Russian Pacific Fleet
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Russian Pacific Navy sleeve ensign |
Pacific Fleet (Тихоокеанский флот in
Russian, or Tikhookeanskiy flot), a part of the
Russian Navy stationed in the
Pacific Ocean, which formerly secured the
Far Eastern borders of the
USSR. The fleet headquarters is located at
Vladivostok. Another important fleet base is at
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky located on the
Kamchatka Peninsula.
In the Soviet years, the Pacific Ocean Fleet command was also responsible for the administration and operational direction of the
Indian Ocean Squadron and Soviet naval bases hosted by nations in the
Indian Ocean rim.
In
1731, the Russians created the Military
Flotilla of
Okhotsk (Охотская военная флотилия, or Okhotskaya voyennaya flotiliya)(its first
commander "
Grigori Skornyakov-Pisarev) for patrolling and
fishery protection purposes. In
1799, 3
frigates and 3 smaller ships were sent to Okhotsk under the command of
Rear-Admiral I.Fomin to form a functioning military flotilla. In
1849,
Petropavlovsk-na-Kamchatke became flotilla's principal
base, which would a year later be transferred to
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur and then in
1871 " to
Vladivostok. In
1854, the ships of the flotilla distinguished themselves in the defense of
Petropavlovsk during the
Crimean war. In
1856, the Military Flotilla of Okhotsk changed its name to the Siberian Military Flotilla (Сибирская военная флотилия, or Sibirskaya voyennaya flotiliya).
At the turn of the
19th century, the flotilla was still small in numbers. Due to the gradual deterioration of the Russo-
Japanese relations, the Russian government adopted a special
shipbuilding program to meet the needs of the Far East region, but its execution dragged on and on. This is why they had to transfer a number of ships of the
Baltic Fleet to the Pacific Ocean (see
Pacific Squadrons).
By the beginning of the
Russo-Japanese War of
1904-
1905, the Russian Naval Forces in the Far East consisted of the 1st Pacific Squadron (7
battleships, 8
cruisers, 13
torpedo boats, 2
gunboats) and a number of ships from the Siberian Military Flotilla (2 cruisers, 2
mine cruisers, 12 torpedo boats and 5 gunboats) were based in
Port Arthur. Other ships of the Siberian Military Flotilla (4 cruisers, 10 torpedo boats) were stationed in Vladivostok.
During the Russo-Japanese War, the
sailors of the Pacific Fleet showed heroism and courage, however, most of the Russian Navy in the Pacific was destroyed.
During the
Russian Revolution of 1905, the sailors of the Pacific Fleet were actively engaged in the
revolutionary movement and armed revolts in Vladivostok in January of
1906 and October of
1907. During the
October Revolution of
1917, the sailors of the Siberian and Amur military flotillas fought for the establishment of the
Soviet authority in the Far East and against the
White Army and
interventionists. During the
Russian Civil War, almost all of the ships of the Pacific Fleet were taken away by the White Army and the Japanese. After the expulsion of the interventionists in
1922, the Soviets created the Naval Forces of the Far East (Commander "
Ivan Kozhanov) as a part of the Vladivostok unit and
Amur Military Flotilla (Амурская военная флотилия, or Amurskaya voyennaya flotiliya). In
1926, they were disbanded: the Vladivostok unit had been transferred under the command of the frontier troops in the Far East and the Amur flotilla had become a flotilla of its own.
Due to the Japanese
aggression in
Manchuria in
1931, the
Central Committee and the Soviet government decided to create the Naval Forces in the Far East on
April 13,
1932. In January of
1935, they were renamed to the Pacific Fleet (commander " M.Viktorov). The creation of the fleet entailed great difficulties. The first units were formed with the small ships, delivered by
railroad. In 1932, the torpedo boat
squadron and 8
submarines were put into service. In
1934, the Pacific Fleet received 26 small submarines. The creation of the
naval aviation and
coastal artillery was underway. In
1937, they opened the Pacific Military School.
By the beginning of the
World War II, the Pacific Fleet had 2 above-water ship subdivisions, 4 submarine subdivisions, 1 torpedo boat subdivision, a few squadrons of ships and
patrol boats,
airborne units, coastal artillery and
marines.
Great Patriotic War
During the
Great Patriotic War of
1941-
1945, the Pacific Fleet was in a permanent state of alert and ready for action. At the same time, the Soviets transferred 1
flagship, 2
destroyers, and 5 submarines to the Northern Fleet (see
Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet). More than 140,000 sailors from the Pacific Fleet were incorporated in the
rifle brigades and other units on the Western Front.
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Light cruiser Lazar Kaganovich |
By August of 1945, the Pacific Fleet had already had 2
cruisers, 1 flagship, 10 destroyers, 2 torpedo boats, 19 patrol boats, 78 submarines, 10
minelayers, 52
minesweepers, 49 "MO" boats (MO stands for Малый Охотник, or "little hunter"), 204 motor torpedo boats, 1459 battle planes.
During the
Manchurian Operation of 1945, the Pacific Fleet participated in liberation of
Northern Korea, in the
South Sakhalin Operation of 1945 and the
Kuril Islands Landing Operation the same year.
Cold War
In the
1980s Soviet
naval strategy shifted to an emphasis on
bastion defense, fortifying the
Sea of Okhotsk for that purpose.
Thousands of sailors and officers were awarded with
orders and
medals for outstanding military service, more than 50 men received the title of the
Hero of the Soviet Union. 18 ships and fleet units received the title of the
Soviet Guards, 16 of them were awarded with the
Order of the Red Banner.
On
May 5,
1965, the Pacific Fleet was awarded with the Order of the Red Banner.
*M. V. Viktorov (since April of
1932)
*G. P. Kireyev (since August of
1937)
*
Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov (since January of
1938)
*
Ivan Stepanovich Yumashev (since August of
1939)
In January of
1947, the Pacific Fleet was divided into the 5th and the 7th fleets:
5th Fleet:*A. S. Frolov (since January of 1947)
*
Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov (since February of
1950)
*
Yuri Aleksandrovich Panteleyev (August,
1951 " January,
1953)
7th Fleet:*I. I. Baykov (since January of 1947)
*G. N. Kholostyakov (November, 1951 " May,
1953)
In April of 1953, the Fleets were once again combined under one command:
*
Yuri Aleksandrovich Panteleyev (since January of 1953)
*V. A. Chekurov (since January of
1956)
*
Vitaliy Alekseyevich Fokin (since February of
1958)
*
Nikolai Nikolayevich Amelko (since June of
1962)
*
Nikolai Ivanovich Smirnov (since March of
1969)
*V. P. Maslov (since September of
1974)...
*
Emil Nikolayevich Spiridonov (?)
*V. V. Sidorov (?)
*
Vladimir Nikolayevich Chernavin (?)...
*
Viktor Dmitriyevich Fyodorov (since December of 2001)
