35 battery.
A place that is one of the most holy for many residents of Sevastopol.
The place that in June-July of 1942 of the year was the last piece of the heroic defense of Sevastopol for the remaining 80 of its thousands of defenders.
The place in which the fateful decision was made to cease defense and evacuate commanders.
A place that has become at the same time a kind of quintessence of the people's feat and the people's tragedy ...
The 35th coastal tower battery is one of the most powerful coastal defense fortifications of the Black Sea Main Base Fleet. It was started by construction in 1913 on Cape Khersones according to the project of the military engineer General N. A. Buinitsky. Initially, it had number 25. In 1915, construction was discontinued, and the battery was completed in 1924-1927. It was armed with two MB-305-2 12-mm two-gun tower systems designed and manufactured by the Leningrad Metal Plant (guns and part of the mechanisms were used ready-made from the towers of the battleship Poltava of the Baltic Fleet). Projectile weight - 471 kg, firing range - up to 42 km. By its design, the battery consisted of two gun blocks (reinforced concrete massifs in which gun turrets were installed). One of the destroyed gun blocks I showed in the first photo. The second gun block can be accessed through the main entrance to the 35-battery museum. However, I will write in more detail about the history of the battery at the end of the report, but for now - a photo tour.
1. A boulder over a bombed by fascists unit resembles a grieving soldier for the dead
2. Main entrance to the main battery rooms
In the post-war period, the 35-i coastal battery was not restored, however, part of its structures was used under the existing 130-mm coastal battery, due to which the appearance of the reinforcement was preserved for us almost intact.
3. On the day when I went to take a picture of the battery, it began to snow rare for Sevastopol. Prickly, as if underlining the tragedy of this place. Reinforced concrete structures today have the appearance left over from the events of the distant 1942 year.
4. Entering through the main entrance, you can get into one of the destroyed gun blocks. Here there are traces of explosions everywhere — broken reinforced concrete structures and twisted metal.
5. Inside, the first branch to the right leads to the casemates, where special care should be taken: after the battery was blown up, the overlaps collapsed and there were big dips on the lower floor. For security reasons, not all rooms of the museum have free access. Sometimes it is blocked by the remains of shells found here.
6. If you go further along this corridor, through the openings you can see that two of the lower rooms are flooded with water, one is dry, they are not communicated with each other. According to the museum workers, before 1999, one of the failures was filled with concrete debris from above, when they cleared, the remains of fighters were found in the flooded lower room, weapon and documents ...
7. The battery is a communications system connecting two gun circles, storage for projectiles, a fire adjustment station, an underground power, ventilation and pumping stations, a network of special rooms and lost to the sea. There are also underground communications not connected with communications. In the part of the premises of the central part is the main exhibition.
8. There are a lot of photos taken in these rooms during the defense of Sevastopol - for example, this is a photo on the background of the portrait of Stalin made in the Lenin room of the 35 battery in 1941.
9. And this is the portrait, against which the previous photo was taken
10. The next room makes you stay here for a long time. Here, during the war, fiercely wounded soldiers and doctors fought against death ... The room of the battery defenders hospital. On closer examination, the tiles on the floor were wiped down with their feet.
11. Two living daffodils drove a lump to my throat ... here it is difficult to cope with emotions
12. That, with the help of which the doctors fought for the lives of the wounded
13. Everywhere on the walls traces of cut cables and communications
14. The entrance to the mess room. It was here that 30 June 1942 was held the last joint meeting of the Military Councils of the Council and the Maritime Army, which resulted in a decision to end the defense of Sevastopol and the evacuation of commanders. At the end of it, Oktyabrsky ordered the battery commander to provide cover for the evacuation and, under the use of ammunition, to undermine the tools and mechanisms.
15. From the central entrance there is a network of tunnels and communications, there are exits to the surface and to the turning circle of the gun. To the cannon circles, where the gun turrets were located, there were special openings on each side of four in the group through which the shells were fed, in the casemates adjacent to them there were shelves for shells.
16. Part of the premises is heavily damaged by explosions, there are blockages through which it is impossible to pass. Tambour of the former power station - after the explosion it is a pile of concrete blocks and torn metal.
17. Twisted 30-meter descent to the right command post
18. The long pattern to the command post is about 450 meters of the ominous corridor
19. Time and metal. The remains of the loops in the cabin
20. Left range finder. Externally, it was restored
21. In the lobby, previously served as the central power station today is a wall of sorrow, in which candles are lit and fresh flowers are
22. On the wall are photos of the defenders of Sevastopol, who remained forever in the distant 1941-192 years ... Looking into their faces — sometimes funny, sometimes focused — you know — these people lived, rejoiced, created, and in an instant their lives were interrupted as millions of lives were interrupted to that war ...
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27. And at the entrance is a book of visitors. A lot of records. Thank you, eternal memory, eternal glory ...
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29. In addition to the main tower structures, there are a number of auxiliary facilities, not connected with the main communications - observation posts, dugouts.
30. Inside, they also look like in those terrible days. Only inscriptions of vandals on war-burned walls were added.
31. Rusty staircase from the casemate to the tower. Staples barely hold
32. Casemate room
33. The same observation post, but in the spring
34. One of the few windows ...
35. Panorama inside the gun block of the former tower №2
36. The same gun block in the winter from above
