The monument to the crew of the towing ship "Komsomolets"
   Photo: The monument to the crew of the towing ship "Komsomolets"

The monument to the crew of the steamer "Komsomolets" was established in 1968 in Naryan-Mar Saprygin Street, next to the building management Seaport. The monument erected in honor of the tragedy that unfolded in the Barents Sea on Aug. 16, 1942.

Tug "Komsomolets" was built in 1866 in Norway, its former name "ARPA". Its width is 6 m, depth - 2, 45 m, length - 26, 7 m, power machinery - 320 hp capacity of 161 tons, a top speed of up to 7 knots. Naryan-Mar in 1934 he. Since the beginning of the war was transferred to the military regime of the time, among other merchant ships in the North Basin. "Komsomolets" provide transportation for the needs of the Northern Fleet and the 14th Army.

July 29, 1942 the tug "Komsomolets" and barge P-4 came from Naryan-Mar as part of a rescue expedition led by Captain AS Kozlowski to remove the cargo from the ship "Vytegra" crashed. Transfer of the load from the ship, the caravan took them safely in Amderma. From there he went to the village Khabarova. He arrived there on August 10. The caravan in the village joined the ship "Komiles" tug "Nord" and lighter "W-500".

"Nord" hauled "Komiles" (because of its failure) and lighter "W-500", which was loaded with coal, "Komsomolets" towed barge P-4, in which there were 300 people, most of them prisoners camps "Norilstroya." August 16, 1942 caravan moved toward the Naryan-Mar. On the barge were also women and children. At the caravan it had no weapons on board. Swimming passed rather quietly. Moving at a speed of 6 knots, the column headed "Komsomolets" with a barge P-4. It was followed by "Nord".

At 7 am on August 17 when the caravan was two miles off the northern coast of the island Matveev, far from it made the ascent German submarine U-209, and opened artillery fire .  Radistka tug "Komsomolets" A .  Kozhevina managed to tell about the attack .  The first objective of U-209 had chosen a barge P-4 .  At 7 o'clock in the morning it was all on fire, but kept afloat .  People who were in it, jumped overboard to escape the fire .  In the water, in total, about 300 people turned out .  While the submarine shot a barge, tugboat "Komsomolets" tried to escape .  But the maneuver was observed and the ship was shelled .  Tug Boat on fire and threw on the northern edge of the island Matveev .  Double U-209 torpedoed the burning barge P-4, but to no avail .  At 7 h .  20 minutes .  Boat rushed in pursuit of the other courts of the caravan .  Tug "Nord" had already managed to take the lighter "W-500" and "Komiles" to the island Matveev and anchored 800 meters from the shore .  The very same "Nord", rounding the island from the west, went to the side of the Ugra Bowl .  At 8 h .  submarine approached the standing near the island of ships and sunk by artillery fire "Komiles" .  The crew had to jump into the water and swim to reach the shore .  Many succeeded, because the distance was small .  At 08 h .  05 min .  lighter for a distance of 300 m was released a torpedo, but it does not hit the goal .  At 08 h . 10 min .  divers again opened artillery fire .  After some time, the lighter went under water .  At 08 h .  31min .  He released a torpedo boat in the direction of the P-4 barge and sent her to the bottom . 

For information about the artillery attack German submarine in the Soviet tow it was received in the village Khabarovo about 9 h. 20 min. In the area of ​​the incident went trawlers. They met the tug "Nord", the captain who described the situation. Ships headed for a count Matveev. At the approach to the island they took on board a two-person boat with a barge P-4. According to survivors, the German submariners finished from small arms in the water. Come to the remains of the burned "Komsomolets" rescuers did not dare because of shallow waters. From the courts were on the caravan 328 people were killed in the shelling and drowned 305 people. Among them 14 members of the crew of "Komsomolets" and P-4.

In 1944, "Komsomolets" was removed from the rocks and towed to the port of Naryan Mar, where he renovated for some time worked.

Monument tugboat crew "Komsomolets" was created by engineers under the direction of the port PY Khmelnitsky. Monument to the sailors - a pedestal in the form of a steamship cabin mounted with admiralty anchor. Vertically to the bottom of the pedestal attached to a stainless steel plate with a commemorative inscription.

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The monument to the crew of the towing ship Komsomolets