Armored boat
BK-31
The BK-31 Armored Boat Project has been successfully implemented by the Private Military History Museum ‘Nasledie’ (Heritage) with the personal participation and active support of Andrey Bocharov – the Governor of the Volgograd region.
History
AUDIO VERSION
BK-31 (factory number 330) was laid down in 1941 at Shipyard No. 340 in Zelenodolsk, the Tatar Soviet Socialist Republic. The boat was set afloat in the spring of 1942. At different times it was listed under numbers 43 and 21, but most of the time, when it joined the Volga Military Flotilla and when it sank, it was listed as BK-31.
Only eight armored boats of that project were built during the war. Up until the moment of its lifting in Volgograd, BK-31 was considered completely lost. The building of BK-31, as well as other C-40 boats was under special control.
Despite its name, the armored boat is not a miniature battleship. It only has real armor on its turret, wheelhouse and in the engine room. The boat’s board could be easily pierced with an ordinary riffle bullet. Each mission left the boats returned back from combat missions riddled with dozens of shot holes.
BK-31 is 26.5 meters long, 3.9 meters wide and 0.5 meters high with displacement of 31.9 tons. Max. speed – 19 knots, equipped with two B-2 diesel tank engines with a max. output of 450 horsepower each; armed with a T-34 tank turret with a 76.2 mm F-34 cannon and two 7.62 mm machine guns in two PBK 5 machine-gun turrets. The number of crew members of the armored boat – up to 13 men.
UNIQUENESS
The boat had increased maneuverability and low draft. Those characteristics were important when taking part in river combat operations and landing troops.
HISTORY
On 25th July 1942, the boat was enlisted into the 3rd Squad of the 1st Armored Boats Division of the Volga Military Flotilla.
Aerial photos of Stalingrad
July, 1942
July, 1942
On August 5th, the flotilla started actively defending Stalingrad. That day marked the beginning of the harsh military routine for BK-31.
The main task of the Volga Military Flotilla armored boats was to ensure the safe crossing of troops and cargoes across the Volga. Besides, the boats supported land forces with artillery fire, fought saboteurs, suppressed the enemy’s spotters, conducted naval intelligence, fought the enemy’s aircraft, killed the enemy forces on the river bank, covered the actions of combat boats, and engaged the enemy.
The armored boats had the following tasks:
To ensure the safe crossing of troops and cargoes across the Volga
To support land forces with artillery fire
To fight saboteurs
To suppress the enemy’s spotters
To conduct naval intelligence
To fight the enemy’s aircraft
To kill the enemy forces on the river bank
To cover the actions of combat boats
To engage the enemy
C-40 armored boat on the Volga River
Armored boats on the Volga River
Binoculars
August – September, 1942 – The city’s civilians were evacuated.
During the Battle of Stalingrad, the enemy actively used its aviation, one of its tasks was to attack the river routes and vessels on the Volga. From July to August 1942 BK-31 repelled 32 raids of enemy bombers while protecting caravans and crossings. On one of the days the boat’s crew even managed to shoot down an enemy aircraft.
23rd – 29th August, 1942 – Stalingrad was massively bombed.
In the morning of August 23rd, the enemy fought its way through to the Volga River near the settlement of Latoshinka and came to the northern outskirts of the city and the Stalingrad Tractor Plant. The city center and workers’ settlements turned into ruins within a few hours. Numerous oil depots and timber yards on the bank of the Volga were set on fire. The glow of numerous fires and columns of black smoke could be seen from hundreds of kilometers away. As a result, more than 40,000 civilians died and more than 150,000 civilians were injured and got burns.
The estimated number of people living in the city at that time was 500,000 people.
BK-31 continued to run between the left and right banks of the river transporting military cargos, food, soldiers and the wounded, it swept the Volga clear of mines along with minesweepers, and was engaged in fighting. The night was the most active time for the armored boats: they made several voyages during the night bringing the wounded and civilians to the left bank and taking food supply and ammunition to the right bank to Stalingrad.
German aerial bottom mine LMB (Luftmine B)
Armored boats on the Volga River
On September 25th, during the evacuation of Soviet soldiers BK-31 came under enemy gun and mortar fire in the Tsaritsa River floodplain area. A shell pierced both boards of the boat near the forecastle and the conning tower was shot through. Lieutenant Alexander Sherbakov, the commander of the armored boat and Victor Aseev, the Red Navy man were seriously injured during the battle. Both of them were sent to the hospital for treatment. Lieutenant Pavel Nikitin was appointed a new commander of the boat.
On September 28th, BK-31 along with BK-34 joined the battle with eight Nazi anti-tank guns destroying two of them. BK-31 had to make three or even five voyages across the Volga during the night. The crew did not even have time to repair the boat. While moving, the sailors fixed the shot holes by hammering wooden plugs into them.
A German artilleryman, Oberleutnant Wigand Wüster, who had been in military service since 1939, occupied a special place in the history and fate of the BK-31 armored boat. In 1941, he was the first Wehrmacht artilleryman to hit a T-34 tank with a howitzer.
In September 1942, he was a part of the 71st Infantry Division of the 6th German Field Army and attacked Stalingrad. At the end of September 1942, his squad took a position on the right Volga bank in the captured House of Specialists near the Brewery (now Chuikova Street 37-39). Wüster's battery was armed with two captured Soviet 76.2-mm divisional guns (ZiS-3).
While fulfilling its combat missions, every day BK-31 opened fire on detected German positions. W. Wüster, as the commander of the German artillery squad, was well aware that the boat that was attacking them made regular runs, appearing in certain places on the river. The German artillery decided to shoot the course of the BK-31 boat.
Wooden plugs
BK-31 HISTORY
1942
September 25th
During the evacuation of Soviet soldiers in the area of the Tsaritsa River floodplain, BK-31 came under enemy gun and mortar fire. Both boards in the forecastle area and the wheelhouse of the boat were shot. The commander, Lieutenant Aleksandr Shcherbakov and Red Navy man Viktor Aseev were severely wounded in that battle. Both of them were sent to hospital for medical treatment.
1942
September 28th
BK-31, together with BK-34, fought with eight Hitler anti-tank guns, destroying two of them.
1942
October 6th
At 2.30 p.m. the BK-31 and BK-34 boats, again working together, returned from the operation. They transported 5.5 tons of cargo and 40 soldiers to the right bank of the Volga, and 74 wounded back to the left bank. The enemy again used artillery and mortar fire against the boats, but no losses or damages were caused. At dawn, BK-31 together with 34, 53, 63 and 62 boats were ready for a new combat mission near the Kultbaza.
1942
October 7th
At 12.46 p.m. BK-31 and BK-34 once again returned from a combat operation. They brought 70 soldiers and 6 tons of cargo to the right bank and 13 wounded to the left bank. German artillery attacked the armored boats. BK-34 got holes in the forecastle area but there were no casualties.
1942
October 8th
At 5.00 a.m., the BK-34 armored boat returned from an operation during which it brought 3.5 tons of cargo and 112 wounded across the Volga under the enemy fire. The boat did not open fire; there were no losses or damages caused. Regular shelling of armored boats of the Volga Military Flotilla running along the Volga River clearly shows that the German artillerymen understood the danger coming from armored boats and tried to fight them by all means.
1942
Night from 8th to 9th October
After fulfilling a combat mission, the boat worked at the crossing near the Krasny Oktyabr Plant. It was morning when the boat returned to the base with wounded and civilians on board.
After noticing BK-31, the enemy artillerymen opened heavy fire on the pre-shot landmarks. At the same time, German mortar men also entered the battle, opening a howitzer fire on BK-31 from 82-mm mortars. The enemy fired more than a hundred shells. The boat was heavily bombarded and was destroyed by hundreds of shell fragments.
2017
May
In May 2017, the divers accidentally discovered a tank turret of BK-31 in a new channel of the Volga just opposite the center of Volgograd. A team from the Nasledie Military History Museum immediately organized an expedition. Based on the results of a diving inspection and archival documents, it was found out that the tank turret belonged to the C-40 armored boat, the only one that has survived to this day. There was a clear decision to lift the boat in order to preserve it as a unique historical unit.
2017
October 15th
The preparations for lifting BK-31 began near the Volgograd Central River Station, about 200 metres from the bank in front of Krasnaya Sloboda. The armored boat was lying on the bottom at the coordinates: latitude 48.41.0 and longitude 44.32.26.
2017
November 5th
On November 5th, the lifting operation of BK-31 from the bottom of the Volga River was completed in the center of Volgograd opposite the River Station.
At night from 8th to 9th October 1942, after fulfilling combat mission, BK-31 worked at the crossing near the Krasny Oktyabr Plant. After taking the wounded, civilians and soldiers, the boat returned to the base.
After noticing BK-31, the enemy artillerymen opened heavy fire on the pre-shot landmarks. At the same time, German mortar men also entered the battle, opening a howitzer fire on BK-31 from 82-mm mortars. The enemy fired more than a hundred shells. The boat was heavily bombarded and was destroyed by hundreds of mortar fragments.
Damaged BK-31 entered the battle and opened return fire on enemy positions. Part of the crew took their battle positions in the tank and machine-gun turrets. At the same time, another part of the crew fought for the boat's survival. All controls of the boat were set to ‘full ahead’. The captain Pavel Nikitin made desperate attempts to avoid boat damaging from enemy intense fire. Being forced to open the wheelhouse's armored door to see the battle scene, he was killed.
The uncontrollable boat became an easy target for artillery. Enemy shells hit the engine room, forecastle and wheelhouse. BK-31 heeled over, the strong current submerged the boat deep into the water and it sank.
In January 1943, Wigand Wüster was taken prisoner, as well as thousands of other German soldiers at Stalingrad. Then he was sentenced to seven years of forced labor in Zelenodolsk, at Shipyard No 340, the very place where the BK-31 boat was built.
Lifting the BK-31 armored boat from the river bottom
When studying documents on the history of the river fleet of the city of Stalingrad in 2014, experts discovered important information on the ships sunk in the waters of the Volga River. According to the data the armored boat sank in the Kuropatka channel and was supposed to be found and examined.
However, the attempts to find the boat were unsuccessful.
The river current exposed a new channel opposite the very center of Volgograd, which in May 2017 revealed to divers a tank turret that had previously been hidden under the water surface.
The team of the Nasledie Military History Museum organized an expedition. After a diving survey and work with archival documents, experts stated that the tank turret belonged to a C-40 type armored boat, the only one that has survived to this day. This discovery inspired the team to make a firm decision. They decided to salvage the armored boat from the bottom and preserve it as a historical relic.
Petroleum-lamp
The team of the Nasledie Military History Museum organized an expedition. After a diving survey and work with archival documents, experts stated that the tank turret belonged to a C-40 type armored boat, the only one that has survived to this day. This discovery inspired the team to make a firm decision. They decided to salvage the armored boat from the bottom and preserve it as a historical relic.
Planning and preparation for the lifting of the armored boat took six months. The lifting itself, which lasted for 30 days, turned from a technical operation into a historical and memorial event, since the remains of Soviet soldiers, probably crewmates of the BK-31 boat, were discovered which gave particular importance to this project. Technical difficulties and severe damage did not allow the armored boat to be lifted in one piece. Besides, the crack in the board forced experts to come to the decision to divide the armored boat into two parts.
On November 5th, 2017, in the very heart of Volgograd, opposite the River Station, the lifting of the BK-31 armored boat from the bottom of the Volga was successfully completed.
When the team of the museum managed to lift the armored boat from the bottom, they turned their attention to the bow of the ship, which had many traces of the battle. More than a hundred of hand-cut wooden plugs stuck out of the shrapnel and bullet holes – this was the way the crew fixed them.
Victor Vasilevsky
Chairman of the Nasledie Military History Museum
RESTORATION
When the armored boat was lifted out of the water, the experts saw the bow of the ship with many traces of the battle. More than a hundred of hand-cut wooden plugs stuck out of the shrapnel and bullet holes. The veterans of river battles often talked about this method to fix holes.
The searchers failed to find any personal awards or badges, and the identity medallions on which the sailors were supposed to write their personal data were blank. After being lifted, the armored boat was taken to the Krasnoarmeisky Shipyard, where the renovation works began.
Many personal items of the sailors were found in the lifted armored boat: spoons, watches, razors, shaving brushes, combs, and belts. Many of those items were signed with names or dates: ‘Maletov’, ‘Kollegov’, ‘V.K.’, ‘Ch.I.G.’, ‘Kulkov’, ‘Makhov’, ‘Nazarenko’, ‘9/VI/42’.
Personal belongings of the crew demonstrated at a press conference, December 4th, 2017.
Blowlamp from the engine compartment
THE CREW
During the search mission, the remains of 11 people, presumably crew members, were found. However, there was not a single identity document on the armored boat. No awards, no badges. All the identity medallions of the Red Navy men were blank, since there was a superstition that after filling such a medallion with your personal data you would certainly die.
The items found on board, as well as archival documents made it possible to establish the names of the crew members who fought and died on the armored boat. This allowed to find the relatives of two of the deceased and to connect with them.
The items found on board, as well as archival documents made it possible to establish the names of the crew members who fought and died on the armored boat. This allowed to find the relatives of two of the deceased and to connect with them.
relatives
found
found
3
remains of
the crew
the crew
11
names
established
established
5
The crew of the BK-31 armored boat
Squad leader
Akim Anikeenko
1909/ Tuapse
Squad leader
Viktor Aseev
1915 / Krasnodar Region
Boatswain’s mate
Alexey Vikharev
1912
Red Navy man
Nikolay Gaidyshev
1918
Red Navy man
Shalva Greul
1917
Red Navy man
Ivan Grishin
1905
Boatswain’s mate
Nikolay Dmitriev
1914
Boatswain’s mate
Boris Ilyinsky
1919 / Leningrad
Squad leader
Vladimir Kollegov
1912 / Molotov Region
Red Navy man
Boris Korotkov
1902 / Moscow
Squad leader
Vasily Kochetkov
1921
Red Navy man
Leonid Maletin
(Meletin)
Red Navy man
Alexey Mozgov
1912
Squad leader
Alexander Nazarenko
1915
Lieutenant
Pavel Nikitin
Commander of the BK-31 armored boat
1919 / Saratov
Red Navy man
Nikolai Ponomarenko
1917 / Kharkov Region
Red Navy man
Peter Khlyapov
1918 / Kiev
Red Navy man
Innokenty Chernykh
1913 / Krasnoyarsk Region
Red Navy man
Alexey Chistov
1914 / Moscow region
Lieutenant
Alexander Shcherbakov
Commander of the BK-31 armored boat
1911 / Yaroslavl Region
Memories:
My mother called me and said:
“They’ve found my dad”.
I couldn't understand. She is 80 years old.
I asked again: “Who has been found”?
She repeated: "My dad"!
She remembers that he was drafted into the army in winter. There was a severe frost, there were carts, she remembers that before leaving he picked up and hugged her and said:
“Galochka, live long, listen to your mother, be healthy and always remember me.”
“They’ve found my dad”.
I couldn't understand. She is 80 years old.
I asked again: “Who has been found”?
She repeated: "My dad"!
She remembers that he was drafted into the army in winter. There was a severe frost, there were carts, she remembers that before leaving he picked up and hugged her and said:
“Galochka, live long, listen to your mother, be healthy and always remember me.”
On August 23rd, 2018, they arrived in Volgograd and took part in the burial ceremony of the remains of the BK-31 sailors at the memorial cemetery in Rossoshki.
MUSEUM COMPLEX
By the end of 2019, the restoration of the boat's hull was completed. The boat's parts were joined together into a whole, and the boat was delivered to its permanent display location.
Part of the cockade found on the BK-31 boat
The construction of the BK-31 memorial took a year and was completed in May 2020. After the construction of the entire section of the new embankment was completed, on July 17th, 2022, the museum complex was opened with the participation of the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev.
Heroic armored boat BK-31 is one of the newest exhibits located on the Volgograd Central Embankment. Currently, the armored boat is a part of the memorial complex commemorating the Red Navy men of the Volga Military Flotilla who defended Stalingrad.
Nowadays, the BK-31 exhibition complex is a point of interest for thousands of Volgograd residents and guests of the city, as well as hundreds of guided tours. People learn about acts of bravery made by heroic defenders of Stalingrad on this specific example of the heroic fate of the BK-31 armored boat and its crew.
Nowadays, the BK-31 exhibition complex is a point of interest for thousands of Volgograd residents and guests of the city, as well as hundreds of guided tours. People learn about acts of bravery made by heroic defenders of Stalingrad on this specific example of the heroic fate of the BK-31 armored boat and its crew.
An original BK-31 memorial complex was built on the lower terrace of the embankment, at the very edge of the Volga bank. It is a display case for the armored boat. From the artistic point of view, it serves as a sarcophagus. The interior design of the complex and its location near the Volga River create an illusion that the boat is sailing on water, while modern technologies, such as lights and sound effects take us back to the days of the Battle of Stalingrad.
During the construction, it was decided to leave all the holes that the boat got in the war and illuminate them from inside with red lights. When viewing the exhibition, this allows people to feel as if the time stopped for a second and the last remaining armored boat of its kind, that fought and died while defending Stalingrad, like a true veteran is right in front of them.
Inside the glass case it feels like BK-31 is moving and rising on the waves. It is damaged. The red lights shine through the holes and resemble bleeding from the gunshot wounds. Still, the boat continues to defend the city moving towards its certain death.
The main purpose of the project was to increase public interest in the World War II.
Inside the glass case it feels like BK-31 is moving and rising on the waves. It is damaged. The red lights shine through the holes and resemble bleeding from the gunshot wounds. Still, the boat continues to defend the city moving towards its certain death.
The main purpose of the project was to increase public interest in the World War II.
Giacomo Canepa
Project architect
EXHIBITS
A lot of personal items were found in the armored boat: spoons, watches, razors, shaving brushes, combs, belts. Many of them had signatures, initials or dates: “K.V.K.”, “Maletov,” “Kollegov,” “V.K.”, “Ch.I.G.”, “Kulkov,” “Makhov,” “Nazarenko,” “9/VI/42.”
STEERING WHEEL
The boat was controlled from the wheelhouse by a manual steering engine with a rudder angle indicator.
6-spoke ribbed steering wheel was made of aluminum and was 600 mm in diameter.
STEEL HELMET SSh-40
The 1940 model of steel helmet was widely used by the Armed Forces of the USSR during the World War II.
At the beginning of the war, three factories produced helmets: in Stalingrad, Leningrad and Lysva.
The helmet is made of I-1 armor steel with a thickness of 1.2 mm.
TANK GUNSIGHT TMFD-7
The BK-31 armored boat was equipped with a T-34 tank turret manufactured at the Krasnoye Sormovo Plant with a F-34 tank gun of the 1941 model, as artillery gun. The sighting devices for firing the gun included a PT-4-7 panoramic sight and a TMFD-7 scope-sight.
The TMFD-7 sight was located on the left side of the gun, had a 2.5x magnification scope and a field of view of 15°.
FIELD TELEPHONE
Field telephones were used for communication between wheelhouse and compartments of the boat (on the aft and under the tower).
While the boat was at the dock, telephones were used to communicate with the bank – for example, with an artillery observation post.
2,000 telephone sets of this model were delivered to the USSR under lend-lease between 1941 and 1942.
REVERSE GEAR
The BK-31 reverse gear was made with an interlocked friction-type disengaging clutch and a gearbox.
Structurally, the reverse gear consisted of pressure disks, clutches, forward and reverse shafts, fork gears, leading, driven and idle gears.
The gearboxes were manually controlled from the engine compartment by the order from the wheelhouse.
ENGINE TELEGRAPH
Engine telegraph – is a mechanical device used to provide communication between the wheelhouse and the engine room to change the boat’s engine operating mode.
It consists of three posts connected by cables.
It has a number of fixed positions indicating the required operation mode of the boat’s engine: «Stop», «Slow ahead», «Half ahead», «Full ahead», «Flank speed ahead», as well as the boat’s direction.
HORN
Found inside BK-31. According to archival data, the last person to use the horn was boatswain’s mate V. Trifonov on October 9th, 1942 while attempting to refloat BK-31 with the help of BK-12.
It is made of brass. The length is 34 cm.
POTBELLY STOVE
Found inside BK-31.
Manufactured at the Moscow Railway Repair Plant in 1935.
Consists of a casing, top cover with a flue connection, grate, pan, loading door and blower door.
Material: cast iron.
V-2 DIESEL ENGINE
V-2 diesel engine is a twin-block (twin-row) engine with V-shaped cylinder arrangement.
The engine has 12 cylinders.
Cylinders sit at a 60-degree angle.
Engine capacity is 38,8 liters.
Rated engine power (at 1,750 rpm) is 450 hp.
Maximum engine power (at 1,800 rpm) is 500 hp.
Engine weights 1,000 kg.
Normal fuel consumption — 160 grams per hour.
AWARDS
The museum is a multifaceted cultural institution engaged in important military history projects, such as «The BK-31 Armored Boat », K.K. Rokossovsky monument in Volgograd, «Tank T-34» in Bailrode, Germany, and others.
The museum collects, preserves and exhibits artifacts, but also conducts research, organizes exhibitions, educational programs and excursions.
We aim to tell the glorious and heroic chapters of the history and share unique historical materials.
The foundation cooperating with the museum is engaged in social initiatives and provides assistance to those in need. Culture and history are of great social importance that inspire and give a new meaning to people's lives, so we actively support various projects aimed at social adaptation, development of education and support for young people.
Test your knowledge
Take a short quiz on the history of the BK-31 armored boat.
of BK-31