The lead boat "Komsomolets" of project 123 was laid down on July 30, 1939 at the shipyard of the Leningrad Shipbuilding Plant No. Comrade A. Marty. Launched on May 16, 1940, commissioned on October 25 of the same year, and on March 12, 1941 - enrolled in Black Sea Fleet. The torpedo boat "Komsomolets" was intended for torpedoing enemy ships and for setting smoke screens. Back in the summer of 1940, when Komsomolets was still undergoing factory tests, its project underwent a major rework. The design team of TsKB-19 V.M. took up the modification of the ship. Burlakova. First of all, anti-aircraft weapons were strengthened, instead of one DShK heavy machine gun, four were installed on the pedestal mount (two each in twin turret mounts). The displacement of the ship at the same time increased by 3 tons, and the speed decreased from 51 knots to 46-48. The caliber of torpedo tubes was also reduced from 533 to 450 mm, now designed for 45-36-NU torpedoes. "Komsomolets" was a boat completely new design, which differed significantly from the serial torpedo boats of the G-5 and D-3 types, and surpassed them in a number of combat qualities. Unlike the old, wooden ones, the new boat had a duralumin hull 18.7 meters long and 3.4 meters wide (divided into five compartments by watertight bulkheads). A hollow keel beam ran along the entire length of the hull, which served as a keel. In addition, on the sides below the waterline there were additional side keels, which reduced pitching. Two Packard-type aircraft engines with a capacity of 2400 hp. With. (instead of the GAM-34-F with a power of 1000 hp each) provided the boat with a speed of up to 48 knots (86 km / h). The motors were located longitudinally in the hull, one after the other, so that the length of the left propeller shaft was 12.2 m, and the right one was 10. gutter. The Komsomolets serial boats were armed with four 12.7-mm DShK heavy machine guns mounted in two twin UK-2 mounts (on boats of the XIII series of later construction they were replaced by two mounts with 20-mm ShVAK automatic guns), as well as six large depth charges. Smoke equipment was mounted on the boat (DA-7 apparatus with a capacity of 40 liters). Changes in the design led to a good seaworthiness of the new boat, he could use his weapons and go at maximum speed in waves up to 3 points, inclusive. Unlike other Russian-built torpedo boats, the Komsomolets boat received an armored wheelhouse (from a 7 mm thick sheet). During the Great Patriotic War Project 123 torpedo boat was once again finalized. The changes affected mainly production technology. The hull structure was also strengthened, and a number of minor improvements were made. Instead of one motor, two were installed, and although the displacement of the boat increased by 5 tons, the speed remained the same - 48 knots. In November 1943, the Tyumen Shipyard (Shipbuilding Plant No. 639) handed over to the fleet the lead boat of the Komsomolets type of a new project, which received the designation "123-bis". It entered service in August 1944, as the war rolled further and further west. Project 123-bis torpedo boats were built on voluntary contributions from Soviet people, and therefore some of them, in addition to numbers, received their own names, for example: Tyumen Worker, Tyumen Komsomolets, Tyumen Pioneer, Riverman of the Angara, Odessa Patriot”, “Odessa Collective Farmer”, “Odessa Komsomolets”, “Komsomol of Kazakhstan”, “Artemovets”, “Working Artem”, “Seaman of Dalstroy” and others. Until the end of the war, 30 boats of the 123-bis type descended from the stocks of the Tyumen plant No. 639, and in 1946-1953, another 205 such ships were built at the shipyard No. 183 in Feodosia (50 - project 123-bis and 155 - project 123-K) . New coastal torpedo boats of the Komsomolets type managed to take an active part in the final battles in the Baltic during the Great Patriotic War. The actions of the maneuverable and fast "Komsomol" against the German convoys were very successful. These torpedo boats showed their high combat qualities in full measure in the spring of 1945, when units of the Red Army were already completing the defeat of the Nazi troops, advancing towards Berlin with heavy fighting. From the sea, Soviet ground forces covered the ships of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, and the entire burden of combat operations in the waters of the southern Baltic fell on the shoulders of the crews of submarines, naval aviation and torpedo boats. Trying to keep ports in East Prussia for the evacuation of retreating troops for as long as possible, the German troops made feverish attempts to dramatically increase the number of search-strike and patrol groups of boats. These measures significantly aggravated the situation in the Baltic, and then the 3rd division of Komsomolets torpedo boats was deployed to help the active forces of the KBF. On the night of April 21, 1945, the search for enemy ships in the area of the Hel Spit was carried out by a detachment of boats, under the command of Lieutenant Commander P. Efimenko. Soviet boats were moving at the slowest pace. This masked, but also required iron restraint and self-control from the crews. And then P. Efimenko decided to go deep into the Danzig Bay - to the mouth of the Vistula. At that time, only one task was set for the boatmen: to find and sink enemy ships, which continued to intensively transfer troops across the sea. Finally, three German fast landing barges (FDBs) with heavy artillery were discovered. A short distance behind them were five patrol boats. However, the attack had to be delayed as it could have been the vanguard of a large convoy. And in this case the intuition and calculation of the captain-lieutenant P. Efimenko turned out to be correct. In the predawn twilight a caravan appeared. It consisted of an extremely overloaded transport, which was guarded by several destroyers, patrol boats and torpedo boats. Two more high-speed landing barges closed the marching order. Having distributed the targets, the detachment commander gave the order to attack. The boat TK-135 of Senior Lieutenant A. Aksenov went first and immediately fired a volley from both torpedo tubes. Following him, with a slight delay, the boat TK-133 "Working Artem" of Lieutenant Commander V. Solodovnikov discharged torpedo tubes. A few seconds passed, and a deafening double explosion was heard behind the boats: the torpedoes hit the target - the German destroyer Z-34 received serious damage. Further, the actions of Aksenov and Solodovnikov were almost automatic - turning the boats, setting up a smoke screen and leaving in afterburner. However, this time the Soviet boatmen were not lucky: when leaving the battle, an enemy shell landed in the engine compartment of the TK-135, and its engines immediately stalled. He lost his course, but soon help arrived in time. Under heavy fire from enemy guns, another boat TK-131 "Riverman of the Angara" by Lieutenant N. Korotkevich, covering A. Aksenov's "Komsomolets" with a smoke screen, took the damaged boat in tow and began to take it out of the battle. However, a German patrol boat, converted from a fishing boat, firing from all guns, blocked the path of Soviet torpedo boats. And immediately, both boats opened fire on the enemy from large-caliber machine-gun installations. Soon the German watch caught fire, and then an explosion followed, and after a few minutes only fragments of it remained on the surface of the water. The path to their base for torpedo boats was open. In 1995, at the Almaz shipyard in St. Petersburg, which specialized in the construction and repair of high-speed boats for the Federal Border Service and the Russian Navy, it was built specifically for the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow according to original drawings of a full-size model of the project 123-bis boat. He was assigned a tail number in honor of the well-deserved torpedo boat "TK-131".
Length - 18.7 m Beam - 3.4 m Draft - 1.2 m Standard displacement - 20.5 tons Full displacement - 23 tons Maximum travel speed - 48 knots Cruise speed - 28.8 knots Power: internal gasoline aircraft engine combustion "Packard" - 2x1200 hp Cruising range - 345 miles Armament: Air defense artillery - 2 twin installations of 12.7-mm DShK heavy machine guns (subsequently 2 installations of 20-mm ShVAK cannons) Anti-submarine weapons - 2 tray bombers; - 6 depth bombs M-1;
Apparatus with smoke mixture DA-7 with a capacity of 40 liters
Torpedo-mine weapons - torpedo tubes - 2x450 Endurance - 36 hours Crew - 7 people.
Designed by a group of designers of plant No. 194 named after Andre Marty under the leadership of chief designer P.I. Taptygin in 1939 and were intended for conducting torpedo attacks in cramped coastal areas.
The hull of the boat is made of duralumin with reddish lines in the bow and a straight transom stern. At the bottom, along the entire length of the hull, a hollow beam passed, which played the role of a keel. On the sides, in the middle part of the hull, below the waterline, there were side flat keels, which reduced pitching. The distance between the frames in the bow (spacing) was 20 cm, and in the stern - 25 cm. The deck was made straight in the stern with slight bevels at the sides for better drainage of water, and sloping with a slight rise in its level in the bow of the hull. In the middle of the hull was a closed running (combat) cabin with viewing glasses. Control devices were installed inside the wheelhouse: a steering wheel, an engine telegraph, two tachometers (one per engine), drives for gas control throttles, a magnetic compass, a tablet with maps, and an automatic firing box for launching torpedoes.
Unsinkability was ensured by dividing the hull with watertight bulkheads into 5 compartments:
- Forepeak;
- Motor;
- management;
- Fuel;
- Afterpeak.
The power plant is mechanical, two-shaft with two domestic gasoline aircraft engines GAM-34F, 1000 hp each. each with reverse gears, with maximum speed rotation up to 1850 rpm. The full speed of the boat could be used for no more than an hour. The maximum number of engine revolutions in combat training actions was allowed no more than 1600 rpm. A serviceable motor started in 6-8 seconds. after switching on. The maximum permissible number of revolutions in reverse is 1200. The engine's operating time in reverse is 3 minutes. B-70 gasoline was used as fuel. After 150 hours of operation of the new motor, its complete bulkhead was required.
The armament of the boats consisted of:
- From 2 tow torpedo tubes BS-7 for two 533-mm torpedoes. Torpedo tubes (TA) are grips for torpedoes (mines), similar to grips used in military aviation for hanging ammunition under the fuselage of aircraft and helicopters. For onboard dropping of torpedoes, a galvanic ignition device was used, which consisted of two ignition cartridges installed in the torpedo tube, an electrical wire and a galvanic cell (battery), when the circuit of which was closed, the current was supplied to the fuse. The advantage of TA was that they made it possible to produce a volley from a "stop".
- From 1 heavy-caliber 12.7 mm DShK machine gun with a barrel length of 84.25 caliber, which was located on the roof of the wheelhouse. Fire mode - only automatic, built on the gas principle, has a muzzle brake. The rate of fire of the installation was 600 rounds / min. at an initial cartridge speed of 850 m / s, a firing range of up to 3.5 km, a ceiling of up to 2.4 km. The machine guns are powered by a belt, in a belt of 50 rounds. Shooting is carried out in bursts of up to 125 shots, after which cooling is required. The calculation of the machine gun included 2 people. For ease of aiming, a shoulder pad with adjustable shoulder stops is provided. The machine guns had a manual control system with an optical sight. Installation weight - no data.
- From 4 BM-1 depth charges located in the stern. The total weight of the bomb was 41 kg, and the weight of TNT was 25 kg with a length of 420 mm and a diameter of 252 mm. The immersion speed reached 2.3 m / s, and the radius of destruction - up to 5 meters. The bomb was used for preventive bombing, including to detonate bottom magnetic and acoustic mines from boats and slow-moving ships.
The Shtil-K radio station could operate in telephone mode, had a power of 10-20 W and operated in the range of 75-300 meters with a range of 20 miles.
The construction was carried out at the plant number 194 in Leningrad.
Tactical and technical data TKA project 123 "Komsomolets"
| Maximum width: | 3.4 meters |
| Draft full: | 1.2 meters |
| Power point: | 2 gasoline engines GAM-34F, 1000 hp each, 2 screws, 2 rudders |
| Travel speed: | gross 52 knots, economic 17 knots |
| cruising range: | 345 miles at 17 knots |
| Seaworthiness: | 4 points |
| Autonomy: | 1 day |
| Armament: | . |
| artillery: | 1x1 12.7 mm DShK machine gun |
| torpedo: | 2 yoke 533-mm TA |
| anti-submarine: | 1 bomb releaser, 4 BM-1 depth charges |
| radio engineering: | 1 radio station "Shtil-K" |
| navigational: | 1 magnetic compass KI-6 |
| Crew: | 6 people (1 officer) |
In total, boats were built from 1939 to 1940 - 1 unit.
Project 123bis torpedo boats
- this is an improved version of the boats developed by the F.L. Liventsev at TsKB-32 in 1942, differed from the previous version in a reinforced hull design, Lend-Lease American Packard gasoline engines, reinforced artillery and updated torpedo armament. The wheelhouse and machine gun mounts were protected by 7 mm armor.
The power plant is mechanical, two-shaft with two Packard gasoline aircraft engines of 1200 hp each. each. The full speed of the boat reached 48 knots. A serviceable motor started in 5-6 seconds. after switching on.
The armament of the boats consisted of:
- From 2 single-tube torpedo tubes TTKA-45 for two 457-mm torpedoes. Pipe apparatus provided a more favorable microclimate for the torpedo, which was located in the TA.
- Of the 2 twin heavy-caliber 12.7-mm DShK machine guns with a barrel length of 84.25 caliber, which were located one on the roof of the cabin and one in the stern of the boat. Fire mode - only automatic, built on the gas principle, has a muzzle brake. The rate of fire of the installation was 600 rounds / min. on the barrel at an initial cartridge speed of 850 m / s, a firing range of up to 3.5 km, a ceiling of up to 2.4 km. The machine guns are powered by a belt, in a belt of 50 rounds per barrel. Shooting is carried out in bursts of up to 125 shots, after which cooling is required. The calculation of the machine gun included 2 people. For ease of aiming, a shoulder pad with adjustable shoulder stops is provided. The machine guns had a manual control system with an optical sight. Installation weight - no data.
- Of the 6 BM-1 depth charges located in the stern. The total weight of the bomb was 41 kg, and the weight of TNT was 25 kg with a length of 420 mm and a diameter of 252 mm. The immersion speed reached 2.3 m / s, and the radius of destruction - up to 5 meters. The bomb was used for preventive bombing, including to detonate bottom magnetic and acoustic mines from boats and slow-moving ships.
The boats were equipped with smoke equipment DA-7, which was mounted on the stern and was acidic - they used a mixture of C-IV (a solution of sulfurous anhydride in chlorosulfonic acid) as a smoke-forming substance, which was supplied to the nozzles using compressed air and sprayed into the atmosphere.
The construction was carried out at plant No. 639 in Tyumen.
The lead boat entered service in 1944.
Tactical and technical data TKA project 123bis
| Maximum width: | 3.44 meters |
| Draft full: | 0.75 meters |
| Power point: | 2 Packard gasoline engines, 1200 hp each, 2 screws, 2 rudders |
| Travel speed: | gross 48 knots, economic 17 knots |
| cruising range: | 250 miles at 17 knots |
| Seaworthiness: | 4 points |
| Autonomy: | 1 day |
| Armament: | . |
| artillery: | 2x2 12.7 mm DShK machine guns |
| torpedo: | |
| anti-submarine: | 1 bomber, 6 BM-1 depth charges |
| radio engineering: | 1 radio station "Shtil-K" |
| navigational: | 1 magnetic compass KI-6 |
| chemical: | smoke equipment DA-7 |
| Crew: | 7 people (1 officer) |
In total, boats were built from 1944 to 1955 - 118 units.
Project M-123bis torpedo boats
- this is a modernized version of the boats developed by the group of V.M. Burlakov at TsKB-19 in 1946 and differed from the previous version by domestic M-50 diesel engines, which were less fire hazardous than Packard gasoline engines.
The power plant is mechanical, two-shaft with two domestic M-50 diesel engines of 900 hp each. each with reverse gears and a maximum rotation speed of 1600 rpm.
The lead boat entered service with the Black Sea Fleet in 1949.
The performance data of the TKA project M-123bis
| Maximum width: | 3.44 meters |
| Draft full: | 0.76 meters |
| Power point: | 2 M-50 diesels, 900 hp each, 2 screws, 2 rudders |
| Travel speed: | |
| cruising range: | 500 miles at 17 knots |
| Seaworthiness: | 4 points |
| Autonomy: | 1 day |
| Armament: | . |
| artillery: | 2x2 12.7 mm DShK machine guns |
| torpedo: | 2 single-tube 457-mm TA TTKA-45 |
| radio engineering: | 1 radio station "Shtil-K" |
| navigational: | 1 magnetic compass KI-6 |
| chemical: | smoke equipment DA-7 |
| Crew: | 7 people (1 officer) |
In total, boats were built from 1949 to 1951 - 50 units.
Project 123K torpedo boats
- this is a corrective version of the boats developed by the group of V.M. Burlakov at TsKB-19 in 1950 and differed from the previous version in that the boat control was taken out of the wheelhouse to the open bridge, the DA-7 smoke equipment was replaced with smoke bombs - MDSh, and the wheelhouse armor protection was removed. In addition, two radars were installed on the boats: the Fakel state identification radar and the Zarnitsa target detection by removing the machine gun mount.
The marine smoke bomb MDSH, adopted in 1935, was intended for ships that did not have stationary smoke equipment. As a smoke generator in the checker, a solid smoke mixture based on ammonia and anthracene is used. With a length of 487 mm and a mass of 40-45 kg, its operation time is eight minutes, and the smoke screen created reaches 350 meters in length and 17 meters in height.
Radar "Zarnitsa", designed to detect surface targets and low-flying aircraft. The centimeter-wave station with a radiation power of 80 kW was serviced by one operator. The antenna was placed on the mast, and the main units - on the deck of the boat. The radar had a detection range destroyer up to 14 km; minesweeper up to 11 km; (depending on flight path). The maximum error in determining the coordinates by distance was 255 meters, by the heading angle - 2 °. Dead zone - up to 315 meters. The resolution of the station in range is 157 meters, and in direction - 20 °.
The armament of the boats consisted of:
- Of 2 single-tube torpedo tubes TTKA-45-52 for two 457-mm torpedoes. Pipe apparatus provided a more favorable microclimate for the torpedo, which was located in the TA.
- From 1 coaxial 14.5-mm machine gun 2M-5 with a long barrel of 138 caliber, which was located in the stern of the boat. The installation had 2 horizontally mounted KPV machine guns, which were manually aimed by the shooter, there were no guidance drive mechanisms. The calculation included 3 people. To protect the calculation from bullets and small fragments, the installation was equipped with horizontal armor 8 mm thick for the front wall and 4 mm for the rear. The rate of fire of the installation was 600 rounds / min. on the barrel at an initial cartridge speed of 850 m / s, an effective firing range of up to 2.5 km, a ceiling of up to 2 km. The machine guns are powered by a belt, in a belt of 80 rounds per barrel. Shooting was carried out only in bursts. The sight allowed firing at air targets moving at speeds up to 250 m/s. Installation weight - 550 kg.
The construction was carried out at plant No. 831 in Feodosia.
The lead boat entered service with the fleet in 1951.
Tactical and technical data TKA project 123K
| Maximum width: | 3.6 meters |
| Draft full: | 0.8 meters |
| Power point: | 2 M-50 diesels, 900 hp each, 2 screws, 2 rudders |
| Travel speed: | gross 50 knots, economic 17 knots |
| cruising range: | 400 miles at 17 knots |
| Seaworthiness: | 4 points |
| Autonomy: | 1 day |
| Armament: | . |
| artillery: | 1x2 14.5 mm machine gun 2M-5 |
| torpedo: | 2 single-tube 457-mm TTKA-45-52 |
| radio engineering: | 1 radio station |
| navigational: | 1 magnetic compass KI-11 |
| chemical: | 3 smoke bombs MDSH |
| Crew: | 7 people (1 officer) |
In total, boats were built from 1951 to 1955 - 205 units.
Torpedo boat "Komsomolets"
Victorious attacks "Komsomol"
Spring in the Baltic is a turbulent time. It will start to storm, then fog will suddenly fall, so thick that you won’t see anything even two steps away. But bad weather only plays into the hands of the Baltic sailors: it will cover it from the air from the Nazis, and hide it from coastal defense posts.
That night there was also fog over the sea, and a five-point wind blowing from the northwest created a large swell. The boats were moving at their slowest pace. This masked, but required iron restraint and self-control from the crews. They managed to approach the Hel Spit unnoticed, and soon it became clear from the suddenly moderated wave that the boats were in the port water area.
When the fog cleared a little, the enemy ships were unexpectedly close. There were three of them - at the anchorage at Port Hel there was a destroyer (as it was later established - Z-34), a patrol boat converted from a fishing vessel, and the silhouette of the third was barely guessed in the darkness. Now it only remained to wait until the distance to them was literally reduced to “pistol” - then a miss would be excluded for sure.
Without increasing speed, torpedo bombers approached the enemy. Finally, the long-awaited command: "Attack!" And at the same moment, a two-torpedo volley followed from TK-131, commanded by Lieutenant N. Korotkevich. The boat turned south, and behind its stern a thick cloud cover began to swell - having completed the attack, the crew began setting up a smoke screen.
A few agonizing seconds - and a deafening explosion is heard behind the boat: the torpedoes hit the target. Behind him, with a slight delay, the second one rumbles - this discharges the TK-133 devices of Lieutenant Commander V. Solodovnikov.
And immediately the engines - afterburner! Hiding behind the curtains, the participants of the daring raid rushed to the exit from the bay, leaving the seriously damaged destroyer Z-34 and the sinking patrol boat in it.
This fleeting battle with fascist ships was carried out by new Soviet torpedo boats of the Komsomolets type. They entered service in August 1944, as the war rolled further and further west. They were built on voluntary contributions from the Soviet people, and therefore some of them, in addition to numbers, received the names: "Tyumen Worker", "Tyumen Komsomolets", "Tyumen Pioneer".
These were redan boats of a completely new design, significantly different from their counterparts of the G-5 and D-3 types and superior to them in a number of combat qualities. Unlike the old, wooden ones, the new ones had a duralumin hull 18.7 long and 3.4 m wide, divided into five compartments by watertight bulkheads with spacing equal to 20-25 cm; a standard displacement of 20.5 tons and a total displacement of 23 tons. A hollow keel beam ran along the entire length of the hull, which played the role of a keel. Two Packard-type aircraft engines with a capacity of 1200 hp each. With. provided the boat with a speed of up to 48 knots. The motors were located in the hull one after the other so that the length of the left propeller shaft was 12.2 m, and the right one - 10. To reduce pitching, side keels were provided on the underwater part of the hull. The maximum seaworthiness of the torpedo bomber was 4 points.
The armament included two machine gun mounts - “sparks” of large-caliber DShKs (on boats of the XIII series of later construction they were replaced with twin 20-mm ShVAK assault rifles), six large depth charges and two torpedo tubes of 450 mm caliber. Model 1938 torpedoes had a mass of 950 kg and carried 200 kg each. explosive. Smoke equipment - a cylinder with a capacity of 40 liters, designed for a pressure of 200 atmospheres. Combat autonomy was 36 hours. Unlike other boats of domestic construction, the Komsomolets had an armored cabin (from a sheet 7 mm thick). The crew consisted of 7 people.
These torpedo bombers showed their high fighting qualities to the greatest extent in the spring of 1945, when the Red Army units were already completing the defeat of the Nazi troops, advancing towards Berlin with heavy fighting. From the sea, Soviet ground forces covered the ships of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, and the entire burden of combat operations in the waters of the southern Baltic fell on the shoulders of the crews of submarines, naval aviation and torpedo boats.
Trying to somehow delay their inevitable end and keep ports for the evacuation of retreating troops for as long as possible, the Nazis made feverish attempts to sharply increase the number of search-strike and patrol groups of boats. These urgent measures to some extent aggravated the situation in the Baltic, and then four Komsomol members, which became part of the 3rd division of torpedo boats, were deployed to help the active forces of the KBF.
On the night of April 21, the search for enemy ships in the area of the Hel Spit was continued by a detachment of boats, commanded by Lieutenant Commander P. Efimenko. But the torpedo bombers ironed the sea in vain - it was not possible to detect the enemy. And then P. Efimenko decided to go into the depths of the Danzig Bay - to the mouth of the Vistula. At that time, the boatmen had only one task: to find and sink enemy ships, which continued to intensively transfer troops across the sea.
Finally, luck: three BDBs were discovered - high-speed landing barges with strong artillery weapons.
A short distance behind them were five patrol boats. To attack? What if this is the vanguard of a large convoy? Perhaps it makes sense to evade the battle ... The tedious hours of waiting flowed. But the intuition and calculation of the lieutenant commander turned out to be correct. As soon as the predawn twilight dispelled the darkness of the night, a caravan appeared from the haze. It consisted of an extremely overloaded transport that was guarding destroyers, patrol boats and torpedo boats. Two BDBs closed the marching order.
Now it was possible to launch torpedoes! Having distributed the goals, the detachment commander gave the order.
The first to rush forward was the TK-135 of Senior Lieutenant A. Aksenov. Both torpedo tubes fired, and a few minutes later a devastating double explosion literally broke the transport in half: the ship, engulfed in fire, sank in front of the sailors. Further, Aksenov's actions were almost automatic - a U-turn, setting up a smoke screen and leaving in afterburner ... However, this time the boatmen were not lucky: when leaving the battle, a shell landed in the engine compartment. The engines immediately stalled, and the "one hundred and thirty-fifth" swayed helplessly on the waves ...
Endless minutes passed. In the cramped, gasoline intoxication of the engine compartment, the engine drivers “patched” lines torn by shrapnel. From time to time here, in the compartment, came the mean bursts of machine-gun fire, and the impatient questions of the commander. Finally, they reported to the wheelhouse: "The damage has been repaired, we can go on one motor."
And then help arrived in time, TK-131 of Lieutenant N. Korotkevich, covering A. Aksenov's Komsomolets with a smoke screen, took the emergency boat in tow. However, a high-speed landing barge of the Nazis, having opened artillery fire, blocked the way for the torpedo bombers. And immediately, our machine-gun installations spoke in response: the BDB caught fire, then an explosion followed, and after a few minutes only fragments of a barge remained on the surface of the water. The way to the native base was free.
These were the last days of the Great Patriotic War, the last victorious attacks of torpedo boats. The war will end, and as a symbol of courage - for descendants as an example, for edification to enemies - the "Komsomol members" fanned with military glory will forever freeze on pedestals.
N. Fedorov
1 - bow mast, 2 - pulpit, 3 - radio antenna, 4 - deck rails, 5 - rack, 6 - removable engine compartment hatch, 7 - engine compartment deflector shield, 8 - torpedo firing sight, 9 - searchlight, 10 - electric siren, 11 - windshield, 12 - mast, 13 - ray, 14 - lantern of fire, 15 - whip radio antenna, 16 - pennant, 17 - lanyard, 18 - coaxial heavy machine gun, 19 - cutting stringer, 20 - torpedo tube, 21 - removable fuel compartment hatch, 22 - wake light, 23 - smoke equipment, 24 - flagpole, 25 - naval ensign, 26 - ring with eight smoke nozzles, 27 - consoles, 28 - rudders with transom rotary system, 29 - propeller screw, 30 - propeller shaft bracket, 31 - propeller shaft (in casing), 32 - ventilation pockets, 33 - side stringer, 34 - side keels, 35 - right engine exhaust, 36 - side air vent, 37 - left engine exhaust engine, 38 - entrance hatch of the ram compartment (forepeak), 39 - entrance hatch of the engine compartment, 40 - commander's hatch, 41 - handrails, 42 - entrance hatch of the fuel compartment, 43 - entrance hatch of the aft compartment (after peak), 44 - rack, 45 - handrail, 46 - smoke buoy, 47 - coaxial machine gun turret , 48 - deckhouse, 49 - radio antenna input, 50 - side light lantern, 51 - steering wheel, 52 - sponson, 53 - deckhouse roof, 54 - deck porthole with fencing, 55 - bollard, 56 - biteng, 57 - flail bar
Modeling Tips
The hull of the Komsomolets boat model is easiest to make from a whole bar of soft wood (linden, aspen or poplar) without cracks and through knots. After drawing the line of the diametrical plane of the DP), the bar is broken into spaces and the outline of the deck is drawn. After processing with a planer, a stem is drawn along the contour of the deck and a transom is cut out of plywood. It is smeared with glue and nailed to the stern.
Gouging the hull, drill a series of holes in the deck. Then, with the help of chisels, wood is selected, leaving the thickness of the sides 5 - 7 mm. After drawing the lines for the location of the frames, the model body is given the required shape according to the templates.
Superstructures are assembled from 1 mm thick plywood, plexiglass, tin or brass.
The simplest propulsion model is a rubber motor. It is better to use a large rubber band with a gearbox or two rubber motors connected in series connected through a gear reducer with a gear ratio of 1: 1.
On a larger boat model (made, for example, on a scale of 1:25), it is better to install an electric motor of the MU-25, MU-30, MU-50 type. Since these engines are high-speed, a gearbox with gears is needed, the engagement module of which is 0.6; 0.7; 08.
The electric motor is mounted on wooden bases (“pillows”) or screwed to a reinforced hull bulkhead. You can attach it directly to the gearbox.
For propeller shafts, bar steel 0 2-4 mm, bicycle and motorcycle spokes are suitable.
Propeller shafts are inserted into stern tubes, at the end of which brass, bronze or fluoroplastic bushings (or a bearing) are pressed in with an inner diameter corresponding to the diameter of the propeller shaft. To stuff the deadwood with grease, a short tube (30-40 mm long) is soldered with a screw to tighten the grease as it is consumed.
The simplest connection of the engine with the propeller shaft is a spring or a rubber tube. But a more reliable link between the engine and the gearbox, as well as between the gearbox and the propeller shaft, is the Cardan joint.
Coloring: the underwater part of the hull is green, the side number is white, biteng, bollards, machine guns are black. The surface part of the hull was painted in the Pacific and the Red Banner Baltic Fleet - in ball color, in the Black Sea - in light ball with a blue tint, in the North - dark ball with a green tint. Waterline - white.
The final operation is polishing. For this, the most suitable polishing paste for cars or GOI paste. It is applied to a soft rag, a piece of felt or felt and the surface is brought to a shine in a circular motion. Then it is rubbed with polishing water, kerosene or thin oil.
The monument was erected in St. Petersburg on the territory of the Lenexpo exhibition complex (103, Bolshoy Prospekt of Vasilyevsky Island).
You can get to the monument on the city public transport, more than ten routes of which pass in close proximity.
Stop "Middle Avenue (Cash Street)".
There is free parking nearby.
Access is free (even too free), you can touch, climb. There is no security (except for Lenexpo security).
On this day, the "Smelt Festival" was held on the territory of the Lenexpo. The area was filled with exhibitions, shopping arcades, street cafes.
Therefore, there are a lot of people in the frame.
400 meters north of the boat, there is another naval memorial - "Submarine D-2" Narodovolets ".
all photos are clickable up to 3648x2736
02. We found the boat quite by accident when we went to the aforementioned holiday, after visiting the "Narodovolets".
03. There are no signs of the type / project / number / name on the boat itself and its pedestal.
To determine the ship, I re-read several reference books kindly posted on the website of Andrey Pupko's Encyclopedia of Ships.
By the way, in my opinion, the best Russian-language encyclopedia on ship topics.
04. Also, through an iterative search, I was able to presumably determine which boat was installed as this monument.
In several sources, for example http://russian-ships.info/katera/123.htm, this boat is designated as TK-23 of project 123-K.
I didn’t find any other confirmations about the number, but according to the drawings and descriptions of weapons I found in the reference books (type of machine guns, presence of radar, general layout), this is really the “Torpedo boat pr.123-K”.
05. Project 123-K became the development of projects of red torpedo boats of projects 123 "Komsomolets" (the first boat was launched in 1940) and 123-bis (1944).
123-K is a post-war series (1949-55), improved over the previous ones.
Increased speed, changed weapons.
06. A total of 205 boats of this project were built.
This is the last series of MTKA (Small Torpedo Boats) produced in the USSR
07.
08. Several dozen 123-K boats were exported to China, Egypt, Cyprus, North Korea and other countries.
Some were installed as a memory of the war. Exactly the same boat is at the sea station in Novorossiysk.
09. On the pedestal, next to the large inscription "1941-1945 To the heroic sailors of the Baltic torpedo boats", there is
a small tablet with a brief description of the heroic episodes and exploits of boat sailors.
(I remind you that the boat itself was released in the 1950s and did not take part in the battles of the Great Patriotic War)
10. Twin heavy machine guns Vladimirov (KPV) in the 2M-5 installation. Belt feed (80 shots in each belt).
Installations 2M-5 were produced at the Tula Machine-Building Plant.
Junior in place of the shooter.
12. The bow of the deck (tank).
Under the large rectangular cover should be the engine compartment with the engine.
The development of project 123bis, which was an adjustment to project 123 (TKA Komsomolets), was carried out by the design bureau of plant No. 639 in Tyumen (chief designer F.L. Liventsev) in 1943.
The corrected project provided for the installation of tubular-type torpedo tubes with torpedo heating, strengthening of machine-gun armament, improving seaworthiness by increasing the collapse of the bow frames and the length of the boat.
Serial construction of project 123bis boats was carried out in Tyumen. The fleet received the lead boat of the project on October 31, 1944. In total, 120 boats of this project were built between 1944 and 1948.
Project M-123bis: Post-war adjustment of the project was carried out by TsKB-19 (chief designer V.M. Burlakov). Design work were completed in 1946. Their main focus was the replacement of flammable Packard gasoline engines with domestic M-50 diesel engines.The serial construction of boats of this project began in 1947 at the Tyumen plant No. 639. Further construction was carried out by plant No. 831 in Feodosia, where in 1948 16 unfinished boats were delivered from Tyumen.
During the tests of the head boat (factory No. 400), carried out in the spring of 1948 in the Sevastopol region, insufficient hull strength was revealed, which was the result of more high speed boats on the wave compared to the boats of the project 123bis, which had gasoline engines. The necessary strengthening of the hull, which consisted in installing intermediate frames in the bow, additional stiffeners and local carlings, was first performed on one boat (factory No. 419), and then, after testing and passing it to the Navy on November 25, 1949, on all previously built .
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| Project boat A-10 |
In 1950, one of the boats was equipped with a bow hydrofoil (project A-10), and one more - with two hydrofoils (project A-11). The work was carried out by the Krasnoye Sormovo plant (chief designer R.E. Alekseev). On tests, the boats showed the maximum speed of 55 and 56 knots, respectively.
NATO code designation: KOMSOMOLETS class.
Project 123K: This option was the last stage in the modernization of project 123. The project was developed by TsKB-19 (chief designer V.M. Burlakov) and was completed in 1950. The control of the boat was taken out of the wheelhouse to the bridge, the DA-7 smoke equipment was replaced with smoke bombs, and the armor protection was eliminated. One of the project options provided for the installation of two identification and detection radars due to a removable machine gun mount. |
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| Project 123K |
During testing, the originally installed 12.7 mm machine guns were replaced by 14.5 mm. Both lead boats entered service on November 31, 1951. Boat "A" reached the design speed of 50 knots, and "Z" - only 49 knots, which was explained by poor-quality manufacturing of the hull. Boats of the “Z” variant were accepted into serial construction when the speed was increased to 50 knots.
The construction of boats according to the 123K project was carried out by plant No. 831 from 1950 to 1955. In total, the Navy received 205 of these boats.
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| Boat project A-10bis |
In order to further improve the TTE of project 123K boats, in accordance with the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of April 17, 1951 No. 1235-621, the lead boat (plant No. 432) was equipped with a bow hydrofoil developed by the design bureau of the Krasnoye Sormovo plant (project A-10bis, chief designer R.E. Alekseev). At the same time, the displacement of the boat increased by 0.8 tons, and the speed reached 54 knots.
After tests carried out in 1953 and its refinement, 5 more serial boats were equipped with a similar wing structure.
The construction of project 123K boats ended the production in our country of gliding redan torpedo boats, which began in 1927 with the Pervenets boat. The impossibility of a significant increase in the seaworthiness of redundant boats led to their displacement by more promising in this respect straight-cut boats.
NATO code designation: P-4 class or KOMSOMOLETS class.
| Characteristics | Project 123bis | Project M-123bis* | Project 123K** |
| Year of approval of the technical project | 1943 | 1946 | 1950 |
| Year of delivery of the head boat | 1944 | 1948 | 1951 |
| Number of built boats | 120 | 50 | 205 |
| Normal displacement, t | 19,2 | 20,0 | 21,1 |
| Full displacement, t | 20,5 | 21,5 | 22,5 |
| Maximum length, m | 18,7 | 19,3 | |
| Maximum width along the hull, m | 3,4 | 3,6 | |
| Depth amidships, m | 1,8 | ||
| Draft average, m | 0,75 | 0,76 | 0,80 |
| Maximum travel speed, knots | 48,1 | 50 | |
| Main engines: type, number x power, hp |
gasoline "Packard" 2 x 1200 |
diesel M-50 2 x 1000 |
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| cruising range (at speed, knots), miles |
242 (13,5) | 530 (37,5) | 450 (35) |
| Autonomy, days | 1-1,5 | 1,5 | |
| Torpedo tubes: number x caliber, mm, type |
2 x 450 TTKA-45 |
2 x 450 TTKA-45-52 |
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| Machine guns: number of installations x number of barrels - caliber, mm, type |
2 x 2 - 12.7 UK-2 |
2 x 2 - 12.7 2UK-T |
1 x 2 - 14.5 2M-5 |
| Depth charges: number x type |
6 x BM-1 | No | |
| Crew, pers. | 7 | ||
| * TTE in accordance with the reduced executive draft of 1950 ** TTE in accordance with the reduced executive draft of 1954 |
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| 37 Kb | Project 123bis. Scheme from the collection |