Written by: Samyam Shrestha - 22012, Grade XII
Posted on: 31 March, 2022
In autumn 2014, Aurora went under another refit. Altogether, 10th in more than a year in the history of the ship. She was just an ordinary ship. But nowadays, few people remember the names of the remaining ships of her class. Aurora life was the chain of a number of grandiose events. Her cruiser class included Diana, Pallada and Aurora was unique because it was the first Russian-class built battlecruiser. New protected cruiser Aurora and her sister ship Diana and Pallada were intended to perform two main tasks, which were operations on enemy’s supply lines and reconnaissance and support ships.
The legendary Cruiser Aurora was launched in 1900. She has lived through the three wars and is still in commission of the Russian Navy.
Specifications:
Length: 416 ft
Beam: 55 ft
Total Displacement: 6,897 tons
Draft: 20 ft 12in
Boilers: 24 Belleville
Steam Engines: 3-Cylinder triple expansion
Power: 11,971 hp
Armored Deck: 1.5-2.5 in
Conning tower: 6 in
Primary Armament: 8x1 Canet guns
Secondary Armament: 24x1 Canet guns
Torpedo launcher: 3x1
Maximum speed: 19.2 knots
Cruising Range: 4000 miles
The engine was built in 1900 but still is functional and operational to the current day. The construction of cruiser Aurora took about 6 years as the industry of Russia wasn’t developed as much as Great Britain. It was the project aimed to fight against the British merchants but as the German Navy and Japanese Navy became powerful at the time, it was the geo-political task, but Russia had only three ships under construction at the moment. As there were only three ships under construction, it was the reason there were major changes on the cruisers from time to time. After the commission’s trial in 1903, Aurora was commissioned and headed to the Pacific Ocean and accompanied by other ships to provide enforcement for the Pacific Squadron of the Russian Empire. But due to the Russo-Japanese war, Aurora was commanded to return immediately to the port. From 1904, in autumn, the squadron was sent to the Far East under command of Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky.
It was one of the most difficult expeditions as the ships covered 18,000 miles over 223 days. On May 27th, 1905, The Russian Squadron encountered the Japanese fleet under the commandment of Admiral Togo, the Battle of Tsushima had commenced. The outcome was a disaster, The Russian squadron was defeated and four of the new ships were sunk. Cruiser Aurora engaged in the battle after 45 mins. With the help of other cruisers, she defended the transport ships against the Japanese superior navy forces. During the battle, she received almost 20 hits. The ship fired about 2000 shots, the incoming shells hitting the smokestacks, most hitting the forward part of the ship. The conning tower was hit twice, four crew members were injured along with Ship commander Captain Yegoryev. All main and secondary guns were heavily damaged. At the battle 144 crew members were throwing coals at the boilers at temperatures of almost 200 F for 28 hours continuously. As it was getting dark, Aurora managed to break free from their pursuit.
The ship who was named after the goddess of the dawn and starry sky, Cruiser Aurora managed to be the 10 surviving ships who returned home after the Battle of Tsushima. In 1909, She became the training ship and entered the first World War.
Aurora was part of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron whose main mission was to keep the Imperial German Navy from reaching St. Petersburg. The cruiser’s job was to patrol these minefields and support the destroyers. The ship was already outdated, the steam engines needed to be replaced. During the revolution of 1917, Aurora played a decisive role in the Bolsheviks victory. The ship crew member started raising the question: Why had they been fighting? The officers could have answered if they had talked to the sailors themselves. Aurora was anchored near a factory wall where there were a lot of members, so it was obvious for the crew to take part in the revolution. When revolution began in 1917, 23rd February, Aurora’s sailors supported the action.
In 1918, the guns of Aurora were removed and sent on the Frontline of the Russian Civil War. Four months before the ship was placed in the reserves. There was an explosive device spotted on the ship magazines, it was neutralized by the chief artillery officer. The bomb denotated at his right hands and was injured. It shows that Cruiser Aurora was already preserved as a symbol. In 1940, the Navy thought of decommissioning the cruiser, and a new war had started. In 1941, German troops were breaking through Leningrad. All the Aurora guns had been removed and placed in the city.
They brought cranes to Aurora, placing their guns from the city under a day which should have been completed in a month. The crew were heroes, almost all of them fell when defending the city. The crew accomplish their missions. As she could be heavily damaged from the German’s air forces, she still continued to defend from the German aviation. The running flag showed her she was still fighting and fulfilling her duties.
As she was beginning her 5th decade of service, she was already considered as a legendary symbol in the Soviet Navy. A decision was taken to preserve the legendary ship as the monument of military history. It was anchored in the front of historic Peter the Great Palace. In 1960, the Soviet government decided to represent Aurora as October's Revolutionary symbol.
She could have been destroyed in the multiple battles but the cruiser is still in service. Hence it proves that she is a legendary ship in the history of the Navy.
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