Andrei Trofimovich Chabanenko (; ; – 19 December 1986) was an officer of the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

. He rose to the rank of admiral and was commander of the

Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the terri ...

. Born in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1909, Chabanenko entered the navy in 1927 and after completing his studies, began service with the Pacific Fleet as a

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

r. By the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he had graduated to command of his own boat, and then during the war, whole squadrons. Promoted to

flag rank A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

in 1944, he took part in the brief

Soviet–Japanese War The Soviet–Japanese War)Known in Mongolia as the Liberation War of 1945 () was a campaign of the Second World War that began with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria following the Soviet declaration of war against Japan on 8 August 1945. The ...

, assisting in the invasion of South Sakhalin shortly before the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

. The postwar years were spent combining further advanced studies with the command of several naval bases, before taking command of the

in 1952. He held this post for the next decade, overseeing important improvements and advancements with the introduction of nuclear submarines with greater capabilities than their predecessors. After some time as the Assistant Chief of the General Staff for Maritime Affairs, he became a consulting professor at the Military Academy of the General Staff, before retiring in 1976. He was honoured with numerous awards before his death in 1986, and was further honoured posthumously with the naming of a street in the Northern Fleet's base at

Severomorsk Severomorsk (), known as Vayenga () until 18 April 1951, is a closed city, closed types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is sit ...

, and the ''Udaloy II''-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

''Admiral Chabanenko''.

Biography

Chabanenko was born on in the village of Kozynka, then part of the

(today part of the city of Verkhivtseve,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). He entered the M.V. Frunze Higher Naval School in 1927, and after graduating, served as an officer aboard submarines of the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

. He joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

in 1932, and was promoted to his own commands in 1933, as captain of a submarine in the Pacific Fleet. In 1938 he was further advanced to command of a submarine division. From 1940 to 1945, during the

, he commanded one of the Pacific Fleet's submarine brigades, and on 5 November 1944 was promoted to rear admiral. He saw action in the brief

from August to September 1945, helping to land troops for the

Soviet assault on Maoka The Soviet assault on Maoka (Maoka Landing, ) was carried out at the port of Maoka (now Kholmsk), Southern Sakhalin during August 19-22, 1945, by the forces of the Soviet Northern Pacific Flotilla of the Pacific Fleet during the South Sakhal ...

, part of the invasion of South Sakhalin, and after the war was appointed commander of the Sovgavan Naval Base. In 1946 Chabanenko took a series of courses at the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

, and was then assigned to command the South Sakhalin Naval Base. He continued his studies with a secondment in December 1947 to the Military Academy of the General Staff, before joining the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

in 1950 as commander of the

Porkkala Naval Base Porkkala Naval Base was a Soviet naval base operational from 1944–1956 in the Municipality, municipalities of Kirkkonummi, Ingå and Siuntio on the Porkkala peninsula, 30 kilometers (19 mi) ''west'' of Helsinki, Finland. The area was l ...

, and as chief of staff of the 8th Fleet. Chabanenko was promoted to vice-admiral on 27 January 1951, and in April 1952 was appointed commander of the

, with the rank of admiral from 3 August 1953 onwards. Chabanenko held the post for the next decade, during which time he oversaw the development of submarine tactics and operations, the introduction of the first nuclear submarines to the fleet, and the beginning of polar and long range submarine voyages. In June 1962 he was appointed Assistant Chief of the General Staff for Maritime Affairs, and in 1972 became a consulting professor at the Military Academy of the General Staff. He retired in November 1976, and died in Moscow on 19 December 1986. He is buried at the

Kuntsevo Cemetery The Kuntsevo Cemetery () is a cemetery servicing Kuntsevo, Moscow. It is located on the bank of the Setun River, to the south of the Mozhaisk Highway (the continuation of the Kutuzovsky Prospekt). The local five-domed church was commissioned in 16 ...

. Chabanenko was twice awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

, the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

four times, the

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

First and Second Classes, the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

twice and the

Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" (), also known as the Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", was a Soviet Union, Soviet Order (honour), military order awarded in three classes ...

Third Class, as well as a number of medals. He was further honoured after his death with the naming of the ''Udaloy II''-class

''Admiral Chabanenko'', launched in 1992 and entering service with the Northern Fleet in 1994, and the naming of a street in

after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chabanenko, Andrei 1909 births 1986 deaths People from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Soviet admirals Soviet submarine commanders Saint Petersburg Naval Institute alumni Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Candidates of the Central Committee of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union