Motor ship Adjara. Motor ship "Armenia" - an unfound mass grave off the coast of Yalta (1)

The death of the passenger liner Titanic, which in April 1912 claimed the lives of about 1,500 people, became a symbol of large-scale disasters at sea.

In fact, the Titanic is not even among the top thirty maritime disasters with the highest number of victims. The most terrible tragedies of this kind occur during the Second World War, when transports with thousands of people went to the bottom, not only military personnel, but also women, the elderly and children.

November 7, 1941 died in the Black Sea soviet ship“Armenia”, on board of which there were several thousand people. The tragedy of "Armenia" to this day remains one of the "blank spots" of the Great Patriotic War because many of the questions in this story remain unanswered.

"Armenia" was a vessel 107.7 meters long, 15.5 meters wide, with a side height of 7.84 meters and a displacement of 5770 tons. The ship was served by a crew of 96 people. The ship could simultaneously take on board up to 950 passengers.

"Armenia", like other vessels of the project, was intended for transportation between the ports of the Crimea and the Caucasus. The ships coped with their task perfectly, having a very decent speed of 14.5 knots for their dimensions.

floating hospital

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, "Armenia" was "called up" for military service. At the Odessa Shipyard, she was urgently converted into a floating hospital, designed to transport and provide emergency care to 400 wounded.

On August 10, 1941, "Armenia" began to fulfill its new duties. The captain of the ship was Vladimir Plaushevsky, military doctor of the 2nd rank appointed chief doctor of the floating hospital Peter Dmitrievsky. Until recently, the head physician was a civilian and worked in one of the hospitals in Odessa.

The situation at the front was depressing. Five days before the "Armenia" officially became a medical ship, the enemy came close to Odessa. The ship had to evacuate from the besieged city not only the wounded, but also civilian refugees. Then "Armenia" began to take out the wounded from Sevastopol. By the beginning of October, the ship had transported to mainland about 15 thousand people.

By the end of October 1941, a catastrophic situation had developed in the Crimea. Manstein's eleventh army, sweeping away the Soviet lines of defense, occupied one city after another. The threat of the fall of Sevastopol for several days was more than real.

Under these conditions, on November 4, 1941, "Armenia" left the port of Tuapse in the direction of Sevastopol. On board was a replenishment for the garrison of the main base of the fleet. “Armenia” reached Sevastopol safely. November 5 Captain Plaushevsky receives an order: to take on board not only the wounded, but also personnel all hospitals and medical institutions Cherno navy, as well as part of the medical staff of the Primorsky Army.

Thousands of refugees and secret cargo

Taking into account the fact that at that moment the battles for Sevastopol were just unfolding, the order looked somewhat strange. Who will save the lives of the wounded?

Historians who have studied this issue believe that the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Philip Oktyabrsky, considered the fate of the city a foregone conclusion and decided to begin the evacuation.

But on November 7, 1941, Oktyabrsky received a directive from the Headquarters, which said: "Do not surrender Sevastopol in any case and defend it with all your might."

However, until November 7, there were no orders from Moscow yet, because "Armenia" took on board the evacuated doctors and not only them. The actors of the local theater named after Lunacharsky, the leadership and staff of the pioneer camp "Artek" and many others got on board.

There were no exact lists of those who boarded the "Armenia". Captain Plaushevsky received another order: after loading in Sevastopol, go to Yalta, where to take on board refugees and local party activists. Already after the departure from Sevastopol, an additional order came: to go to Balaklava and pick up a special cargo. The boxes were brought on board accompanied by NKVD officers. Perhaps it was gold or valuables from the Crimean museums.

"The brave climbed onto the ship along the shrouds"

Here the ship was waiting for crowds of refugees. Here's what she remembered Vera Chistova, who was 9 years old in 1941: “Dad bought tickets, and my grandmother and I had to leave Yalta on the ship Armenia. On the night of November 6, the pier was full of people. First, the wounded were loaded, then the civilians were let in. Nobody checked the tickets, and a stampede began on the gangway. The brave climbed onto the ship along the shrouds. In the bustle, suitcases and things were thrown off the board. By dawn, the loading was completed. But we never got to Armenia. Hundreds of people remained on the pier. My grandmother and I went to my father's workshop on the embankment. I fell asleep there."

How many people by that time were on "Armenia"? According to the most conservative estimates, about 3,000 people. The upper limit is 10,000 people. Most likely, the truth is somewhere in between, and there were between 5,500 and 7,000 people on board. And this despite the fact that even in its "passenger" version, the ship was designed for only 950 people.

In fact, "Armenia" could have successfully evacuated a similar number of people if it had departed from Yalta at night. But the loading was completed around 7 o'clock in the morning.

Going out to sea during the day with virtually no cover was tantamount to suicide. Admiral Oktyabrsky later wrote that the captain of the "Armenia" received a strict order to stay in the port until the evening, but violated it.

But Captain Plaushevsky, in fact, had no choice. The port of Yalta, unlike Sevastopol, did not have a powerful air defense system, which means that ships here became an excellent target for aviation. In addition, German motorized units were already on their way to the city and occupied it in just a few hours.

The ship sank in 4 minutes

Before talking about what happened next, it should be noted that historians have not yet decided whether "Armenia" can be considered a legitimate military target.

According to the laws of war, a medical ship bearing the appropriate identification marks does not apply to those. Some argue that "Armenia" was marked with a red cross, which means that the attack on the ship is another crime of the Nazis. Others object: “Armenia” violated its status by the presence of four 45-mm anti-aircraft guns on board. Still others are completely sure that the ship, which was engaged not only in transporting the wounded and refugees, but also military cargo, did not have signs of a sanitary ship.

As a cover, "Armenia" was accompanied by two patrol boats, and in the sky there were two Soviet fighter I-153.

The circumstances of the fatal attack on the ship are also contradictory. For a long time it was believed that "Armenia" was the victim of an attack by several dozen bombers. This was told by one of the surviving passengers, a resident of Yalta Anastasia Popova:“Going out to sea, the ship was attacked by enemy aircraft. A living hell has begun. Bomb explosions, panic, screams of people - everything was mixed up in an indescribable nightmare. People rushed about the deck, not knowing where to hide from the fire. I jumped into the sea and swam to the shore, losing consciousness. I don't even remember how I ended up on the beach.

However, today the version that there was only one aircraft seems more reliable: the German He-111 torpedo bomber, which belonged to the first squadron of the I / KG28 air group. This was not a targeted attack on "Armenia": the torpedo bomber was looking for any of the Soviet transport vessels on the Crimea-Caucasus line.

Entering from the coast, Non-111 dropped two torpedoes. One passed by, and the second at 11 hours and 25 minutes hit the bow of the ship.

"Armenia" sank in just four minutes. Only eight of those on board were saved. The bottom of the Black Sea became the grave for thousands.

Chapel in Yalta, dedicated to those who died on the ship Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Could not be found

The riddles of "Armenia" do not end there. 75 years after the tragedy exact location The sinking of the ship was never found.

The official report on the death of “Armenia” reads: “At 11:25 am (November 7, 1941), the TR“ Armenia ”, which was guarding two patrol boats from Yalta in Tuapse with wounded and passengers, was attacked by an enemy torpedo bomber. One of the two torpedoes dropped hit the bow of the ship and at 1129 hours she sank at w = 44 degrees 15 minutes. 5 sec., d = 34 gr. 17 min. Eight people were saved, about 5,000 people died.

The alleged place of the death of the ship was studied repeatedly. In 2006, Robert Ballard, who found the Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic, joined the search. In Ukraine, it was reported that "Armenia" was about to be found, but this did not happen. No traces of the wrecked ship were found.

There is an assumption that the real place of the death of "Armenia" is not where indicated in the documents. According to this version, Captain Plaushevsky sent the ship not to Tuapse, but to Sevastopol, under the protection of the air defense of the fleet base, but was attacked by a torpedo bomber along the way.

This, however, is only an assumption, like much else in the history of the death of "Armenia".

It will be possible to reveal all the secrets only when the last refuge of the ship is nevertheless found.

The crash, which surpassed the "Armenia" in the number of victims, occurred at the end of the war. On the night of April 16, 1945, the Soviet submarine L-3 under the command of Vladimir Konovalov torpedoed the Nazi transport "Goya" at the exit from the Danzig Bay. Of the more than 7,000 people on board, less than 200 escaped.

Olga Tonina The sinking of the ship "Armenia". Technical data passenger ship"Armenia":
Length - 112.1 m;
Width - 15.5 m;
Board height - 7.7 m;
Displacement - 5770 tons;
The power plant is two diesel engines with a capacity of 4000 liters. With.;
Speed ​​- 14.5 knots (about 27 km / h);
Number of passengers - up to 980 people;
Crew - 96 people; Official Information about the death of the ship "Armenia" is as follows: "At 11:25 (November 7, 1941) TR "Armenia", which was guarding two patrol boats from Yalta to Tuapse with the wounded and passengers, was attacked by an enemy torpedo bomber aircraft. One of the two dropped torpedoes hit the bow ship and at 11:29 she sank inw = 44 gr. 15 min. 5 sec., d = 34 gr. 17 min. Eight people rescued, about 5,000 people died." There is also an approximate map-scheme in accordance with the indicated coordinates:
In 2006 to work at the request Ukrainian side joined the US Institute of Oceanography and Oceanology under the leadership of Robert Ballard. The Americans found a lot of interesting objects, but "Armenia" was never found. Robert Ballard - famous person in world marine archeology, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Oceanography, USA. The man who found the Titanic, the battleship Bismarck, the aircraft carrier Yorktown. Having received information about "Armenia", he suspended the search for Atlantis on the island of Santorin and sets off for the Black Sea on his research vessel "Endever", equipped with modern sonar and remote-controlled robots. The expedition cost the American side $2.5 million. So, "Armenia" was not found. Did you search there? What do we know? " Onlyat 08:00 on November 7, 1941 the medical ship was able to leave and head for Tuapse,..." " Onlyat 8 a.m the ship stopped loading and the commander of the "Armenia" captain of the 3rd rank V.Ya.Plaushevsky ordered to give the mooring lines." That is, the exit of "Armenia" into the sea occurred at 08-00 on November 7, 1941 from Yalta. What's next? What do eyewitnesses say? http://militera.lib.ru/research/nepomniaschy_nn/01.html " Let us turn to the testimony of a boat boat from a sea hunter MO-04 M.M. Yakovlev. " November 7 around 10 am , near Cape Sarych a German reconnaissance aircraft flew over us,and after a short time over the water, at low level, almost touching the crests of the waves (the weather was stormy, and we chatted thoroughly), two enemy torpedo bombers entered our area. One of them began to make a U-turn for a torpedo attack, and the second went towards Yalta. We could not open fire, as the roll of the boat reached 45 degrees. The torpedo bomber dropped two torpedoes, but missed, and they exploded in the coastal rocks of Cape Aya. We were struck by the force of the explosion - we had not seen a more powerful one before, and almost everyone said at once that if the second torpedo bomber got "Armenia", then she would be unhappy ...That's how it happened" . The Tsushima forum gives a slightly different quote from M.M. Yakovlev’s memoirs (or a retelling of it?): http://wap.tsushima4.borda.ru/?1-9-0-00000001-000-0-0 " Further memoirs of a boatman with MO-04 M. M. Yakovlev:" November 7 at 10 am on the way to Tuapse, the ship was attacked by two "Heinkel-111" near Cape Sarych . The MO could not fire, the sea was very fresh, the list reached 45 degrees. We went to" Armenia " from two sides: one He-111 from Yalta, and the other from the sea. The first torpedo bomber missed. Second - hit . In about four minutes, the ship went under water." Only 8 people survived." Cape Sarych appears in both versions. Cape Sarych is located about 40 kilometers from Yalta - if you measure the distance by land, and about 50-55 kilometers if you go by sea. In two hours at full speed (2 hours x 27 km / h = 54 km), "Armenia" could well have reached Cape Sarych. Only here Cape Sarych is located to the WEST from Yalta! And "Armenia was supposed to go EAST - to Tuapse or Novorossiysk. Or shouldn't it? Following Cape Sarych, M.M. Yakovlev mentions Cape Aya, which is located STILL WEST from Yalta! It was about his stones that the torpedoes of the first torpedo bomber exploded. On torpedo bombers type "Ne-111" used torpedoes of the type "F 5w" with a caliber of 450 mm. Their warhead included 170 kilograms of explosives. The range was 3000 meters. In order for such a torpedo to hit the stones at Cape Aya, "Armenia" must located between the torpedo drop point and Cape Aya, while the torpedo drop point should not be further than 3000 meters from the cape, otherwise the torpedo will sink before reaching it.
What's next? If you believe the quote from the Tsushima forum, then the second torpedo bomber attacked almost immediately after the first, or simultaneously with it. If so, then "Armenia" sank in the Laspi area. Approximately 2-3 kilometers from the coast.
And if not? Commander of the Black Sea Fleet Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky: “When it became known to me that the transport was going to leave Yalta during the day, I myself personally gave the order to the commander, in no case should I leave Yalta until 19.00, that is, until dark. We did not have the means to provide good cover for transport from air and sea. Communication worked reliably, the commander received the order and, despite this, left Yalta at 08.00. At 1100, she was attacked by torpedo bombers and sunk. After being hit by a torpedo, "Armenia" was afloat for four minutes ". At 11-00, if we proceed from the fact that after 10-00 "Armenia" followed from Yalta at the same speed of 14 knots, it should have been in the area of ​​Cape Fiolent, or somewhat north-west. And finally, 11-25. At the same speed of 14 knots, we get the place of death of the "Armenia" approximately in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bCape Khersones (to the north, west or south). Thus, we have three possible places where "Armenia" died. All of them are located WESTERN YALTA AND CAPE SARYCH. That is, absolutely not where Robert Ballard was looking for. Why did "Armenia" end up on its way to Sevastopol and not to Tuapse? Most likely, her captain received an order from the series "smoke down the chimney, roll out dumplings" - to return the staff of the Sevastopol hospitals back. Most likely in pursuance of the following directive: " STATE DIRECTIVE N 004433 TO THE COMMANDER OF THE TROOPS OF THE CRIMEA, THE BLACK SEA FLEET ON MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN THE DEFENSE OF THE CRIMEA Copy: People's Commissar of the Navy. November 7, 1941 02:00 In order to pin down the enemy forces in the Crimea and prevent him from entering the Caucasus through Taman Peninsula The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command orders: 1. The main task of the Black Sea Fleet is to consider the active defense of Sevastopol and the Kerch Peninsula by all means. 2. Do not surrender Sevastopol in any case and defend it with all your might. 3. Keep all three old cruisers and old destroyers in Sevastopol. From this composition, form a mobile detachment for operations in the Feodosiya Gulf in support of the troops occupying the Ak-Monai positions. 4. Detachment of the Azov flotilla to support the troops of the Ak-Monai position from the north. 5. Battleships, new cruisers based in Novorossiysk, using for operations against the coast occupied by the enemy, and strengthening the detachment of old ships. Destroyer basing at your discretion. 6. Part of the FOR from the abandoned areas to use to strengthen the air defense of Novorossiysk. 7. Organize and ensure the transportation to Sevastopol and Kerch of troops retreating to Yalta, Alushta and Sudak. 8. Fighters, attack aircraft and part of the ICBM aircraft should be left in Sevastopol and Kerch, the rest of the aircraft should be used from airfields of the North Caucasus Military District for night strikes on airfields, bases and enemy troops in the Crimea. 9. Evacuate everything valuable, but not necessary for defense, from Sevastopol and Kerch to the Caucasus. 10. Lead the defense of Sevastopol to the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Comrade Oktyabrsky, with subordination to you. The deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet should have a naval fleet in Tuapse. 11. You are in Kerch. 12. For the direct leadership of the defense of the Kerch Peninsula, appoint Lieutenant General Batov. I. STALIN B. SHAPOSHNIKOV N. KUZNETSOV" There are no other logical explanations for the return of "Armenia". All sorts of versions about "gold in bullion", "NKVD officers" - for orphans and the poor, who were not cured with haloperidol, or were released from "House-2" for exemplary idiotic behavior. Since "Armenia" did not reach Sevastopol, the order was "healed". Or maybe it wasn't in writing. Quite often verbal orders are given, and in the event of the death of the one who received the oral order, the one who gave the order may not admit that such an order was. Especially if there are people who start persistently asking questions. One way or another, but Laspi, and Fiolent, and Kazachka are three famous beach Crimea - can be, in fact, the outskirts of a mass grave for several thousand people. However, both Kazachka and Fiolent are already such - if you remember last days defense of Sevastopol in July 1942. In this regard, much more ethical, although less safe, in sanitary terms, are city beaches located inside Sevastopol bay. But the topic of beaches is not the topic of this article, it just so happens that the place of death of "Armenia" is most likely located not far from the coast. How to explain the small number of those saved? Wind from the coast towards the sea and minefields, cold water(November 7) and great excitement at sea ("... the roll of the boat reached 45 degrees..."). How to explain fast time the death of the ship - 4 minutes? His design. A large number of passenger cabins along the entire side of the ship, provides for the presence of long corridors along the entire ship. Considering the rough seas and the fact that German torpedoes often they did not keep the depth and jumped out to the surface, the torpedo hole could be at or above the waterline, which contributed not only to the flooding of the bow holds, but to the rapid spread of water throughout the ship. Passenger overload several times higher than the norm must have created difficulties for the crew in the fight for survivability. Should the search for "Armenia" continue, or should the exact location of her death remain unknown? This is more of a political issue than an ethical one. If we still want to turn into ruminant cattle, eating popcorn and contemplating the next "superman" in a tight blue tights, there is no point in looking for a lost ship. If our history is important to us and we value it, "Armenia" must be found. Materials used:

On September 12, 1941, the advanced units of the 11th German Army approached Perekop, northern border Crimea. From that moment on, it became possible to escape from the peninsula only by sea.

All land routes were quickly taken under control by German troops. About a million civilians were trapped. The scattered troops of the Red Army opposed the German trained troops, who did not give big chance to win.

By the beginning of November 1941, the flight of the inhabitants Crimean peninsula took on a massive scale. With the approach of fascist troops, panic began in the cities. There was a real struggle for landing on any transport. The evacuation of the civilian population was carried out according to a single scheme from Sevastopol and Yalta to Tuapse in the Caucasus.

Motor ship « Armenia"moored in early November 1941 in the port of Sevastopol was the best suited for this purpose.

Motor ship « Armenia"was built at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad in November 1928 and belonged to the type passenger ships « Abkhazia ". In total, four ships of the same type were built: Abkhazia», « Georgia», « Crimea" And " Armenia» for Chernomorsky shipping company. Motor ship « Armenia"has successfully made flights to the Caucasus, carrying more than 10,000 people a year.

motor ship "Armenia" photo

construction of the ship "Armenia"

ship "Abkhazia"

ship "Georgia"

August 8, 1941 two-deck cargo-passenger ship for the period of hostilities it was converted into. Passenger cabins became medical wards, and special symbols appeared on the sides - the Red Cross.

On the morning of November 6, 1941, landing began on ship « Armenia". At first vessel was not moored to the pier, in order to avoid a crush and a possible assault, passengers were brought on board in boats. Suddenly, an order was received from the headquarters of the Sevastopol defensive region to evacuate all medical personnel of the Black Sea Fleet from the city. As a result, the best doctors of the Crimea ended up on the same ship. To fulfill the order, Captain Vladimir Yakovlevich Plaushevsky had to ship « Armenia moored to the pier of Korabelnaya Bay, and huge crowds of city residents seeking salvation immediately poured in here. Everyone wanted to get on the ship. In a panic, passengers began to make their way to the technical rooms on the lowest decks. The ship with the evacuees was overfilled. People stood tightly pressed to each other, but this was the only chance for salvation.

Crowded with frightened people at 17:00 on November 6, 1941, the ship "Armenia" unmoored from the quay wall and soon disappeared over the horizon and disappeared not only from the view of the mourners, but also from Soviet history.

The Sevastopol residents who were seeing them off had a feeling of despair because they did not use their chance. But this would become a reality if it took a course on the established Caucasian route.
From Sevastopol ship « Armenia” took away the medical personnel of the Black Sea Fleet, hundreds of seriously wounded soldiers and thousands of civilians. The war at sea had not yet begun, so the road was every minute. The Caucasus was free and nothing prevented people from saving. But Captain Plaushevsky received an order from the High Command of the Black Sea Fleet to go to Yalta and pick up a few more passengers.

At 02:00 November 7 ship « Armenia"Arrived at the port of Yalta. During this transition, the medical ship was delayed for 3 hours, waiting on the roadstead of Balaklava for transport with some cargo to be delivered on board. After loading several tightly sealed black boxes into the ship, Armenia” weighed anchor and continued its voyage. Escorting NKVD agents remained on board to ensure the protection of the cargo.

In Yalta on a crowded ship « Armenia Hundreds more frightened people plunged in. Only at 08:00 on November 7, 1941, the medical ship was able to leave and head for Tuapse, losing valuable time. Meanwhile, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Oktyabrsky, gave the order not to leave the port until dark, that is, 19:00, but Captain Plaushevsky violated it. Just 10 km from Yalta in Gurzuf, the Nazi troops were already rampaging. The captain made the most important decision in his life, and he gave the order to save the doctors entrusted to him, but it was too late.

Departing at a distance of about 25 miles from the Crimean peninsula " Armenia"was attacked by two torpedoes from a German bomber of the He-111H type, which ignored the identification marks. At 11:29 a.m., a ship with 7,000 medical personnel and civilians sank in the Black Sea at a depth of 472 meters. In a terrible tragedy, only 8 passengers on the boat managed to escape.

This huge number of deaths on one ship seems incredible, but even more amazing is the fact that in our time no one knows about one of the most terrible maritime disasters in the history of the Second World War. After all, on board ship « Armenia"More people died than on the legendary liners" "" and "".

Information about this tragedy was kept in the strictest confidence. Recently, Ukrainian historians managed to discover these details. The cause of the death of the ship was two unplanned stops, which led to the loss of time. The command of the Black Sea Fleet issued an order that made a number of mistakes, and yet the doctors shipwreck could save thousands of lives of soldiers and officers who fought against Nazi Germany.

And only one person, Vladimir Yakovlevich Plaushevsky, took responsibility for the unacceptable mistakes of his leadership. Having violated the order, he took the last opportunity to save people, which was already impossible to prevent.

On May 9, 2010, several veterans of the Great Patriotic War will lay wreaths in the area where the tragedy allegedly occurred.

Technical data of the passenger ship "Armenia":
Length - 112.1 m;
Width - 15.5 m;
Board height - 7.7 m;
Displacement - 5770 tons;
The power plant is two diesel engines with a capacity of 4000 liters. With.;
Speed ​​- 14.5 knots;
Number of passengers - up to 980 people;
Crew - 96 people;

November 7, 1941. There is a parade of Soviet troops on Red Square, to which the attention of the whole world is riveted. At the same time, German troops break through with battles to Moscow and Leningrad.

And nowhere on this day, in the world's means mass media the message that was found in the top secret in the Soviet years "Chronicle of the Great Patriotic War at the Black Sea Theater" did not pass. This document says that in the same minutes that there was a parade on Red Square in Moscow, not far from Yalta, as a result of a German air attack,

the civilian steamship "Armenia" sank.

About 7,000 people died on board.

About one of the largest and tragic disasters at sea, even today we know almost nothing! This disaster claimed 4 times more human lives than tragic death"Titanic".

The Searchers conducted their own investigation to answer the questions: under what circumstances did this tragedy occur, and why did the Soviet government hide the very fact of the disaster and its scale throughout the years of its existence. To do this, we will go to the Crimea and study all the circumstances of the tragedy on the spot.

And remember... Those who have not forgotten.

The ship "Armenia" was one of the six best passenger ships in the Black Sea. These beautiful high-speed motor ships were popularly called "trotters". They served the line Odessa - Batumi - Odessa and regularly transported thousands of passengers until 1941.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, "Armenia" was urgently converted into a medical transport ship. Luxurious salons and restaurants were turned into operating rooms and dressing rooms. Huge crosses were painted on the sides and deck in bright red paint, and the flag of the international Red Cross was raised on the mast.

The Red Army defended Odessa in stubborn and bloody battles, and the main front retreated to the east, to the Crimea. There were a lot of wounded. Day and night, in any weather, on board the "Armenia" there was a struggle for the life and health of our soldiers and officers. Captain Plaushevsky managed to make fifteen incredibly difficult and dangerous flights from Odessa to the ports Caucasian coast, evacuating about 16 thousand wounded and civilians.

The attack of Manstein's 2nd Army on the Crimea was swift. Under powerful blows from superior enemy forces, on October 26-27, Soviet troops began a disorderly retreat from Perekop. Only on the outskirts of Sevastopol, the units of the Red Army, which suffered heavy losses, were able to organize defenses and offer serious resistance to the enemy. Two days later, on October 29, a state of siege was introduced in the city.

On the morning of November 6, in Sevastopol, boarding of the ship "Armenia" began. It took place spontaneously, and no one even knew the number of people taken on board. As early as November 5, all naval medical organizations were ordered to evacuate, although there was still a heavy and bloody defense of the city ahead. Several naval hospitals, along with the wounded, medical staff and equipment, ended up on "Armenia".

Suddenly, a message came to the headquarters of the fleet that a large group senior officials and party activists who had to be evacuated. There were enough small ships in Sevastopol that could well fulfill this task, but they decided to send the "Armenia", although there was no need to risk such a valuable ship. To accomplish this task, the ship was ordered to go to sea at 17:00, i.e. two hours before dark. The exit from Sevastopol during daylight hours already at that time was associated with a great risk, since the ship could well have been sunk on the way to Yalta.

Immediately after leaving Sevastopol, a new order followed - to go to Balaklava. There, several boats approached the "Armenia", and the NKVD officers loaded wooden boxes onto the ship. The day before, on November 6, Stalin signed an order for the urgent evacuation of the most valuable property from Crimea. In this regard, it is assumed that the boxes contained gold and valuables from the Crimean museums. After that, the ship again headed for Yalta and arrived there only at about 2 am. The loading of evacuees, the wounded and hospital personnel began again. Thus, on one ambulance it turned out 23 hospitals - almost the entire medical staff of the Black Sea Fleet.

The ship was escorted by two patrol boats and two I-153 Chaika fighters. The weather deteriorated, a storm began, the sky was covered with low ragged clouds. At 11:25 a.m., the ship was attacked by a single German torpedo bomber He-111. The aircraft approached from the shore and dropped two torpedoes from a distance of 600 m. One of them hit the bow of the ship. After 4 minutes, "Armenia" sank. About 5,000 people died, according to official figures. Eyewitnesses claim that there were one and a half or two times more passengers on the ship, since people stood in a solid mass from the lower rooms to the captain's bridge. The boats were saved by only 8 people. According to Ukrainian scientists, 3 more people swam to the shore.

The ship was escorted by two patrol boats and two I-153 Chaika fighters. The weather deteriorated, a storm began, the sky was covered with low ragged clouds. At 11:25 a.m., the ship was attacked by a single German torpedo bomber He-111. The aircraft approached from the shore and dropped two torpedoes from a distance of 600 m. One of them hit the bow of the ship. After 4 minutes, "Armenia" sank. About 5,000 people died, according to official figures. Eyewitnesses claim that there were one and a half or two times more passengers on the ship, since people stood in a solid mass from the lower rooms to the captain's bridge. The boats were saved by only 8 people. According to Ukrainian scientists, another 5 people swam to the shore.

It will probably be difficult to find a person who has not heard about the death ocean liner"Titanic". Articles and books are devoted to this story that happened in 1912, documentaries and feature films were shot, expeditions were organized to the wreckage of the ship. Still - grandiose maritime disaster over 1500 dead. It's all right, but maritime history There are far worse examples of mankind.

One of the worst maritime disasters (according to some sources, the worst), did not occur anywhere in North Atlantic, and we have on the Black Sea, with our ship and not so long ago. How much do we know about her? But it was on these autumn days, on November 7, 1941, that the ambulance transport "Armenia" went to sea ...

Disproportionately little attention has been paid to this tragedy, there are no books, no films, no modest paragraph in the school textbook. Even in the official reference book “Ships of the Ministry of the Navy that died during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945”, which can be found here, there are few lines dedicated to her:

"ARMENIA"
cargo-pass. m/v, 4727 brt, ChGMP (Black Sea Fleet). Captain - V. Ya. Plaushevsky (died).
Date and place of death - 11/07/41, south of Yalta, 44 ° 17 "N, 34 ° 10" E.
Went from Yalta to Tuapse with the wounded and cargo; sunk by enemy aircraft. The death toll is not known. 8 people were saved*
TsVMA, f. 10, d. 9096, l. 45; house 32780, l. 8; MF Museum.

Everyone remembers the global catastrophe with the Titanic? Certainly…. But why do we remember and know so many details about this shipwreck, and do not know about more horrific and global disasters that occurred on the waters of the oceans?

We are left with a memory.

Museum of Disasters on the Waters, Temple-Lighthouse of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra

In memory of this tragedy, every year on May 9, Yalta port workers go to sea at the site of the sinking of the ship "Armenia" to honor the memory of those killed in the tragedy and lay wreaths.

which claimed the lives of our compatriots, among other victims of the monstrous scale of the Great Patriotic War.

Remember, Lord, the souls of the dead, forgive them all their sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.

Seventy years ago, the most deadly maritime disaster in the history of our country occurred in the Black Sea. On November 7, 1941, off the Crimean coast, Nazi aviation sent the sanitary ship “Armenia” to the bottom, on which the wounded, doctors and residents of the city were evacuated from the besieged Sevastopol to the Caucasus. How many people were on board - no one knows for sure. But according to experts - from 5 to 7 thousand people. 2-3 times more than on the infamous Titanic"! Only a few survived.

The official Soviet historiography did everything to hide the details terrible tragedy. The ends in the water are hidden so that the steps taken in last years attempts, even with the help of American bathyscaphes and hydroacoustic equipment, to find one of the largest underwater mass graves in the world did not lead to anything. The skeleton of the huge "Armenia" has not yet been discovered.

What is actually known from official sources? On the evening of November 6, the 41st ambulance in last time left Sevastopol. On board are the wounded, medical staff and evacuees. Arrived in Yalta to receive passengers there as well. Total number According to official figures, the number of people on the deck, in the cabins, corridors and holds of the “Armenia” reached 5,500 people. Everything that happened next is similar to the recklessness of the transport commander.

It is not known why in the morning, almost without cover, with the complete air supremacy of Nazi aircraft, the overcrowded ship left Yalta and, according to one source, guarded by one, and according to others, by two patrol boats, headed towards the Caucasus. At 11:25 a.m. abeam Gurzuf, a tiny convoy was attacked by the German Heinkel-111 torpedo bomber. Dropped two torpedoes, one of which hit the bow of the ship. Just four minutes later - at 11 hours 29 minutes - the ship sank to the bottom astern. It was possible to save according to one data, 8, according to others - 82 people.

And that's all the memoir contains Soviet admirals on this account. Even in the Combat Chronicle of the Soviet Navy in 1941-1942 published in 1983 by the Ministry of Defense on the basis of the archives of the General Staff of the USSR Navy. about the largest maritime tragedy that war - not a word. Such blatant brevity requires explanation. I had to go to the archives.

Motor ship "Armenia" belonged to the first-born of the Soviet passenger shipbuilding - the so-called "Krymchaks", the construction of which began in 1926. They were named so because they were intended to transport people between the ports of the Crimea and the Caucasus. Twin-pipe motor ships turned out to be successful. They were designed for almost a thousand passengers. With a length of 110 meters and a displacement of 5770 tons, the speed was quite decent - 14.5 knots. In case of misfortune, there were 16 lifeboats 48 seats each. Is it surprising that with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, it was the “Krymchaks” who were the first to be transferred to the medical service of the Black Sea Fleet for the evacuation of the wounded?

"Armenia" and its brothers "Georgia", "Ukraine", "Adzharia" and "Crimea" were turned into floating hospitals by the workers of the Odessa shipyard. Under the bombs of German aviation, the partitions of first-class cabins were hurriedly broken in order to deploy an operating room and 4 dressing rooms for 11 tables each. It was believed that a maximum of 400 wounded would have to be taken on board. On August 10, 1941, "Armenia" was prepared for war.

It was more difficult with the crew. Experienced Captain Vladimir Plaushevsky dressed in a naval tunic and began to be called the commander of an ambulance transport. Military doctor of the 2nd rank Pyotr Dmitrievsky became the chief doctor of the floating hospital, mobilized from the railway hospital of Odessa. On upper deck and the sides inflicted huge red crosses, testifying to the exclusively medical purpose of the vessel. But since no one had any illusions about the observance by the Nazis of the civilized rules of warfare, anti-aircraft machine guns were installed on the ship, which was painted in a protective color. Only civilian sailors had no time to learn how to accurately hit air targets from them. The enemy was already standing at the walls of Odessa, the wounded in her hospitals and medical battalions came in a stream. Therefore, the crew of "Armenia" had to, without delay, proceed to their evacuation to the Caucasian ports.

Until its death, ambulance transport managed to take 15 thousand people from Odessa and Sevastopol to the mainland. His last campaign began in Tuapse in the early morning of November 4, 1941. Having taken on board the marching reinforcements for the garrison of Sevastopol, "Armenia", guarding the destroyer "Savvy", went to the city, the siege of which was just beginning. Moored at Coal Wharf. And suddenly Plaushevsky received an order: on the way back together with the wounded take on board all without exception medical institutions fleet. What exactly - allow you to clarify the memories of a participant in the defense of Sevastopol colonel of the medical service A.I. Vlasov. Here they are: “On November 5, the head of the Main Base department received an order ... to close hospitals and infirmaries. About 300 wounded were loaded onto the “Armenia”, the medical and economic personnel of the Sevastopol naval hospital (the largest in the fleet), led by its chief physician, military doctor of the 1st rank S.M. Kagan. Here were the heads of departments (with medical staff), X-ray technicians ... The 2nd naval and Nikolaev base hospitals, sanitary warehouse No. 280, the sanitary and epidemiological laboratory, the 5th medical detachment, the hospital from the Yalta sanatorium were also located here. Part of the medical staff of the Primorsky and 51st armies, as well as evacuated residents of Sevastopol, were taken on board the ship».

Just imagine: the enemy is at the gates, Sevastopol has been declared under a state of siege since October 29, fighting is going on a dozen and a half kilometers, and all hospitals and almost all medical personnel are sent from the city to the rear! I believe that there can be only one explanation for this - the command of the Black Sea Fleet in those days did not expect that the main base of the Black Sea Fleet would last at least a few days. I believe that it is precisely this conclusion, which does not fit in with the official version of the heroic defense, that politicians and censors from history tried to bury under the archival headings “Top Secret” throughout the post-war years. So they hid materials about the death of "Armenia".

It must be said that there were enough facts for the pessimism of the Black Sea admirals. 11th German Army Colonel General Manstein in a matter of weeks it gnawed through our liquid and clumsily built defenses on the narrow Perekop isthmus and at the end of October burst into steppe Crimea. Confused, Moscow did not decide who should defend Sevastopol. In the city itself, the garrison consisted of only two regiments of marines and a local rifle regiment. On October 30-31, the 8th Marine Brigade was hastily transferred from Novorossiysk to help. But even with it, the number of defenders was only about 20 thousand people. No matter how you arrange them, you can’t fight off Manstein.

Sevastopol saved, in essence, chance and military talent Commander of the Primorsky Army, General Ivan Petrov. After the defeat of Perekop, his army in the Crimean steppes was left to the mercy of fate. There was no connection either with Moscow or with the commander of the Crimean troops, Admiral Gordey Levchenko, with his headquarters, retreating to Alushta. There were no liaison aircraft. There was not even an order where to retreat - to Kerch or to Sevastopol? In the small Tatar village of Ekibash, the commanders of the abandoned Primorsky Army gathered for a military council. AND according to their own understanding, they decided that they should save Sevastopol. This largely allowed the city to become a hero later on. But the seasiders still had to reach him.

Eyewitnesses say that their columns in a forced march along parallel roads were gathering dust in a race with the Nazis. Ours didn't make it. The Germans managed to cut the road to Bakhchisaray. The coastal army had to turn on a long, but the only free way to the main base of the Black Sea Fleet - to the mountains South Shore Crimea. And the main question was this: who will go to Sevastopol first? Primortsy or Manstein? Manstein was much closer, and his aviation in the air did what it wanted.

Here in such unenviable conditions Fleet Commander Admiral Philip Oktyabrsky had to decide what to do with the city? There is, in any case, more than one piece of evidence that, contrary to official version he did not prepare for a long defense. Moreover, in early November, when the first salvos rumbled on the outskirts of Sevastopol, the commander of the fleet found it necessary to urgently go to the Caucasus - to check the bases of the squadron being transferred there. As if he had never seen these places before.

The commander returned to Sevastopol on the 10th. And before that, it was on November 7 that a categorical directive from the Headquarters came from Moscow, after which it became clear to Oktyabrsky that if he did not save Sevastopol, he would not save himself either. Below is its full text.

STAFF DIRECTIVE No. 004433 TO THE COMMANDER OF THE CRIMEA TROOPS, THE BLACK SEA FLEET ON MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN THE DEFENSE OF THE CRIMEA

In order to pin down the enemy forces in the Crimea and prevent him from entering the Caucasus through the Taman Peninsula, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command orders:

2. Do not surrender Sevastopol in any case and defend it with all your might.

3. Keep all three old cruisers and old destroyers in Sevastopol. From this composition, form a mobile detachment for operations in the Feodosiya Gulf in support of the troops occupying the Ak-Monai positions.

4. Detachment of the Azov flotilla to support the troops of the Ak-Monai position from the north.

5. Battleships, new cruisers based in Novorossiysk, using for operations against the coast occupied by the enemy, and strengthening the detachment of old ships. Destroyer basing at your discretion.

6. Part of the FOR from the abandoned areas to use to strengthen the air defense of Novorossiysk.

7. Organize and ensure the transportation to Sevastopol and Kerch of troops retreating to Yalta, Alushta and Sudak.

8. Fighters, attack aircraft and part of the ICBM aircraft should be left in Sevastopol and Kerch, the rest of the aircraft should be used from airfields of the North Caucasus Military District for night strikes on airfields, bases and enemy troops in the Crimea.

9. Evacuate everything valuable, but not necessary for defense, from Sevastopol and Kerch to the Caucasus.

10. Lead the defense of Sevastopol to the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Comrade Oktyabrsky, with subordination to you. The deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet should have a naval fleet in Tuapse.

11. You are in Kerch.

12. For the direct leadership of the defense of the Kerch Peninsula, appoint Lieutenant General Batov.

J. STALIN B. SHAPOSHNIKOV N. KUZNETSOV

What was left for October? It is urgent to return from the relatively safe Caucasus to the besieged Sevastopol. And Admiral Oktyabrsky hastened to lead the battle for his main base.

But even the short absence of the fleet commander in the city at the most critical moments gave rise to growing panic. Is it any wonder that it was decided to urgently ship all the medical staff of the fleet to the "Armenia"? And many more, even artists of the Lunacharsky City Theater. Despite the crush on the narrow ladders, the “Armenia” parking lot in Sevastopol was reduced by two hours: it was reported from Yalta that a large group of party and Soviet workers of the Crimea were waiting for evacuation there, along with crowds of wounded and refugees. I had to go after them.

Why was it the crew of the "Armenia" who was entrusted with this reckless business? If it weren’t for the fatal stop, at its decent speed for a civilian ship, the transport could have safely reached Tuapse overnight: in the dark german planes didn't fly. Those who were waiting for rescue on the Yalta berths could well have been taken out to Sevastopol for a start, which is only a couple of hours away. There were plenty of ships and watercraft for this in the main base. In the end, on the very night when "Armenia" was losing precious hours, mooring in Yalta, the loading of the 7th Marine Brigade departing from Perekop onto the destroyers "Boikiy" and "Imperfect" took place there quite safely. The ships took on board about 1,800 fighters and commanders, part of the military equipment, and left Yalta at 03:40. At dawn, they moored in Sevastopol. However, the point, apparently, is that the evacuation to Sevastopol at that time seemed like salvation to a few of the panicked influential leaders. If you tear your claws from the Nazis, then only to the Caucasus!

Towards the death of the ship "Armenia" set off at 17 pm. Almost immediately came after order of the fleet headquarters: make one more stop on the roadstead of Balaklava and take some cargo from the shore. Who, what - in a short radiogram was not reported. Having stopped the move at Balaklava, Plaushevsky immediately understood why. Boats with NKVD workers approached the transport board. Wooden boxes were dragged from them to the deck. According to some researchers, these were valuable exhibits of Crimean museums.

Whatever it was, a few more precious hours were lost. As a result transport entered Yalta only at 2 am on November 7. What was waiting for him at the pier? This is recalled by one of those who really wanted to get on the deck of the "Armenia", but did not manage to do it. As it turned out - to his happiness. Otherwise, we would not have read this testimony. Word - E.S. Nikulin: “Since the evening, we still did not know anything about the ship “Armenia”. At night, about two o'clock, they woke us up and led us almost in formation along the middle of the street to the port. There was a huge ship in the port. The whole marina and pier are filled with people. We joined this crowd. Boarding the ship was slow; in two hours we moved from the pier to the pier. The pressure is incredible! Loading went from about two o'clock until seven in the morning. Across the pier stood NKVD soldiers with rifles and let only women with children through. Sometimes men broke through the cordon. The weather was inclement, it often rained. A fuel depot began to burn in the city, and huge black clouds of smoke were carried by the wind towards the city.».

Did not get to "Armenia" and the family Faith Chistova who was 9 years old at the time. She recalls: “Dad bought tickets, and my grandmother and I had to leave Yalta on the ship Armenia. On the night of November 6, the pier was full of people. First, the wounded were loaded, then the civilians were let in. Nobody checked the tickets, and a stampede began on the gangway. The brave climbed onto the ship along the shrouds. In the bustle, suitcases and things were thrown off the board. By dawn, the loading was completed. But we never got to Armenia. Hundreds of people remained on the pier. My grandmother and I went to my father's workshop on the embankment. There I fell asleep».

Subsequently, in his diaries, Admiral Oktyabrsky wrote that the commander of the "Armenia" violated his order to wait in Yalta for the night of November 8 in order to protect the ship from air strike. But the experienced captain Plaushevsky was not suicidal. Even without a commander, he knew perfectly well what the morning campaign threatened him with. However, panic reigned in Yalta, there was no power, the intelligence of the Nazis rolled freely to the city from Alushta, occupied on November 4th.

In addition, following the order of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet meant standing all day in the port, which had never had air defense. No one would have prevented the German aviation from bombing a huge stationary target right at the pier.

In a word, Plaushevsky decided not to wait until "Armenia" was drowned right in Yalta. And gave moorings at 8 am on November 7.

By that time, the Germans had not managed to establish any reconnaissance in the port, and the Heinkels were clearly not hunting for Armenia. The Germans probably knew that the Black Sea ships were hastily transporting the troops of the retreating Primorsky Army from the southern coast of Crimea to Sevastopol. And since the morning of November 7, they were probably hunting for them. And then the almost defenseless "Armenia" turned up ... At 11 hours and 25 minutes, the ship was attacked by a single German torpedo bomber He-111, which belonged to the 1st squadron of the I / KG28 air group. The aircraft approached from the shore and dropped two torpedoes from a distance of 600 meters. One passed by, and the second hit the bow of the ship. After 4 minutes, "Armenia" went to the bottom.

It happened exactly on the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution. In Moscow, a historic military parade has just ended on Red Square. Just resounded Stalin's words:"The German invaders are straining their last strength. There is no doubt that Germany cannot bear such tension for long. A few more months, another six months, maybe a year, and Hitler's Germany must burst under the weight of its crimes.

Later, many preferred to forget this mournful episode of the victorious war. It was more convenient that way. Amazing, but in the Soviet years, no one tried to find the ship lying at the bottom. The first attempts were made already in independent Ukraine. In 2006, at the request of Kyiv, joined the work United States Institute of Oceanography and Oceanology under the direction of Robert Ballard. The same Billard who found the Titanic, the Bismar battleship and the Yorktown aircraft carrier that died in the oceans. The expedition, which cost the Americans 2.5 million dollars, passed over the supposed point of death of Soviet transport 27 times! Found at a depth of 300 meters, even 20-centimeter-long shells from artillery shells. But no traces of "Armenia" were seen.

In 2009, the Ukrainian underwater robot Sophocles was involved in the search work. Just 270 meters from the point indicated on the map, Sophocles discovered an old sailing 30-meter ship. But not "Armenia"! However, a 110-meter ambulance is not a needle in a haystack, is it? Even if we imagine that those who believe that “Armenia” was covered with a thick layer of silt are right, would such a mass of metal have to give at least some magnetic disturbances?

What's the matter? In my opinion, there is only one reasonable explanation - not looking there. The place of the tragedy on the maps is fixed inaccurately. Why not consider another version? Vladimir Plaushevsky was too experienced a captain not to understand what threatens him to sail throughout the daylight hours along the coast of the Crimea occupied by the Nazis. The most reasonable thing he could do was to turn to Sevastopol, under the cover of anti-aircraft artillery and fighters of the main base of the fleet.

Of course, it was, of course, impossible to do this without coordination with the headquarters of the fleet. But who today will undertake to assert that there was no such agreement? And that there are no traces of such negotiations in archival documents - after all, there are no traces, for example, of an order for Plaushevsky to follow to Balaklava. It is not even known who gave this fatal order.

In addition, we now know, after all, with what care other leaders "cleaned" our archives from the truth that compromised them personally. If everything concerned last flight"Armenia", it was decided to carefully hide all the post-war years, b - why not destroy some materials of the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet for reliability?

If so, then after leaving the Yalta port, "Armenia" was supposed to head not to the Caucasus. The course was reversed! It turns out that now you need to look for her not at all at Gurzuf, but somewhere abeam Cape Sarych. It seems to have its own logic.