Russian cruiser Aurora

The Aurora
History
Russia
Operator	Russian Navy Soviet Navy
Builder	Admiralty Shipyard, St. Petersburg
Laid down	23 May 1897
Launched	11 May 1900
Commissioned	29 July 1903
In service	1903 1957
Honours and awards	Participated in: Dogger Bank incident (1904) Battle of Tsushima (1905) October Revolution (1917)
Status	Active, preserved at St. Petersburg, Russia
General characteristics
Class and type	Pallada-class protected cruiser
Displacement	6731 tons
Length	126.8 m (416 ft)
Beam	16.8 m (55 ft)
Draught	7.3 m (24 ft)
Propulsion	1903: Triple shaft. Three triple expansion reciprocating steam engines; 24 coal-fired Belleville boilers. Total power 11,610 hp
Speed	19 knots
Range	7,200 km (4,500 mi) at 10 knots
Complement	590
Armament	1903: 8 x 152 mm (6 inch) guns 24 x 75 mm guns 8 x 37 mm guns 3 x torpedo tubes (two underwater) 1917: 14 x 152 mm guns 4 x 76 mm AA guns Machine guns 3 x torpedo tubes (two underwater)

The Aurora (Russian: Авро́ра; English transliteration: Avrora) is a Russian protected cruiser, currently preserved as a museum ship in St. Petersburg. She battled the Japanese Navy in the Russo-Japanese War. One of the first incidents of the Communist Revolution in Russia happened on the Aurora.

Russian-Japanese War

Aurora in 1903

The Aurora was one of three Pallada-class cruisers, built in St. Petersburg for service in the Far East (on the Pacific). All the ships of this class served during the Russo-Japanese War (Pallada was sunk by the Japanese at Port Arthur in 1904; the third ship of the class, Diana, was interned in Saigon after the Battle of the Yellow Sea).

Aurora was part of the Russian 2nd Pacific Squadron formed mostly from the Russian Baltic Fleet, which was sent from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific, under the command of Vice-Admiral Rozhestvenski. On the way to the Far East, she sustained light damage from confused friendly fire in the infamous Dogger Bank incident.

On 27 and 28 May 1905, Aurora took part in the Battle of Tsushima, along with the rest of the Russian squadron. Under the command of Rear-Admiral Oskar Enkvist Aurora managed to avoid being destroyed unlike the majority of the Russian vessels, and with two other cruisers broke through to neutral Manila, where she was interned.

In 1906, the Aurora returned to the Baltic and became a cadet training ship. From 1906 until 1912 the ship visited a number of other countries, in November 1911 the ship was in Bangkok as part of the celebrations in honour of the coronation of the new King of Siam.

The cruiser cooperated also in the international operation to care for the survivors of the earthquake of Messina.

October Revolution

During the First World War the ship operated in the Baltic Sea. In 1915 her armament was changed to fourteen 152 mm (6in) guns. At the end of 1916, the ship was moved to Saint Petersburg (then Petrograd) for a major repair. The city was brimming with revolutionary ferment and part of her crew joined the 1917 February Revolution. A revolutionary committee was created on the ship (Aleksandr Belyshev was elected its captain). Most of the crew joined the Bolsheviks, who were preparing for a Communist revolution.

On 25 October 1917, the refusal of an order for the Aurora to take to sea sparked the October Revolution. At 9.45 p.m. on that date, a blank shot from her forecastle gun signalled the start of the assault on the Winter Palace, which was to be the last episode of the October Revolution. Aurora's crew actually took part in the attack.

World War II

Aurora in 2004.

Port side view of the cruiser in 2008

In 1922, the Aurora was brought to service again as a training ship. During World War II, the guns were taken from the ship and used for land defence of Leningrad. The ship itself was docked in Oranienbaum port, and was repeatedly shelled and bombed. On 30 September 1941 she was damaged and sunk in the harbour.

After extensive repairs in 1945 - 1947, Aurora was permanently anchored on the Neva in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) as a monument to the Great October Socialist Revolution and in 1957 became a museum-ship.

On 2 November 1927, Aurora was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its revolutionary merits and on 22 February 1968 - the Order of the October Revolution which, features the image of the cruiser itself.

To the present

Cruiser Aurora is pictured on the Order of the October Revolution

As a museum ship, the Aurora became one of the many tourist attractions of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), and continued to be a symbol of the Communist Revolution and a prominent attribute of Russian history. In addition to the museum space, a part of the ship continued to house a naval crew whose duties included caring for the ship, providing security and participating in government and military ceremonies. The crew was considered to be on active duty and was subject to military training and laws.

Having long served as a museum ship, from 1984 to 1987 the cruiser was once again put in to its construction yard, the Admiralty Shipyard, for capital restoration. During the restoration overhaul, due to deterioration, the ship's hull below the waterline was replaced with a new welded hull according to the original drawings. The cut off lower hull section was towed into the Gulf of Finland, to the unfinished base at Ruchi, and sunk near the shore. (Source: Russian language entry for the Cruiser Aurora) The restoration revealed that some of the ship parts, including the armor plates, were originally made in England, which put in doubt the previously maintained image of the cruiser as a marvel of authentic Russian naval engineering.

The Aurora stands today as the oldest commissioned ship of the Russian Navy, proudly flying the naval ensign under which it was commissioned those many years ago. It is still manned by an active service crew commanded by a Captain of the 1st Rank.

From 1956 to the present day 28 million people have visited the Aurora.

External links

• Template:En icon Template:Ru icon Official website
• The History of the Russian Navy - Defeat at Port Arthur
• HNSA Web Page: Cruiser Aurora
• Aurora Cruiser Museum Ship (Saint Petersburg)