Description of the attraction
In the city of Murom, in one of the largest parks in honor of the 50th anniversary of Soviet power, the famous monument-armored train called "Ilya Muromets" is exhibited on a high pedestal. Its construction fell on the period from 1941 to 1942 with the support of the railway workers of the Murom branch of the largest Gorky railway.
As you know, the years of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War were especially difficult in the history of our country, but despite this, the workers gave all their strength in their free time to build a fighting machine. A considerable number of people left on this armored train to the military front as volunteers. For the purpose of erecting the machine, foundry workers living in the nearby cities of Kulebaki and Vyksy were connected to work, from where they supplied the metal necessary for work. Getting the necessary material, the workers of the Dzerzhinsky plant tempered it. The anti-aircraft towers and carriages included in the composition were welded by the employees of the carriage depot, while in a specially designed locomotive depot, the commemorative locomotive was completely sheathed with armor.
It is important to note that in the shortest possible time, people who had absolutely no experience in the construction of this kind of machines were able to recreate a real "fortress on wheels." Residents of the city of Murom decided what kind of name to give the military masterpiece, naming it in honor of the legendary and brave hero Ilia Muromets. But in this matter, Colonel Neplyuev, who was directly involved in the commissioning of the train, had his own name - "For the Motherland!"
Before sending the locomotive to the war front, numerous workers staged a large-scale rally, writing on the multi-ton giant the inscription: "Ilya Muromets" and drawing the head of the famous epic hero. As a result of numerous disputes, it was decided to assign it to combat vehicle # 762, and the existing drawing and inscription were ordered to be completely erased. But still, the name in honor of the brave hero remained in the minds of people, as well as in documents.
On February 8, 1942, the lined up armored train was sent to the front from the Murom station of the same name. The front-line soldiers were seen off by their wives, who were able to hoist a red canvas over a huge steam locomotive of impressive size, while the famous coat of arms of the USSR was embroidered on it. In the village of Gorky, an armored steam locomotive called "Kozma Minin" was added to the existing monument, and after that the process of forming a special 37th Gorky division was completed.
Almost all locomotives drove the Ilya Muromets so well that during the entire war period the famous armored train did not receive a single hole. For the first time in the history of armored trains, the great "Ilya Muromets" was equipped with powerful rocket-propelled mortars, known as "Katyusha".
After the transformations, the car began to move quieter, gained colossal firepower and high speed, which made the armored train a truly impressive combat force. For example, in one minute, he could hit an area of 400x400 m within a radius of 1.5 km.
For all the time, the armored train made more than 150 fire raids on the enemy, and with the help of mortar and artillery fire, it was able to destroy 14 different guns and specialized mortar companies, 36 especially dangerous firing points, 7 aircraft and more than 870 German fascists.
In the summer of 1944, not far from Kovel, which is a particularly large settlement in the Volyn region of the Ukrainian SSR, a large-scale frontal battle was fought, in which the Ilya Muromets and the German combat vehicle Adolf Hitler took part. In this battle, the Germans lost and were completely crushed. The Soviet armored train was able to cover a distance of 2,5 thousand km and only 50 km did not reach the German capital and met victory in the city of Frankfurt.
In honor of the 26th victory anniversary, celebrated in 1971, a monument to the famous armored train "Ilya Muromets" was erected in the city of military glory, Murom. This monument is a scale model of a real steam locomotive, which is especially similar to the original that went through the entire Great Patriotic War. Not far from the monument, a memorial plaque was exhibited, on which the combat path of the armored train was marked.
