Soviet ship () was a Soviet

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

motorship A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by th ...

. It took part in several Arctic convoys of World War II as a general-purpose

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

. For the heroic actions while taking part in

Convoy PQ 16 Convoy PQ 16 (21–30 May 1942) was an Arctic convoy of British, United States and Allied ships from Iceland to Murmansk and Archangelsk in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The convoy was the largest yet and was provided with a cons ...

the ship was 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 ...

, its

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

first mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...

, and

helmsman A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver or steersman) is a person who steering, steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, airship, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fis ...

were awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

, and the whole crew were awarded various orders and medals.''Рассказы о знаменитых кораблях''
p. 90
''Forgotten Sacrifice: The Arctic Convoys of World War II''
p. 141

Actions

Spanish Civil War

The ship took part in Operation X, a secret Soviet weapons shipment to the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

Second World War

The first trip of the ship was from

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

to the United Kingdom as part of Convoy QP 1 in September 1941. In January 1942 she brought military cargo to

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

as part of Convoy PQ 8. The next trip was with Convoy QP 7 to the United States with the load of

apatite Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually hydroxyapatite, fluorapatite and chlorapatite, with high concentrations of Hydroxide, OH−, Fluoride, F− and Chloride, Cl− ion, respectively, in the crystal. The formula of the admixture of ...

s in February 1942, where she picked military equipment and returned to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

where it joined Convoy PQ 16.

Convoy PQ 16

It was the 4th convoy (homebound leg of the 2nd roundtrip) for the ship. The ship was placed last in the order. It carried over 4,000

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s of load, including ammunition and explosives, as well as Boston aircraft on the deck. The last one was an attractive target for German

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

s and

torpedo plane A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...

s. On May 27, 1942, the ship was heavily bombed and set on fire near Bear Island. The PQ 16 convoy's command invited the Soviet sailors to abandon the ship, which was threatening to explode every minute. During lulls between German attacks the neighboring had approached him and helped ''Stary Bolshevik'' with fire hoses and pumping the water out, and with doctor. On that occasion British sailors were surprised to learn that about 50% of ''Stary Bolshevik''s crew were women."Memoirs of Charles James Witham - An Account of his time on HMS Martin (G44)"
The British destroyer wanted to pick up the crew of the Soviet transport, and then to sink the motorship: such was the usual practice of convoys. But the crew did not leave the ship and responded to this proposal with one phrase: "We are not going to bury the ship." Then the convoy went on, fighting off the continuing attacks of the enemy planes, and the burning transport was left alone with the fire. For eight hours the ''Stary Bolshevik''s crew fought to save their ship – and in the end they won – saving it and the cargo. The fire was extinguished, a patch was put on the holes, and the transport moved in pursuit of the convoy. He caught up with him the next day, when no one expected his return. Seeing a wounded, with a hole in the side, an actually demolished

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

and a charred deck, a timber carrier approaches the warrant and takes its place in it, the convoy commander ordered to raise the flag hoist "

Well done Doneness is a gauge of how thoroughly cooked a cut of meat is based on its color, juiciness, and internal temperature. The gradations are most often used in reference to beef (especially steaks and roasts) but are also applicable to other types ...

" on the signal halyard of the escort flagship. In the sparing of emotions in the language of sea signals, this means admiration for the actions of the ship's crew to whom this phrase is addressed. On the evening of May 30, Convoy PQ 16 entered

Kola Bay Kola Bay () or Murmansk Fjord is a 57-km-long fjord of the Barents Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. It is up to 7 km wide and has a depth of 200 to 300 metres. The Tuloma, Rosta and Kola Rivers discharge into ...

. The next trip of ''Stary Bolshevik'' was with Convoy QP 13 to the United Kingdom in June 1942 and then he moved to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

for service at the

Soviet Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Eastern Fe ...

, and was subsequently used to move goods along the Pacific Route. The ship later underwent repairs in the United States.

= Awards

= Awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, Helmsman Boris Akazyonok, also had the combat assignment of an

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

ner. In the commendation it was reported that due to his skillful maneuvering he three times avoided torpedo attacks. When bombing caused fire, he was one of the first to rush into the cargo hold with bomb fuses to move them into a safer place. Also, operating the aft anti-aircraft gun he hit a German

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...

. In 1942 Captain was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1943 he was awarded Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(civil division).«Старый большевик»
3 декабря 2015, «Аргументы Недели. Владивосток». In 1942 First Mate and Deputy for Political Matters was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1943

Chief Engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "Chief" or "ChEng", is the most senior licensed mariner (engine officer) of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that departmen ...

Nikolay Pugachyov was awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire (civil division). The ship itself was awarded the Order of Lenin, displayed on

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stary Bolshevik Lumber ships World War II merchant ships of the Soviet Union Merchant ships of the Soviet Union