Aurora () is a Russian protected cruiser, currently preserved as a museum ship in Saint Petersburg. Aurora was one of three cruisers, built in Saint Petersburg for service in the Pacific Ocean. All three ships of this class served during the Russo-Japanese War. Aurora survived the Battle of Tsushima and was interned under US protection in the Philippines, and eventually returned to the Baltic Fleet. Aurora is most famous for her actions during the October Revolution, where she reportedly fired the shot that signaled the beginning of the attack on the Winter Palace.

Russo-Japanese War

thumb|left|Line-drawing of Aurora

thumb|left|Aurora in 1903

Soon after completion, on 10 October 1903, Aurora departed Kronstadt as part of Admiral Virenius's "reinforcing squadron" for Port Arthur. While in the Red Sea, still en route to Port Arthur, the squadron was recalled back to the Baltic Sea, under protest by Admiral Makarov, who specifically requested Admiral Virenius to continue his mission to Port Arthur. Only the seven destroyers of the reinforcing squadron were allowed to continue to the Far East.

After her detachment from the reinforcing squadron and her arrival back to home port she underwent new refitting. After refitting, Aurora was ordered back to Port Arthur as part of the Russian Baltic Fleet Aurora sailed as part of Admiral Oskar Enkvist's Cruiser Squadron whose flagship would be the protected cruiser Oleg, an element of Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky's Baltic Fleet. On the way to the Far East, Aurora received five hits, sustaining light damage from confused friendly fire, which killed the ship's chaplain and a sailor, in the Dogger Bank incident.

During the Battle of Tsushima Aurora was only lightly damaged. Despite this, the ship's captain, Evgeny Egoriev, was killed. At nightfall, Aurora along with Oleg, were attacked by torpedo boats and at 22:00 they gave up trying to proceed north and headed southwest. Once dawn arrived it was found that Zhemchug had retreated with the other two ships. On the way to Manila, the ship's doctor managed to set up the ship's X-ray equipment and performed the first post battle X-rays in Russian naval history. Evgeny Egoriev was buried at sea on 3 June 1905.

World War I, mutiny and revolution

thumb|left|Aurora in 1910

During World War I, Aurora operated in the Baltic Sea performing patrols and shore bombardment tasks. In 1915, her armament was changed to fourteen 152 mm (6 in) guns. In late 1916 she was moved to Petrograd for repairs.

By late 1916, when Aurora arrived in Petrograd, conditions in the capital had deteriorated and the city was lawless and suffering from a cold winter and food shortages. Dissatisfaction with the Tsar was approaching a breaking point.

During the February Revolution, a significant number of the enlisted men had become sympathetic with, or had outright joined, the Bolsheviks. This led to increasing tensions between the officer class—who were generally Tsarists—and the enlisted men.

Tensions came to a head after officers fired their pistols at the enlisted men in an attempt to restore order. The crew captured the ship's captain, Mikhail Nikolsky, and ordered that he carry a red flag as a symbol of support for the Bolshevik cause. When he declined, he was shot and killed as were an unknown number of the ship's officers. and was repeatedly shelled and bombed. On 30 September 1941, she was damaged and sunk in the harbour.

She was later salvaged and repaired after the war.

Postwar

thumb|Aurora in 1961

The ship was opened as a museum ship in Leningrad in 1957, as a monument to the October Revolution.

After having served as a museum ship for 27 years, from 1948 to 1987, the cruiser was once again placed in her construction yard, the Admiralty Shipyard, for capital restoration. During the 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 decommissioned , and sunk near the shore. The restoration revealed that some of the ship's parts, including the armour plates, were originally made in Britain.

In January 2013, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu announced plans to recommission Aurora and make her the flagship of the Russian Navy due to her historical and cultural importance. On 21 September 2014, the ship was towed to the Admiralty Shipyard in Kronstadt to be overhauled, to return in 2016. On 16 July 2016, she returned to her home harbour in Saint Petersburg.

The 1965 Soviet film The Salvos of Aurora Cruiser shows the ship's action in the October Revolution.

In 1973, a short film about the ship, titled Aurora, was released.

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Order of the October Revolution (550).jpg|Aurora is pictured on the Order of the October Revolution

DJI 0001 Санкт-Петербург. Крейсер "Аврора". Фото с дрона. 21.02.2018.jpg|Aurora trapped in ice

Sankt Petersburg. Kreuzer Aurora, Petrograder Damm.jpg|Aurora at night

St. Petersburg (8372405504).jpg|Port side view of Aurora

Aurora and Krasin in Kronstadt.JPG|Aurora and Krasin in Kronstadt

St. Petersburg (8372405290).jpg|Aurora is docked near Nakhimov Naval School

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Aurora Flags

Due to the honoring of the ship with high state awards, the flag flown at the stern is a special version of the main Naval Ensign. This tradition dates back to 1927, when Aurora was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and lasted until the end of Soviet Navy and was then resumed after returning from a major overhaul in 2016.

See also

  • , the only other surviving warship from the Battle of Tsushima.
  • , a U.S. Navy protected cruiser preserved in Philadelphia
  • The Twelfth Symphony by Dmitri Shostakovich (title of 3rd movement).
  • The Baku Metro's Qara Qarayev Station, formerly named Avrora Station.

References

Sources

  • British Naval Attache Reports. (2003) The Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905. The Battery Press.
  • Corbett, Sir Julian. (2015) Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905. Vol. 1 originally published January 1914. Naval Institute Press
  • Corbett, Sir Julian. (2015) Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905. Vol. 2 originally published October 1915. Naval Institute Press
  • Dowling, Timothy C. Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond. ABC-CLIO, 2015.
  • The History of the Russian Navy – Defeat at Port Arthur
  • HNSA Web Page: Cruiser Aurora
  • Aurora Cruiser Museum Ship (Saint Petersburg)