were wounded and transported to shore on boats. By evening, the crew managed to put into operation a 37-mm machine gun and two DShK machine guns, but there was practically no ammunition for them.

Last Stand

On June 25, 1942, the only ammunition left in the battery was machine gun cartridges and several clips for 37-mm anti-aircraft machine guns. On this day, Floating Battery No. 3 was destroyed by the Ju-88 crew of Oberleutnant Ernst Hinrichs from the 2nd Squadron of the KG 51 "Edelweiss" squadron. For this victory, Hinrichs was immediately presented with the Knight's Cross, which he received on July 25, 1942.

By June 26, 1942, battery No. 3 had less than half of its active guns and personnel left. The seriously wounded, including Commissar N.S. Sereda, were sent to Kamysheva Bay.

On June 27, 1942, according to the order of Rear Admiral V. Fadeev, floating battery No. 3 was disbanded. The sailors went ashore and joined the marines defending the Khersones airfield and the 35th coastal battery. The wounded were taken to the mainland by ships of the Black Sea Fleet.

In total, according to the ship's log, more than 1,100 bombs were dropped on the battery.

Coordinates of the death of floating battery No. 3 44°34"32"N 33°24"10"E

Post-war fate

After the liberation of Sevastopol, the hull of floating battery No. 3 continued to stand on the shallows in Cossack Bay. At the end of the 1940s, it was raised and towed to Inkerman for dismantling.

Battery combat score "Don't touch me!"

According to various sources, over 7 months of fighting, the battery shot down from 22 to 28 enemy aircraft. This is a kind of record - not a single ship of the USSR Navy has a better result.

Three documents at once (a report from the commander of the floating battery, Lieutenant-Commander Moshensky, about the battle, indicating the time and place of the plane crash, confirmation from the VNOS posts, or reports and reports from the units that witnessed the downing, as well as a report from the operational duty officer for the OVR indicating the type, time and the place where the plane was shot down) 18 victories of the anti-aircraft gunners of the battery were confirmed:

On November 29, 1941, a Bf -109 was shot down by a 37-mm ZA crew. The plane crashed near the Khersones airfield
On December 17, 1941, during a raid on the Khersones airfield, a Ju-88 was shot down by a 37-mm ZA crew, which fell in Kamyshovaya Bay 500 m from the battery
On December 22, 1941, during a raid on the Khersones airfield, a 37-mm ZA crew shot down a Ju-88, which crashed near the airfield
On December 23, 1941, during a raid on the Khersones airfield, a Ju-88 was shot down by a crew of 76-mm guns. The plane crashed off the coast abeam the airfield
On January 17, 1942, during a raid on the Khersones airfield at 10:24, a 37-mm ZA crew shot down a Ju-88, which fell in the location of the 35th battery
On January 17, 1942, during a raid on the Khersones airfield at 13:21 – 13:31, two He-111s were shot down and went towards Kacha.
On April 14, 1942, during the second raid on the Khersones airfield, a 37-mm ZA crew shot down a Ju-88, which fell in the location of the 92nd ZAD
On May 27, 1942, during a raid on the Khersones airfield, two Bf-109s were shot down by 37-mm ZA crews. One plane crashed on Cape Khersones near the airfield, the second - in the sea near Cape Fiolent
On May 27, 1942, during the second raid on the Khersones airfield, he was shot down by a crew of a 76-mm ZO Do-215. The plane fell into the sea at bearing 220, removing 8 cables
On June 9, 1942, three raids were carried out on the Khersones airfield. Three Ju-88s were shot down by 37-mm ZA crews during these raids. Planes crashed: one near the coastline, one in the sea, one at Cape Fiolent
On June 12, 1942, a 37-mm ZA crew shot down a Bf-109, which fell on the edge of the Khersones airfield (it was chasing our downed fighter; the German pilot survived and described everything after the war in his memoirs)
On June 13, 1942, two raids were carried out on the Khersones airfield. At 16:50 a Ju-88 was shot down by a 76-mm ZO crew. The plane exploded in the air
On June 14, 1942, the enemy carried out three raids on the Khersones airfield. Three Ju-87s were shot down by 37-mm ZA and 76-mm ZO crews. One fell near the Khersones airfield, one fell into the sea and one near the lighthouse on Khersones. Two more Ju-87s were damaged and went towards Kachi.
On June 19, 1942, during a raid on the Khersones airfield, a Ju-88 was shot down by a 37-mm ZA crew. The plane fell into the sea 10 kb from the floating battery.

At least six more victories are confirmed by a single source (report of the officer on duty at the OVR, reports of the commander of the 92nd ZAD and the commander of the IAP), but no reports from the battery commander Moshensky, or a second confirmation, were found on them. It should be noted that not all of Moshensky’s reports have survived.

Commanders

August 1941 – June 1942 – senior lieutenant (from March 1942 – lieutenant commander) Sergei Moshensky

Ships bearing the name "Don't touch me!"

"Don't touch me!", armored floating battery of the Russian Imperial Navy (1864 - 1905)
Non-self-propelled floating anti-aircraft battery No. 3 (1941)

Literature and sources

Vaneev G.I. Sevastopol 1941-1942. Chronicle of heroic defense. - Kiev: 1995 T. Book 1. - pp. 123-124.
Ignatovich E.A. Anti-aircraft brotherhood of Sevastopol. - Kyiv: 1986.
Vladislav Shurygin Anti-aircraft citadel. Iron Island. - Eksmo, 2014. - (War. Penal battalion. They fought for the Motherland). - ISBN 978-5-699-69589-8

Miroslav Morozov Air battle for Sevastopol 1941-1942. - Yauza, Eksmo, 2007. - (The Great Patriotic War: the price of Victory). - ISBN 978-5-699-20863-0

Don't touch me (floating battery). Dedicated to Victory Day

See what “Don't touch me” is in other dictionaries:

Books

History of creation

Refurbishment

Armament

Origin of the name

Service

First months of service

Transfer to Cossack Bay

Last Stand

Post-war fate

Battery combat score "Don't touch me!"

Commanders

Ships bearing the name "Don't touch me!"

Literature and sources

Gallery