Adversary. For the forgetful.

Adversary

Who is my friend, who is my enemy...

Dedicated to the sailors of the border troops

Again, as always... Without naval chatter, life becomes as bland as barley... I waited and waited, and then the long-awaited call:

- Hello, are you still alive there?
- He’s alive, but why does it bother you so much?
— Yes, there is an idea — to die from cancer... from crayfish, for example.
— Are you completely crazy with your medical experiments?
— Tundra, I offer you freshly caught crayfish, large ones…
— Yeah, big ones, and 5 each? Or small ones, but three each?
— What about beer with crayfish?
- It's ready, even according to your order.
— This has never happened before, and here it is again... then the English dark and the Czech light.
— Sold. See you later?
- Agreed.

A week later, the crayfish were sweating right on the table... And with the crayfish, there was naval chatter, where would we be without it...

"You keep telling me tall tales, sometimes about caviar, sometimes about fish and crabs (yeah, crabs aren't your weakling crayfish...), but who were you chasing down at work—guarding? We knew it all—" missiles We're loaded up, like a delivery guy on call today, and we're waiting for the delivery order, the address is already written down... And what about you, borderline souls? America's a long way off, Japan's much further south.
"Old man, where did you get such geographical knowledge? Do you even know where America and Japan are? Maybe you've even heard of Korea, which is in the north?"
"No, I don't know, and why would I need geography anyway? It's like Mitrofanushka in Fonvizin's 'Why learn geography? A cab will take you!' After my salvo from 941, not only will there be no country, but the continents will go their separate ways... And you're talking about geography..."
"What are you doing, villain, trying to scare the people? Okay, I give in, I'll tell you about our adversary..."

Note on errors:

We read a lot from various sources, but authors aren't always able/willing to maintain the purity of the genre, so to speak. And even more so when mistakes/typos/misprints, whether obvious or subtle, intentional or not, are made. And since VO is read by people with varying levels of tediousness, there's always food for that tediousness these days. There is no, and there never can be, a perfect source; I've often stumbled upon all sorts of foolishness in the works of respected people...

So, in my stories about the Border Service, concerning the ships of the 1st Division of the MChPV, I often provide ship designation codes. Sometimes they contain typos and even inadvertent errors. This mainly concerns Project 1124, which I often refer to as 1124P, and Project 1135.1, which sometimes, automatically, also carries the index "P." Let's dot the i's. The division was armed with Project 1124 in a purely naval configuration with border-specific additions, i.e., they had a SAM system, a torpedo tube, and a sonar system. These ships had the internal factory index "P," which was placed before the project number in the documentation. Project 1135.1, however, should be written as such, without dopindexes and with a period, which sometimes doesn't appear when typing. This is how the official designation of the division's ship designs looks today. And so be it, and to those who are very concerned about the purity of their writing, I apologize for the inconvenience caused by their unexpected nervous excitement and desire to do everything correctly. If there are mistakes, write them down; those who do nothing make no mistakes. I promise to correct any unintentional errors as best I can.

As you can imagine, our division's entire service revolved around the principle of "keeping the enemy at bay." That is, we were tasked with preventing the enemy from accessing our bases and resources, and, if necessary, dispersing and intimidating them. The persistent and brazen were detained, the particularly zealous were sent to court, the unteachable were shown the workings of a Kalashnikov assault rifle, and those who truly lost their minds were dealt with. artillery with fire. They rammed it, threw ropes under the propeller, capsized it with a rip current... In short, necessity is the mother of invention...

American adversary

I have already described the American adversary in the Chukotka region with all the proletarian Chekist hatred in the article The Chukotka Fleet: The Anatomy of a Murder. And there is no need to repeat.

Now about the other directions, Kamchatka and Magadan. We were confronted by both the forces of a potential adversary, the US Navy and its intelligence services, and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (who were they defending against? The victor of World War II?). Well, I'm bringing Japan into the mix here in general terms, in terms of catching them plundering the marine resources of the Northern and Southern Kuril Islands and disrupting their electronic intelligence, while the Americans were simply conducting a genuine military development of the coastal zone around our strategic missile bases. As fishermen, they barely showed up, but their Navy was preparing with all its might to give us a Pearl Harbor and a "goat's face" all rolled into one. And to this end, quite in keeping with the "everything for us, the law for them" policy, they recognized only those norms of international maritime law that suited them.

This primarily concerned Peter the Great Bay, and, for good measure, Avacha Bay, where the Americans' rudeness wasn't just a game of shoving around in a sandbox, but a direct threat to our strategic retaliatory forces, practically stripping us naked. And the Americans weren't shy about sacrificing even their own strike group for this important purpose, let alone one or two guided missile cruisers...

What's all the fuss about? In 1957, the USSR Council of Ministers declared Peter the Great Bay internal waters of the USSR. The practice of declaring bays historical It wasn't discovered today and has been known since ancient times... This decision was not recognized by Great Britain, France, the United States, Japan, and several other countries, citing the bay's entrance exceeding the 24-mile limit established by the UN Convention for Inland Waters. The USSR argued that the bay was historical and closely connected to Primorye.

The validity of declaring bays as historic waters depends on compliance with international norms and criteria recognized in the doctrine of the law of the sea. According to generally accepted principles, a state can claim the status of historic waters if it can demonstrate the long-term exercise of sovereignty over these waters, their geographic and economic significance, and international recognition of this status.

The criteria for declaring a bay historic are quite simple:

— Long-term exercise of state authority over the Gulf.
— The geographical location and configuration of the bay, which may justify a special legal status.
— Economic and defense significance for the state.
— International recognition or tacit consent of other states to a claim to sovereignty.

All of this, of course, was quite possible for Peter the Great Bay and a number of other bays in the USSR. Now the time has come to put these declarations into practice.

I have already described the events of May 1987 in detail in the story about PSKR "Bditelny".

This incident, of course, was not isolated. Back in the late 70s, the Americans began practicing operations to block our SSBNs in their combat duty areas in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and at the exit from their base, that is, in Avacha Bay. The military danger of such operations was very high and no longer represented academic research, but a real threat of a first, disarming strike.

You know all about it, but from underwater. What project did you serve on in the north? 941? That was a barn, a stadium underwater... Just think what we had there, if they even managed to send AUGs to us in the early 80s... So the situation was, to put it mildly, tense, and around 1983, during the mission assignment, they told us outright that we were in a threat period and everything could go wrong... So we chased the enemy away as best we could, but of course, we didn't know the full situation, and thank God...

I already told you about the Americans in the Pacific Ocean and attached a sign at the end...

And in the Black Sea in 1986 and 1988 there was this:

On March 13, 1986, the American cruiser Yorktown and destroyer Caron invaded Soviet territorial waters in the Black Sea. There was no active resistance at the time.

On February 12, 1988, the same ships violated the border again. The Soviet patrol ships Bezavetny and SKR-6 rammed the American ships, damaging a cruiser and a destroyer. Incidents ceased until the 2020s. Bezavetny struck the starboard side of the Yorktown, and SKR-6 struck the port side of the Caron. Yorktown sustained damage to its Harpoon missile launcher, helicopter pad, and hull. Caron suffered damage to its railings, lifeboat, and hull. Bezavetny lost its anchor and suffered cracks in its hull, while SKR-6 suffered dents in its bulwarks and guard rails. The Americans left Soviet territorial waters, the Yorktown's commander was dismissed, and the cruiser spent three months undergoing repairs. Soviet commanders, including Captain 2nd Rank Vladimir Bogdashin, received awards, including the Order of the Red Star.

Pacific Ocean
Avacha Bay, 1987 – let me remind you of the plot:

— 1987, the guided missile cruiser Arkansas and our "motorcycle," the Project P1124 patrol cruiser Bditelny, later nicknamed "Besheny" (Mad), which gave the enemy a run for their money. Incidentally, the operation to dislodge the guided missile cruiser Arkansas involved the Project 1135.1 guided missile cruiser Dzerzhinsky, the patrol cruiser Bditelny, and the patrol cruiser Reshitelny (both Project P1124), as well as ships of the Kamchatka Military Flotilla of Mixed Forces (KMF), specifically MPK-143 and MPK-145 (both Project 1124). The incident was described in my article in the journal "Military Review": "For the crew on the ship - uniform number 3, first term!"

— And then there was the jaw-dropping incident of the near-Soviet Pearl Harbor in September 1982, when we managed to oversleep an entire carrier strike force of over 30 ships, led by the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Midway. Off the coast of Kamchatka, as part of US Pacific Fleet naval exercises, Flitex-82 maneuvered 300 miles southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and conducted carrier-based flights. aviation 150 km from our coast... If this American operation had been carried out to its logical conclusion in reality, then we would have long since been living (or not living, depending on how you look at it...) in a different country, and perhaps even with a different name... It was discussed in the specialized press, and in the journalistic press too, but somehow without a heartfelt understanding that this was not a game...

Added to this, both economically and from an intelligence and military perspective, were the adversaries' attempts to exploit our economic zone—a completely new phenomenon, one that became a concern when this concept was first formalized in international maritime law, in the early 1980s. The main irritants here were Japanese and North Korean fishermen, who had never disdained fishing in our territorial waters, and they unabashedly attempted to plunder our economic zone, given the vast expanses of the sea and, consequently, the low level of border and economic zone security for such a truly oceanic theater.

And so you don't have to get up from the couch twice... Everything described in this article is only a fraction of what happened then, and that's from the perspective of a border guard of the Ministry of Emergency Situations... But if you lift the veil of the water's surface and peer beneath the waves, and even look up and peer beyond the clouds, many will immediately feel sick, so intense was the real, practically hot war waged by our Navy, Air Force, and Air Force against the US Navy, namely, against the open deployment of the enemy's forces to destroy our state, starting in the late 70s and especially in the 80s. What wasn't there - American nuclear submarines breaking into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, to the deployment areas of our SSBNs through the narrow and shallow First Kuril Strait, and through the Fourth Kuril Strait, and even into Avacha Bay... I'll limit myself to border guards.

Japanese adversary

At the same time, the Japanese were intensively conducting reconnaissance near our national defense and security centers, including active radio and hydroacoustic reconnaissance, and deploying sonar buoys to monitor our submarines during deployment routes and inter-base transits, disguising them as fishing buoys. In the 1980s, we began actively identifying and raising these buoys, handing them over to our specialists for study. Some types of buoys were submersible and surfaced either on a timer or by radio or acoustic command, which significantly increased the complexity of their operations.

Japanese serial trawler-intruder

The Japanese were in their element—they'd swoop in, throw out nets and buoys, scoop up the fish, quickly haul it in, and then dash out of territorial waters. Generally, they're not brazen and don't push their luck. The local waters are rich in flounder, halibut, and cod, and there's a ton of pollock (a favorite of the Japanese).

And during the inspection... attempts to bribe and compromise our guys—members of the inspection teams—were always there. The Japanese would put a crate of beer on deck—"take it, don't be shy!" But the sailors didn't fall for it; instances of so-called "unofficial contact," though they did occur, were rare. The outcome was a matter of luck: some would end up in the guardhouse, some would be demoted, some would be discharged from the ship. Everything depended on the source of the information—if it was the Japanese, and with photos that Japanese newspapers had bought for good money—"Soviet border guards are very poor" and so on—then the measures were severe. If this was only revealed through the OG reports, things were less severe, but they always came to blows.

The Japanese also offered to trade watches or slip them a magazine, often pornographic. The Japanese fishermen liked Belomor-Kanal cigarettes.

It's impossible to leave things like this without consequences, either then or today. A sovereign's man cannot take bribes, in any form... The great actor Lespekaev demonstrated this in the film "White Sun of the Desert"— "I don't take bribes. I feel bad for the country.".

The Japanese fought back in every way from our inspections and detentions! They'd dump the tackle overboard, making it impossible to approach and disembark the inspection team, only by boat. They'd also dump some cargo, even attempting to throw the inspection team overboard. If they were really scared, they'd beat our hands with sticks...

And when disembarking, you could end up between the ship's sides and the intruder's... There have been such cases, only two of which resulted in death, but it's possible I don't know about all of them. Miss, and you'll be crushed like a bug. Once, a civilian was caught between the sides in Sarychev Bay, and we ran from the base on alert to evacuate him... It was terrifying—the guy's internal organs were crushed, he screamed terribly, the pain was unbearable, we had to inject him with promedol from the AI ​​combat first aid kit... He survived, but was crippled.

I'll make a small "shift to the south" - our southern neighbors, the Shikotan 8th OBPSKR, also had some fun things going on.

I remember there were poems like this (about the Southern Kuril Islands and the border service...):

Shikotan, Shikotan -
A hill with bumps
Damn you, Shikotan.
With long rubles...

I don't want to go to the mainland
I'm not used to culture.
I will fight and bite
I will bark like a dog
I'll throw a pitchfork at them.
On the iron locomotive

Here on my native island
We don't need a grocery store
We would only need a food certificate
We'll live on porridge.

Thunder rumbles, the earth trembles
People are running to the hill
Ships are heading out to sea
Goodbye long rubles!..

The Japanese government rewarded the crews and captains of vessels for fishing in Soviet territorial waters of the Southern Kuril Islands, confirming claims to the "northern territories." They paid for any damage caused by detentions and arrests of schooners and trawlers, even for serving time in Soviet camps, where captains, radio operators, and fishermen were regularly sent—and they compensated for this from the Japanese government budget.

In the mid-80s, the situation along the 8th Brigade's border became quite tense. Schooners almost never stopped on their own, but were always forced to do so. This was done through maneuvering, fire from flare guns (they always tried to hit and set fire to nets on board, and sometimes even hit crew members). Warning shots from Kalashnikov assault rifles became more frequent. Warning shots from cannons at the outgoing intruder's side were not fired only because the "Japanese," seeing the ships' guns begin to turn in their direction, stopped. If not for orders from Moscow, things would have been tragic for the Japanese... But at that time, let me remind you, the Soviet-Japanese border was declared a border of friendship by our political leaders. And the adversary became completely brazen:

— In the Sovetsky Strait, the Japanese would jump up on their Kawasakis, splash our sides with white paint, and then escape, taking advantage of their speed. And we were forced to silently paint over the sides with paintballs…

— On Tanfilyev Island, Northern Territories Day was a regular event, and sailors and border guards from the outpost, hand in hand, stood in a chain at the water's edge, preventing Japanese demonstrators from reaching the island. The Japanese, meanwhile, climbed up the chain, as if it were a fence, to the beach to take a handful of their "native" soil.

— The apotheosis of the "friendship" of the 70s was a bizarre incident when a sailor from the inspection team in the engine room had his head smashed in, and a Japanese Shindo opened the seacocks and sank his ship... And, the bastard, he received compensation from his government...

And although the living and living conditions of the officers and warrant officers in the brigade were brutal, there was plenty of adrenaline; it was rumored that there was an order for replacement officers and warrant officers to be sent to any brigade of the USSR Ministry of Emergency Situations of their choice after three years of service in the 8th Brigade of the Red Banner Navy.

But let's return to our Kamchatka-Kuril waters.

Overall, the situation with the Japanese was clear. They were caught as best they could, and as best they could. They set up ambushes behind Alaid Island with 2-3 ships, and, having waited for the Japanese to enter the territorial waters and cast their nets, the “ambush regiment” would jump out like a jack-in-the-box and take the kids while they were still warm, sometimes even sleepy, and if they managed to react and run away, then all the known techniques were used - from direct boarding to throwing nylon mooring lines in the direction of the fleeing trawler, which the enemy would deftly wrap around the propeller, and the poor thing would lose speed... Sometimes they even fired, there were cases - from the Kalashnikov assault rifles that the crews had in their arsenal, very rarely - they carried out warning shots from the side guns, such cases were very rare, but we did not have any shooting to kill, and in the economic zone, on-board fire was generally weapon At first it was not used in any form.

However, not everything was so favorable for the enemy in the 200-mile economic zone, and the Brest PSKR became the pioneer in the use of onboard artillery weapons against him, and not just warning, but for destruction, in all MChPVs.

But for now, let's talk about our brothers—the Japanese. For them, both fishing and exploration areas had long been "pre-destined"—even before the war. They had historically known the Northern Kuril fishing grounds very well; the natural bioresources there were excellent in both variety, quality, and quantity. They received fishing quotas regularly, but they clearly had no desire to work honestly, which constantly manifested itself in mass violations of both the border and the economic zone. The only thing that made the situation easier was that they behaved honestly—they stole honestly, they ran away honestly, they confessed honestly...

Japanese freezer trawler Eiho Maru

In general, everything was somehow calm and predictable with them—they regularly violated the law, we regularly chased them away, sometimes caught them red-handed, detained them, and fined them, but this even inspired the Japanese—their government compensated them for losses in Soviet territorial waters and encouraged poaching as part of “defending the principle of the Northern Territories.”

Everyone was busy—they broke the rules, we caught them. We even developed a kind of friendly relationship with the Japanese captains—they knew all our commanders (and others) by name and surname… They greeted us both by radio and in person during approaches and inspections by our inspection teams. During inspections, they behaved correctly and politely, but they could also slap our hands (literally) when our inspection team boarded their vessel, or drop the storm ladder on our heads… Well, at sea, the motto is always simple: "Once you're out to sea, don't flinch!"

The only thing that really bothered us back then was the sheer amount of radio equipment on these fishing trawlers, despite the fact that the trawlers themselves were very small, weighing between 300 and 800 tons per ton. So, on these tiny trawlers, in addition to 10 to 16 radio beacons that marked the nets, they had six to ten whip antennas and a couple of short-wave antennas. In addition to this luxury, they had two excellent Furuno radars and satellite navigation with excellent digital plotters, which we hadn't even heard of back then. I was very surprised to see for the first time on the "Japanese" ship a display on the radar (the screen was horizontal, like a plotting table) of the ship's entire navigational plot for the past week, along with the radar situation, which showed all the detections and identifications of our border ships, naval vessels, our fisheries inspection vessels, and much more. Looking at these electronic charts, we naturally felt like technological novices, and we didn't exactly look at their equipment with envy.

State border and economic zone protection duties were organized for 3-4-week cruises in all areas except Magadan and Providence, where the ships sailed for two months. Upon returning to base, all ships completed two weeks of post-cruise scheduled preventive maintenance and inspection (PPRII), replenished fuel, provisions, and water supplies, practiced combat training tasks or elements thereof, such as firing drills, training cruises, and various sorties as required by the duty ship, and then set out to sea again.

So, this navigational and fishing route was the Japanese's main secret, as it revealed every instance of border violation and the deployment of both fishing and reconnaissance buoys. The radio operator was responsible for all this, and during an arrest or inspection, the Japanese's main task was to conceal or delete all this information, transmit the latest data to base, and report the arrest. Often, the radio operator was the one actually in charge of the trawler crew, and he was usually either a full-time employee of Japanese intelligence or a permanent collaborator.

Our primary objective was to block and isolate the radio operator and captain from the crew and from each other, preventing them from destroying evidence or influencing the crew. Therefore, the best option was to detain them in the fog in the early morning, while the Japanese watch was asleep. After that, everything depended on the skill and coordination of the inspection team.

No matter how hard we tried to catch them in the act of reconnaissance, we had little success; they often managed to hide their reconnaissance equipment before our inspection team landed. And the Japanese "fishing" vessels were fully equipped. Sonar buoys were so numerous it's mind-boggling why they'd need them. But for reconnaissance, they were perfect... So they received a complete acoustic picture of the Kuril Belt, and they were practically aware of all our submarine movements, in one form or another. But sometimes we were lucky, and an illegal fishing operation was detected, and then the vessel was detained and escorted to the port of Severo-Kurilsk. There they were fined, sometimes their vessels were confiscated by the Severo-Kurilsk district court, and the crews were handed over to Japanese authorities. The captains were tried by a Soviet court, the most humane court in the world... But they received prison sentences, and the Japanese authorities compensated the fishermen for the loss of their vessels and provided for their families for the entire period of the captains' or crews' imprisonment, which was also short, 6-12 people.

In general, the process proceeded slowly: service continued, violators were caught, and service time ticked away...

"You mentioned someone shooting to kill? What was that all about? You're taking liberties with every kind of weapon, firing machine guns, then cannons... Imagine if they gave us that kind of freedom with Project 941... You'd have wiped out a couple of countries in a matter of minutes, not even with a salvo, but with a single missile... Yeah, you had some fun..."

"We were surprised back then that, with submariners like you, with such power, there were madmen who even tested our border... History teaches people nothing; everyone tries to test it on themselves... Is it written all over the Russians' foreheads that says, 'You can kick them and get away with it'? After all, the Russians have beaten them before, beaten them, and the adversaries still haven't gotten any wiser..."

So, I'll tell you how the artillery armament of the Project 745P PSKR was used for destruction in the economic zone of the USSR.

The first shooting at a violator of the USSR's economic zone in the Pacific Ocean

The Brest patrol ship carried out the first fire on a violator of the USSR's economic zone in 1988. Neither video nor photographs survive—at the time, this footage was unavailable even to senior officials due to the lack of filming equipment. The Brest patrol ship was assigned to protect the USSR's economic zone in the area of ​​the "Chukchi Triangle," where the USSR and US economic zones meet. The ship was patrolling close to the border of the USSR's 200-mile zone, where Japanese fishermen usually plied their trade, and where American fishing and research vessels also frequently appeared.

The senior officer on board was the brigade commander, Captain 1st Rank Melnikov, recently appointed. The first mate acted as commander, as the commander had departed to take over a new ship. By then, the first mate had already passed his certification for independent command of the ship (known colloquially as "permit for arbitrary action"), and the newly appointed brigade commander "rode" him into the command chair, a practice that was quite mandatory. Everything proceeded as usual—watches of four on and eight off, surveillance of remote areas for potential violations—basically, routine.

Early in the morning, almost at the eight-hour shift change, the radiometer detected three targets adrift. Upon visual detection by Japanese trawlers, they appeared to be "sleeping" within 15-20 miles of the zone's boundaries. The signalman determined there was no movement on deck; it looked as if the Japanese were asleep. The first mate reported to the brigade commander, who asked for a decision on the situation. The first mate immediately suggested a capture attempt, which was approved. Initially, they approached without raising the alarm, as there were two watches at their posts—the one relieving and the one taking over—and a large force wasn't yet required. Half an hour later, when it became clear that a real arrest was possible and they had closed to a range of 30-35 cables, the Japanese awoke and first began frantically hauling in their nets, then cut off some of the nets and began reeling in their lines. The brigade commander asked the SPK about the decision, and the SPK reported a proposal to take the matter seriously. Time passed, the distance was closing, and there were enough personnel available to avoid raising the entire crew.

But the sea is the sea, and the enemy comes in all shapes and sizes. These proved to be bold and brazen, even casting some of their nets at the rate of the PSKR. The situation escalated, and before reporting for duty, as specifically instructed on the procedure for using weapons in the USSR's economic zone, the SPK asked for the go-ahead to increase readiness and declared combat alert, reasonably believing that weapons would most likely have to be used.

I've already explained what a combat alert drill on a ship is and how it differs from a real one. And don't think it only applies to sailors and a few officers. Nothing of the sort!

The first and foremost player in this matter is the ship's commander; it is his decision to issue a "combat alert" that sets the tension high and nerves high, and many questions on board the ship begin to flow with incredible speed and force.

Signal "Battle alert!" It's not just the ringing of a loud electric bell. It's an invisible doctor with a syringe in his hand. And he instantly injects everyone on board with a massive dose of adrenaline, and this insane force must be released. That's why, almost always, when a violator is stopped and detained, an announcement is made. "training alert", and to the very "combat" They're rarely resorted to. In that case, a critical situation requiring a rapid response and a rapidly evolving process arose. And "combat alert" would be a necessary choice; the crew would be signaled that things would go tough and fast.

It was announced on the ship: "Battle alert, ship to be detained!"This type of alert triggered a mechanism for maximum crew and equipment readiness for a wide variety of scenarios. It was distinguished from other types of alert by its readiness to reach the highest state of military man—to defend the country's interests with real weapons and carry out orders. To the end.

The gunners brought the artillery mounts to a state of full readiness, the belts with shells were pulled from the barbette and placed in the locks.

Sailors and officers scattered like bullets to their combat posts and command centers as the alert sounded. For the entire 40 seconds that the SPK held down the key to the loud chime, adrenaline was pumping through his system. And the poet's words "There is rapture in battle" It's moments like these that really hit home. Those who were asleep rushed to their post in their underwear, with their overalls and boots in hand. The clanking of doors and hatches, the rumble of gangway balusters, quickly died down, and all the readiness reports were condensed into mere seconds. The Brest quickly switched to two engines, exceeding the standard by almost four times, the main diesels reached their maximum speed, the mechanics tweaked a few things, tightened something here and there—and the ship reached a speed of 14,4 knots (the official, documented maximum speed is 13,8 knots!).

Our battleship reared and pushed forward with the stubbornness of a hippopotamus, ignoring its towing lines and rather workmanlike, peaceful appearance. How the engineers managed to squeeze out more than half a knot above the official speed is a mystery, but on the bridge they could even hear the hiss of the waves from our anything but racing ship.

There was light fog, visibility was about 20 kbps, windless weather, practically calm.

The Japanese began running, all three vessels began to pick up speed and scatter in different directions, reasonably believing that a single border guard wouldn't be able to detain them all. The distance was still closing, but the speed of their approach slowed until it stopped. It became clear that the trawler targeted for capture would begin to escape.

The signals on the mast were understood "I demand you stop or you will be fired upon."And then came a moment when the distance froze, then began to increase. The Japanese were not responding to signals, including flares and horns. The trawler had reached 17 knots, meaning it was also reaching its maximum speed, and it became clear that the patrol craft would not be able to catch them. The brigade commander asked the patrol craft's decision on the situation, and it firmly stated that warning shots should be fired, which was approved on the spot. The distance to the intruder was already steadily increasing.

This is where the process began, which required months of crew training, resources, the will and nerves of the command staff, the sailors' sweat, and the curse words. The SPK gave the broadcast command: "Prepare the ship to carry out warning shots!"After completing the pneumatic reload, the turret barrels were aimed at the intruder and the lead was set to 45 degrees. The brigade commander briefly ordered the first mate: "Take command of the ship"At D=17,5 kbt, the SPK gave the order to the upper bridge, where the gunners stood at the artillery guidance and control columns: "BP-2-1 – GKP! Warning shots fired. BP-2-1 heading 55 degrees, elevation angle 45.".

And time began to flow at a fraction of the cost... Two seconds passed between the first mate's command and BP-2-1's response, which felt like half an hour. And then the endless moments of transmitting the order to the gun barrels through the electric drives ticked by... It felt as if BP-2 had fallen asleep, adrenaline flooding their heads. They began to wonder if the gunners' reaction was slow, and a cascade of thoughts rushed through their heads...

The sensation of time slowing down became a physical one, my brain calculated all possible and impossible scenarios, my hands quickly flicked the switches on the intercom, and reports from the radiometer, the ZAS radio operators, and the BC-5 commander were automatically received. And then the electric current finally reached the gun mount's actuators, the pneumatic valves hissed, the compressors feeding coolant into the barrel creaked, and the barrels themselves, for some reason, at first slowly, and then, as if awakening from a slumber and realizing they had been called upon to do what they were created for, the drives engaged with a distinctive squeal, and the barrels pointed skyward.

And finally the first mate gave the command "First line - fire!"The first three shells flew into the morning sky, followed by the distinctive sound of gunfire. The signalman reported that the Japanese had been attacked.

Our team "Second line - fire!", and three more shells left the freshly painted barbette. Ten seconds later, the order came for a third burst. Now nine shells had set off on their journey across the morning sky and successfully completed their mission—signaling the enemy, wagging their finger at them, "Guys, don't do anything stupid..."

But they got the wrong enemy... Seeing that they would be unable to catch up with practically any of them, they cut the water with their propeller and went further and further towards the exit from the economic zone; there remained a mere trifle - 5 miles to the border.

The SPK reported the situation to the division and reported firing warning shots. So far, the actions were assessed as correct, and the Brest continued to press the gas. The Japanese were on the run.

They asked the division for permission to fire to kill, but the distance was growing, approaching the edge of the kill zone. The decision had to be made based on the actual situation, and once the division's command post got going, it was a murky business... The first mate made the decision to open fire to kill and reported it to the brigade commander, who approved it immediately.

There were no idiots on board; all these weapons use issues were spelled out in recent Soviet legislation and service documents, so no amateurish decisions were allowed. Moreover, there was no need to request permission to fire; that was the ship's commander's prerogative. A report on the weapons used and a diagram of the use, copied from a navigation chart, were mandatory. Well, that's all just a rant...

[The radiometrist reported "distance to target 19... 19 and a half, 20 cables..."Time began to creep slowly again, my head was working like a supercomputer, tension was building on the bridge… everyone knew it was all over or nothing… they waited for action. The brigade commander raised an eyebrow, but the first mate was already glued to the loudspeaker microphone, practically chanting the long-awaited command they'd both been waiting for and dreading…

"At the intruder vessel, targeting..." — and the actuators howled, turning the barrels, — "distance 20 cables..." — the barrels rose to the angle of the ordered distance, the gunners realized that they were talking about shooting to kill, and the barrels became a little nervous, choosing angles and their fractions of degrees... "Short burst - Fire!"...a tracer tracer was laid in the direction of the trawler, and it was determined that visual guidance was needed. They didn't bother calculating, but gave the gunners free rein— "Fire at the target!"The second line passed, and it was clear it was practically stuck against the ship. The Japanese ship didn't stop. The first mate gave the order for the third line, and it went right across the ship, visually covering it. The Japanese ship slowed down a bit, and there was some activity on the deck and bridge, but apparently the shock quickly wore off, and they increased speed again.

We were approaching the border of the economic zone, where we could use weapons provided the pursuit began within our economic zone and continued uninterrupted. It was clear that the intruder would soon depart beyond the 200-mile zone and we would lose them, meaning the continuity of the pursuit would be interrupted. This meant that even if they subsequently drifted, the detention would no longer be legal. After another 20 minutes of pursuit, they were lost both visually and by radar.

The result is clear to you (for those who remember the performance characteristics of the 745 project) – the shell detonation range was 22,5 kbt, meaning shrapnel rained down on the schooner. Our speed wasn't enough, the Japanese fled, but we had trained them to react to the "bear reflex": as soon as we raised our guns, they stopped immediately.

Japan, through diplomatic channels, requested that lethal force not be used in the future; the ship was damaged and there was even a wounded man, but we were not given any details.

All this happened very quickly... The artillery barrels had already cooled down, but the communication channels were already heating up...

What happened here! It was beautiful! After our report of warning shots and the request for an attack, the division was silent for a decent (or rather, indecent) time, and then suddenly it exploded: "Oh my god, what's going on? Drop everything immediately, screw them, let them go, what shooting, are you guys out of your minds!", and other wonderful expressions of deep concern... The first mate was promised "a deep investigation into his internal organs" by external authorities... hmm ...

But the deed is done. The brigade commander eased the tension on the bridge:

"Don't worry, I'm the senior officer on board, and I'm too short-handed to be removed, I was just appointed. So it's like water off a duck's back! You go ahead and get the paperwork ready, the diagrams, the maps, the calculations—there's time, get to it..."

The bridge exhaled, although no one felt any guilt - the matter was completely clear, without any “what ifs” or “it seems”.

The ship turned around and went to its economic zone, to its previous area, and the service flowed on as usual again, with watch changes, ship work, and other delights of ordinary service.

But the crew was already different - they had matured in half an hour, the gunners proudly told stories about how they had fired at the enemy, the signalmen argued about who had seen the route further and better (and they had a BMT-110, a binocular marine telescope with very high magnification, through which they observed the results of the shooting).

The engine room crew, helmsmen, and navigators were buzzing about the crazy speed the "grimy ones" had reached, and they proudly insisted that only the mechanic had stopped them from reaching 15 knots, and the mechanic later nearly cried, telling how they had tortured the diesel engines for super-maximum speed... In short, everyone was a hero, even the radio operators—they quietly recounted how they had delayed or sped up the reception of radio messages from the division and swore... The crew became combat-ready.

The gunners, however, suffered more than others: the flagship gunner demanded that the spent shells be collected, but that was only half the problem. But how to extract the shells from the tables and feed? The gun is automatic, firing sequentially from each barrel. After firing, the shell from the left barrel is fed, and when the second barrel fires, that shell is pushed into the breech, while the second shell is still in the feed. So, they had to disconnect the belt and fire the remaining shells in the breech, and extract the rest and throw them overboard… the water was deep enough that they would never be retrieved… But we had a lot of trouble with these “extractions,” since the shells were already partially cocked…

A few spent cartridges also went overboard, the rest were collected and presented to the flagship gunner upon arrival at base. And to make sure everything was in order, everything missing was recorded as expended… I can't imagine the outcry that would have ensued if headquarters had learned about the ammunition being extracted from the barrels…

It all comes down to the specifics of these shells. Despite their small caliber—30 mm—they had a rather complex design, specifically designed for use in automatic rapid-fire cannons. The shell's fuse consisted of an inertia section and a retarder. The inertia section had two arming stages: one when the shell was loaded into the breech, and the second, final arming of the fuse was triggered when it reached a velocity of 2-3 meters from the muzzle. This was immediately followed by the retarder—that is, a slowly (relatively speaking) burning propellant cord/charge that burned precisely until it reached a distance of 22,5 cable lengths from the gun. After this, the shell detonated, sending forth a beam of fragments, which was the destructive force. The belt was loaded with shells sequentially—high-explosive fragmentation, armor-piercing, and tracer—in a 3+1+1 or 7+2+1 configuration. This combination of projectiles provided both visual control of aimed fire and the destruction of targets missed by shrapnel. It was all quite spectacular, even beautiful in some ways. However, the sound of the shot was not very loud, so at extreme ranges it was possible to barely hear the gunfire. Only the spray of spray along the ship's course, or the trail of shrapnel splashing across the vessel, made it clear that the games were over and things were getting serious.

So, when the signalmen reported that the route had passed through the offending vessel, there was little doubt about the consequences. And when the base informed us (you could almost say it was whispered in our ear) that the wheelhouse had been damaged and someone had been injured, we breathed a sigh of satisfaction: the offender had gotten what he deserved, and others would think twice before entering our waters.

After our Brest, other ships, and in other theaters, carried out fire in the economic zone. But the Brest was the first. Indeed, thanks to the presence of the newly appointed brigade commander on board, everything proceeded without any operational consequences. The brigade commander himself later commented privately on the incident:

"Well, they made some noise, waved their hands, but then they wiped it off.".

As they say in such cases: if you haven't punished them, consider them rewarded. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), this formula worked quite often…

It is bad when a soldier on combat duty does not fulfill his legal duties, but some "We don't look there, we don't hear here, and we wrap the fish here.", that is, political games in real life cause devastating harm to the service, emasculating it and making it dependent on certain instructions that no one wants to give in writing. In the late 80s, a lot was done like that, and after a while, soldiers no longer understood what was allowed and what wasn't. It's like on guard duty—a sentry, after being shouted "halt" and firing a warning shot into the air, has the right to use lethal force, but then the political officers start whining, "Well, if there's no immediate threat, don't shoot into the air; if you're not being killed, don't shoot to kill; if it's unclear who's there, it's best to pretend nothing's happening." And as a result—attacks on sentries, guard posts, looting of warehouses and other protected property. Everyone can see for themselves how it all ended. It doesn't take much time or effort to turn an army into a corps de ballet, and our leaders and military ministers have successfully accomplished this. The trouble is, none of those who gave this advice have ever held themselves accountable, nor do they to this day.

Upon arrival at base, we handed over beautiful maps and a maneuvering plan, firmly proving that everything had occurred within the USSR's economic zone and was legally binding. The primary evidence was a navigational plot with periodic position updates from the Parus and Tsikada satellite navigation systems, which we received from the Shlyuz equipment, which had been installed on all the division's ships in the early 80s. The root mean square error (RMS) of such a location using Parus satellites was approximately 20-120 meters, and in polar latitudes it reached 300 meters, as satellites were already rare in that zone. But there were practically no other, more precise coordinates available: the Loran A, B, and C systems weren't operational in those areas, and there were no other systems at all in that theater. After all, you couldn't try to pinpoint a location using a radio direction finder with an error of 10-50 miles at best... Ah, if only we had today's capabilities... but we had what we had. Nuclear submarines could have obtained a more precise location, thanks to their powerful navigation systems and the greater accuracy of satellite coordinate calculations, but God himself commanded them...

Incidentally, the enemy had good satellite navigation, and in our case, they couldn't deny that they'd been caught red-handed in the economic zone, not on the open sea. The Japanese were using the American NAVSTAR GPS system, using a civilian navigation channel. Their receivers were about a fifth the size of ours, so we were a little envious.

Thus ended the first case in the USSR of the use of lethal force in the USSR's economic zone against a violating fishing vessel.

Korean adversary

But relations with the Koreans weren't so great... We're talking, of course, about the DPRK. Their captains and crews considered poaching in areas where they weren't allowed to fish, and for species of fish they weren't licensed to catch, to be perfectly normal. But that's exactly what they did, systematically, brazenly, and in enormous quantities.

The Koreans believed we were obligated to let them catch any fish they wanted, in any quantity, and not to be picky. They reacted very nervously to inspections, were openly angry, and sometimes attacked members of the inspection team. There was even an incident where they tried to take away the inspection team commander's weapon—a Makarov pistol—and dropped 25-kilogram briquettes of fish from the cargo boom onto the head of the inspection team commander several times. Fortunately, everything turned out alright.

Fishing Guide

And there were countless cases of attempted bribery. At first, we didn't accept anything "as a gift," but then, with the security officers' permission, we began accepting gifts in limited quantities, which we handed over to the special department upon arrival at the base. Their command hierarchy was particularly striking. Position and authority were indicated by a badge with a portrait of Kim Il Sung. Everyone wore such badges on their uniforms; badges were not worn on work clothes. Officially, there was no gradation or degree of importance for badges, but in practice, the Koreans strictly adhered to certain rules.

North Korean fishing leaders. 1986. Sea of ​​Okhotsk. In the center is the commander of the inspection team.

Here's another subtlety... Korean trawlers are fairly large vessels, usually old Soviet or other models from the 1950s. "Big, but five..." How do you board such a vessel? In calm water, at anchor or drifting—of course, it's easier from the ship. Sometimes, with comparable dimensions and hull heights, the inspection team would run aboard the trawler along a gangway or even a ladder. But more often, it was in a basket, kind of like how they carry cats on airplanes today. The trawler would use its cargo boom to place this basket on our deck, the inspection team would split into two and jump into the basket one by one, and the Koreans would lift it and carry it aboard, set it on the deck, the task force would unload, and they would wait for the next move.

This is how the Koreans delivered the inspection team to their trawlers. The prospect of ending up at sea was quite...

The photographs show all types of badges—on a flag, square, round, oval—and their color also played a role. In the center is the expedition leader, whose orders were carried out instantly and obsequiously. On the right is his assistant, apparently responsible for reconnaissance and special communications. On the left is the political officer for the entire fishing group. Other photographs show the trawler commanders (whose captains typically reported to them) and their political officers. The expedition leader on the Kumgangsan floating base had a huge salon-cabin with a T-shaped conference table, richly decorated with wood paneling. His brief command was enough to stop all provocations and attacks on our inspection team, at least for this time.

The conversation was tense, with the presentation of confiscated logbooks and fishing logs, invoices for the transfer of counterfeit expensive fish and bycatch to the floating base, which the captains hadn't managed to hide or had hidden poorly. And we knew how to turn a wheelhouse inside out... Incidentally, the captains were punished in our presence right there in the captain's lounge. They looked rather pitiful, but they weren't punished for what they caught, but for failing to hide the evidence, as the translator reluctantly translated for us.

At that time, all of this could have caused a major political upheaval between the DPRK and the USSR. The violations amounted to almost 4 million foreign-currency gold rubles, a very, very large amount. The division command later reprimanded the first mate for "political shortsightedness," but he persisted and, citing the recently adopted law on the state border, demanded a written order not to stop, inspect, or detain the Koreans. Because of his stubbornness, his superiors gave up, forbidding only the arrest and fine at sea, and forbidding the submission of reports of discovered violations to Kamchatrybvod, where they were often shelved.

Large trawlers and floating fish factory ships came from the DPRK to fish, including the then-famous Korean floating factory ship "Kumgangsan" - a huge vessel with bottomless freezer holds.

So, during inspections of trawlers and floating bases, numerous violations regarding the variety and quantity of fish caught were discovered. Reports had to be drawn up, damage calculations had to be made using spreadsheets, and the fines were enormous. All calculations were then made in gold (foreign currency) rubles, and when the SPK first brought these reports to command, he received no thanks... He was told: "So what do you want? To collect from our friends?"In short, the SPK continued to shake down violators, hand over documents on violations, and God knows what happened next...

Time passed, and one day, as we were leaving the base for another duty, on the emergency duty frequency HF 2182 kHz (the radio station was on the navigation bridge) we heard: "Attention! Inspector Pupkin!" It was in Russian and English, by the way, but it was very legible... At first, we laughed—look at the fishermen, they're already warning their own about the inspectors! But upon arriving at the base, the security officer responded to our message: “So they warned you about your exit, keep that in mind…”It was very stressful, even though it was flattering...

In general, the service went on as usual, the 1st Brigade was called “winter and summer – one color,” hinting that they served in all seasons and in any weather.

The Second Brigade was nicknamed "disposable," "summer," or "crystal" because it spent most of its winters at the base, while in the spring and summer it was tasked with "getting something"—catching salmon during the fishing season, stocking up on caviar, or stocking up on herring at the fish factory on Zavyalova Island near Magadan—a herring goldmine! Of course, like the First Brigade, it served on the border, often successfully, and suffered numerous arrests. But the slovenly spirit of a "naval minesweeper" could not be erased. This was compounded by the fact that new ships, 1124 and then 11351, were being delivered from industry, meaning the crews spent extended periods undergoing fitting-out and acceptance at the shipyard. And this included drunkenness, absences without leave, hazing, all of which had an impact on discipline, injuries and the number of incidents.

It was not for nothing that they said that "When a fighter has nothing better to do, bad thoughts start to appear in his head.", this is if translated from normal naval language.

A ship's service life was measured by its operational stress coefficient (OSTC), the ratio of service time to total operational time. For the 1st BPSCR, this coefficient ranged from 0,4 to 0,6, which was a very good indicator, since in addition to being directly "under orders to protect the border," the ships were often assigned to other missions, exercises, and other perks of naval service. So, the family didn't see Dad very often...

Unexpected enemies... ours

However, the story about the enemy would be incomplete if we limited ourselves to foreigners. The practice of the 80s, especially 1985-1990, yielded a significant number of border violations by our citizens. It got to the point that in the Magadan direction there were cases of border breaches by fugitives escaping from the USSR on foreign fishing or merchant vessels. Moreover, according to reports from the special department, such fugitives came in several varieties and flavors: fugitive criminals, deliberately traveling abroad with a load of contraband gold; dissidents and their ilk, "useful idiots" under the guise of seeking "freedom"; simple fools, whose number remains virtually constant under all times and rulers; bearers of secrets and secrets, often with these secrets and secrets themselves, having secretly or openly stolen them and intending to offer them abroad in exchange for Western peace, a passport, or chewing gum; And finally, spies from various intelligence agencies leaving the Soviet Union, and not just Japanese, American, or Canadian, which would seem understandable and geographically justified. Sometimes, these were also officers from Western European intelligence agencies. The reasons for this sudden fascination with Magadan were several fortunate cases of "walkers" breaking through the border and successfully escaping via foreign vessels. And suddenly, Western intelligence agencies became greatly impressed by Magadan's landscapes and began sending not just merchant ships, but entire specially prepared research vessels with specially trained crews, or a significant portion of them, to the Magadan roadstead.

The scheme was simple: a vessel anchored in Magadan's roadstead was safely checked by border guards before leaving Soviet territorial waters. They searched it, found nothing and no one (because no one was there yet), processed the exit paperwork—and voila... The steamship weighed anchor, and as it exited Nagaev Bay, or immediately after passing 2-3 miles from the bay's cape line, a high-speed motorboat with "passengers" approached it. Or, even more surprisingly, given the temperature conditions in the northern part of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, a diver in scuba gear would come out to the fairway and begin signaling. The fugitive was safely retrieved from the steamship, and given that even if the border guard's technical observation post (PTS) detected a brief stop on the departing vessel, it was no longer possible to detain it: either the ship's radio was malfunctioning, or there was interference, or something else... And by the time the duty ship reached the fugitive's pickup point, the vessel was already outside territorial waters. Pursuit would only be possible if it began in Soviet territorial waters and continued uninterrupted, which in this case was practically impossible.

So, the ships serving in the Magadan direction were given a new mission: preventing border violations by "fugitive walkers" of all the aforementioned types... How to solve it was a matter of ambiguity... By that time, however, the ships were already equipped with good Japanese inflatable motorboats with outboard motors, usually Suzuki motors and boats of the same brand, although there were others. The main advantage of these boats was speed, as the engines ranged from 25 hp and up, sometimes with 2x25 or 2x30 hp; these practically flew; The boats were lightweight, easily pulled ashore by two or three people, and had excellent seaworthiness. The inflatable boat itself (which had multiple chambers, making it fairly unsinkable) ensured the safety of the sailors when boarding a stopped vessel in the wake of a wave, should they fall overboard or be tossed off by adversaries (such incidents occurred regularly, often seemingly by accident). A sailor caught between the side of a vessel and an inflatable motorboat had every chance of surviving alive and unharmed, receiving only an unscheduled cold bath... well, not at his mother's...

Using these boats or workboats, naval patrols in Nagaev Bay began patrolling the coastline around the port and bay. Despite the apparent ridiculousness, it must be said that not everyone found this amusing... As time went on, cases of border violations by "fugitives" arose. There were several instances where two ships were dispatched, and while one remained safely vigilant in Nagaev Bay, the other lurked behind Zavyalov Island. And when an adversary was cleared for departure, its route and movement were monitored by three observation posts—the ship in the bay, the patrol boat, and the ship "behind the gate." As soon as abnormal vessel movement was detected in territorial waters, a ship would immediately swoop out of ambush "from behind the island, into the mainland," and snatch the "fugitives" mercilessly. There were several such successful cases, and the speed with which this information spread... In short, the rumor of the ease of border breaches in this direction was considerably dampened...

I once had the chance to not only chase these "happy guys" but also seriously scare them. Late in the evening of one such day, when the PSKR was on a two-week PPO and PPR in Nagaev Bay (Magadan), its inspection team on a work boat was patrolling the right bank of the bay, from the port to the exit. Then, a "darling" appeared—a guy with scuba diving gear. It was already autumn and not particularly hot, as you can imagine—this may be southern Magadan, but it is... He didn't notice the boat at first—who knows what kind of boats are cruising around the bay. The boat came within 100 meters of him, and then he saw that it wasn't a fisherman, but border guards, and he began running in the other direction, namely, up the hill, with the exit to the road into town.

The patrol boat team chased the "fugitive" and turned on the boat's siren. He didn't respond, galloping with his gear (which wasn't light). After some deliberation, they decided to use their service weapon—a Makarov pistol, which officers carried on patrol. They fired a warning shot into the air, and the "fugitive" took off up the slope, as if running a hundred-meter sprint. After a second warning shot, he dropped his gear (scuba gear, fins, and wetsuit) and ran even faster. The distance was about 30-35 meters, so they had to shoot to kill. Unfortunately, the "fugitive" got away. They radioed the Magadan border commandant's office with his description, time, and location, and they alerted a patrol, intercepting the fugitive a little later.

And, as is our custom, again - "It all started here / I can't describe it in words..."As Vysotsky sings. The prosecutor came running, dragging everyone on the boat in for questioning, finding out who they'd seen, who had decided to open fire, who had fired, how they'd fired, where the shell casings were, where the perpetrator's traces were, and so on, and so on, and so forth... It's a good thing I left my scuba gear, flippers, and mask on the beach pebbles, otherwise they would have taken me off/put me away/imprisoned me—basically, our usual gentleman's kit.

But no one else showed up on “our watch” wanting to run, which means the task was completed.

And to top it all off, a few days later we found another set of complete gear for going abroad, stashed by other volunteers among rocks and boulders along the shoreline, but this was on the other side of Nagaev Bay, about a kilometer from the Magadan port border. And the discovery of this set suggested a more disturbing conclusion: it looked very much like a stash by a highly skilled specialist... In total, three sets of scuba gear, an entire arsenal of hunting rifles, ammunition, and other equipment were seized...

A gentleman's kit for thrill-seekers and spy tourists on the southern coast of Magadan.

But there were also extreme cases, including attempts to evacuate American agents using small or special submarines. However, the American submarines were not only involved in evacuating their agents but also in technical reconnaissance of communication cables, including high-frequency cables. Since our ships, other than Projects 1124 and 1135, lacked hydroacoustic equipment, they did not participate in the search for these submarines. However, Project 745P was once forced to perform reconnaissance functions: according to hydrographers' reports, something strongly resembling a submarine was spotted in Shelekhov Bay. Since the waters there were shallow, and the charts and navigational charts hadn't been updated for almost 40 years, something extraordinary was required to determine whether the enemy mini-submarine had run aground. So, we heroically set out to solve this problem. We were saved by the fact that the Project 745P ship's rudder-propeller assembly was extremely well protected, and even a good rub of the rudder nozzle on the seabed didn't prevent the ship from maintaining both the rudder and propeller in working order. Approaching the area where the unidentified object was presumed to be located, we practically crawled along the seabed, fortunately the bottom was sandy and pebbly.

The echo sounder no longer showed any readings other than a finger twirling at the temple; depth was measured with a hand lead. They were afraid of only one thing: not making it out in time for low tide. In those areas, the tides are strong and fast, depths vary by several meters, which could cause the ship to run aground if delayed, while waiting for the next good tide could take two or three days, or even a week. Huge, thick tide tables became a reference book for the commander, first mate, and navigator. Fortunately, the first mate was a keen photographer, and his Kamchatka allowance allowed him to buy whatever his heart desired in that field at the time. And there was a wealth of interesting equipment available: MTO-1000 and MTO-500 telephoto lenses, films from ISO 4 to 400, aerial film, including those used for photo-movie machine guns and aerial photography with very fine grain. Cameras were also available without any restrictions—from the 35mm Kyiv-4M and 6cm Lyubitel-166V to Zenit SLRs, panoramic cameras, and narrow-film reporter cameras (also known as "spy" cameras) with 8mm film width. And film cameras from the Kvarts-8m, Kvarts-8 Super, and even 35mm cameras from Krasnogorsk... In short, as a keen observer, the first mate had everything... well, almost everything... And most importantly, he had an MTO-1000 lens and all the films in his collection... In short, every angle, both from the ship and from the launch launched for the minimum approach, were captured using everything possible and impossible. Upon examination of the images, the conclusion was clear: the unidentified object was an old barge beached in shallow water, not a submarine or any other active object. Upon arrival at base, the films were handed over to headquarters and even received a congratulatory pat on the cheek from command, and the first mate was beaming like a polished samovar—of course, he'd been constantly nagged for having unauthorized photographic equipment on board, and now, lo and behold, it had come in handy! And he even received verbal permission to have on board whatever photo and film equipment he wanted, but... well, of course, so that all this would not catch the eye of his superiors!

In general, the service went on as usual. And fortunately, most of the photo and film archives were preserved...

How did we treat the enemy? We respected, but without fear, knowing their strengths and technical advantages, and were happy to receive any technology that came into service if it helped us achieve our missions in any way. We also knew their weaknesses—their technical equipment wasn't matched by our national ability to use everything around us to achieve our goals. But, let's say, necessity is the mother of invention—both we ourselves and our command were constantly scratching our heads, wondering how to overcome the technical gap between us and the enemy using Russian ingenuity. And often, we succeeded. We set ambushes, drove people onto the ambush ship, cast nets in the enemy's direction, and destroyed mooring lines, and fired flare guns at the nets' coils...

Our naval skills were also significantly higher—we could pinpoint a ship's position quite accurately using the sun or the stars with a sextant, which greatly surprised both the Americans and the Japanese, who had practically lost these skills by then. We weren't afraid of being left without a calculator, satellite navigation, or other navigational or other electronic or automated systems. Firing tables, navigational tables, annual nautical astronomy handbooks, and other tables were used quite regularly, and commanders enjoyed this type of training for officers and other crew members, who were required to know how to use them. Such training, for example, was conducted by Shcherbina and Dudkin—officers on watch practiced pinpointing a ship's position using the sun or the stars.

Help
Bays declared historic in different countries:

USSR / Russia
Peter the Great Bay was declared internal waters of the USSR in 1957. The United States, Great Britain, France, and Japan rejected this status, citing the entrance's width (102 miles), which exceeds the established MSO norm (24 miles). Russia continues to consider it internal waters.

- Kola Bay, the Sea of ​​Azov and the White Sea, the Pechora and Onega Bays, and the Vilkitsky and Sannikov Straits. According to Federal Law No. 155-FZ of July 31, 1998, these waters are considered historical waters of Russia.

USA
- Hudson Bay, Delaware Bay, Santa Monica Bay. These are believed to be historic bays; the exact dates of their declaration are not specified.

United Kingdom
- Varangerfjord (early 20th century). Mentioned in the list of undisputed historical bays as of 1973.

Reference 2
Other incidents at sea involving foreign ships:

October 13, 2020. Black Sea, near Cape Khersones. The British destroyer HMS Dragon crossed the Russian state border, exercising its right of innocent passage. When asked to leave territorial waters, the captain claimed poor signal reception. The ship was expelled by a joint operation of the Russian Navy and Aerospace Forces.

November 24, 2020. Peter the Great Bay, Sea of ​​Japan. The American destroyer USS John S. McCain crossed 2 km beyond Russia's maritime border. The large anti-submarine ship Admiral Vinogradov issued a warning about a ramming maneuver. The destroyer then left the territorial waters.

June 7, 2019, East China Sea. The American cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the Russian anti-submarine ship Admiral Vinogradov. The cruiser suddenly changed course and crossed the Russian ship's path 50 meters away. The Admiral Vinogradov's crew was forced to make an emergency maneuver. The Americans lodged a protest.

June 23, 2021. Black Sea, near Cape Fiolent. The British destroyer HMS Defender ventured 3 km into Russian territorial waters. An immediate withdrawal was requested, but the crew did not respond. A patrol cruiser fired warning shots, and a Su-24M aircraft dropped four OFAB-250 bombs in the destroyer's direction. The ship then left the waters.

October 15, 2021. Peter the Great Bay, Sea of ​​Japan. The USS Chafee and the Russian anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs. The Chafee attempted to cross the Russian state border. The Admiral Tributs issued a warning and set a course to dislodge the ship. About 60 meters from the collision, the US ship changed course.

There will be a continuation... probably...

Comments

[Same lech]

I read the article like a poem...I haven't had such pleasure on VO for a long time.
Excellent literary style, depth of thought, understandable information, humor... I was pleased with the author... thank you.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Thank you, it’s very flattering to read such reviews.
I'm so arrogant...

[snow mountain]

Quote: The same LYOKHA

I read the article like a poem...I haven't had such pleasure in a long time.

Join us!

[Grancer81]

In the summer of 1982, a long time ago now, I happened to be lying in the KTP hospital, also known as military unit 2531. There was a sergeant major from the 8th Marine Brigade in the ward, and he was telling me about how the Japanese celebrated "Northern Territories Day." And he was telling me practically the same story. He also said that they were greatly helped by the "humpbacks"—that is, the RKA Project 205s—which made a good splash against the Japanese Kawasakis.
The 10th Marine Brigade, where my recently departed neighbor Seryoga served, and the 16th, where my classmate Slava served, did not have such problems.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Grencer81

In the summer of 1982, which was already very distant, I happened to be lying in the hospital of the KTP, also known as military unit 2531. There in the ward was a sergeant major from the 8th Marine Brigade, and he also told me about how the Japanese celebrate "Northern Territories Day."

Fact-checking is what they call it today )))
My friend says I'm lying, even if it's a good lie... I'll show him proof of my "stories"
It was the Shikotan guys who were on the very tip of the knife at that time - the closest to the Japs, and the Japs the most arrogant...

[Grancer81]

Vinogradov, that sergeant major's name, said the "humpbacks" created such a wave that it could even capsize a Kawasaki, and then they used their PSKR to fish the Japanese out of the water. And some of them were yelling Russian obscenities like drunken peasants from a Ryazan village.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Yes, the Project 205P PSKRs (these are converted ones, meaning that a project for air defense was made on their basis, from the Project 205 missile boats) were capsized/sunk in exactly this way, so as not to have to deal with shooting - a lot of paperwork, hassle, and so on... but for the Kamchatka projects this was not applicable... the speeds are not the same, and the dimensions are also different)))

The Japanese were cursing for a simple reason: many of them had already spent time in our camps for illegal fishing in territorial waters...

[traveler 63]

I completely agree with the previous commenters! The article is truly informative and literary! Thank you, Vasily! I just can't resist. The article says there was fog with visibility of 20 kilometers, but that's already more than 3500 meters. I was always taught that fog means visibility less than 1000 meters. Sorry for being so pedantic. Best regards! I'm really looking forward to more!

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Traveler 63

The article is truly informative and literary! Thank you, Vasily!

Thanks, tried

Quote: Traveler 63

The article says there was fog with visibility of 20 kilometers, but that's already more than 3500 meters. I was always taught that fog means visibility less than 1000 meters. Sorry for being pedantic.

Morning fog in the north can lie in layers over the sea surface, and dissipate in layers as well... As the sun rises, the fog melts, sometimes gradually, sometimes rapidly; much varies depending on the specific sea or their mixtures—arctic with northern, for example...

[traveler 63]

Quote: Vasily_Ostrovsky

Morning fog in the north can lie in layers over the sea surface, and dissipate in layers as well... As the sun rises, the fog melts, sometimes gradually, sometimes rapidly; much varies depending on the specific sea or their mixtures—arctic with northern, for example...

This is true not only over the sea but also over land! However, visibility in fog doesn't exceed 1000 meters. Above 1000 meters, it's called haze. It can be heavy, medium, or light, with no clear boundaries. And pockets of fog are not uncommon! I've been in such "pockets" myself, albeit in a car, when visibility was limited to a few dozen meters! Sorry again for being pedantic, but 20 KB is haze!

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Traveler 63

Sorry again for being tedious, but 20kb is a ton of smoke!

Yes and no at the same time...
As I recall, the range at sea is calculated simply as 2,08 x the square root of the observation altitude...
The signalman is standing at a height of 11,5 m, the BMT axis is at 12,7 m (from memory, if I'm wrong, please don't scold me), which means the range of the visible horizon is almost 7,5 miles...
The haze recorded in logbooks—from very close to the extreme, when the horizon is "smeared," and targets at sea are indistinct or disappear 2-3 miles away. This includes cases where there's no horizon and the visible space extends into fog from the ship's side up to 2 miles away, preventing the visibility of targets at sea at any significant altitude—was called and described as "fog." Fog was dense, but could also be light (almost haze).
Strictly speaking, you're talking about reference data; that's how our hydrometeorology teachers drilled us at school. We called our meteorological instructors and navigators "hydromoutchiki" (hydromouts).
But in fact, in the Kamchatka-Kuril, Chukotka and Magadan directions, we were oriented on a different scale, and haze was distinguished from fog, and mainly not by range, but by visibility and distinguishability... you can distinguish a target by its appearance - you get haze, you can't see anything - you get fog ))))

I don't take offense at being "pedantic" if it's to the point )))

But there were also layers, when the boatswain on deck sees a ship at 40 kbt, and the signalman sees fog... another layer

[traveler 63]

Quote: Vasily_Ostrovsky

But there were also layers, when the boatswain on deck sees a ship at 40 kbt, and the signalman sees fog... another layer

I won't argue! I'm speaking in aviation terms, you in maritime terms! And arguing about the sea with a sea dog is, excuse me, like being in a headwind... Best regards!

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Andrey, I'm not offended by professional "pedantry"—it often helps you stay on your toes, and some of the usual "local" misconceptions and habits appear in a different light...
Moreover, pilots, like sailors, have their own peculiar quirks, prejudices, habits, and traditions... I've just pulled out a few films from the archives, shot in the early 90s on the AN-26, AN-72, and IL-76, when I was flying border aviation around the country - from Chukotka to Moscow, Anapa, and Vladivostok... I'm watching - it's beautiful...

[traveler 63]

I'll add, we were flying over the Carpathians at altitude and found ourselves in a situation where there was a 10-point cloud cover below and 10-point cloud cover above, and we were flying between layers with a million-by-a-million visibility, though nothing was visible except clouds! It was beautiful! But how do you classify such a flight? In SMU, you can see the horizon, while in IMU, you can't see any landmarks. That's why we simply wrote "in the clouds."

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

If it comes to that, I'll write about how I flew as a passenger on a border aviation flight and we landed in complete chaos, the ground jumped out of the sky like a jack-in-the-box right before touchdown... well, I suffered... there was an interesting story there... "Flyers" are something else...

[traveler 63]

I'd really like to read it! And I think many people would be interested! Not everyone has the talent to describe an event in written form! (40 years ago I would have said simply on paper). My wife also says: write a memoir. I tried it, took a sheet of A4 paper, a pencil (a habit of flying), and in an entire day I wrote almost a novella!: "We took off at 8:00 a.m. and landed at a different point 1 hour and 40 minutes later. That's it!"

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Traveler 63

Not everyone has the talent to describe an event in written form! (40 years ago, I would have simply said it on paper.)

Here's a cool metaphor - a reflection of the current times...
Let me give you a stupid piece of advice (or maybe not so stupid), but I don't use it myself: just dictate it without swearing into your phone or laptop and send it to an inexpensive paid service for transcription - you'll get a text you can work on... it'll just save time - the initial typing will be about 3-5 times shorter...
I don't use it myself - I don't have enough censored words verbally, and what I need is a piece of paper - I'm embarrassed to write swear words on paper...

[traveler 63]

Vasily! Thanks for the advice, but I doubt I'll take it! The thing is, you're able to explain the specifics of naval service in a way that even those who haven't been there can relate to! When I started telling "stories from the air force," I could tell they didn't understand me and were simply bored! (I don't know, maybe I was using too much aviation jargon?) But when we meet up with colleagues, we can sit until the early hours! And even then, our wives usually "send us away" in the morning, otherwise we could just sit and reminisce! There was everything, joy, sorrow, and grief...

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Thank you, Andrey, for your high appreciation of my modest abilities...
Meetings with colleagues are becoming less and less frequent, they are becoming shorter and shorter... age, however...

[traveler 63]

Quote: Vasily_Ostrovsky

age, however...

It's hard to disagree! I'd add that all those "feats of battling the elements" in my youth, alas, aren't helping my health now! Although I'll end the post with the words of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: "I gambled and lost, that's my trade, but at least I breathed the free wind, the wind of boundless expanses!"

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Traveler 63

I played and lost, that's my trade, but at least I breathed the free wind, the wind of boundless expanses!"

I agree with every word )))
I don't regret anything.

[Luminman]

Quote: Vasily Ostrovsky

The conversation was nervous back then.

What language did you speak with Koreans? Unlike European languages, not everyone speaks theirs. Thank you...

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Luminman

What language did you use to communicate with Koreans? Unlike European languages, their language is not familiar to everyone.

And even more so for us)
In Russian, the North Koreans always had one or two Russian speakers on each trawler, and on the floating base there were several – a full-time translator who spoke... tolerably, and a local "Stirlitz" – he spoke fluently, but pretended not to understand anything until he was caught red-handed...

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

My apologies to readers – the photo of the seized diving gear is mirrored horizontally. This is an oversight on my part during publication; I missed it and didn't adjust the image properly. Therefore, the PG numbers are unreadable, and the photo appears to be on the ship's port side, when in fact, it's on the starboard side, near the duty officer's cabin and the entrance to the starboard corridor.

[Emelianenko Igor]

Thanks to the author for another publication. We look forward to the next ones.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Thanks for the feedback.
We work and write )))

[Bersaglieri]

941 wasn't in Vilyuchinsk—they were all in the Northern Fleet, based in Nerpichya. The Pacific Fleet had only the 667th BDR of the "strategists" at the time. And the "loaves"—with cruise missiles (they were split evenly between the Northern Fleet and the Pacific Fleet). 667 and 675 were decommissioned.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Bersaglieri

941 wasn't in Vilyuchinsk - They're all in the SF

In this article (and in earlier ones) 941 is not mentioned in Kamchatka, the reference is to the north... this has always meant only one thing among those related to military service - the Northern Fleet)

[Bersaglieri]

Excellent material, as always!

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Thanks, tried
The weather is favorable )))

[Olgovich]

then he didn’t hear any gratitude... They told him: “Well, what do you want? To collect from our friends?”

Of course, these are millions of gold rubles.

Dissidents"

.
Have there been any dissidents from that side to visit us?

The author is great again

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Olgovich

then he didn’t hear any gratitude... They told him: “Well, what do you want? To collect from our friends?”

Of course, these are millions of gold rubles.

Andrey, these "millionaires" both then and today, they twist and turn wherever they want: One day they tell you - "You threw away thousands of state rubles to the wind", and the next - "How can you take money from friends/"... nothing changes, however...

Quote: Olgovich

Have there been any dissidents from that side to visit us?

I know of some of these cases, but I will refrain from voicing them, not enough time has passed... this happened too.

[Olgovich]

Quote: Vasily_Ostrovsky

These "mulion" then and today turn wherever they want

I know this: the Command Post of the direction was being handed over, they were waiting for the commission, they didn't have time, the whole site was covered in reinforced concrete, stacks of other materials: at night they drove a T130 and all this - into... a ravine. In the morning, the site was pristine!
A huge administrative building is being rented out. A retinue, led by a colonel general, comes in: "What the hell is this?!" He points to the wooden floors designed for the project. "Parquet!" And they tore it down and put in parquet!

And for a shovel of frozen concrete - cries about the people's good...

Quote: Vasily_Ostrovsky

I know of some of these cases, but I will refrain from voicing them, not enough time has passed... this happened too.

Clear.

There was an electronics engineer named Vetokhin. He tried to swim to Turkey from Georgia and Crimea three times, was caught three times, spent seven years in prison and a mental hospital, was released, saved up money for a cruise, and jumped off a ship near Indonesia and swam a few kilometers to an island.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Unfortunately, if we were to try to fit all the cases of military leadership stupidity into one book, the Complete Works of V.I. Lenin would seem small...

Your case with Vetokhin only emphasizes that obsessive thoughts lead to no good...

[Pasha Novik]

At the same time, the Japanese were intensively conducting reconnaissance near our national defense and security centers, including active radio and hydroacoustic reconnaissance, and deploying sonar buoys to monitor our submarines during deployment routes and inter-base transits, disguising them as fishing buoys. In the 1980s, we began actively identifying and raising these buoys, handing them over to our specialists for study. Some types of buoys were submersible and surfaced either on a timer or by radio or acoustic command, which significantly increased the complexity of their operations.

A feature film, "Project Alpha," was made on this topic in 1990. Although it takes place in the Black Sea, the essence is the same.
What an interesting service you had! Thank you for sharing your memories and thoughts with us.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Pasha Novik

Even though it's the Black Sea, the essence is the same.

That's right, the film should be shot on the Black Sea – it's warm, there's fruit, and beautiful women on the beaches.
And to the Far North - only at government expense and with a cosmic budget )))

[Pasha Novik]

Well, yes, that's true. But I learned about the whole idea of ​​such interesting buoys from this film.
The film was shot with the participation of the Main Directorate of Border Troops of the KGB of the USSR.
So they knew what they were filming about.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Pasha Novik

The film was shot with the participation of the Main Directorate of Border Troops of the KGB of the USSR.
So they knew what they were filming about.

These people knew, it’s a fact...

[Grancer81]

The Black Sea? What's so great about it? Peter the Great Bay from Posyet to Povorotnoye is just as good as the Black Sea. And the beaches are full of beautiful women...

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Grencer81

The Black Sea? What's so good about it?

For Pacific people, the Black Sea isn't a sea at all, but a warm basin of water... but people served there too.
Balaklava was called "Baba Klava", for example...

[Kote Pan Kokhanka]

Good article about strong people!
Thank you Vasily, we are waiting for the continuation!!!

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Kote pane Kohanka

Good article about strong people!

People are made strong by upbringing and circumstances... in calm times people become soft, there's no escape from that...
thanks for the compliment working ...

[Pasha Novik]

Quote: Vasily_Ostrovsky

These people knew, that's a fact.

Including your service. So you fulfilled your oath to the fullest! Respect to you!
I myself, in my military service, come from the Airborne Forces (self-propelled artillery (2 S9 "Nona"). But in my heart I always wanted to become a sailor.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Pasha Novik

So you fulfilled your oath to the fullest!

And I continue to perform, the Motherland remains, but the power changes... dialectic...

Quote: Pasha Novik

I come from the Airborne Forces (self-propelled artillery (2 S9 "Nona"). But in my heart I always wanted to become a sailor.

I respect that. I wanted to join the Airborne Forces myself, but I couldn't pass the military medical commission for health reasons...

[Tests]

A BIG thank you to the author for a new portion of naval chatter!
Here's what surprised me: 1. Why did they decide to fire a PM at the "runner"? The guys didn't have an AKS-74U? You rarely hear a PM in the wild, and in the story, it's the seashore... A burst from a Ksyukha overhead, especially with tracers, or 12-gauge buckshot, aimed at those who need to be detained, and the client has to survive until the trial. It's more effective, after all... 2. Only one photography enthusiast had an MTO-1000. In my opinion, every boat should have had them or at least 500mm ones, and the films could easily be processed on shore, increasing the sensitivity of the same old SVEMA or TASMA Photo-250 and reducing the grain. And if someone could get their hands on a Kodak 35mm, which was what they used in machine guns... 3. The prosecutors, it seems, were sane; they didn't seem to be grabbing everything that was nailed, screwed, or welded, and they weren't sending everything they saw back home in containers... or maybe they were just lucky... After all, there were people in prosecutor's offices in the USSR, like everywhere else, who were different...

[Pasha Novik]

Evgeny. I don't mean to offend, insult, or insult you. I just have a question. Did you serve there? Do you know the ins and outs of service in remote regions? If so, then what you wrote in your comment may indeed be true. I'd be interested to read your recollections.
As for the stories... I can also tell you stories from my service that you'd definitely call "fiction and fantasy plus chatter." And the funniest thing is, these events actually happened.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Pasha Novik

As for the stories... I can also tell you stories from my service that you'd definitely call "fiction and fantasy plus chatter." And the funniest thing is, these events actually happened.

That's what approximately 90 percent of VO readers would say...
But without truth there will be no chatter
Chatter is the truth...

[3x3zsave]

That's what approximately 90 percent of VO readers would say...
I'm probably in the top 10%, nothing special, just a regular job. Well, our team was once tracking a UFO...
Thank you, Vasily! It was interesting.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: 3x3zsave

Well, our team was once leading a UFO...

Ha-ha... and this was in the MChPV...
This UFO is both funny and sad...
And there were even special journals for recording and describing...
No, Anton, you can't be in 10%... be with the team
I'm glad to see you on my articles.

[3x3zsave]

Well, there's really nothing more to tell...
Well, maybe I got caught in a "dry" winter thunderstorm in Murmansk once (and it was incredibly impressive!). In Murmansk, I also saved a "young man's" life. And I was sitting in the Murmansk "guardhouse" with a black guy.
So, two years underground and no romance...

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: 3x3zsave

So, two years underground and no romance...

This alone is enough for a novel )))
I've never had the chance to sit on the lip with black people, let alone see them up close until the mid-90s... and you're being modest )))

[3x3zsave]

He was "an ordinary Soviet black man, Mitya" (see the film "Assa"). Somehow, no one is surprised that I was toiling alongside ethnic Hungarians, Romanians, and Germans.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: 3x3zsave

This was "an ordinary Soviet black man, Mitya" (see the film "Assa").

There's also "How I Became Russian"...

Quote: 3x3zsave

For some reason, no one is surprised that I was pulling the same strap as ethnic Hungarians, Romanians and Germans.

Could you please elaborate on this... where does such national diversity come from?

[3x3zsave]

In Kharkiv, I served with an ethnic Romanian from Moldova and an ethnic Hungarian from Transcarpathia. In Murmansk, I served with an ethnic German from Kazakhstan.
Should I tell you about the other nationalities present?

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: 3x3zsave

In Kharkiv, I served with an ethnic Romanian from Moldova and an ethnic Hungarian from Transcarpathia. In Murmansk, I served with an ethnic German from Kazakhstan.

However, unexpectedly...

[3x3zsave]

This is the air defense. The most "sick" troops in the Soviet Army after the "construction battalion."

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: 3x3zsave

This is the air defense. The most "sick" troops in the Soviet Army after the "construction battalion."

Oh, come on... Jokes about construction battalions are not always a rewarding endeavor... although there are all sorts of funny sketches about whom )))

[3x3zsave]

My father served his compulsory military service in a construction battalion, he didn’t talk much about it, and generally in a negative context.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Let it all remain in the past...
I never had to deal with them, but there are so many different stories and conversations about everyone... If you remember about floating workshops and floating shipyards, then such things come out that it will make your ears wither... even that in operational meetings they only brought it up to the officers...

[Tests]

3x3zsave (Anton), sir, you, my almost-compatriot from the White Sea, didn't serve in Long-Range Aviation! Long-Range Aviation is an organization where they go to bed early and wake up late, do nothing, and get very tired. I once recalled that at the Machulishchi base in the Minsk region, there was a dark-haired, dark-skinned guy with a curly head of hair, like he'd just had a chemotherapy treatment, who served with me during his conscription (the Cubans mistook him for one of their own, tried to talk to him, and were surprised he was wearing Soviet cotton clothes). He couldn't decide what nationality he was. His father is Uzbek, his mother is Tatar. He grew up in Chimkent and was drafted from Leningrad, where he trained as an art restorer. In Engels, at the ShMAS, until I was demoted and removed from my position as deputy commander of the training platoon, more than half of the men in my training platoon, who had come from the Central Asian Military District and some of whom were destined to serve in Afghanistan, were ethnic Germans. Their ancestors lived in the Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic of Volga Germans and were deported to Siberia and Altai in 1941. During my debriefing, battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Shachnev was still debating whether to send me to Vorkuta or Tiksi Bay. I happily blurted out that my "northern" assignments would be better. The battalion commander immediately decided that I would finish my service in the Byelorussian SSR, where discipline was the worst. And so it was in Machulishchi. In the construction battalion and in the "deaf-mute" unit, everything was by the book. In the units that the 201st Fighter Aviation Regiment served, things were a little looser, but within the framework, as was the regiment and the communications division that our 121st Guards Red Banner Sevastopol Heavy Aviation Regiment served. And as for our base... I couldn't believe my ears during the unit's formation at headquarters, when a sentry (in the 1st and 2nd Airborne Squadrons, at night in the rain and fog, shot a horse that had somehow gotten between the casemates), acting according to the Civil Defense and Strike Forces Regulations, was accused of cowardice by Chief of Staff Comrade Major Vanya Nepochatykh! It even went so far as to open fire in the 3rd guard post (the remote fuel and lubricants depot); the young man was pecked to death by ladles. Until a tribunal sent two idiots from the 1st Automotive Technical Company to two years of "diesel service" for bullying young people, I don't know how our glorious regiment managed to fly without any flight incidents or the preconditions for them...

[Sergej1972]

During Soviet times, it was believed that there were no Romanians in Moldova. Romanians were present in the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine, in roughly equal numbers with Moldovans.

[Tests]

Pasha Novik (Pasha), sir, you were not offended, insulted, or offended. I don't know if you are a real person or if you were born into "V.O." by an AI (Artificial Idiot).
The answer to your first question is: "No."
I can't answer the second question because I don't know what you mean by "remote regions." Are remote areas the RKS or RPKS, or highland and desert areas? Is Paldiski a remote region or not? For example, I entered it with an invalid Russian passport, specifically presenting it to border guards. I was also homeless in the USSR for over a year and a half, despite having a personal officer's number N-732144... Comparing the sound of a PM pistol shot and a 12-gauge shotgun on the seashore in Russia isn't much of a challenge. Learning about film grain reduction and increasing the sensitivity of black-and-white film today, with a properly functioning internet connection, only takes about 20 minutes... Thanks to the internet, the whole world knows about the sane, and sometimes not so sane, prosecutors in my hometown of Severodvinsk. Especially about Severodvinsk City Prosecutor Severov, who attacked the son of a former "factory official" and Severodvinsk prosecutor, a former employee of the Severodvinsk prosecutor's office, lawyer Skachkov, in front of a multitude of cameras in Severodvinsk's central square. For example, Fontanka.ru reported on this: "The Seversk prosecutor is suspected of rudeness. A St. Petersburg lawyer organized an Investigative Committee investigation against him."
August 10, 2023, 17:00": https://www.fontanka.ru/2023/08/10/72586841/
The word "tales" isn't in my first comment. And why did you decide, without knowing me, that "...you'll definitely call them 'fiction and fantasy + chatter'?"

[Pasha Novik]

I'm a real person. I understand from your comments that you've had a tough life. Good luck!

[Pasha Novik]

The word "tales" isn't in my first comment. And why did you decide, without knowing me, that "...you'll definitely call them 'fiction and fantasy + chatter'?"

I apologize. I just constantly encounter the fact that no matter what you write about your personal life on this site, everything is perceived as, so to speak, "ha-ha." And then the downvotes, insults, and so on start pouring in. I'm not downvoting you. I've been through a tough life myself. I understand.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Now you can tell he's a pro...
I report:

Quote: Tests

Why did they decide to fire a PM at the "runner" when the guys didn't have an AKS-74U?

When performing these missions, the OG were equipped only with standard weapons—the PM. The AKSU was not provided for the OG...

Quote: Tests

Only one photography fan has the MTO-1000.

The only camera required by law was a FED with a standard 50mm lens, but they didn't issue it either; there weren't enough for everyone... that's just the way it was; there was no requirement for photo documentation (let alone video).

Quote: Tests

The prosecutors seemed to be sane, they didn't seem to be grabbing everything that was nailed, screwed, welded, and everything they saw they didn't send back to their homeland in containers... or maybe they were just lucky... after all, there were people in the prosecutor's offices in the USSR, like everywhere else, who were different

There are nuances here, as they say now... The political officer on board the boat was the son of a military commander, so his "involvement" in this case wasn't really necessary, that's for one thing... Secondly, the "disgraced" shooter was no slouch either; he could have argued with the prosecutor, proved his case, and defended himself. Thirdly, the border guards, represented by the Magadan Border Patrol, also weighed in: who are you protecting? And from whom? So, the case was closed, thank God...
And yes, the prosecutor was also a prosecutor, and not a sycophant...

[Pasha Novik]

AKSU is not allowed for the OG...

Vasily. This question clearly isn't for you. But maybe you could help. In our self-propelled guns, we were equipped with AKS-74s (my AKS number was 4517560. I still remember it). But in the rifle companies, we also had AKSU-74s (they were more like "assault" guns). Logically, inspection teams should have had something more serious than the PM. Or would they have been just a hindrance and overpowered in cramped conditions (ship corridors, for example)?

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Pasha Novik

Vasily. This question is clearly not for you.

To me, of course )))
The standard weapons (small arms) on the PSKR were for the following categories:
1. Officers - PM pistol
2. Warrant officers - PM pistol
3. Members of inspection groups - 2 groups of 6 people (commander, radio operator, petty officers and sailors), PM pistol.
4. Personnel according to the schedule of PDO (anti-sabotage defense) and PDSS (anti-sabotage forces and means) - AK74 assault rifles (AKS74 were allowed).
The standard issue for the OG was a pistol for a simple reason, as you pointed out: it's cramped, the assault rifle gets in the way, it wobbles, the magazine comes loose, so it's not an option, only problems. And what about the ricochet? You'll kill yourself, after all...

[Pasha Novik]

We had the same problem. When we were fully loaded onto the combat vehicle (and that's the standard. It's timed), I seriously injured my arm because of my machine gun. Hardships and privations are still there! Everything healed. Thanks for the reply!

[bk0010]

What the author described here about Japanese poachers (and shooting at them) I saw in a feature film from the 80s. I'm not saying this to expose plagiarism, but rather because the author might be interested in seeing that film and comparing it with his own impressions. The problem is, I've completely forgotten the title. The only thing I can say for sure is that "Incident at Square 36-80" isn't it. Maybe someone else can remember it and tell me.

The ship reached a speed of 14,4 knots (the maximum speed listed on the passport is 13,8 knots!).

Yeah, it's not a racer at all. Why did they make ships with such missions so slow? Sure, it's cheaper, but that defeats the whole point. You could save money on the gun that way.

The prosecutor came running, and they dragged everyone on the boat in for questioning, to find out who they had seen, who had decided to open fire, who had shot, how they had shot, where the cartridges were, where the traces of the offender were, and so on, and so on, and so forth...

I would hand this prosecutor over to the KGB - let them check who he works for and why.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: bk0010

What the author described here about Japanese poachers (and shooting at them), I saw in a feature film in the 80s.

Yeah, really... really... I saw aliens in a feature film, and I wasn't impressed somehow...

The plagiarism part is just brutal. I was impressed, but I didn't appreciate the subtle humor. The plagiarists here are most likely the screenwriter and director, and the material was given to them by the Main Directorate of the Pentagon, as is typical for troops in all theaters of service. By the way, for some reason, all movies about naval sailors always show the sailors scattering at the sound of an alarm. Clichés, clichés.

And we watched those movies (and there were a lot of them, more than three for sure) as part of the mandatory educational program from the political department, so the advice was a little late, about 45 years... but still - thanks for your concern )))

Quote: bk0010

Why were ships with such missions made so slow?

Yes, the questions are serious... but they are well covered in my articles, almost like a red thread in all of them... except for the Chukchi cycle.

Quote: bk0010

I would hand this prosecutor over to the KGB - let them check who he works for and why.

Could you clarify on what grounds? He was doing his job, and the fact that he declined to open a case (albeit for various reasons) is precisely the result of his work and conscience. So, trampling on him is pointless...

[bk0010]

Quote: Vasily_Ostrovsky

Could you clarify on what basis? He was doing his job, and the fact that he refused to open a case (albeit for various reasons) is precisely the result of his work and conscience.

I took it the other way around - I opened a case and tried to sue the border guards so that they would learn a lesson from chasing spies.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Let's turn to the original source:
"The prosecutor came running, they dragged everyone on the boat in for questioning/interrogation, they found out who they had seen, who had decided to open fire, who had shot, how they had shot, where the cartridges were, where the traces of the offender were, and so on, and so on, and so on... It's a good thing they left their scuba gear and fins and mask on the beach pebbles, otherwise they would have taken them off/put them away/put them in jail, basically—our usual gentleman's kit."
I think you interpreted this part of the text very emotionally, as if a criminal case had been initiated. This isn't true; there was a preliminary investigation, to put it in legal terms... The investigation ended with a refusal to initiate criminal proceedings. This was encouraging, but of course, it left a bad taste in your mouth...

But you're right, by that time the persecution of the army, and the KGB in particular, had reached a truly mainstream level... many wore civilian jackets or coats over their uniforms... the state had betrayed its defenders, it was very painful and disgusting...

I'll say right away that I wore a uniform, and a couple of times I even had to fight with drunken "human rights fighters" and other scum...

[Pasha Novik]

Yeah, right. I have nightmares about those prosecutorial investigations, both military and civilian (well, my profession required me to deal with various agencies quite often). You look at a prosecutor like that and think they're clearly not from planet Earth, but from somewhere "far away." I try to give prosecutors a wide berth and avoid talking to them. They're recording everything on their own brain tape, even over a glass of tea.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Pasha Novik

They, even over a glass of tea, record everything on their brain tape.

Yeah, they work like a tailor shop, sewing from morning until night )))
But that's their job, that's why the pike is in the sea, to keep the crucian carp awake....

[Kote Pan Kokhanka]

Yeah, it's not a racer at all. Why did they make ships with such missions so slow? Sure, it's cheaper, but that defeats the whole point. You could save money on the gun that way.

I corrected the minus for you.
Now about the PSKR 745P project. This border patrol ship was originally an ice-class tugboat with fairly good endurance and crew habitability. It was a sturdy workhorse that wasn't afraid to freeze into the ice and attack a poacher.
The Kamchatka border guards' flagship was a 40s-era ship with 100mm artillery, but in terms of reliability and maintainability, it was unmatched. Absolutely unmatched.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Kote pane Kohanka

The Kamchatka border guards' flagship was a 40s-era ship with 100mm artillery, but in terms of reliability and maintainability, it was unmatched. Absolutely unmatched.

Thank you for the compliment about the Project 52 Purga cruiser. It was a special ship in every sense of the word, just like the Aurora cruiser in Leningrad...
It is written about him at https://topwar.ru/273143-komande-na-korable-forma-nomer-3-pervyj-srok.html

[bk0010]

Quote: Kote pane Kohanka

I corrected the minus for you.

For what?

Quote: Kote pane Kohanka

a strong workhorse who wasn't afraid to freeze into the ice and pounce on a poacher.

Yeah. If he catches up. And if he doesn't? The enemy will wave goodbye and run away. And the border guards don't have anti-ship missiles—they have nothing to stop them with, only the standard weapon to try before they leave the kill zone.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Kote pane Kohanka

Now about the PSKR 745P project.

This is also written in detail here, the ship of this project is my favorite...
https://topwar.ru/273019-sejchas-kak-rvanet-kak-bylo-to-chego-nikogda-ne-bylo.html

[3x3zsave]

I saw it in a feature film in the 80s.
The movie is called "Solo Voyage"?

[bk0010]

Quote: 3x3zsave

The movie is called "Solo Voyage"?

No, definitely not. It's quite possible it's "Right to Shoot" (I found it in Talgat Nigmatullin's filmography), but there's no guarantee.

[Semenov197]

The film was called "The Right to Shoot"
The Japanese captain of the schooner "Kiesho" (?) was played by Talgat Nigmatullin, our captain of the PSKR - by Vladimir Ivashov (I could be wrong)
According to the film's plot, the Japanese rammed our PSKR, after which AK-230s opened fire.

[bk0010]

Quote: Semenov197

According to the film's plot, the Japanese rammed our PSKR, after which AK-230s opened fire.

Right Thanks.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: bk0010

Yeah. If he catches up. And if he doesn't? The enemy will wave goodbye and run away. And the border guards don't have anti-ship missiles—they have nothing to stop them with, only the standard weapon to try before they leave the kill zone.

So his task was not to catch up, but to “use bold tactical techniques, maneuvers, and borderline mastery”... that’s what it was written in the governing documents...
The pr.205P and P1124 were supposed to run with 1135.1, their task was to make a noise)))

[Alex013]

The Japanese poached throughout the 20th century and into the 21st. I remember in the 90s there were always news stories about Japanese fishing vessels being detained (with a group being landed and warning shots fired). Now you don't hear much about it, although I don't really watch the news.
Thanks to the author, the materials are very interesting. Keep writing!

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Alex013

Thanks to the author, the materials are very interesting. Keep writing!

Thank you, we are trying...

[Boris Borisovich Skrynnik]

Hello Vasily. Congratulations on all the new arrivals and the coming ones! As always, Comrade Officer of the Great KGB, it's wonderful to read your article. Thank you for writing honestly and without embellishment about our forgotten land. I ask you - write what you know about St. Lawrence Island. After all, there were a bunch of American bases there. Your comrades in the KGB PV showed us a film about it on the club screen at Fazanka. It was impressive then. I skimmed through the comments - it's something out of Cheggotto! Having grown up on the shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk (I opened the window in the kitchen and saw the force of the surf), I was very surprised by one post about fog. It was about cable lengths, which I don't understand. But I understand one thing - our seas and the Far East are not within any limits. Fog can be layered, crawling onto the shore in tongues. That is, all kinds of nasty. With respect to you, Vasily. Sorry if that sounds wrong, but Luspekaev is an actor after all.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Boris Borisovich Skrynnik

Sorry if anything, but still, the actor is Luspekaev.

The wick has been accepted, it was of course a typo, I regret that I missed such a blunder.

Quote: Boris Borisovich Skrynnik

Thank you for writing honestly and without embellishment about our forgotten land.

Thank you, I'm writing while I can... that means something is starting to work out...

Quote: Boris Borisovich Skrynnik

I ask you to write what you know about Fr. St. Lawrence.

I'll try to include this hotbed of trouble in some story, but it's more likely to be covered more widely in a printed version or in another edition on another platform, who knows... there's something to say there...

[Pasha Novik]

there is something to say there

Wow! You've got me intrigued. We're waiting! But please, not until the third star!

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Pasha Novik

But please, not to the third star!

Hmm ...
Pensioners have nowhere to rush anymore )))
And it’s impossible to write down all the “secrets”, not enough time has passed....

[Boris Borisovich Skrynnik]

WOW! One more thing. Don't get me wrong about the Great KGB. I have great respect for this organization. There's even a note in my work record (the real thing) stating "solemn oath given," which many don't understand or even know what that is. And the signature under it is from Natalya Dikova, head of the OK military unit 21644, UAT 101 UIR in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a major in the KGB of the USSR. Where I had the honor of serving my country for five years as a free man, not counting the two and a half years before that I spent in military unit 21497 in the same Khurba-2. With respect to you, and I have a lot of questions.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Boris Borisovich Skrynnik

"a solemn oath of allegiance given" which many do not understand and do not even know what it is.

Everyone who needs to know everything knows everything, but the rest of the people don't need it - everyone has their own competence...

Quote: Boris Borisovich Skrynnik

With respect to you, and I have a lot of questions.

Hmm... sounds alarming...
Now is the time for glasnost, now is a different time. But the State Security Committee will write down your names!

[Boris Borisovich Skrynnik]

Thank you! My name is forever recorded in the Committee under subscription No. 1.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

"We'll see now..."
Come in )

[bug120560]

Vasily Ostrovsky: I understand this is short, but to avoid repetition, I have nothing more to say except a HUGE THANK YOU. And once again, a HUGE THANK YOU!

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Thank you for your kind words)
Enjoy reading it )))

[bug120560]

I eagerly await the continuation. If it weren't for your articles and similar ones on history, there would be nothing left to read on VO.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Thank you, of course, but there are many other interesting articles and other authors on VO.
I won't lie - such reviews are always flattering, but you need to keep yourself sane and of sound mind, otherwise you'll get carried away...

[Pasha Novik]

I'm joining my friend nicknamed "Bug".

You need to keep yourself in a sound mind and memory, otherwise you will get carried away

Well, let it "carry you away" in a good way. It's clear you're a highly competent person. It's interesting to talk to you and read your articles. But, shh! "Did you study this little poster carefully?" ("The meeting place cannot be changed").

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: Pasha Novik

"Have you studied this poster carefully?"

Definitely, and carefully )))
By the way, my nickname avatar is a poster... I really like it...
"What does the coming day have in store for us?"

[Pasha Novik]

"What does the coming day have in store for us?"

Ah, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. "Eugene Onegin"! In some ways, he was a prophet of his time. School curriculum. How nostalgic!

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

"Where, where have you gone,
Golden days of my spring?
What is the coming day for me?
My gaze catches in vain
He lurks in the deep darkness.
No need; rights of fate are the law.
Will I fall, pierced by an arrow,
Or she will fly by
All good: vigil and sleep
A certain hour comes;
Blessed is the day of cares
Blessed is the arrival of darkness!

The essence of the poster lies in the talented artist's original reinterpretation...
There on the right is the author's signature: "Wise monkey"...

[bug120560]

Vasily Ostrovsky, I won't dispute your opinion about the existence of other interesting articles on VO. But in my opinion, most articles either simply rehash other people's information, or articles by authors who claim to evaluate or analyze current events are guilty of the same "forgetfulness" of the basic principle of analysis: "There is one very simple criterion for verifying whether your thinking is correct: if your assessment of something doesn't fully explain what's happening or doesn't help in finding an explanation, then you're dealing not just with an incorrect assessment, but with your own delusion."

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote: bug120560

I won't dispute your opinion about the presence of other interesting articles on VO

And this will be the most correct... there is no point in putting the author in a false position by contrasting his work with the work of others...
Any author is flattered when their work is praised, but one must evaluate oneself soberly, otherwise there will be trouble...

[Lomo]

Once again, a wonderful article! Thank you so much.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Thank you! We're writing, working, and not sleeping )))

[cpls22]

Thanks for the lively story. Beyond the purely technical and historical details, it's nice to hear about real emotions and understand what it was like to fulfill a duty you were trained for and then tacitly restrained. The detail about the gifts from the Koreans intrigued me – why were they allowed to take them and then hand them over? Were they simply not afraid of the Korean press, or was this something unique? The MTO-1000 made me smile – how could anyone have captured anything worthwhile with such a high aperture from a swaying plane?

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote from cpls22

Thank you for the vivid story. Beyond the purely technical and historical details, it's refreshing to hear about real emotions and understand what it was like to fulfill a duty for which you were trained and then tacitly restrained.

Thank you, I'm glad you found this read interesting )))

Quote from cpls22

I was intrigued by the detail about gifts from Koreans - why were they allowed to take them and give change later?

It's simple: North Korea was in the socialist camp, so they didn't conduct counter-propaganda against it. They weren't being persecuted for their ideology, but for simple theft...

Quote from cpls22

The MTO-1000 made me smile - how could you possibly shoot anything worthwhile with such a high aperture from a rocking side?

It's a shame this makes you smile – no one shoots with such a lens in rough weather, of course. The article describes a complete fact, without even mentioning rough weather, and it's perfect for shooting in calm weather. With that focal length, the aperture was quite good. You need to work with film (ISO) and developer, and shutter speed – it's all obvious.

[cpls22]

Well, it's clear that you can shoot in calm weather, but I thought that such weather is rare in those places.
Why, after all, were they allowed to take from the Koreans, but then return them? It seems somehow illogical – if it was just a gift or an exchange, then if it was allowed, then why return them? Surely these souvenirs weren't meant for the political department? And if it was a bribe, then it turns out they took it, but didn't do it. This reminded me of Europeans' comments about corruption in the Middle East.

[Vasily_Ostrovsky]

Quote from cpls22

I just thought that such weather is rare in those places.

Well, if it's near Magadan (Shelikhov Bay), then are there bound to be storms and other delights? It's quiet in the summer...

Quote from cpls22

Why were they allowed to take from the Koreans, but then return them? It seems somehow illogical – if it was just a gift or an exchange, then why return it if it was allowed? Surely these souvenirs weren't meant for the political department? And if it was a bribe, then it turns out they took it, but didn't make it.

It was believed that gifts from "friends" could be accepted officially, with the permission of the OG commander, and then handed over to the special agents upon arrival. Sometimes the special agents allowed these gifts to be kept, but you had to ask them why... perhaps they weren't of operational interest.

[cpls22]

I think I get it—a formal check of items from abroad for state security? And a source of souvenirs for security officers and their families.

[Nikita Panfilov.]

I read your work and decided to register on the site. I just had some questions.
1- Where in the waters near Kamchatka do they catch pollock???
2- Where did the Japanese dump the porn magazines?
3- This is the first time I've heard about Japanese attacks on the OG.
4. Alaid Island is in the Aleutian Islands. Near Paramushir (if that's what you're talking about) is Atlasov Island with the Alaid volcano.
5 - Did you submit assignments during the PPOiR? While conducting inter-cruise repairs? Seriously???
6- Brest spotted the Japanese at 9 miles? And the alarm was raised at a distance of 30 cables? What's a safe distance for passing ships at sea according to the COLREGs? (The Japanese were running around.)
7- Was the "combat alert" sounded seriously???
8 - visibility is 20 kbps, but signalmen have previously spotted Japanese aircraft from a distance of more than 30 kbps???
9- After the "combat alert" you prepare the AU for firing???
10- the brigade commander raised the alarm and then relinquished command ????
11- ZAS and KBCh-5 report readiness to fire???
12 - after the first burst, without stopping, immediately to kill???
13- and how did you lose "continuous pursuit" by crossing the imaginary line???
14 - fired, turned around and left???
15 - the shells are "cocked"; it is impossible to unload the AU.... ???
16- What did the poor North Koreans offer you???
17 - The names you gave for the second brigade are nonsense. What's true is the name of the first: "tractor and tug fleet."
The 18th Brigade (particularly Project 1135) was always at sea. Incidentally, the 1st Brigade, and in particular the "chumichki" of Project 745, were renowned for their fishing, mushroom and berry harvesting, and red caviar. They often served as "stationary patrols" in the "eastern" areas, and fortunately not in the "161A" area.
19 - When was swimming (including scuba diving) banned in Nagaev Bay?
20- Shelikhov Bay is shallow? Seriously???
21 - Observation training has been and continues to be conducted. So nothing particularly remarkable.
Author, please answer my questions. And could you tell me where you served?